(NEW LOCATION) Terrain Training for National Events
This training day is intended for those travelling this Spring to Navy Nationals in Florida, US Nationals in Maryland, and Junior Nationals in Ohio. The open woods and spur-reentrant terrain at these national events is best reflected in Washington by our maps in Teanaway!
EDIT: We have changed the location of this training to Frenchman Coulee, due to the remaining snow in Teanaway.
John Brady has designed several training vignettes to boost skills that are relevant to this type of terrain, mainly reading contours and trusting your compass.
COURSES
Course designer(s): John Brady
All participants will do several short training courses throughout the day, with a total estimated distance of 7 km.
These courses are intended for orienteers who have some familiarity with contour reading and compass bearings. Those who are still learning will have hands-on instruction from a trainer.
How are courses measured?
Courses are measured as the crow flies, in a direct line from control to control. Unless you have wings, you will travel farther than this distance! Courses are measured in kilometers, so a good rule of thumb is to simply round up to miles to estimate how far you will go. So in a 5 kilometer race, you’ll likely travel up to 5 miles.
COURSE NOTES
Unlike an orienteering race, a training event is broken into shorter segments of navigation to allow participants to focus on specific skills and practice them in isolation. Between segments, we will spend time explaining each skill and it’s relevance to the terrain you can expect to see at the national competitions.
SCHEDULE
11:00 am: Distance estimation, contour reading, and compass bearing trainings
12:30 pm: Choose-your-own-adventure course
1:00 pm: Break
1:30 pm: Full course
2:30 pm: Control pick-up
Bring water, lunch, raingear, and your compass! No epunch is needed.
PRICES
This training day is free, and we have a larger capacity with our new location. Email cascadeotraining@gmaill.com to reserve a spot.
SIGN UP
Register by emailing cascadeotraining@gmail.com to claim a spot!
LOCATION
PARKING
Carpool if you can! Parking will be in the lot and dispersed campground in the coulee.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the club email group or email the training coordinator and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
Terrain
The terrain is open semi-desert with large coulee/rock/cliff features (lots of climbing activity near by). What little vegetation there is is dominated by sage brush.
The most prevalent symbol on the map – rough open land. Land cover is very rugged – small stones, cliffs, big stones, boulders. Very tiring for the feet and knees.
Warnings
The footing is tricky, there are many high cliffs (the uncrossable cliff symbol is used for dangerous locations where you must not go).
Pits – in lower places which are a bit wetter throughout the year, but not enough to form a pond, meadows can be found. Some parts of the map have been used for livestock and people seem to have tried to get water in some organized shape. Several pits and rocky pits can be found there. Rocky pits can be fallen into. Please don’t do that.
Footing – cliffs with sand are slippery, stones roll, ankles too. Please be careful.
Snakes – there are rattlesnakes from May through about September, depending on weather. While it’s unlikely you’ll see any, be aware that they are out there.
Read more on the map pageSAFETY & ETIQUETTE
Return to the Finish
All participants MUST return to the finish before departing.
Even if you have not finished your course, you must still return to the the finish and confirm with event staff that you have returned safely.
Out of Bounds
Some areas may be marked out of bounds. It is imperative to respect these boundaries to maintain our relationships with land managers. Participants MUST NOT go out of bounds. Any participant caught going out of bounds will be disqualified.
Course Closure
All participants MUST return to the finish by course closure time. If a participant does not return by course closure, event volunteers will begin coordinating a search party.
If you need a long time on the course, start as early in the start window as possible, wear a watch, and be prepared to cut your course short to make it back by the course closure time.
Whistle
All participants MUST carry a whistle on the course. Complimentary whistles are available at the start tent (please only take one).
If you are injured on the course and need assistance, blow three long blasts to call for help.
If you hear a call for help, abandon your course to find the person in distress.
Voices
Part of the fun and fairness of orienteering is navigating your own course, so please be polite when you find a checkpoint and don’t holler that you’ve found it.
