GNTGC Mission: Farrel-McWhirter Orienteering
Items Needed:
- compass
- stop watch (or stop watch app)
- orienteering map of Farrel-McWhirter Park
- mask
Directions:
With a teammate, visit each control (marker or checkpoint) in the order listed in the Advanced Beginner Course, recording the letter from that control.
- Print the Farrel-McWhirter Park Orienteering Course map found at https://cascadeoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Farrel-McWhirter-Permanent.pdf (in color is best), and these directions.
- Find the
symbol on your map, this is your starting and ending location. Go there and submit your GPS location as the answer to Part A. - Orient your map to the north using your compass and the light blue parallel lines labeled magnetic north.
- Start the stopwatch and complete the Advanced Beginner Course
- Stop the stopwatch after you have found all 7 controls AND returned to your starting location.
- Submit the letters you found at each control as the answer to Part B (without any spaces) using the goose chase application. Include your elapsed time in the caption for bonus points.
Advanced Beginner Course Controls guide
Control descriptions may look like hieroglyphics, but they are designed that way because orienteering is an international sport. By learning the symbols found on control descriptions, you’ll be able to orienteer anywhere in the world!
The FIRST COLUMN denotes what order you must find the controls.
The SECOND COLUMN denotes the number that you will find on the physical control (usually a 4×4 wooden post). If you see “2, 33,” that is the second control you must find and you will see the number 33 on the control when you find it.
The SEVENTH COLUMN tells you what side of a feature the control is on. So if the control is on a bridge, this column will tell you which side of the bridge the control is located.
The EIGHTH COLUMN is a text description of where you will find the control when you reach the destination.
Learning control description symbols may feel intimidating, but don’t let that stop you from orienteering. You can have fun and complete an orienteering course by reading just the first three columns. You can learn the symbols in the other columns over time. A control description legend can be found at cascadeoc.org, or through a quick Google search.
Credits: Map and course descriptions courtesy of the Cascade Orienteering Club