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 (a.k.a. "Education Center") 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.  The GAOC's volunteers plan 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:  Also upstairs, beginning at about 10:00 AM and before we go out on the orienteering course, we'll conduct a special private-session 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 (at their assigned staggered "start times") to find a series of "control flags" in the terrain near the river.  The O Day meet this year will be "Score-O" style, with a higher point value awarded for finding control flags that are hung at more distant or obscure locations.  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 (roughly 12:00 noon thru 2:00 PM). If it's convenient for you to bring a small item to contribute to the picnic, please do so (e.g., a covered dish, small entree or side item, dessert, etc.) —although our O Club friends expect to have plenty of hot dogs, chips & dip and other munchies, various side items, cookies and drinks on hand for everyone to enjoy!

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 twenty O Meets per year, all in beautiful natural areas near Atlanta.

FROM the I-285/GA 400 INTERCHANGE in NORTH ATLANTA:

1) Take GA-400 North about 9 miles and exit at Exit #7A, GA-140 East, "Holcomb Bridge Road".

2) Take Holcomb Bridge Road eastward toward Norcross about 4.5 miles to the traffic light at Barnwell Road.

3) Turn Left onto Barnwell Rd, and go just 0.8 mile to a special park entrance road on your right which should be marked by one or more small low-lying orange-white-black "ORIENTEERING" signs. (NOTE!: This entrance is about a mile before the public entrance road used for other AOC hikes. Except for this and other special occasions it usually has a locked gate.)

4) Turn Right onto the Entrance Road and park in the designated area near the large Special Events building. The usual $3 CRNRA parking fee will be waived for "O Day" participants.

5) Our AOC sub-group will gather at 9:30 AM for introductions and waiver signing in the spacious covered upper deck of the building—up one flight of stairs from the GA Orienteering Club's registration tables, which should be marked with a banner. (Dozens of other Orienteering Club guests and members will arrive during the day for the general orienteering meet, picnic, and other O Day festivities.)

FOR A MAP and/or CUSTOM DIRECTIONS from your specific point of departure, go to Google.com/maps and input this address as your destination:

    3802 Barnwell Rd, Johns Creek, GA 30022

Although this is a "dummy address" it accurately pinpoints the Barnwell Road entrance point into Jones Bridge CRNRA Special Events Building parking lot.