Military Reserve Extravaganza Results

We are blessed with wilderness close to the Boise downtown. Military Reserve right here on the Boise foothills provided lots of physical and technical challenges for all who came to experience the extravaganza of cool October day. The weather was perfect for an orienteering outing and we had more than 25 participants on all courses, from begiiner to advanced.
One of happy finishers :)

Results:
Beginner (4) 2.2 km 40 m
1) Asker-Chase Beattie 32:58
2) Seth Team 35:36
3) Sander Beattie 38:16
4) Isabella Mcdonough 54:03

Sport (2) 4.1 km 80 m
1) Joel Team 1:24:00
2) Max-Yulia Hasiuta 1:50:27

Intermediate (7) 4.1 km 90 m
1) Kirsten Severud 57:22
2) John Murray 1:16:48
3) Christy Morris 1:33:09
4) Carrie Magnuson 1:37:24
5) Heidi Thomas 1:50:53
6) Laslie-John Perez 2:12:15
Scott Stenhagen mp

Advanced (4) 6.0 km 170 m
1) Logan Johnson 1:06:59
2) Dustin Thomas 1:18:02
3) Peter Aumann 1:27:33
4) Mike Bading 1:42:57

Splits may be accessed at this link Split times, WinSplits Online

Hope to see many of you enjoying outdoors at our meets! Next meet is November 15 in the Marrianne Williams park, in Boise.

Sergey Velichko

Eagle Nest Meet Results

 

Eagle Nest Meet Report

Clear Skies Looking Southwest from the Start

After a rainy evening the sky cleared and except for wet grass and wet brush the conditions were excellent. Unfortunately, we only had six orienteers take the challenge of this new map. Those of you who have orienteered on the Idaho City Gold Rush Map probably would find the predominantly Ponderosa terrain familiar. 

Because the footprint of the Eagle Nest Map is much smaller, I questioned whether it supported a course design adequate to our advanced participants. As you will note below Sergey ran the map in 49 minutes flat settling the question in favor of the map. He kindly forwarded his route to me.

Note that Sergey's blue track has been offset slightly to the east in order to avoid obscuring trails he used. Also this image is a cropped version of the actual map. The control numbers for controls 15 and 16 are missing the first digit.

As advertised, this meet had no control bags and no punches. It was conducted entirely with the UsynligO app. To some extent using UsynligO was an experiment. I hoped it wasn't simply a way for me to ease my workload setting controls and picking them up. The participants seemed to be satisfied with this arrangement. I plan to use it in future meets. I now believe I can use Usynligo without apology. 

Another aspect of Usynligo is the availability of these courses and maps to anyone at any time. If you want to run this course, you can. You will not have the safety factor of a scheduled meet with someone knowing where you are and when you are expected to return. So, you would be assuming that risk.

Sergey will be directing his Military Reserve Extravaganza on Sunday October 11. His maps have exceptional quality, and he is a master of course design. I hope to see you there.

John Murray

Meet Director

Thorn Creek Results 8/23/2026d

 

We had a great clear day with somewhat cooler temperatures for the Thorn Creek meet.  There was a good turnout of a variety of people from Boise, Colorado, California, and McCall locals.  I’ve included assumed club affiliations in the results for fun since we don’t often get people from other clubs.  The Boyle Wilson family split into two groups and did great on the difficult advanced course, Kirsten blazed through the rugged intermediate course.  Dense woods and swampy valleys made for slow and difficult going in areas on the advanced and intermediate courses.

Several local search and rescue members gave the courses a try with Brad making a good effort and gaining second place on the advanced course behind Sergey who remarked the course “was tough” when he got in.  There was gratitude for the controls which were hung high for easier visibility and the easier last couple controls.  Wayne found the start late and got a late start on the intermediate course and ran afoul of the dense marshy valley woods and had to cut his run short.

Cory discovered the stream he planned to jump was more of a pond just a bit late and fell in for a full immersion and his map was destroyed and was lucky to find his way back.   The Novice course had quite a few takers and my friend Anjie who had done a lot of orienteering as a schoolgirl in Siberia enjoyed it so much she did it again with her friends Adriana family that she had called and encouraged to try it. 

A big thank you to the help with control pickup from: Boyle Wilson family, Andy, Bob, and Anjie.  Looking forward to the Eagles Nest meet coming up Sept.19

Thanks to all that came - Karin Didisse meet director

2026 July: Willow Lane Park Sunbathing

Early start gave a nice "cool" window this Sunday for a cohort of people who decided to take on "Willow Lane Sunbathing". We had about 20 participants, with one taker for the advanced course (Bill is the winner), couple takers for the beginner course (Isabella is the winner), and majority of people selecting the intermediate course (Kirsten is the winner). Seeing so many smiles makes the day for any meet director :)

We saw happy young runners:

We saw happy finishers:

And even more happy finishers:

Final Results are below:

Beginner (2) 1.4 km
1) Isabella McDonough 27:08
2) Old Men 53:58

Advanced (1) 5.8 km
1) Bill Leahy 1:03:04

Intermediate (10) 3.7 km
1) Kirsten Severud 35:18
2) Cory Sparks 48:57
3) Samuel Murray 56:15
4) Owen-Chase Kane 56:19
5) John Murray 57:46
6) Matt-Heather Steele 1:14:04
7) Leslie-John Siebold 1:18:49
8) CVC Team 1:19:44
9) Cassandra-Joseph Swann 1:22:19
10) Christy Scott 1:31:50

Splits may be accessed at this link, to compare and see where you may lost some time.
Split times, WinSplits Online

See you all out there, enjoying outdoors!

Cheers,
Sergey

CTOCers at the PNWOF

Few members of the CTOC participated in the 2026 Pacific Northwest Orienteering Festival (PNWOF). Competition terrains spanned from desert canyons and dunes of the central Washington, to intricate pine woods near Spokane, and to the mountain terrain near Mt Hood in Oregon. Eight races challenged with diverse orienteering strategies and techniques.

Isabella McDonough in F-10 group took 2nd overall place, Karin Diddise was second in the first day of competition, and Sergey Velichko took 1st place in M-60+ group.

Results, photos and map snippets could be accessed at these links
https://cascadeoc.org/2026-pnwof-standings/
https://orienteeringusa.org/2026/06/2026-pacific-northwest-orienteering-festival-event-recap/

Pacific Northwest Orienteering Festivals are always fun and challenging! Highly recommended for orienteering fans! Explore Livelox links to see maps and courses.

Winds are still a blowin' at Rabbit Creek.

With wind advisories in the valley and the whiplash of weather we have been having this spring, it's not surprising that we wouldn't get the "perfect" weather for this lovely venue. For running the temperature wasn't too far off, but the strong winds made it a cool day out on the course, and even chillier standing around at the start. The potluck was reduced to on-the-go snacks. 

The runners made a good showing on the course, but there were some scenic detours beyond exploring a new area of the map. The hikers also seemed to enjoy the course once the orientation part of orienteering fell into place. I'll take a minor amount of credit on confusion with some miss-numbered controls.

As always, thanks for the the pre-event help with company and suggestions during field review, map setup, and control placement, and even after all of that, control pick up. John gets first place in the all-round, and Cory gets first in the timed event. Jacob gets honorable mention for giving John a ride to help with control pick up.

I really do love this venue, but it is prettier before the cattle move in. Also, unfortunately due to the dry winter weather the wildflower showing this year was poor. There were a few pretty ones out such as the Blue Mountain Clover and the always stunning Bitterroot. The other item of interest we found was an artifact of the club's own making. While reviewing the map, John and I came across a PVC post and the metal wire of a long- forgotten control

See you in June!

 

If you were a British soldier in World War I, you might have marched to “It's a Long Way to Tipperary”. Saturday a different song came to mind:

Photo by Carrie Magnuson

It’s a long drive down to Oreana,
It’s a long drive, you know.
It’s a long drive down to Oreana,
Where the clean cut contours go

Goodbye Boise morning bustle,
Farewell city’s glare.
It’s a long, long drive to Oreana,
But my map’s right there.

It was a long drive. I know. I drove it in November to vet the terrain. I drove it again to vet the course design and set the controls. And, of course, I drove it again on Saturday. In each case the drive and the work were much easier and more enjoyable than they otherwise would have been without the company, advice, and collaboration of Kirsten. What I heard from several of Saturday's participants was that they also thought the orienteering on this terrain was worth the drive. Notably, Karin and Bob Didisse drove all the way from McCall. Maybe I shouldn't whine so much about the distance.

As much as I enjoyed mapping the Oreana venue and exploring the terrain, I do regret that I never had the chance to run a course there. Oreana Hills is eminently runnable with great visibility. I am gratified that many of you shared my opinion.

Photo by Kirsten Severud

Twenty participants is a large turnout that far away from town. The 3 dogs just seemed to be happy anywhere. It was an unusually savvy group. Everyone was an experienced orienteer. They arrived early, too early in the case of Bill Leahy and Christy Morris. When Kirsten and I arrived at a full 15 minutes before the scheduled start, Bill and Christy had passed by the start location, and having seen no one there went in search of the start. I don't know where they thought it might be other than the location designated in the meet announcement: the intersection of the Oreana Loop Road and Mills Road. I admire their tenacity more than their patience with the meet director. A phone call from the explorers cleared up the mystery of the vanished start location. I can only hope that the additional miles traveled garnered some valuable sightseeing rewards.

As I was saying, it was an unusually savvy array of participants. All were experienced. All had started by 11:02. All had progressed far enough by 1 PM that we were able to begin pickup an hour before the course closed. As a meet director I much appreciate the convenience of an early control pickup.

We had two new CTOC participants: Robert Rich, who moved from and orienteered in Michigan and Jacob Drew, who comes to us from orienteering in the Austin area. Jacob finished first in the Intermediate division. Importantly, he graciously hung around until he could help with pickup. Kirsten picked up the Advanced end of the course. Much appreciated by the meet director.

A further note about Kirsten. She appears in the results as second in the Intermediate division. That's maybe a little misleading. Several factors need to be considered. First, she had the distinct advantage of having set the course as well as having been on the terrain twice before. To make it more interesting she claims she really wasn't in the INT division. Instead, she was in a division of her own creation, the TNI division. That's INT spelled backwards, the same way she ran the course. She also ran the first (last??) 4 controls from memory and other legs without consulting her map.

Indian Paintbrush

Carrie and Kirsten each photographed a rather large lizard. It appears to me to be a leopard lizard reported to have approximately an 11 inch length. That's a long tail. Kirsten's photo appears here because the lizard did not quite pose cooperatively for Carrie. I don't know whether it is the same lizard. There's not a lot of wildlife in these hills, so a leopard lizard is a treat.

They also found flowers. It's a little early for flowers in the high desert.

I don't know that congratulations for wedding plans belong in a meet report. They are going in anyway. Carol Baumbauer and Peter Auman are getting married next month. You seem to be a great couple. Congratulations. I do question scheduling your

Showy Townsendia

wedding on the same weekend as our annual Rabbit Creek Orienteering and Potluck. I kinda (but not entirely) get your priorities.

For the rest of you,  Rabbit Creek will be on Sunday, May 17 directed by the estimable Kirsten Severud.

John Murray (with a lot of Kirsten's help)

Meet Director

Kirsten's long distance photo of Bill Leahy

March Spring Time in Julia Davis Park Results

With green grass, blue skies, and sunny days - spring is definitely in Boise. In spite of the freezing temperatures in the morning, participants of the first spring meet in 2026 again braved the new additions to our Greenbelt maps. Many were smiling after thier courses - it is the most rewarding for the course designer :) Results are as following:

Advanced (4) 4.7 km 24 C
1 Peter Friedewald 42:45
2 Quentin Thomas 45:27
3 Bill Leahy 1:01:49
4 Dustin-Heidi-Mad Thomas 1:02:20

Sport (2) 3.4 km 15 C
1 Nathan Kelso 40:21
2 Austin-Noah Agosta 1:36:48

Intermediate (6) 3.5 km 19 C
1 Kirsten Severud 38:40
2 John Murray 53:14
3 Leslie-John Perez 1:09:16
4 Carrie Magnuson 1:23:19
5 NotACop Team 1:30:08
6 Christy Morris 1:31:30

Beginner (3) 2.1 km 9 C
1 Edith Friedewald 40:15
2 Piper Green 40:23
3 Troop 100 1:27:27

Split times and comparisons are available at Split times, WinSplits Online.

Next meet in April is in Owyhees on a new map of Oreana hills. No trails or discernable dot features! So practice your bearing techniques and contour reading upfront! Hope to see you up there smiling and happy!

Yours,
Sergey Velichko

2026 February O Meet - Fort Boise

The late, great Nelson Mandela once said, "I never lose. I either win or learn." If the sport of Orienteering has taught me anything, and often repeatedly so, it is that there is always room for learning. The months of December and January were spent excitedly expanding the Fort Boise map by Sergey, Dustin, and myself. This winter's lack of snow provided ample opportunity to scout out the Foothills trail network above our previous map. However, mother nature had different plans in the week leading up to the meet, and we chose to scrap most of those newly mapped sections to ensure we continue to be good trail stewards. C'est la vie! You can look forward to exploring those areas in drier months.

February's Meet did allow for a pivot to a motala-style event and had a great showing of orienteers of all ages, experience, and species.

Thank you to all who joined and shoutouts to Dustin for co-directoring this meet with me and Heidi (and Tia) for assisting in control pickup when the meet directors were tuckered out at the end of a long day! Our next meet is being hosted by Sergey in the Julia Davis/Municipal Park area on March 15th. See our CTOC Meetup page for details and RSVPs. Never stop learning my orienteering friends!


See below for meet results and split times can be found here:


https://obasen.orientering.se/winsplits/online/en/default.asp?page=classes&databaseId=110595&ct=true


Beginner

Brady and Grant Meyring: 25.30
Cat, Trenton, and Oscar Yates: 1:07.28


Intermediate

Kirsten Severud and Pepper Pupper: 41.59
Clint and Cooper Thomson: 50.26
John Murray: 1:01.53
Malia, Eddie, and Lylah Lopez: 1:13.54
Heidi Thomas and Tia Pupper: 1:14.02
Christy and Scott Morris: 1:41.41
Cat Stauffer and Jaz Imamovic: 2:01.10
Dave Byrd: mp


Advanced

Sergey Velichko: 37.30
Ted Smith: 39.00
Frank Morris: 44.13

2026 Junior Orienteer Sponsorship Program

The City of Trees Orienteering Club is excited to announce the return of our Junior Orienteer Sponsorship Program in 2026. To help grow the sport and encourage the future generation of orienteers to pursue national meet exposure, we will offer annual sponsorships of up to $200 for eligible local junior orienteers, with a maximum of $1,000 made available each calendar year.

Eligible junior orienteers (age 18 and under) must:
● Maintain an OUSA junior membership ($10/year) - https://orienteeringusa.org/membership/
● Commit to providing meet day support for at least one local CTOC event per year
● Commit to attend at least one national competition per year

Reimbursable expenses up to $200/junior include:
● OUSA junior membership fee ($10/year)
● National event registration fees (typically average $40-$70/event)
● Free loan of club’s SI stick for a season

List of national and international meets is available on OUSA and CTOC websites. See at the right.

Junior orienteers and their parents and guardians who are interested in seeking sponsorship support can inquire further by emailing Club’s President Sergey Velichko at savelichko at yahoo dot com.