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 5 minutes apart.
- 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.
Another tradition of Bog Slog is the potluck afterward!
-
Post Bog Slog Potluck at the Breseman Home!
- 15 minutes South of Lord Hill
- 2:00 to 6:00 pm
- Please RSVP to eobreseman [at] gmail [dot] com with:
COURSES
Course designer(s): Dave Dummeyer, Jared Hopkins
| Course | Distance | Controls | Climb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beginner | 3.3 km | 7 | 75 |
| Intermediate | 4.5 km | 8 | 160 |
| Short Advanced | 5.5 km | 13 | 240 |
| Long Advanced | 8.3 km | 18 | 400 |
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
“As many of you know, 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 foot paths. Some foot paths are covered with leaves, some are muddy bogs churned up by horses who also leave their “calling cards”. Depending on the amount of rain, some trails actually double as flowing streams.
Some trail hazards to look out for include loose ankle busting rocks, exposed tree roots and other bare wood which are a trip hazard and are slippery when wet. The wooded areas vary from nice open running to thick fights that would challenge the hardiest bushwhacker.
The courses themselves are intended to be on the long and challenging side of the scale. You should find them up to the Bog Slog standards. Route choice will be particularly interesting on the advanced courses deciding whether to trail run or bushwhack. Whichever course you do, hopefully you will have a few seconds to enjoy the hidden “gems” at some of the destinations and the views along the way.”
-Dave
SCHEDULE
9:00am – Registration opens
10:00am – Registration closes
10:15am – Long Advanced start
10:20am – Short Advanced start
10:25am – Intermediate start
10:30am – Beginner start
2:30pm – All courses close*
*(Return to the finish by course closure, even if it means cutting your course short.)
This event using a “rolling mass start.” That means that all participants on the same course (e.g. “Short Advanced”) start together. There will be a 5 minute delay between each course group (i.e. between the Short and Long Advanced groups).
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: 9pm, Thursday, December 29
Day-of-event registration is available by cash or check, made payable to Cascade Orienteering Club
LOCATION
PARKING
Parking will be at the South Lot. This gravel parking lot is usually gated, locked, and inaccessible to the public, but it will be open for this event.
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.
