Simplot Sport Complex

2026 started off with a bang!  15 brave souls came to enjoy the sunshine on a chilly January morning.  We haven't used this area for a meet since Nov 2023 so it was time to bring it back.  I chose to limit the meet to the Simplot complex itself in hopes of making a very runnable course.  Plus with it being January and not knowing what the weather was going to do I was hoping for a safe bet, and man did it pay off.

It is a very open area so finding fun spots to place controls was a slight challenge, but with the help of my Dad we walked the area several afternoons and came up with what we thought was a decent and speedy course.  It has been a while since I've set a course with actual controls and I forget how much work it is!  We set the bases the day before and then only had to set the flags and e-punches.  Thankfully I had some great help the morning of and we were able to get it done with time to spare.

The weather cooperated with us big time - the inversion blew out, there was no wind and the sun made an appearance. John was the first out on the course and the rest of the competitors trickled in as the morning warmed up.  With it being January it was membership renewal time so it was nice to see some familiar faces as well as many new ones.  We had a very first timer (Welcome Tim!) who took on the beginner course and got a real hang of it and then took on part of the Sport course (on his own time). We had a good showing across the courses and man times were tight among the running competitors. 

A big thank you to a few people:

• Sergey for all the assistance prior to the meet and for picking up controls after the meet.
• My Dad for spending hours walking around in the afternoons mapping out the course and placing bases day before and hauling all the stuff to/from the shed to the event and back again
• Frank for being speedy and taking on the west side of the course in the morning - such a huge help!

We are going to be at Fort Boise/Mountain Cove O-Meet on Sat, Feb 21 at 10am and if we are lucky enough there is a rumor that we might have a girl scout with some cookies available to purchase!  Hope to see you all there and don't forget to renew those memberships!!

2026 Simplot Results & Winsplit Results

Advanced (5) 4.9 km - 26 controls

1) Ted Smith  26:59

2) Dustin Thomas  28:36

3) Sergey Velichko  28:59

4) Helle Beattie  37:15

5) Cat Staufer  1:25:56 

Intermediate (3) 4.1 km - 19 controls

1) John Murray  44:07

2) Heidi Thomas  45:47

3) Donna P  1:39:00

Sport (6) 3.4 km - 16 controls

1) Max Haustia  49:42 (missing punch)

2) Cassandra Swann  52:22

3) Jerry Stewart  1:12:56

4) Crabtree Family  1:28:20

5) Asker Beattie  1:29:14 (incorrect control punched)

6) James & Sander Beattie  1:30:00 (incorrect control punched)

Beginner (1) 1.1 km - 9 controls

1) Tim Kesinger  56:06 

Around the Armstrong Municipal park

While it was drizzling and sun was not smiling through the clouds, nevertheless, the weather was excellent for an orienteering event and challenging courses set on new map of Armstrong Municipal park and surroundings. "Fun!" - that is what any meet director wants to hear from finishers. And we heared this many times today :)

We had quite a number of kids on the beginner course. We should be watchful for some of these superfast super-orienteerers! Team of Asker, Chase, Jane, and Sam finsihed within seconds from each other and all under 9 minutes. Isabella was next while executing solo, a little bit over 9 minutes. Max cleared the sport course at one hour and three minutes. The intermediate course was most competitive with 14 takers. Kirsten had a solid win with Carol second, and Karin third. Helle unfortunately couldn't finish trying to catch to the superfast super-orienteerers team, otherwise, it could be more heated battle for the crown. On the advanced course a merely one minute and one second separated Ted and Peter, both with perfect 44-45 minutes. I did preprun the Advanced course in 45 minutes and thought this may be the perfect time but Ted showed that it could be even better!

Advanced 6.3 km 25 C
1 Ted Smith 44:05
2 Peter Aumann 45:06

Intermediate 4.8 km 25 C
1 Kirsten Severud 42:31
2 Carol Baumbauer 49:45
3 Karin Didisse 55:19
4 John Murray 1:01:48
5 Leslie-John Siebold 1:10:21
6 Dave Byrd 1:15:11
7 Team Sprint 1:57:52
8 Cristy-Scott Morris 2:06:26
9 Austin Agosta 2:13:04
Dustin Thomas mp
Helle Beattie dnf

Sport 3.7 km 18 C
1 Max Hasiuta 1:03:33

Beginner 0.9 km 7 C
1 Asker Beattie 8:19
2 Chase Brown 8:21
3 Jane Boespflug 8:22
4 Sam Boespflug 8:55
5 Isabella McDonough 9:14
6 Team Tree Crab 28:25
Katerina Snarskaya mp

Split times on Winsplits to compare and see where you may have lost time.

We are defining 2026 club events and will post them soon. Some preliminary schedule is available at the right together with the list of major national and international events.

See you next month enjoying outdoors!

Cheers,
Sergey

Black Rocks, Black flies... few canyons

October 18, 2025

Fall or late winter, this venue can be great in the cooler parts of the year. It was another beautiful day to be out and about in the desert of Idaho. The winds were calm, and while the starting morning temperature was cool, it quickly warmed through the early afternoon.

Start view point

This meet was a bit of a group effort. Originally Sergey had planned to lead, but plans changed with work travel. He was able to provide me with the courses he was considering. John and I went out on the last 80°+ day of the season to review courses and do additional fielding. Maybe it was the last hurrah before the colder weather moved in, but the flies were incredible the day we were out. They covered our backpacks, flew in our faces, and filling the car during the drive home! Luckily they had decreased significantly by the meet day, although still very present. I still had a fly or two in my car two days later.

Back in town, somewhere along the line my personal laptop gave me issues, leading to some team computer time to get courses updated and maps set. John and I both learned a few things about using OCad working through it together putting the finishing touches on the maps.

Terrain

A few gentlemen took on the Advanced course and reached areas on the NW part of the map we hadn't seen before. We skipped the canyon this year, but we'll bring it back, because it is a very cool feature of this map. 

Participant(s)	Course	Time
Pete F	ADV	1hr 11min
David M	ADV	1hr 33min
Scott G	ANV	DNF

The intermediate map also extended further to the north. Karin gave it a great run, while pairs took a more leisurely approach. 

Participant(s)	Course	Time
Karin D.	INT	1hr 5min
Leslie & John	INT	2hr 8min
Cat & Jaz	INT	2hr 21min
Cynthia & Jim	INT	DNF (1hr 7min, control 1-8)

As often is the case, John gets his own category. Since he helped vet the courses and set controls, he challenged himself to do the intermediate course from memory. Since this meant a few different approaches to controls, versus the advance course he'd hiked previously, he stumped himself on one control, resorting to one minor peak at the map. Memorizing a map is an interesting practice, especially in an area where you are not intimately acquainted with the terrain 

Participant(s)	Course	Time
John M	INT	1hr 35min

Practice... practice... practice... but it still never makes you perfect in this sport. First timers and newer orienteers took on the Sport course with grit and determination, at least until there were higher priority parties to attend. 

Participant(s)	Course	Time
Kendyl & Naomi	SPT	1hr 43min
Austin & Noah	SPT	3hr 56min
Edith & Pete	SPT	DNF (1hr 3 min, controls 1-4, 10)

Kendyl and Naomi

Until next time! Stay tuned to MeetUp for our next event.

Kirsten

Apparently there needed to be a few more of these guys around to help with the flies. 

Orbweaver spider

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