City of Trees Orienteering Club

This is our traditional monthly meet with a Classic course format traveling in sequential order. We continue exploring beautiful Greenbelt parks with our new additions. We will try to design something fun so you come back with smiles and happy! Definitely at least few river (on bridges) and underpass crossings :) You're welcome to go at whatever pace you prefer.

4 regular courses:
1. Beginner Course (stats TBD); Suitable for first comers or those who just started the sport. Predominantly on trails, roads, or along easy to recognize linear features.
2. Sport Course (stats TBD): A good choice for more experienced orienteerers or you'd like to develop your navigation skills.
3. Intermediate (stats TBD): An opportunity to apply compass-bearing and complex route choice selection skills.
4. Advanced (stats TBD): Same terrain and technical ability as intermediate with a lot more endurance required and enough distance to satisfy that need to run.
Courses are being designed for about 1 hour outing. About 20-25 minutes for beginner course. Keep in mind that these distances are based on straight path distances, not the distance of your travel, that will be longer. Dress according to the weather for outdoor times!

LOGISTICS

When: Sunday, March 15
Starts from 10:00AM to 12:00AM. Courses close at 2:00PM (that means please be back at the start by this time).

Meet Location:
Close to new shelter at the Julia Davis park, East of the pond. See where Google map pin is placed.
We will place directional signs where appropriate.
Please RSVP by Wednesday evening March 11 with name & course choice. You can RSVP either in the comments below or directly to savelichko@yahoo.com.

Map and Course Notes:
These are urban parks, BSU campus, and all the urban areas and office spaces on both sides of the river. Expect fast moving, split second decisions and such! You will test all your course planning and map reading skills. Some larger streets will be off bounds and forbidden to cross, shown on map with purple color, getting on the other side of these larger streets would require using underpasses so watch for "tunnel" symbols. More advanced courses will cross the Boise river few times so watch which bridges could be used, with walkways available. Remember that for urban orienteering you can not cross high fences, walls, buildings, dark green and olive areas, and bodies of water surrounded with black lines. Whenever you see thick black line - you can not cross it. Look for the gaps or more complex route choices to avoid. Green areas bordering the river may have poison ivy. Generally we don't advise to go in there and you don't need to. Courses were design to avoid these. There may be light traffic in the parks and urban areas, especially on vast parking spaces around office buildings, so be watchful. Traffic is not expected to be dense but please look left and right before crossing these areas.

PUNCHING:
We will use SI electronic punching. Rent a SI stick for nominal $2 or bring your own.

Liability Waivers:
Non-members please bring printed and signed liability waivers (available for download at ctoc-boise.org/pub/ctoc_ind_waiver.pdf ) from home. We will have blanks if you forget. If you are bringing a minor who is NOT your own child, you MUST bring a waiver signed by their parent or guardian.

COST:
Single meet (day) dues:
$10 per person/team, free for members
Single Junior (up to 20 years old): $5 per person/team, free for members
If more than one map is needed for a team, a small additional fee may be needed per the discretion of the meet director depending on printing costs.

CTOC annual membership (all meets are free):
Join with Monthly Pro-Rated for membership fees:
Membership form and instructions may be found at this link.

Cheers,
Sergey

Kirsten and I visited this area last November. We found runnable complex terrain set in southwestern Idaho desert scrubland. Low vegetation dominates the landscape on this entirely new map.
This is a Classic course format traveling in sequential order. You're welcome to go at whatever pace you prefer.

We will have 3 courses:

Course descriptions are crude estimates until design is complete.
1. Sport Course (3 km, 120 m elevation, 10 controls): A good choice if you'd like to develop your navigation skills and move up from the beginner level.
2. Intermediate (4km, 160 m elevation, 13 controls): An opportunity to apply compass-bearing and contour-reading in rugged terrain.
3. Advanced (6.0 km, 220 m elevation, 17 controls): Same terrain and technical ability as intermediate with a lot more endurance required and enough distance to satisfy that need to run.

Keep in mind that these distances are based on straight path distances, not the distance of your travel, that will be farther.

LOGISTICS
When: Saturday, April 25
Starts from 10:00AM to 12:00AM. Course closes at 2:00PM. (that means please be back at the start by this time.)
Meet Location:
Thirteen miles southeast of Murphy and then 3.5 miles south on the Oreana Loop Road through Oreana curving east to Mit's Road where you turn south to the start. This is approximately 1.5 hours drive from Boise - but it is worth the time.
There's not a lot of cheat grass but wearing gators is never a bad idea Ground may be soft but also can be rocky in stretches. Of course, remember your compass, or bring $1 to borrow one for the day. You definitely will need one to take bearings in this open terrain!

During our visit we found adequate parking at the site.

The Google Map pin shows the location of the start and finish.
Please RSVP by 8am Thursday, April 23 with name & course choice and cell phone number. I need your phone number in order to contact you if there is a condition that requires cancellation of the event. You can RSVP either in the comments below or directly to murrayjohna1@gmail.com. Limited number of extra maps may be available but don't count on it if you didn't RSVP.

I believe there is cell phone coverage, but this area is remote, so do not count on it.

Map Notes:
The vegetation is simple: scattered sagebrush, rabbit brush, and other species. Cheat grass, almost always quite sparse, covers large parts of the area. It was never a problem with gaiters and awn resistant shoes. There are some steep slopes. Flat sedimentary rocks predominate and present only a moderate risk of sprains and falling. A moderate risk is still a risk. Safety requires extra attention to foot placement in many locations. Recommended to tape ankles or wear ankle braces to prevent potential sprains. It also will provide you with more confidence and additional protection from grass and scrub.
Erosion gullies are the predominant feature for control placement and navigation. If you find a boulder, let me know. Most of the cliffs on the map are earth banks instead of rock.

Liability Waivers:
Non-members please bring printed and signed liability waivers (available for download at ctoc-boise.org/pub/ctoc_ind_waiver.pdf ) from home. We will have blanks if you forget. If you are bringing a minor who is NOT your own child, you MUST bring a waiver signed by their parent or guardian.

Sturdy shoes are a must; we also recommend gaiters to protect your legs and feet from cheat grass. Some slopes are steep and unstable. It's not a city park, so safe travel requires attention to your footing on hillsides. A compass is essential for setting and following bearings.

COST:
Single meet (day) dues: $10 per person/team, free for members
Single Junior (up to 20 years old): $5 per person/team, free for members
If more than one map is needed for a team, a small additional fee may be needed per the discretion of the meet director depending on printing costs.

CTOC annual membership make all our meets free:
Join and use Monthly Pro-Rata for membership fees.
Membership form and instructions found here.

John Murray
Meet Director