Autumn is the "O" Season
The Fall schedule of orienteering events in the Northeast is a bit
light on "A" Meets this year, but EMPO has its usual slate of
wonderful offerings, and there are other events being put on by the
various other "O" clubs nearby. Autumn is really the best time of the
year for orienteering, and even the drive to an event can be a
beautiful part of a fine day. Because of the dry summer we've had,
some of the leaves are already starting to turn color now, in late
August, so we have the prospect of a long "leaf peeping" season to
brighten our travels.
The two "A" Meets which are scheduled in the Northeast are both near
us in the Hudson Highlands to the south. The first, in September, is
at West Point. This event is always a lot of fun for everyone. The
adults like it because they enjoy being called "Sir" and "Ma'am" by
the cadets; the kids like it because it's cool to play, hang out, and
sleep over at an army base. Most of the woods in the area are pretty
open, making it a fine place for orienteering, unless the weather is
really rotten. And with the relatively early date this year, it's
unlikely to get too chilly, even if it rains.
The second "A" Meet is just a few miles further south, in Harriman
State Park. This one is a fund raiser for the US Orienteering Team, so
besides being fun in itself, your attendance will help support the
athletes who will be competing for us in the World Championships. The
courses will be on maps that were created for the World Championships
when they were held here in 1993, and they are still some of the best
around.
On EMPO's own agenda are two places we haven't been in awhile, and one
we've only seen with snow. Things start off in September at
Washington Park in Albany. While it doesn't have the size of, say,
Central Park in New York City, there's still plenty of room to run, or
walk. This will be a one hour Score-O format, so you'll have plenty of
time to see it all.
Next, in October, we go out of town a bit to Lapland Lake Cross
Country Ski and Vacation Center. We were just there at the end of the
Winter for that season's final Ski-O, and now we'll get to see what it
looks like during on should be a prime leaf viewing date. This event
is EMPO's Third (Annual?) MtB-O (mountain-bike-O). Each year our
attendance has increased a bit, and this time we're changing things by
adding courses for runners/walkers/hikers too. So, if you have a
mountain bike, come give this different kind of "O" a try; but even if
you don't, come on out anyway for what should be a beautiful day at a
wonderful place.
Finally, our Club Champs Meet will be held on a newly revised version
of the venerable Colonie Town Park map. One of my own personal
problems when I first started orienteering was that I simply couldn't
figure out black & white O-maps. I would regularly confuse contours
with trails, and end up getting thoroughly befuddled. While
unfortunately there's no way to wave a magic wand, or even use some
new technology and "colorize" the old B&W maps like they have with old
movies, one can use OCAD to re-trace scans of old maps. That, plus a
little old fashioned field work, is producing a "new" batch of maps
for us. In the Spring we had a new color version of the Norray Farm
map. This season it's Colonie. Next I hope to do Five Rivers. This
should help get us enough locations to keep our schedule full and
varied without resorting to black & white ever again.
So, there are some great places, maps, and events lined up for this
season. Come join us. And remember, if you want to get to some event a
bit further away, but can't drive yourself, check with any EMPO club
officer or Meet Director about who else might be going, because it
might be possible to get a ride.