02 — Orienteering Course Setting.
01-11. By Kelly.
Fig. 1. Student finding a control at an orienteering activity we directed for the Smith Middle School Enrichment Club. We had stamps at each control. The student is going up to the control to stamp her control card.
Patrick and I love orienteering. We have been members of the Backwoods Orienteering Klub (BOK) for the last two years. This year, we are planning our first orienteering meet. It seems a simple deal. Just get a map and set a course. We start by going to our club's website and read the tips on how to set the course. We study the map of the area and set our course. Job done!
Not quite -- in fact, it is when we go to the area to place flags that we realize our job is far from over. After three hours we only set three of fifteen flags. At each control placement on the map, we check the actual location to ensure our placement was accurate. However, it is other issues such as random logging roads and acres of land that had been clear cut that are not on our map that cause our planned course to become unusable. So now, instead of running off to do hikes or skiing on our weekends, we are enjoying running around a local park to make the best course possible. I like to call it our local adventure. : )
We don't have any pictures of our course setting for BOK (Falls Lake). But we do have one (Fi. 1) from a small course we set for the Smith Middle School Enrichment Club.