| Mountain Lake Permanent Orienteering Course | |
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The sport of orienteering involves using a topographic map and a compass to
find orange and white markers (called controls) that are placed out in the
woods at specific locations.
I've built (with help from Brian Mayer and Teresa Burke) a course located at Mountain Lake near Pembroke, Virginia (directions). It consists of 24 controls to find plus the Start/Finish control. But, you don't have to find them all. The first 6 are close to the hotel and lake, and are also close to the trails. A nice intermediate challenge would be to get the first 10 controls (A-J). All you need to walk/run a course is the orienteering course map, a control clue card and a compass. You also might want to bring some water and food. Each of the points has an orange and white control (see picture) with a word written on it. These controls are a bit more weather proof than standard orienteering flags. (Thanks to Dave Adamczyk for some great design ideas.) Here's the answer key for all the controls. For a bigger challenge, use the map without the controls plotted and plot them yoursleves from the UTM coordinates in this list of controls. If you discover any problems (missing controls, inaccuracies, etc) or have any suggestions, please email mark@navigationtips.com and let me know. Here are step by step instructions for doing the course.
Good luck and have fun! |
 Control
Maps/Materials for the Course
Maps
Controls |
