Lake Allatoona “Map & Compass Hike” & Beach Picnic

OVERVIEW:  On the shore of Lake Allatoona just 25 miles northwest of Atlanta, Red Top Mountain State Park is one of Georgia’s most beautiful natural areas. Join Charlie Cottingham, Colleen Grierson and their friends in the GA Orienteering Club (GAOC) for this 3- to 4-hour event which will take us to seldom-seen parts of the park and its lovely lakeside shoreline.
  Included before and during our dayhike will be a review of basic map & compass skills in conjunction with the GAOC's “O Meet” scheduled that day in the State Park. Colleen is an experienced "Adventure Racer" and will briefly discuss how maps & compasses are used in that exciting sister sport.
  The event should be fun and educational for hikers of all experience levels.
  After the meet join our AOC group for a delightful picnic and cookout by the lake – if you decide to take part just bring something small to put on the grill and perhaps a small salad, munchie, dessert item, etc. to share (see below) – plus your swimsuit and a towel if you'd like to go for a swim!

EVENT PLAN:  After we introduce one another, sign our AOC waiver forms, and register as a group for the O Meet, Colleen, Charlie and other experienced O Club volunteers will conduct a  refresher in the basics of how to use a compass and interpret a topographic map.
  At about 11:00 our AOC group will set off together on the “Yellow” advanced beginner “O course,” practicing our map & compass skills to locate about a dozen partially hidden “control flags” whose locations are shown on our maps. (If we have a a few experienced orienteers in our group we may decide to have them join Colleen in a separate group to try a more advanced "Orange" or "Green" course.)  After reaching each flag we’ll re-study our map and jointly agree upon an appropriate “attack strategy” to find the next flag in the course’s sequence.
  We’ll share several copies of the GAOC Red Top Mountain topo map specially marked for each course. Bring your own compass if you have one – otherwise you may use one of our free “loaner” compasses. We plan to take a relaxed “wayfaring” pace, although many O Meet competitors that day will be trying for max. speed between control flags.
  Our "O hike" is expected to last about 2 hours after which you're welcome to try part of another more advanced course if you like –  then join us for our lakeside picnic!

OPTIONAL POST-HIKE PICNIC BY THE LAKE (About 1:00 PM): For all who would like to take part, Charlie will head up an optional “Potluck” Group Cookout & Picnic in a nice area with picnic tables by the lake. Our target area for this will be the pretty peninsula/ beach that juts out into the lake beyond "Picnic Area #7" at the end of Red Top Beach Road.  If you wish to participate, bring an entree item for yourself that doesn't need to be heated, a small side item to share (e.g., salad, munchie, hors d'oeuvre, covered dish, dessert, etc.) and a non-alcoholic beverage of your choice – all perhaps in a small cooler. Charlie will provide plates, dinnerware, napkins, cups, a cooler of lemonade, condiments, etc., and will grill some hotdogs for the group on his compact "Qwik-Cook Grill."

WHAT IS ORIENTEERING? It’s a sport that blends the fun of a scavenger hunt with the adventure of navigating between flagged checkpoints in unfamiliar natural terrain. We “orienteer” using a detailed topographic map, a simple compass, and our judgment as to which route to take between partially hidden white & orange control flags whose positions and surrounding land & water features are shown on the map. Before tackling an O course we’re also usually given verbal descriptions of the main topographic feature(s) that we should be looking for where each flag’s is hung – provided in the O Meet “start” area as “control description clues.”
  We’re fortunate to have in Atlanta a very active and friendly not-for-profit “O” club. GA Orienteering Club volunteers organize year-round “O Meets” and “O” education programs at parks and wilderness preserves throughout north Georgia. Membership dues are only $8 per year, and the general public is welcome to participate in most GAOC events without formal membership.

For more on the GA Orienteering Club go to:
http://GAOrienteering.org

For more on Red Top Mountain State Park go to:
http://GAStateParks.org/info/redtop/

For an on-line Red Top Mtn State Park Map showing the O MEET START area (at the Iron Hill trailhead) etc. go to:
http://www.redtopmountainstatepark.org/resources/red-top-mountain-state-park-map.pdf

This beautiful and popular State Park is on Lake Allatoona, about 25 miles NW of Atlanta via I-75. Since the START location of the event is so accessible to Atlanta we are not setting up a special carpooling location, but feel free to set up your own "custom carpools" with others in the group -- Charlie and Colleen can facilitate this via email a few days before the event.

1) Take I-75 North (beyond Marietta and Woodstock) to Exit #285, "Red Top Mountain Road."

2) Exit I-75 to your right, turn right onto Red Top Mtn Road (also known as "Bethany Bridge Rd") and drive about 3 miles into the State Park. (En route you'll cross the bridge over Lake Allatoona and pass the Park Visitor Center/Store on your left – a good place to stop for a free Park map, restroom, etc.)

3) Look for low-lying orange and white “ORIENTEERING” directional signs and follow them carefully to the O Meet  “START” Area which will be a RIGHT TURN off Red Top Mtn Road at the "Iron Hill" Trailhead parking lot (about 1 mile past the Visitor Center and about 1/2 mile past the campground entrance).
4) Our AOC “sub-group” will meet Colleen and Charlie near the GA Orienteering Club registration tables in the START Area.  Look for them at a BLUE TARP.  Charlie will take care of registering us for the O Meet using just one or two GAOC forms -- each of us will simply sign the back of the form to satisfy GAOC liability.

PARKING: Each party is responsible for paying the $3 per vehicle per day self-service State Park parking fee by depositing your cash in a self-service envelope. Tear off the envelope's receipt tab and hang it from your vehicle's rear-view mirror. (The GA State Parks annual parking pass is available at the Visitor Center for $30 in lieu of the $3-per-visit fee.)