This morning (around 9:00 am) my Boy Scout troop and I went to an orienteering course in Washington Crossing State Park. My team (of 2 people) went on course #2 (or medium level). Both my leaders signed up for Adult Advanced, but one of them got Adult Basic. During the race (through the woods), we had to look for controls (or checkpoints).
An orienteering control
Somewhere between control #7 and #8, we got lost. But when we re-oriented the map, we found out that we were on the wrong trail! So, after we found the control (by cutting through some shrubbery and actually getting cut – OUCH!), we sprinted to the next control (which was only 100 or so meters away). Then we punched our card and sprinted to the finish for a time of 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 30 seconds (about half-an-hour better than last year). We didn’t win anything, but one of our leaders (the one who got Adult Basic) won 1st prize with a time of 47 minutes! The winner for our group finished in 37 minutes (an hour faster than us)! After we did the timed course, we did the Troop Score event. In Troop Score, every control in the park is marked on a map (1 map per troop). The farther away the controls were from the start-finish, the more points! Unfortunately, we got lost on that event too! Instead of going for a 30 point control (#28), we went to a 20 point control (#5). So instead of getting about 200 points (which is what we planned), we got 120 points (six 20-point controls). At least it was much better than last year (last year we only got 50).
Even though I got cut and scratched in the arm (from taking a shortcut through some thorny bushes), I can’t wait until next year!
My scratches from cutting through bushes
Notes to anyone who wants to orienteering:
- Try not to take shortcuts through pine groves or areas that have thorny bushes.
- Also, never where sneakers, you should only wear water-proof boots, even if it’s not raining (you’ll never know if you have to cross a river
) - If you are going off-trail or through a tight path or trail, wear long sleeve!
Good job!
Your scratches look painful!