Comments on: An idiot’s guide to orienteering

By: Brad Wetmore

Brad Wetmore — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:06:23 +0000

Fun article. I do hope you enjoyed your day out. A couple quick comments.

> If you’re not competitive by nature, stick to hiking.

I couldn’t disagree more. Hikers are perfectly suited to orienteering. It’s the sense of accomplishment that really drives a lot of us. There are those who just come for a day outdoors and to be social. There are the ultracompetitives types, the somewhat competitive types, and the guy who just wants to go for a walk in the woods with his dog. Although I must be honest, Marley the dog does win his class every time, if you call that competitive.

Hopefully our maps will get you found more often than lost! At least that’s what they’re designed to do.

And to boyandgirlscouts, try pitching the idea of coming to the annual Scout Orienteering Championships, generally held each year in Sept/October. Imagine hundreds of boy/girl scouts trying to find their way around at the same time: it’s quite exciting.

I’ll talk to our Event Coordinator about scheduling a Tequila-O. Sounds like fun!

Brad
BAOC

PS. Thanks for noticing my 3% body fat. I think you missed a decimal place, but flattery will get you everywhere.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:53:10 +0000

Roy, you are so right: It is a lot of fun. Old infantrymen and all others are welcome to come and try it out. A guy who already knows how to read a map and use a compass has a definite advantage. Lots of us walk the courses rather than running them, and there is a very wide age range.

Besides the fun of very careful map-reading, here’s another reason for hikers to try orienteering: children who claim not to like hiking will often LOVE the treasure-hunt aspect of this sport. Even 5-year-olds can run up to the control flag and check to see if the three-digit number is the one you’re looking for.

Some kids DO learn to run the courses as individuals, and do them very competitively. In fact, there is a small female national champion visible in the leaf-pile photo above. But a hiking family can sign up as a team, and the adults can enjoy a walk while the kids run to punch the controls.

By: boyandgirlscouts

boyandgirlscouts — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:36:46 +0000

Your observation about Boy Scouts is probably correct. Those gentlemen were wearing the BSA issue pants with zip-off legs (except for the guy in the black shorts on the left). I keep pitching an orienteering event like this to my troops (boy and girl scouts), but they never bite. Oh, well.

By: Steve Sergeant

Steve Sergeant — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:19:48 +0000

Tom: Your scores are now immortalized online:
http://baoc.org/wiki/Results/2008/O_in_the_Oaks_08#Results_by_Course

I slipped down one more rank because of the group efforts of another boy scout troop. Our mutual friend Anne took third place in the women’s competitive orange class. Congratulations to her.

(And I would have been 4th or 5th at 31:58 if it wasn’t for “difficulties” with the little memory sticks.)

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:47:28 +0000

Roy: the compass is optional … the most competitive orienteers have a thumb compass they hold up next to their maps as they go but I don’t think they carry sharp objects like a protractor. Of course you wouldn’t be able to call in an airstrike, which would take some of the fun out of it.

It’s fairly simple on the less-challenging recreational courses, which track trails, but the overland courses go right up and down gullies and canyons, so they’d be a bit more of a challenge.

By: Roy Scribner

Roy Scribner — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:39:45 +0000

That looks like a lot of fun! I wonder how this old infantryman would fare, if I dusted-off the compass and protractor? Of course, running would be completely out of the question – yikes!