Tim and I teamed up for a little night orienteering practice in the Dawson Forest near the Etowah River last weekend. We joined Jon, Jennifer Rinderle and Allen -- one of the three Checkpoint Zero teams racing at this weekend's USARA National Championship Race -- for a brief time while Peter did his own thing.

The darkness, cool fog and coyotes howling in the night completed a scene reminding me of the classic creep flick American Werewolf in London. I partly expected my English teammate Tim, with darts in hand, to warn me to "Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." We didn't see any werewolves, but I nearly jumped out of my skin when a fellow racer's dog jogged up to say "hello." Really, I'm not scared of the dark.

Navigation takes on a whole extra level of difficulty when the darkness falls, and it becomes extra important to work as a team to track distance, watch for obvious terrain features you can see on trails and roads you're traveling on, and keep your place on the map. Hopefully, the practice together will do us all some good when we take on a stacked field of teams this weekend in Missouri.

Tim and I will be racing with Suz, while Peter will be joining up with Chip Whitworth and Michele. Wish us luck!

- Paul