Granite Peak Meet Results

 

It was the night before Granite Peak and all along the Payette

smoke filled the air just as all of the controls were set.

Up on the mountain top as day descended into night

Andy took a photo that made it alright.

Photo credit to Andy Hill who took this photo on Saturday morning.

I know that our sport has the reputation for going forward in daunting weather. I have directed meets in the snow and in triple digit temperatures. Where I draw the line is health and safety. Air quality in Cascade was decidedly unhealthy. I wavered until Friday evening on whether to postpone the meet. The much better air quality on the mountain decided the question. Andy camped there on Friday night and took the photo that illustrates the enormous difference between the air quality in the valley and on Granite Peak.

For me the highlight of the meet was Eloise's breakout performance. In national orienteering competition Eloise at age 14 would compete on an orange course. An orange course design encourages navigation using large features, trails and linear features (streams, fences, etc.). Effective navigation on the Granite Peak Intermediate Map requires contour reading, vegetation reading, and a higher level of topographic awareness. In addition, it is longer and more physically demanding. Her third-place performance against older and more experienced orienteers speaks to her expanding capabilities. Bear in mind that she was alone in truly rugged and wild country. A note about the terrain needs to be emphasized: There is only one road bisecting the map. There are no trails.

David and Alecia brought their friends, Daphne and Will Kemper, to get their first taste of orienteering. Will is a long-time competitive cross-country runner and the North Junior High XC coach. I hope that the distraction of a map and compass on unfamiliar terrain enhanced rather than distracted from the experience.

I am grateful to Kirsten and Pepper (she is a dog that can run like few others) for picking up the southern intermediate controls and to Carol and Peter for taking the long hike to pick up the advanced controls. Carol and Peter did not find Control 10 at its designated boulder. Detectives that they were, they determined that it had been vandalized ( my apologies to U of I alumni for that choice of words ). The investigators did provide accompanying photo of Control 10 along with elk tracks in the dirt. I know I'm presuming guilt in the absence of due process, but I still will not be sympathetic if the coming hunting season does not go well for that elk.

I am also grateful to Andy on two counts. He picked up the northern intermediate controls. Also he critiqued the map. Among his many observations, the bare rock and cliffs should be simplified and the distinct trees should meet some clearly stated standard. As the mapper I know that the designation of distinctive trees wasn't even up to the standard of haphazard. My apologies to those of you who struggled with those trees.

Put our next meet on your calendar. On Saturday, September 27 Sergey will direct a meet on a the new Idaho City Southwest Map. Check out his extensive mapper's notes on Meetup.com.

Also anyone inspired to compete at the top levels should consider the Orienteering National Championship Meet in the Boston area October 11-13.

John Murray

Meet Director

Bear Basin West Score - O

RESULTS:

 1 Hour                       Time             Points     Penalty     Total Points

John M.                       52:42.             110           0.           110

Bob D.                         1:04.               80.           -20.            60

2 Hour                        Time              Points     Penalty       Total Points 

Sergey V.  (2nd course)  1:08               310            0                310

Ted S.                             2:00               300            0                300

Andy H.                         1:56                250            0               250

Brad W.                          2:32              310.          -160.           150

Leslie P. & John S.         2:00.              140.           0.               140

Elijah H.                         1:50.              130.            0.              130            

Isabella M. (W/ Sergey)   1:23            100             0                100

Competitors were eager to get started on the challenging Score-O course with 17 controls scattered over the western Bear Basin area NW of McCall.  Participants could choose which controls that they would try for over a one hour or two hour time limit with harder controls worth more points.  Sergey brought his grand daughter Isabella to try orienteering and they got 100 points after an hour and a half tutorial in the tricky woods.   Sergey then went out and cleaned the clock on all controls in a blistering time of 1:06.  VCSAR leadership member Brad W. was determined to get all the controls despite ending up overtime and suffering a large overtime penalty.   After a late start Ted S. visited all the control locations but was unable to find one of the trickier controls, then was nice enough to ride his bike on the extensive bike trails to pick up some of the more remote controls.  Thank you Ted!! John M. and Bob went for a shorter outing and found most of the closer in markers.  Andy, Leslie, John S. and Elijah all had good outings also.

My Strava recorded 10 km. when I checked the control locations which I visited in numerical order, straight line course would’ve been 7.3 km.  I believe the folks who went for all controls did a similar route. After some fiddling in OCAD I think I came up with the shortest route which is shown as the third pic at 6.9km.

For upcoming meets please make sure to change your RSVP to “Not Going” if you change your mind about attending to prevent printing too many extra maps.  

Due to some shuffling around of meet dates the next meet is not until late August at Hazard Meadows.  Thanks to all who came!  - Karin D.

 

Mea Culpa for an Almost Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Meet

 

Click to expand and see the snowflakes.

That's almost, but not quite a bad meet. A brief history of the troubled orienteering meet at Whoop Um Up:

In June of 2024 I expanded the map across Highway 21 to the west and northwest and scheduled a meet for July. Smoke from forest fires caused 2 postponements. (Maybe more, I lost track) A case of Covid caused an other postponement. I finally gave up on 2024 and rescheduled for June 7, 2025, which I rescheduled to June 21 for personal reasons.

Even on Friday evening with a forecast of overnight rain, wind, and potentially more rain during the day it seemed that Whoop 2025 was fated to be a disappointment. By 10 o'clock in the morning
the tide had turned. The vegetation was wet threatening some discomfort, but fully within the tolerance of orienteers. And, importantly, Andy Hill had helped me correct some design flaws in the courses. So, after many delays this meet actually happened, and it happened with some good weather as the adjacent photo of Peter Auman attests and some good results.

And it happened in spite of some inexcusable errors in the map that confused and delayed orienteers. A very confusing trail near the start appeared on the map, but did not exist on the ground. Nearby a recently constructed bridge was missing from the map. One two-track appeared as a trail. On the Advanced Course I misplaced a control on a boulder cluster on the east side of a spur instead of on a cliff on the west side. Those errors are just some of the causes of my mea culpa.

If I had been orienteering on this map, I believe I would have been confused and grouchy. Maybe I've just reached the curmudgeon stage of life. Nevertheless, I was surprised that Saturday's orienteers returned to the finish with smiles on their faces and seemed generally to have enjoyed themselves. I know most of these people to be kind and gracious. That's one explanation for the smiles. Another incident sheds some light on their character. One control had been placed on a root stock well off a trail where I believed it was safe from disturbance by passersby. Several orienteers spent as much as 20 minutes searching for it after a nearby camper removed it. I believe it was Peter Friedewald who ran down the camper and recovered the control to its proper location.

Peter, his wife Ruth, and notably their daughter Edie navigated the Sport Course. Edie took her compass in hand and turned in a winning time. What a great way to begin the sport of orienteering. Any time Sergey Velichko is absent from a meet, he is missed in large part because he sets the standard on the Advanced Course. The particular reason Sergey was missed is because after completing the Sport Course Peter ran the Advanced Course in an impressive 1:15:51. I wish we had Sergey's standard for comparison.

As interesting as the results might be, they should be considered in light of the map deficiencies noted above and the purloined/replaced control. That control penalized early starts Kirsten and Andy. Kirsten, for example, estimated she lost as much as 20 minutes searching for the missing control. As noted above, it wasn't until Peter Friedewald came along later that early orienteers got back on track. Also, there was a control numbering error that might have affected some, but not others.

Special thanks to Andy Hill for setting some missing controls as well as helping with pickup. Peter Auman, David Murray, and Liam Murray also helped with pickup. Their help relieved me of returning another day to clean up. Photos courtesy of Andy and Kirsten.

Andy and Peter Aumann Approaching a Control

The next meet is Sunday, June 29 at Bear Basin in McCall directed by Karin Didisse on national championship terrain. I hope to see you there.

John Murray

Meet Director

22nd Rabbit Creek - 2025 Wrap up

 Well, another windy day has come and gone for orienteering at the lovely Rabbit Creek Ranch. The rain kindly stayed away for participants, and it was only slight wet for me the day before while course setting. The wind made it a bit cool for picnicing (should have expected that after last year), but I didn't hear of anyone blaming the wind for being blown off course. 

By the time I was finished setting the course, I felt like I might have made it too easy and based on the tight grouping at the top of the advanced course, maybe I did. There are still improvements to be made on the map, but I'm glad it was a good adventure for everyone. I had fun continuing to explore the area.

Thank you to Karen for being the first on the course, making sure control 44 didn't blow away, and for picking up a few controls at the end. Thank you to Ted for picking up the further out controls. Thank you to John for the company spending a day just wandering around the hills with me field checking, even when I didn't really have a plan. Huge thanks for our host Bill, for provding a lovely setting for the 22 years at Rabbit Creek and pizza. Thank you everyone for coming from near and far and for sharing  snacks and good conversation!

Unfortunately I must have scared off the wild horses as I drove in and set one last control in the morning, as they had been standing in the middle of the road when I first arrive.

  

Hope to see you June 21 outside of Idaho City for Whoop 'em Up and or in the McCall area June 29th for a Bear Basin Score-O.

 ~ Kirsten 

April 19, Albertson and Morrison Parks Spring Meet

Nice sunny spring weather was perfect for the orienteering courses set around Albertson and Morrison parks past Saturday.
We had 29 brave souls trying new areas added to our Greenbelt maps.

Here are course results:
Advanced (2) 6.7 km 50 m 26 C
1 Ted Smith 55:48
2 Brian-Christy-Sc Wyldrop-Morris 3:10:37

Sport (3) 4.4 km 50 m 16 C
1 Carol Baumbauer 51:25
2 Ken Fugate 1:06:07
3 Britini-Keth Gates 1:07:49

Intermediate (11) 4.7 km 50 m 21 C
1 Kirsten Severud 57:55
2 Aaron Dasset 1:07:33
3 Peter Aumann 1:07:51
4 Kelly-Jeff Harvey 1:25:10
5 Leslie-John Perez 1:38:01
6 Jerry Haack 1:38:16
7 John Murray 1:42:42
8 Carrie-Vicki Magnuson 1:53:03
9 Joe-Cassie Swan 2:04:33

Peter Friedewald mp (honorable 55:49)
Heather-Tavi-Mat Kohn-Steele dnf

Beginner (3) 1.8 km 7 C
1 Edith Friedewald 26:50
2 Kala Riddle 56:33

Path Bryant dnf

All split time are posted, follow this Winsplits link. See where you may have lost time and how well you did in comparison to best times.

Our next meet is May 18th with traditional Rabbit-O in Owyhees! Potlack after the finish. Hope to see you all enjoying outdoors!

Cheers,
Sergey

Fort Boise Street Challenge Meet Write Up

Fort Boise Street Challenge Meet Write Up

Thank you to all who joined CTOC on Saturday March 22 for the Fort Boise Meet.  We had a great group of 30+ new and seasoned orienteers choose their own adventures on this sprint version of a Street Challenge.  Though the weather gave us a true taste of Boise spring (rain, wind, sunshine), my History major heart was especially happy when Leslie shared, that as a native Boisean, even she learned something new when consulting a control location's plaque.  It was a pleasure to host you all and I encourage everyone to learn more about the great sport of Orienteering and join as a Meet Director to see the magic that happens behind the curtain.

Shout outs for this meet from me personally go to: 

Sergey for his perennial assistance and patience on finalizing map details.  Thank you for your attention to detail and ability to teach us all more.

Our local Scout troop youth and adults who braved the rain and successfully found all 20 controls and then helped load up the meet gear into my car.  They were handsomely rewarded with cookies and donut holes.

Ted S. for his help securing the pop up tent as the wind decided to pick up after biking to the meet start and literally sprinting the entire course.

My brother and nephew (Jon and Tev) who were visiting from East Tennessee and put in an excellent showing for their first O Meet by coming in 3rd overall. Way to do the Magnuson family proud my boys.  They were rewarded with slow cooked pulled pork.

Melanie W. as this is her "last" meet with CTOC before she moves to the Moab area.  I have been so lucky to get to learn from her and enjoy the company of her entire family (including sweet Penny) over the years.  We all celebrate your massive contributions to the sport and our club.

Below are the results from the meet:

Name	Start	Finish	Total Time	Controls	Place
Ted S.	11:30	11:58.50	28.50	20	1
Sergy V.	10:00	10:38.43	38.43	20	2
Jon and Tev M.	10:11	10:56.58	45.58	20	3
Melanie W.	10:27	11:20.45	53.45	20	4
Doug L.	11:06	12:00.50	54.50	20	5
Britni and Keith	10:38	11:51.55	1:13.55	20	6
Bill L.	10:06	11:20:18	1:14.18	20	7
Jeff and Kelly	10:44	12:00.00	1:16.00	20	8
John and Leslie	10:30	11:48.00	1:18.00	20	9
William and Tim M.	9:40	10:58.22	1:18.22	20	10
John H.	10:02	11:26.00	1:24.00	20	11
Cassandra and Joe S.	10:16	11:45.30	1:29.30	20	12
Will Shecterly	10:13	11:43.45	1:30.45	20	13
Christy and Scott	10:09	11:49.00	1:40.00	20	14
Team Better	10:26	12:16.50	1:50.50	20	15
D Team	10:26	12:18.50	1:52.50	20	16
Masha	10:04	10:31.42	27.42	15	17
Ryan, Samantha, Stryder, Athena R.	9:59	11:10.45	1:11.45	5	18

Our next meet will be held on Saturday April 19 in the Kathryn Albertson and Ann Morrison Park areas.  See Meetup for meet details and RSVP instructions.  

Staring in May, CTOC events will start to migrate out of town to some of Idaho's beautiful and diverse landscape with our annual Rabbit Creek Meet and Potluck near Murphy, Idaho.

Hope to see you all at a meet soon!

February Meet at Esther Simplot

Despite the cold and snowy conditions at Esther Simplot Park last Sunday, we were thrilled to see both newcomers and seasoned orienteers join us for our very first meet as meet directors. We couldn't have asked for a better turnout in such wintry conditions. Luckily, the temperatures were just cold enough to keep the snow from turning into slush and rain. 

We received some great feedback on our maps that spanned 3 parks and even a Taco Bell! 

A quick shoutout to all the newcomers who joined us, including Toby, the fastest dog on the beginner course! 

A huge thank you to everyone who braved the winter weather to participate! We appreciate the support and enthusiasm—it made our first hosting experience a great one. Looking forward to seeing you all at the next meet, and we can't wait to host another one in the future!

Here are the results:

Beginner:

Paul & Jasper Bolick                    0:17

John Hill                                       0:19

Aaron & Asher                              0:21

Jane & Marvin Sparrell                0:30

Sport:

Cynthia Gibson & Lori Porecca        0:59

Chrissy & Andy Hoobing                  1:03

David Byrd                                        1:05

Marcella Mink                                   1:06

Intermediate:

Peter Aummann                           0:56

Kirsten Severud                           1:03

Carol Baumbauer                         1:17

Alecia Murray                              1:18

Samuel Murray                            1:55  

Joe & Cassie                                1:59

Christy & Scott                            2:07

Darla Rhude & Kim Tsude          DNF

Advanced

Ted Smith                                1:03

David Murray                          1:22

Doug Lemmot                         1:43          

                   

December meet in Ann Morrison park

We luckily sqeezed between morning and late afternoon rains this past Saturday for an outing in Ann Morrison park!
Happy smiles, fun courses, and some sweet rewards - this is the most rewarding experience for a meet director and all particpiants.
Definitely those control clue sheets are usful in urban orienteering :) I was happy to see few families with kids braving the terrain and parl corners.

Here are results:

Beginner (4) 2.4 km 8 C
Pl Name Time
1 Carol Baumbauer 26:51
2 James-Asker-Sand Beattie 38:28
3 Jerry Haack 40:44
4 Sara+3Ms Reed 1:00:50

Advanced (3) 8.2 km 25 C
Pl Name Time
1 Ted Smith 1:01:10
2 Dustin Thomas 1:04:10
3 Bill Leahy + daughter 1:32:16

Sport (3) 5.1 km 12 C
Pl Name Time
1 Peter Aumann 46:34
2 Carol Baumbauer 1:04:43

Kim-Roy Tsuda-Rhude mp (not in order)

Intermediate (9) 4.9 km 14 C
Pl Name Time
1 Hella Beattie 41:01
2 Eric Thomson 46:12
3 Scott Gilmore 48:45
4 Kirsten Severud 53:51
5 John Murray 1:09:39
6 Heidi Thomas 1:14:51
7 Cristy Morris 1:41:10
8 Jim+Cynthia Birne 1:48:10
9 Donna Pitzer 1:59:56

Split times, WinSplits Online.
As I mentioned during the meet one control (#35) was not synchronized and its clock was +1 hour. Subtrtact one hour from its time to get this control split.

We are defining next year event schedule, see at the right. Expect monthly meets in and out of Boise.

Let me know if I may misspelled your name so I may correct. Hope to see you all at our meets!

Cheers,
Sergey

Lucky Peak Untouched by Fire

We had a good crowd and a windy but beautiful orienteering day out at Lucky Peak on Sunday Oct. 22. It was fun to see a lot of newcomers along with oldtimers. My apologies for putting a big hill at the end of the Intermediate Course, but those who are complaining should know that the Advanced course had that hill at the beginning plus another big hill at the end. 

I enjoyed the solitude and distraction of setting courses on Saturday, which was even more lovely than Sunday. Nothing clears my head like a day of setting orienteering controls. 

Here are the results! There were a couple of interesting tight races. I hope everyone survived the cheat grass in their shoes and socks. 

Beginner

    Rachel and family         0:49

Sport

    John Murray                   1:23

    Isabella Mcdonough       1:24

    Elizabeth and family      2:00    

    Michael Hoag                 2:01

Intermediate

    Kirsten Severud            1:06

    Helle Beattie                 1:40

    Scott C                          1:42

    Ted Smith                     1:43

    Clint Thomson              1:51

    Christy & Scott             3:32

    Donna Pitzer                 DNF

    Bingo C                        DNF

    David Byrd                   DNF

Advanced

    Liam Murray                1:26

Thanks to Innes and Kirsten for helping me pick up controls. I look forward to seeing you all again at Julia Davis in December, if not sooner.

Sincerely,

Melanie

Gold Rush for Real Gold

I don't know if anyone noticed that there was real gold under foot of all who came to Gold Rush South meet this past Sunday. One of the controls was even set near active gold mine!
Very tough and chanllenging courses were set on the gold hills near Idaho City, with plenty of hard running up and down. I think in places it was spectacular!

Results:
Intermediate (6) 4.0 km 14 C
Pl Name YB Club Cl. Time
1 Kirsten Severud Int 2:07:49
2 Andy Hill Int 2:38:46
3 Innes Wright Int 3:11:32
4 Melanie Wright Int 3:12:04

Elijah Hill Int mp
John Murray Int dnf

Beginner (3) 1.8 km 7 C
Pl Stno Name YB Club Cl. Time
1 Scott Gilmore Begi 22:56
2 Wes Tischler Begi 32:45

Cynthia Standley Begi mp

Sport (3) 4.0 km 14 C
Pl Stno Name YB Club Cl. Time
1 Wes Tischler Sport 1:48:47

Scott Gilmore Sport mp
Christy Morris Sport dnf

Splits are posted on Winsplits.

Hope to see you all engoying courses at the Lucky Peak meet October 20th!

Cheers,
Sergey