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Before I started off on my adventure I had meticulously copied a series of little red circles onto my map. Each of these encircled a land feature of some kind. The man had stated, "Be very careful when copying your course. If you circle the wrong feature, you are going to be very angry with yourself later." The first circled feature was a junction. It connected the trail that I am on with a side trail. Looking up, I am surprised that I can't see the junction from where I stand. I Begin to head in that direction at a brisk pace. Walking a round a slight bend in the trail and over a small rise in the hill, I see my first objective; the brightly colored control marker. 'What did that man call it? A bag?' Well this bag wouldn't hold much, for it has no bottom. It reminds me, in a way, more of a Box Kite. It is three-sided, open on the top and bottom, and bears a reddish orange triangle on each side. Being nearly a foot tall and maybe 8" wide I am surprised that I did not see it sooner. It dangles from some kind of metal-stake contraption about two feet off of the ground. As I approach I realize that I am jogging ever so, anxious to arrive at my destination as if I was to receive a prize. It feels good.
I see two other objects attached to the metal stake. One is a numbered plate, like an ID card. The other a small punching-device of some kind. I check the ID card. It is marked in bold numerals: 131. Taped to the back of my map is a description sheet. I know it is there because I put it there. It lists each of my 9 destinations. They each have a numerical ID and a short description. The first one on my list is marked "Control 1, 131, Trail Junction". I am delighted. I have found my way to my first control! Now what's this little punch device?
It's bright orange and shaped kind of like a small personal stapler. It's firmly mounted to the top of the metal stake just above the bag. I search my coat pocket for the paper card the lady gave me when I registered for this course. The card is divided up into a set of squares, 5/8 inches per side. They are numbered 1 to 24. I slide the card into the "punch", placing block #1 about where a staple would emerge if this punch had staples. I press the punch down firmly and release. 'How cute', I think, as I remove the card and look at the perforated "T" that the punch has left in my bock number one. It kind of reminds me of a very primitive dot matrix display. Well, the "T" doesn't mean any thing to me but it proves I was here. Now what?
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