38th Annual Bog Slog
Saturday, December 30 at Lord Hill Regional Park – South Entrance in Snohomish, WA
Meet Director: Robert Stratton
Bog Slog is the extra tough and extra muddy halftime to the winter season, and a fantastic opportunity for students who have graduated from School League (WIOL) to return for a holiday reunion with friends.
This year, as in recent years, we are doing a rolling mass start, with everyone on each course starting together, in waves. See the schedule for course start times.
- If you’re a runner, this means an opportunity to stay with similarly-paced runners on the same course until elevation gain and navigational challenges split the pack.
- If you’re a hiker, this means that you don’t wait long for a start, and the herd of running orienteers departs rather quickly, leaving you with a nice hike-with-a-purpose through Lord Hill Park.
As always, Bog Slog courses are longer and more challenging than our usual courses. Some participants drop down a level for ease, while others treat this as the ultimate challenge, often sharing the navigation fun and bragging rights for completion.
Warm up with a Micro O’ course!
As a training exercise, Mike Schuh will set up a short Micro O’ around the lower parking lot (similar to the ones at previous WIOL events this season). This will be a self-service activity and you will need to print your own maps and description sheets [Lord_Hill_Micro_O] (this one may take a moment to load). There is also a brief write up on how to use Micro O’ to practice “flow” [Micro-O-How-To]. The course wasn’t field checked so there might be minor discrepancies. Be very careful around moving vehicles!
Post-race Potluck
Another Bog Slog tradition is the potluck afterward!
As they have for the past several years, Rick and Eileen Breseman will host the post-Bog Slog potluck.
- 15 minutes South of Lord Hill
- 2:00 to 6:00 pm
Address given when you RSVP. Our road is privately maintained. Please honor the 15 mph posted signs and respect our neighbors. Thank you!
Eileen
COURSES
Course designer(s): Siri Christopherson, Jourdan Harvey
Course distances:
Beginner – 2.3 km, 8 controls, 50 m climb
Intermediate – 3.4 km, 10 controls, 210 m climb
Short Advanced – 5.0 km, 12 controls, 210 m climb
Advanced – 7.3 km, 17 controls, 220 m climb
How are courses measured?
Courses are measured as the crow flies, in a direct line from control to control. Unless you have wings, you will travel farther than this distance! Courses are measured in kilometers, so a good rule of thumb is to simply round up to miles to estimate how far you will go. So in a 5 kilometer race, you’ll likely travel up to 5 miles.
COURSE NOTES
Lord Hill Park is a large wooded park with a great variety of vegetation and an extensive trail system. Trails vary from wide gravel roads to narrow trails. Vegetation varies off trail from run-able to fight. Full body cover is recommended.
Hazards include slippery trails, steep elevation change and varying levels of vegetation on the off trail routes. Be wary of icy patches in cold weather.
SCHEDULE
9:00am – Registration opens
10:00am – Registration closes
10:15am – Long Advanced mass start
10:25am – Short Advanced mass start
10:35am – Intermediate mass start
10:45am – Beginner mass start
2:30pm – All courses close*
*(Return to the finish by course closure, even if it means cutting your course short.)
This event uses a “rolling mass start.” That means that all participants on the same course (e.g. “Short Advanced”) start together. There will be a delay between each course group (i.e. between the Short and Long Advanced groups). See the schedule for the mass start times.
PRICES
PRE-REGISTRATION PRICES
$17 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch
DAY-OF-EVENT REGISTRATION
$20 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch
What’s an e-punch?
An e-punch records your race. At each control, you’ll dip the e-punch into an electronic box, which will beep and flash as confirmation. After you finish, you’ll download the e-punch at the download tent and get a receipt that show which controls you visited and how long you took between each; these are your “splits.”
Part of the fun of orienteering is comparing your splits with people who completed the same course, and discussing the routes you took!
SIGN UP
Online pre-registration closes:
Day-of-event registration is available by cash or check, made payable to Cascade Orienteering Club
LOCATION
PARKING
Check back for parking info.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the Yahoo listserv and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
Covering 1,463 acres of forest, ponds, and open meadows, Lord Hill offers some of the best navigation west of the Cascade Mountains. It features rolling hills, a wide-ranging trail network, and enough navigable land to have back-to-back events on a 1:10,000-scale map with little to no overlap.
Though Lord Hill has north and south entrances, the club routinely uses the southern entrance for its ample parking and closer access to “the bowl,” an open, grassy area ideal for the arena-style finishes used in larger events.
Since 2014, Lord Hill has been the preferred location for the annual Bog Slog during the winter, and is often used for another event during the year as well.
Read more on the map pageSAFETY & ETIQUETTE
Return to the Finish
All participants MUST return to the finish and download their e-punch or turn in their punch card.
Even if you have not finished your course, you must still return to the the finish and confirm with event staff that you have returned safely.
Out of Bounds
Some areas may be marked out of bounds. It is imperative to respect these boundaries to maintain our relationships with land managers. Participants MUST NOT go out of bounds. Any participant caught going out of bounds will be disqualified.
Course Closure
All participants MUST return to the finish by course closure time. If a participant does not return by course closure, event volunteers will begin coordinating a search party.
If you need a long time on the course, start as early in the start window as possible, wear a watch, and be prepared to cut your course short to make it back by the course closure time.
Whistle
All participants MUST carry a whistle on the course. Complimentary whistles are available at the start tent (please only take one).
If you are injured on the course and need assistance, blow three long blasts to call for help.
If you hear a call for help, abandon your course to find the person in distress.
Voices
Part of the fun and fairness of orienteering is navigating your own course, so please be polite when you find a checkpoint and don’t holler that you’ve found it.
