Contact: Andy Hill, Club President, (208) 322-1877
On the Web: www.ctoc-Boise.org
Upcoming meets
April 12: Stewart Gulch East in Boise
May 4: Rabbit Creek in Murphy
June 14: Gold Rush Hills in Idaho City
July 27: Julia Davis Park, Boise State University and Ann Morrison Park in Boise
Aug. 17: Bear Basin in McCall
Sept. 13: National Orienteering Day Veterans State Park and Willow Park in Boise
Orienteering is a fun way to learn map and compass skills in an outdoor setting while getting aerobic exercise. A local group, the City of Trees Orienteering Club, sponsors meets every month. Club members and the public test their skills on preset courses in Boise city parks and mountain locations.
The group's next competitive event is April 12 at Stewart Gulch East in Boise. Participants use a detailed, site-specific map and a compass to locate points in the landscape. The pace can be as slow as a leisurely walk in the woods or as intense as a sprint in a competitive sport.
"It's still challenging and fun. It combines the physical side of running, which I had done, with the mental strategy of finding controls in the quickest and most efficient manner," said club member and meet director Jeff Black, who has been with the club for several years.
Originating in 1999, the local orienteering club is a member of the United States Orienteering Federation. Nearby clubs exist in the Walla Walla and Tri-Cities areas.
CTOC has about 30 members, and the club's competitions attract 25 to 30 participants. Families, scout troops, multisport athletes and the curious are attracted to the sport. If you are hooked, you can compete at a national or international level. The club is bidding to host a national-level meet in 2009.
A standard orienteering course consists of a designated starting point, a series of marked control sites completed in a predetermined order and a finishing point. Participants find the control sites identified by control flags. To get to each site, they use printed descriptions or clues, a map and a compass. A punch hole maker is at each site to mark a card the individual competitors or the team carries, indicating they have reached each control point.
For some of the bigger meets, the club rents electronic scanner devices that interconnect to a computer and record competitors' arrival times at the checkpoints. Using technology provides quick and accurate scoring information.
Staggered starts, relays or time-limited events are some of the formats used.
The route between each control site is your choice. The challenge in orienteering is determining the best terrain to navigate across for the fastest route choice. In some cases, staying on a trail is best; in other situations, taking a direct straight line over rugged terrain toward the next station is speedier. Whoever finishes the entire event in the shortest amount of time is the winner.
Park events generally are easier than the more remote sites because the park landscape tends to be level and have less vegetation. Events in wooded or steep areas offer more obstacles to overcome in locating the checkpoints swiftly.
The club creates and provides the maps for orienteering locations, which are more detailed than topographical maps.
"Reading a map is a bit of an art that takes getting use to," Black said.
This sport attracts people of all ages. David Bergset of Boise started orienteering about three years ago in his mid-thirties, joining his father Ole Bergset, who is in his sixties.
"It's competitive, you have to be physically fit and always thinking," David Bergset said.
His approach at a meet is to run as fast as he can in the general direction of the control point, then about five meters from it he slows down and focuses on honing in on the control point, using his map and compass skills.
You can get started in the sport by attending local orienteering meets. City parks and school grounds are the easiest places to learn due to the simple terrain.
The meet director, or experienced members, introduce newcomers to the basics of using a map and compass. Novices take on the course specially designed for immediate immersion into the sport of orienteering. If they complete it quickly, they can try the intermediate course on site.
Maps for local meets are free to club members. Walk-ins under the age of 18 years pay $3, and adults pay $5. The fees help pay the cost of the orienteering maps, which the club creates for use on the course. CTOC membership fees are $65 for a family and $45 for a regular membership.
If you want to try an orienteering meet, wear light hiking boots or running shoes.
Dress for walking through brush. Check the CTOC's Web site for current information.
Natalie Bartley is a freelance outdoors writer. Her column runs Mondays in the Idaho Statesman. Natalie can be contacted by e-mail: natbartley@earthlink.net
