GAOCers Give Orienteering Presentation

The Georgia Wilderness Society requested a presentation on orienteering at their meeting in Macon. David Farrier and I were volunteered and gladly accepted their invitation. Ed Hicks of Orienteering Unlimited provided a PowerPoint slideshow and sample o-maps for the meeting.

The orienteering demonstration went very well. We had an interested audience of about 25 adults, who were eager to learn.

Most were naturalists, hikers, canoers, and campers. One person even asked about mapping a cave! This audience was experienced with reading USGS quads, so most of the talk was about our sport, the differences between O-maps and USGS maps, and how to read contours.

At the end of the meeting, we had refreshments and a little orienteering course. My co-host, David, drew a quick map of the auditorium and flags were placed in the hall and along the stairway. We used the stairway to demonstrate contour lines and elevation changes.

The group's next hike is at the Dauset Trails Nature Center. I provided all with copies of a mountain-bike-orienteering map, and informed them of the up coming GAOC event at Dauset. Several members expressed interest in attending our next C-meet.

See you in the woods,
-- Kevin --