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

Ponderosa Park Results

We lucked out with a very nice day at the park, somewhat humid, rather mosquito-ey, with a rain shower thrown in, but mild temperature and verdant green woods. The picnic shelter with nearby beach and amenities was a great place for the meet center with access to the center of the peninsula for the courses. The forest is rather dense at the park with some areas that have been cleared of brush in recent logging which left quite a bit of deadfall but good visibility. The courses were very challenging with a definite higher level of difficulty than usual for the advanced course. Some of our local search and rescue unit members joined in with CTOC regulars to try the courses. The Ford family was first to return with a great time through the intermediate course. When Bill Leahy came in he expressed that he was grateful for the rain shower which cooled him down and cut the humidity, spurring him on to victory. All the participants gave the courses a good effort but several at some point found a control that just was a bit too tough and called it a day. 

Thanks to all who came out and especially Ted, Andy, and Ole for control pick up. Ted was happy to find the control that had been his nemesis on the course during control pick up, after receiving some helpful coaching from VCSAR member Brad. Andy went out to claim some of the controls he had missed earlier and was nearly foiled by a mama deer who was apparently blocking his view of one of the controls while defending her fawn from the human intruder. Additional thanks to Andy and Bill for the pictures.

Advanced 6.3 km 

Bill Leahy 2:17 

Brad Wenger 2:47 

Ole Bergset 2:52 

Ted Smith DNF 

Andy Hill DNF 

Intermediate 4.7 km 

Ford family (3) 1:23 

John Murray 1:51 

Bill Pilcher 2:37 

Jerry Stewart 3:20 

Bill Colpo DNF 

Cliff Steele DNF 

Novice – no takers

Deer hiding control 11 Advanced, shallow depression

Bill's dog Birdie helping at 9 intermediate

Morels

Intermediate

Advanced

Karin Didisse, Meet Director

The Winds a Blowin’ at Rabbit Creek

 

Large group of Wild Horses

While it was a beautiful day, the winds made their presence known. The weather made for great conditions on the course, but a little brisk for hanging out for the delicious potluck afterwards. Thank you to everyone that brought items to share.

Many of our 20 some orienteers said they enjoyed the runnability of the day’s maps. New LiDAR data let us expand the map into areas further north into some beautiful and runnable country. John and I spent a day in the field, but additional field work would be helpful to bring the map up to standards. (If anyone wants to really wander aimlessly, you might be able to help with map updates. Future note – do not do GPS dependent field work during a Geomagnetic Storm  - it may lead to inaccuracies in the data.)

There were a few wildlife sightings, but luckily no close calls. Snakes were seen, as were the wild horses known to roam the Owyhees. The wildflowers where going strong, although they had faded a little since the week before.

 Advanced (6.26 km)

1	Sergy	9:49	10:49:30	1:00:30
2	Bill	9:50	11:16	1:26
3	Belén	10:15	11:43	1:28
4	Ted	10:52	12:24	1:32
5	Alecia	10:20	12:08	1:48
6	Samuel	10:25	12:55	2:30

Rayless Shaggy Fleabane

I was going to give Sergy a minute off his time for moving a control to what he perceived as the correct location, but on picking up controls, I disagreed with his placement (control #2 on INT and ADV), as did at least one other orienteer. However, that still gives him the winning time on the advanced course. Nice to have a few new names showing up on the advanced source list. 

 Intermediate (3.97 km)

Torin, Angela, & Jackson	9:47	10:53	1:06
Karin	10:50	12:03	1:13
John M	10:23	11:46	1:23
Eloise (& David)	10:30	12:06	1:36
John & Leslie	9:54	12:08	2:14
Christy & Scott	9:41	12:10	2:29
Jerry	9:51	12:35	2:44
Cat & Becky	9:53	12:24	DNF

Shaggy Fleabane

There was a great showing on the intermediate course as well with many experienced orienteers reporting successes on the course.

 

Sport  (2.01 km)

Royal Beardtongue (Penstemon)

Alex & kids	9:39	10:43	1:04
Nicolas & Mone	10:08	10:42	0:34	Out of Order
Emilie & Anton	10:11	11:24	1:13	Out of Order

 It was great to have some young ones out and they all seemed up for the challenge of a 2km sport course. 

Alex and kids joined us from Cascade Orienteering again! Nicolas, Emilie, Mone, & Anton joined us on their second orienteering adventure and first out of town event.

Thank you to John for his work on the map and help with course design– despite some misunderstandings during map creation. Thank you to Ted, John, and the Ford family for helping to pick up controls! Thank you to a number of experienced oreinteers for feedback on the map design.

Orienteers coming into the finish

Thank you to Bill and Dee for their wonderful hospitality and raspberry pie! What a beautiful corner of the world!

Sunset over the Owyhees

Eagle Rock O Meet - April 2024

It was a lovely spring day in Boise and the flowers were starting to show off at our Eagle Rock (formerly know as Old Pen) Meet on April 20th.  We had a great mix of veterans and new orienteers join us for a good leg stretch and the first real elevation of the season. 

The Eagle Rock map was first developed by John and used in April 2021 by Christy, so the return to the map was a welcome addition to the line up for an early Spring meet.  Thankfully the Idaho weather cooperated and we were in store for a healthy dose of sunshine, creating favorable conditions on the many trails that have received considerable rehab and special consideration for usage post Tablerock fire and subsequent damage via erosion.  The sunshine also contributed to the special orienteering tradition of hanging out at the finish line consulting others on their route choices and refining the craft.  With our next meet at the Rabbit Creek venue (including potluck), this was a small dose of the wonderful conversations that will be had amongst new and old friends - ranging from "Those kids can sure run fast these days" to "That was where I missed a turn" to "How does a lawyer from Vermont end up in Boise??"  

Thank you to our 30+ orienteers for their enthusiastic participation!  Make sure to check out the Meetup App group for City of Trees Orienteering Club for our upcoming meets.  There are going to be several new maps to enjoy over the summer, courtesy of Sergey and John's hard work, plus the fan favorites (such as our next meet on May 19th @ Rabbit Creek in the Owyhees). 

Special shout outs to: 

John Murray for his patient assistance in map updates and teaching me to finer points of OCAD usage. 

Derek Duval for his wonderful support in picking up the highest elevation controls after these tired feet and brain were ready for a cold beverage.

Vicki Dodd for her willingness to be a hiking companion during the map scouting process and helping me set out controls at 7am on a chilly spring Saturday.

Below are the finishing placements for the event:

15 controls completed

Ted Smith @ :37

Torin/Angela @ :52 (and might I add, they beat the teens they drove there!)

Derek Duval @ :56

Clint/Cooper @ :57

John Murray @ :59

Hugh/Jackson @ 1:01 (a fun ride home with your folks while they reveled in their win I am sure - get 'em next time!)

Kirsten Severud @ 1:02

Dave Byrd @ 1:14

Les Zebres @ 1:15

Dustin/Heidi @ 1:16

The Falcons @ 1:20

Leslie/John @ 1:30

Christy/Scott @ 1:35

The Squirrels @ 1:45

Cat/Brytney @ 1:51

John/Jan/Barb @ 2:03 (gave you the 15th control because you were so thoughtful to try and stay under 2 hour time limit to accommodate my busy schedule!)

Les Tortues @ 2:21 (gave you the 15th control as I picked up a hair too early - apologizes!)

12 controls completed

Donna Pitzer @ 1:50

6 controls completed

Jen/Ayla @ 1:30

2 controls completed (because I made her find her car via the O-Meet map after hiking Tablerock and taking the time to come say hello to me)

Crista Murray @:08

Sunny Day in Julia Davis park

Some took it in extremely festive way

Some took it on a more serious note

In any case lots of sun and lots of smiles this past Saturday in Julia Davis park. "Fun course" was most heard remark. And orienteering could be FUN! Meet results below.

Advanced (4) 6.8 km 0 m 24 C

1 Ted Smith 44:16
2 Derek Duval 58:06
3 Cat Stauffer 1:49:01
4 Cristy and Scott Morris 2:22:23

Beginner (2) 1.5 km 0 m 8 C

1 Team Reed 39:01
2 Oscar and Co Adventurer 39:20

Intermediate (11) 4.4 km 0 m 16 C

1 Belen Hoobing 38:55
2 Eli Arambarri 43:13
3 Torn Angela Ford 43:52
4 Clint Thompson 44:43
5 Dave Byrd 49:03
6 John Arambarri 51:28
7 Jackson Ford 52:54
8 Eloise Hoobing 1:07:17
9 Andy Hoobing 1:07:28
10 John Siebold 1:14:57

John Murray mp (44:47)

Sport (1) 3.6 km 0 m 16 C

1 Marcella Mimk 1:16:24

Split times could be accessed in Winsplits. Look how you did against best on the course.

Many thanks to my co-director Pete for gracefully handling meet setup and registration and to Derek for helping to collect controls after the meet.

See you all enjoying outdoors next month at the Eagle Rock park near Old Penitentiary!

Yours,
Sergey

Veteran's Memorial Park and Willow Lane

Barb, Rhonda, and Jan with a couple of great sniffers.

Easy peasy. For all you future CTOC meet directors (yes, we need you), once you've directed a meet at the same venue 2 or 3 times, with great helpers, it gets easy. So it was for me on Sunday Feb 8, for this pre-superbowl, 'participate don't spectate', event. And if it's the first one or two holding you back from volunteering -- there are many of us who'd love to show you the ropes. Helping with even just one meet is greatly appreciated!  

Thanks so much to Sergey for jumping in on the unexpected greenbelt closures and delivering a newly updated map to my email inbox just as I was designing courses. Thanks to Innes for making the morning control setting and pickup easy and for being darn good company. Thanks to the forces of weather for providing us with mostly dry ground and dry skies. 

A little bit of sun brightened the later morning.

We had only one hicccough when someone decided they needed to "clean up" a control (complete with electronic punch and a sticker that clearly labeled it's reason for being there) mid-event, so a good portion of people heading for #9 on the Vets loop arrived with nothing to find. Some moved on quickly while others spent time looking. Innes, again, to the rescue, scouted the area and found the control, e-punch still attached, residing in a nearby trash can and re-set it for those who were still out. 

We were happy to see a few new-to-orienteering or new-to-Boise folks. If anyone is comparing themselves in the times below to CTOC veterans, know that competitive orienteering involves navigating in UNKNOWN terrain. Don't be intimidated by top runners who have competed on these maps multiple times. They still have to quickly choose their routes, but they have a distinct advantage of recalling key passages, landmarks, and parallel bridges that extend to separate land masses. If you were fortunate enough to be exploring these places for the first time, count yourself lucky! 

Beginner Course         1.2km

    1   Julynn and Quinn Dillard            1:06:04

Vets Loop                    2.5 km  10 C

Kirsten also with a hound friend

    1     Sergey Velichko                          17:25 
    2     Dustin Thomas                            21:47 
    3     William Leach                             23:52 
    4     Hugh & Jackson Ford                 26:07 
    5     Angela & Torin Ford                   28:09 
    6     Jason Russell                          31:56 
    7     Heidi Thomas                          34:12 
    8     Michail F                              39:32 
    9     David Byrd                            40:02 
   10    Carrie Magnusson                        41:16 
   11    Heather & Matt Steele                 41:56 
   12    Barb Rhonda Jan Recla             1:13:31 

Willow Lane Loop     3.2 km  13 C 
    1    Sergey Velichko                        22:09 
    2    William Leach                          31:26 
    3    Dustin Thomas                          33:10 
    4    Angela & Torrin Ford             39:25 
    5    John Murray                          41:18 
    6    Hugh & Jackson Ford           47:33 
    7    Heidi Thomas                          51:55 
    8    Jason Russell                          52:34 
    9    John Siebold                             1:05:58 
   10   Christy Morris                           1:24:03 
   11   Kevin & Steve McDowell         1:33:39 
   12   Kirsten Severud                            mp 

Combined
    1    Sergey Velichko                    39:34
    2    Dustin Thomas                             54:57
    3    William Leach          55:18
    4    Angela & Torrin Ford                 1:07:34
    5    Hugh & Jackson Ford       1:13:40
    6    Jason Russell                              1:24:30
    7    Heidi Thomas                             1:26:07

It was fantastic seeing all of you. I'm looking forward to seeing you at more events as the warmer weather makes it's way to Boise!

The Ford crowd made the most of both loops!

Eagle Island Meet

It was a relatively warm day for January, warm enough to have just a little intermittent light rain instead of snowfall. The significant weather was not what occurred on Saturday. It was what had happened in the week before. Some weather alarmists called it Snowmageddon 2.0, a foot of snow and low temperatures approaching zero. As difficult as the week's weather was, I believe Snowmageddon is a little hyperbolic. The real weather story of this meet was the aftermath of the week's storms that left 10 to 12 inches of snow on the ground at Eagle Island. As you can see by observing how much the snowman had shrunk, by Saturday the conditions had much improved since I began setting controls on Thursday. The snow depth had diminished by 2 or 3 inches, and the warmer weather destroyed the rain crust that impeded my setup. In spite of the much-improved conditions, the remaining snow made travel conditions, whether running or walking, much less than ideal. 

Not quite Snowmageddon

Perhaps there was one advantage for the orienteers—elephant tracks. No, Eagle Island State Park has not become a sanctuary for large African mammals. No need to fear lion attacks. At least none has been reported recently. “Elephant tracks” is an orienteering term describing a visible path traveled so heavily that it aids navigation or entirely eliminates the need for navigation. Snow cover ensures elephant tracks are present. 

Jerry, Angela, and Torin's boots for deep snow. 

Some orienteers just enjoy a walk in the woods in places they wouldn't otherwise visit. Others compete either with other participants or with their own expectations. In the latter category there were some expectations that ran notably high. Sergey and the team of Scott and Christy both came to the meet with the intention to complete their courses within one hour. Sadly, Sergey failed to come even close to Scott and Christy in the expectations game. The larger than 15-minute spread was even more decisive when you consider that Scott and Christy were not only picking up controls, but also diverted off their course to pick up a control I failed to gather. 

Scott & Christy at the start table

It's not news anymore that Kirsten won the Intermediate competition. Her name should not be mentioned without thanking her for helping with control pick up. Her assistance along with Scott's and Christy's made the afternoon go much more smoothly for the meet director. As meet director I am very grateful. I should also say how pleased I am that Christy took full responsibility for the electronic timing. We now have 3 people who are entirely capable of managing that aspect of a meet. And, speaking of category winners, Jerry again won the over 80 class, reminding us that this sport is a sport for everyone with the gumption to get out and do it.

 We hope to see you on February 11 when Melanie Wright directs the Willow Lane Motala.

John Murray

Meet Director

December 9 "Frost" meet at Ann Morrison park

It was really cold this past Saturday. At the time of courses' setup ice patches covered trails and paths, lakes and canal were frozen and grass was painted in silver colors. It didn't dissuade brave souls who came to enjoy outdoors and occasional sun picking trough the clouds.

Few images of happy finishers:

Most of participants took on intermediate course, five on advanced (could be 6 but I ran out of maps, next time I will print more!), there was one taker for sport course and one very large and happy family who tried beginners course.

Results:

Advanced  (5)            6.5 km  0 m 24 C 

   1  Derek Duval                      1:19:20 

   2  Bill Leahy                           1:21:40 

   3  Doug Lamott                      1:31:26 

   4  Cathryn Stauffer                 2:18:51 

   5  Christy Morris                     2:24:43 

Beginner  (1)            1.9 km  0 m  8 C 

   1  Sachi Family Kageyama      57:58 

Intermediate  (14)       4.1 km  0 m 16 C 

   1  Dustin Thomas                   31:42 

   2  Jason Russell                     41:53 

   3  Belen Hoobing                    45:11 

   4  John Murray                        52:21 

   5  Heidi Thomas                      53:10 

   6  Innes Wright                        53:21 

   7  Melanie Wright                    1:00:17 

   8  Carrie - Vicki Magnuson      1:17:53 

   9  Jerry Stewart                       1:35:08 

  10 Donna Pitzer                       1:35:49 

  11 Roy Tsuda                           1:40:13 

  12 Randy Rhude                      1:40:39 

       Eloise Hoobing                    mp 

       Dave Byrd                           mp 

Sport  (1)               3.8 km  0 m 16 C 

       Peter Paradis                      dnf 

					SPORT	dnf

Intermediate and advanced courses shared first 15 controls, also sport course shared many of intermediate controls. Take a look at course split times and compare to best to see where and how much you may lost.

Split times, WinSplits Online

2024 club schedule of events is being defined. Some already published on the right side. Consider joining the club as it makes all our events free for the year.

Hope to see you all enjoying outdoors next year! 

Happy Hanukah, Christmas, and New Year!

Yours,

Sergey