Orienteering with Map & Compass by the Hooch + Free Picnic!

WHERE & WHEN?  Our AOC group will meet at 9:30 AM at the Special Events building in the beautiful "Jones Bridge" section of the Chattahoochee River Nat'l Recreation Area-(CRNRA)—see detailed directions below.  We'll assemble upstairs in the building's breezy covered top-floor deck and take care of introductions, waiver signing, etc.

GROUP REGISTRATION and MAP/COMPASS SHARING: We'll have special free "group registration" for the AOC—no need for you to register individually.  Brian Goble, the GAOC's meet director, plans to have enough of their free detailed color topo maps of the area on hand so that at most you'll have to share with just one other AOCer.  Bring your own compass if you have one—otherwise you’re welcome to use a free "loaner" compass.  The clear plastic rectangular "protractor-style" of compass is preferred, available at WalMart for about $6.00.

MAP & COMPASS REFRESHER TUTORIAL: At about 10:00 AM before going out on the orienteering course, we'll conduct a refresher for our AOC group in fundamental map and compass skills. We’ll also discuss the basics of the sport of Orienteering and divide into about three AOC "wayfaring groups" (beginner, intermediate, etc.) for the ensuing "O hikes."

"O HIKE" PLAN:  Beginning at about 11:00 AM each of our AOC wayfaring groups will set out on their chosen "O Course" (at their assigned staggered "start time") to find about a dozen sequential "control flags" in the terrain near the river. We’ll apply our map and compass skills and jointly agree upon appropriate "attack strategies" to locate the flags based on their marked locations on our maps. We’ll take a relaxed "wayfaring" pace, although many O Meet competitors that day will be trying for maximum speed between controls.

FREE O DAY PICNIC! Stick around awhile after our orienteering adventure for this picnic by the Special Events building, with food & refreshments provided by the GAOC as part of their big O Day celebration. If you have a couple of tasty items or non-alcoholic beverages on hand that you’d like to bring and contribute, please do so!

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 magnetic compass (no GPS!), and our judgment as to which route to take between checkpoints (partially hidden white & orange flags) whose positions and surrounding land & water features are shown on the map. We’re fortunate to have in Atlanta a very active not-for-profit "O" club. GAOC volunteers prepare highly detailed "O Maps" and organize year-round O Meets and public education programs at parks and wilderness preserves throughout north Georgia—go to www.GAOrienteering.org for more details. Membership dues are only $8 per year (or $12 per couple) and non-members are also welcome to participate in their events—typically about 20 O Meets per year within an hour or two of Atlanta.