Burke Mtn Weekly Virtual Training

Organizers: Joanne Woods (Event Director), Stan Woods (Controller), Robyn Rennie (Assistant), Joanne Woods (Course Planner)

Although not much has changed it is 2021 now, so please make sure that you have filled in your membership and waiver information before requesting a map. It can easily be done online here.

LOTS OF INFORMATION BELOW - please read it.

This course is a training event that was offered to our more experienced orienteers recently. The course has been modified slightly and is offered here as an Intermediate level course. It is 4.5 km in length and has 225 meters of elevation gain. It provides the opportunity to practice reading contours, taking a compass bearing, thumbing along the map as you traverse a myriad of trails. You can choose the direct route through the forest, or take a round about route by staying on trails. As this is a training exercise, feel free to try both routes; direct through the forest and going around on the trails. Which route is the faster one for you? Try this at several points on the course and you can get a great workout.

Beginners feel free to visit the controls in any order or visit as many or as few as you feel works for you. Pin flags are on-site from Monday Feb 8 until Sunday Feb 14. There are MANY pin flags in the area as sections of the map will soon be a new housing development, and surveyors been marking the area with pin flags. All the pin flags on the course can be identified because there is additional red reflective tape on the pin flags. If you find a pin flag that does not have red reflective tape on it, then you are at the wrong spot.

Burke Mtn Park is an interesting network of trails, both walking and biking and it is likely to have quite a few mountain bikers over the weekend days so use the trails carefully. Particularly watch for people coming downhill fast on a bike.

Maps

There is a large purple hatched area on the West side of the map. This is an active gun range, so the sound of gunfire can often be heard while in the area. There are signs posted in the forest to indicate the gun range boundary - so please obey the signs and stay out of that area.

The trails with the "X"s marked on them are "one way" trails with bikes coming downhill with speed so please avoid running up these trails.

When you see a built up structure on a cycle trail - like a ramp or a jump, there are likely pit(s) nearby, so watch out, as the pits are not marked on the map. Also there are many streams on the course, and many of the smaller ones are not mapped, so don't be surprised to get wet feet.

There are also likely to be plenty of people enjoying the park in the evening, so please be be mindful and keep your 2 meter distance.

We will NOT have printed maps for you at the event. Because our insurance policy requires that everyone who participates in a GVOC event be a member of the club, please email gvoc.membership@gmail.com for a pdf copy of the event map. Note - the membership volunteer will promise to respond to map requests in the evening each day. No guarantees when the reply will come if the map request is in the morning and you hope to run the course that day.

Please send in your feedback and results after completing the course.

Social Distancing Recommendations

Remember that these events are to be run/walked individually, obeying all the social distancing recommendations currently in place. However, for your personal safety please let somebody know where you are, and what you are doing. These are not sanctioned events; we don't retain any liability for participants. This is a do-at-your-own-risk, training suggestion.

Location