April 26, 2015

Hopping into Rabbit Creek

2015 marks the 12th year of orienteering meets at Rabbit Creek!  While we are still enjoying the hospitality of Bill Pilcher on the ranch, this year brings a change in meet director (Jeff) so that Bill can finally run his own map - or photograph some orienteers on the course live.  Be prepared in your best O garb and a good layer of Owyhee dust.
Spring flowers at your feet.

Four levels of classic will be offered:
  White (Beginner) - 0.6km, 0m climb, 5 controls.  A short course right around the house for families or those just getting acquainted with orienteering.
  Yellow (Advanced Beginner) - 1.5km, 60m climb, 8 controls.  A little larger loop to see topography and some distinct map features with the house in sight.
  Intermediate - 5km, 355m climb, 13 controls.  A medium distance loop that takes a serious sightseeing tour of boulders and cliffs, requiring your full map reading attention.
  Advanced - 8.6km, 475m climb, 18 controls.  A large loop with a full complement of technical controls and long legs.

Given the variety of courses, the impossibility of printing maps anywhere near the area, and the desire to minimize waste, please RSVP to me no later than Thursday April 30th with your name and intended course choice (and if you want an extra map or two for a larger group.)  My email is jeffwrites AT gmail DOT com.  If you decide to show up impromptu, I expect to have a few blanks on hand and you will get to copy your course the old school way.
Friendly face in a reentrant.

This is the edge of the remote Owyhees with wild horses (and a few ATV's), a strong contrast to our last few urban meets, so come prepared to handle the terrain and weather for early May:

  • your compass of choice, baseplate or thumb compass works best for orienteering.
  • sturdy shoes for off trail navigation.
  • pants and/or gaitors for the high desert - cheatgrass and sage being the most common.  Some barbed wire fence hopping or crawling required for the intermediate and advanced courses.  (Maybe one on the yellow.)
  • hat and sunscreen as you need.
  • water and food for up to 3 hours in the desert sun.  A water control is included halfway on the advanced course.
  • whistle and cell phone for emergencies.  Cell phone coverage is not assured everywhere.

Keep in mind rattlesnakes are starting to get out at this time of year.  Please pay attention in boulder areas and keep your ears open!  At the moment control placements look clear but I have not had a chance to vet all locations in advance.

If you have any interest in birds, the ranch is an amazing place full of orioles, kingbirds, hummingbirds, buntings, and birds of prey.  Bring your binoculars to see them up close.

The usual details:
 Date:  Sunday, May 3
 Location:  Rabbit Creek, Murphy, ID (driving directions below)
 Start times:  9:30am to 11:00am
 Time limit:  ~3 hours (all courses close at 2pm)
 Cost:  $10 per person/team, $5 for a single junior, free to CTOC members (more info here)
 Lunch:  no major meal planned this year, but will have some snacks afterward.

Driving directions:
From Boise take I-84 west to Nampa (exit #35). Turn Left and proceed to 3rd Street S (Caldwell Blvd). Turn Left on 3rd Street S (Caldwell Blvd) and proceed to 12th Ave. Turn Right on 12th Ave. Follow 12th Ave. south and it becomes Hwy 45 as it leaves Nampa city limits. Follow Hwy 45 across the Snake River. Soon after crossing the river, bear to the left and it becomes Hwy 78. Follow Hwy 78 to milepost 29. Immediately after passing the "Murphy" city limits sign turn to the Right on "Old Hwy 45" follow this for one block then continue straight and it becomes " Rabbit Creek Road". Follow Rabbit Creek Road for about 5 1/2 miles to J & S Road there is a lone mailbox. Turn Left on J&S Road and follow this road approximately 1 1/2 miles to the house and sign in area.
Unique rock features, canyons, and mountains beckon.
See you soon at Rabbit Creek!

April 20, 2015

Riverstone Score-O Summary & Results

First of all, thanks to the 35+ who headed out east to last weekend's Score-O! at Riverstone.  "The more the merrier" was an apt theme of the day.   While the Shakespeare parking lot was shuttling people up to the Robie Creek finish, the real fun was being had down in the valley...

A few notables from the day's activities:

  • Perfect weather.
  • First-time CTOCers Audrey Thomson, the Bied Family, the Koenig Family, and Boy Scout Troop #104.  We hope to see more of you all in the future!
  • Blurring Lines between Youth and Experience!
    • 6 participants visited all 24 controls....2 of them, Brian and Levi, were juniors! 
    • Other juniors Regan, Owen, Beatrice, Alden, Amelia, Nikolai, and Alexi all scored over 300 points, mixing it up with stalwarts John Murray, Emily Morgan and Melanie Wright.
    • Congratulations to young Audrey Thomson who tackled the course on her own!
    • Jordan and Derek topped their dad Mark by 60 points.
    • On the flip side of the coin, "The Snails" (mom and dad Milstein) executed their slow and steady strategy to perfection to out-pace their son/daughter team of Ben and Rimone.
  • It was tight at the top!  Right on Sergey "Pace-setter" Velichko's heels were Michael Bading (+2min) and Levi Schmitt (+5min).   
  • Great work by Riverstone students Brian, Levi, Natalie, Becca and Regan, who helped with setting, run registration/start/finish/scoring and course take-down.
  • Thanks also to Jeff Black who reliably toted his camera with him, at the expense of speed (but not too much speed), to document the action.  Here is a link to Jeff's photos on the CTOC Yahoo Group site. (Make sure to subscribe to the CTOC Yahoo Group if you haven't already!)
Next up, a Jeff Black special at Rabbit Creek on Sunday May 3.  Make sure to brush up on your contour line reading!  See you all next month!


And now, without further ado....

Overall Riverstone Score-O! Results 
Name
Start
Finish
Elapsed
Score
Place
Sergey Velichko
10:57
11:38:08
41m 8s
500
1
Michael Bading
12:41
13:24:24
43m 24s
500
2
Levi Schmitt
11:55
12:41:23
46m 23s
500
3
Brian Bohme
11:58
12:52:40
54m 40s
500
4
Jeff Black
12:02
12:58
56m 18s
500
5
Jay Morgan
11:34
12:32:18
58m 18s
500
6
Regan Zhang
12:13
13:06:46
53m 46s
470
7
Owen Zhang Beatrice Tornaghi
12:00
12:56:36
56m 36s
460
8
John Murray
11:31
12:31
1h
430
9
Greg, Alden and Amelia Koenig
11:30
12:36:08
56m 8s
340
11
Emily, Nikolai and Alexi Morgan
11:32
12:31:14
59m 19s
330
12
Melanie Wright
11:45
12:42:26
57m 26s
Corrected - 350
10
Jordan and Derek Liebich
11:05
12:05:00
1h
260
13
Mark Liebich
11:14
12:11:46
57m 46s
200
14
Gregory and Preston Bied
12:02
13:00:13
58m 13s
170
15
The Snails
12:13
13:10:27
57m 27s
160
16
Lewis & Clark Spartans
12:01 PM
12:54:24
53m 24s
140
17
Audrey Thomson
11:12
12:06:00
54m
120
18
Ben and Rimone Milstein
12:16
13:14:03
58m 3s
120
19
The Warriors
12:01 PM
12:52:30
51m 30s
110
20

April 14, 2015

Not Running Robie? Time for a CTOC Score-O!

With a few classic-style events under our belt for 2015 (and many more during 2014!), this month's CTOC adventure will mix the legs up with a score course on the Riverstone Map.

The 1:5000 map will feature 25 controls which can be visited in any order.  The more technical / distant controls will be worth 30 points.  Easier / closer controls will be worth 10 points.  There will be a slew of controls in the middle worth 20 points.  The catch?  You only have 1hr to get as many points as possible; after 1hr, point penalties are applied to your score for every minute that you're late.  Strategies?  Will you go for as many of the easy / close controls as you can, or will you spend the extra time to get the valuable but more difficult / distant controls?  The most points wins!

Date:  Saturday, April 18
Time:  Registration opens 10:30am.  Courses open for starts between 11:00am and 1:00pm.  Course closes at 2:00pm.
Start/Finish LocationRiverstone International School Gymnasium.  Riverstone is located at 5521 Warm Springs Ave.  The Gymnasium is best accessed via Lysted Rd, West of the campus.  Look for the CTOC Orienteering signs!
Cost:  Juniors - $5, Adults - $10, CTOC members - Free.

What to bring:  Athletic clothing/shoes appropriate for the weather (which should be beautiful!), water as needed while on the course, cell phone for emergencies, compass to keep your map oriented (we have some for rental at nominal $1 fee).  
**Bonus Points will be awarded as tie-breakers for anyone who brings a first-time orienteerer!

Misc
Riverstone students will be on hand to provide instruction to first-timers!  
Snacks provided for after-event calorie replenishment!

April 2, 2015

March Meet in Julia Davis-BSU-Ann Morrison Results

Thank you all who came and hopefully enjoyed courses!

 








Photos are courtesy of Jeff Black and Sergey Velichko.

RESULTS

Beginner: 1.6K, 6 controls
Ben and Joella Howard         13:17
Katrina and Melanie Wright 20:04

Intermediate: 4K, 13 controls
Bea, Tan, and Dado 30:39
Natalie Pusch           52:01
Alyssa and Bella      79:53

Advanced: 8.5K, 22 controls
Michael Bading       52:45
Jeff Black                58:45
Melanie Schuster    65:01
John Murray           70:40

Hope to see you all at our next meet Saturday April 18 at Riverstone!

Yours,
Sergey Velichko