2005 North American Rogaining Championships
Course Setter Notes
Murray Foubister - Sage Orienteering / 25.07.2005
The upper reaches of the Hat Creek descend through a high grassland valley…gently sloping sagebrush on the bottom… luxurious grasses in the forest interface mid-slopes…and then rising steeply on either side into pine, fir, and then spruce forests in the upper regions. Elevations range from 700m to 1700m. Travel throughout most of the map will be quite straightforward though there are brushy areas around some lakes, stream bottoms and cut blocks.
There are 60 controls scattered over the 160km2 map area, so most of them are only 1.5 to 2km apart…but don’t let this fool you! It will still take a distance of at least 100km to get every control and the large elevation differences will require careful route planning…especially if the temperatures are high!
We have done our best to create an accurate, user-friendly map, but please remember that this is NOT AN ORIENTEERING MAP! Detail has been enhanced near control locations but there are bound to be some unmarked old logging roads and seasonal cattle trails…and fence lines are only approximate through forest-covered areas. Contours, forest boundaries, and clearings should be fairly reliable, however. You will be traveling long distances during the course of this event, so if at first you can't find the control you are looking for, stop and think for a minute. Have you gone far enough? Or too far? Is there a parallel feature? Don’t be afraid to look around for 100m in all directions if necessary. Remember that all controls are also marked with a high pink ribbon that contains the letter code should the electronic punch not be functional.
In some areas with a lot of map detail the control may be placed on a small feature, but in other, broader areas, the control may be very obviously located. Again, this is NOT AN ORIENTEERING COMPETITION…the emphasis here is on route planning and execution according to your team’s abilities…. controls will not be hidden!
Most of the map area is on owned or leased land so please respect this private property. When you have to cross fences, please do so with caution. Either step over the wires (if you are tall enough)…between the wires (if they are loose enough)… or, best of all, under the bottom wire next to the ground. DO NOT CLIMB ON THE WIRES, and leave all gates as you find them. If there are any prohibited areas they will be marked with red cross hatching on the map, but please use some common sense when passing near inhabited areas. Don’t walk through people’s back yards and across cultivated fields.
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