GAOC Extreme-O
January 13, 2001
FDR State Park - Georgia

Here is info about the Georgia Orienteering Club's Extreme-O 2001.
It was a very fun event.  I have placed this on the web so that others may learn more about GAOC's Extreme-O in the hopes that you may join in on one of these. 

My son Nick and I ran this course as a team.

Prior to the start:
Location - Visitor's Center
pick up punch card, pick up clue sheet, write control codes on the punch card

Start on the whistle:
run about 100 feet behind the Visitor's Center and pick up map #1

MAP #1 - aerial photograph (our course marked in blue)

Control #1 - clue: Building, North side
ran about 100 meters from the start in a NNE direction, crossed to the West side of the road and spotted a small building.  The control was on the back side (North side)

Control #2 - clue: bend in the trail
we followed the road to the NE.  The control appeared to be located off to the West side of the road.  As we jogged along, we first passed the bend in the road and looked for the road to bend back to the left.  As the road bent back to the left, we spotted the control about 100 feet off the West side of the road down in a re-entrant.

Control #3 - clue: NW edge of clearing
continued jogging along the road, we found a clearing with several park maintenance buildings.  We continued along the dirt road in the maintenance area to the far NW edge and found the control.

Control #4 - clue: Edge of clearing
From #3 we decided to take a route along a power line clearing that led to the North and carried us to the road.  From the road, we went along until we could see the clearing to the West and crossed through the woods to the clearing.  The control was easy to spot on the South edge of the clearing.  Here we picked up map #2

MAP #2 3D grid sketch map (our course marked in blue - #8 and #9 added to show our route since there were not map provided for these two controls)

Control #5 - clue: Building
I took an approximate compass bearing (a little East of North).  We took off and crossed the park road.  I had misread the map and we looked for the trail on the SE side of the pool for just a second.  Once I realized we were on the wrong side of the pool, we ran along the NE side of the pool fence until we intersected the trail to the NE.  It was fairly flat terrain so we jogged along at a moderate pace until we found the first trail intersection.  From there we continued to the North.  The Y in the trail appeared almost immediately. I quickly checked behind a building that was very close to the main trail. Nothing there. I did not notice the second building on the map.   I thought this was wrong, so we continued looked for another Y in the trail.  We continued until we saw the road..... Oops! Now we back tracked to the Y in the trail and I noticed a second building on the map and found the second, very small building with the control located behind it.  We were not the only ones to miss this Y in the trail.  We passed several people who had continued on the road as we did.

Control #6 - clue: culvert
took an approximate compass bearing and proceeded NW through the woods.  The woods were open and easy to make good time here.  Found the road and continued West along the road.  We were not quite sure what we were looking for.  We continued on until we could see the road intersection beyond control #7.  Now we remembered seeing the culvert and Nick ran back to the culvert with the punch card.  I told him that I would wait for him at control #7.  Nick crawled through the culvert under the road and the control was hanging midway through the culvert (about 3 feet in diameter).

Control #7 - clue: reentrant
The control was very easy to spot in re-entrant on the East side of the road.  I waited a few minutes for Nick to return.  Here there was a sign that said the next control was located 187 degrees and a distance of 150 meters

Control #8 - clue: spur - North end
set the compass on the heading of 187 degrees and proceeded through the woods to the spur.  This was a relatively short distance and was easily spotted.  At control #8, there was a sign that said the next control was located on the North side of the road about 300 meters to the West.  (I don't remember exactly what was written on the sign).  

Control #9 - clue: culvert
We took off and began following the road to the West.  You could see quite a distance down the straight road.  There was a vehicle parked up there, so I figured that must be where we were headed.  We entered the culvert that passed under the road on the North side of the road.  Midway through the culvert the control was hung.  Nick punched our card and continued on through the culvert.  On the South side of the road at the culvert were new maps.  This time it was a USGS map in black&white.  The sign said you are currently located at grid 04303641 and the control #10 was a finger located at 04183622

MAP #3 USGS map (our route shown in blue - all of the control locations were calculated from information provided at the various control locations - The map was blank when we started.)

Control #10 - clue: finger
After plotting both points on the map, control #10 appeared to be almost due South up on the next small ridge.  We took off with another team just ahead of us.  We quickly caught them and passed them.  As we climbed the ridge we passed a water tank.  When we reached the top of the small ridge, we did not see the control.  I took a guess that it was located further up the finger to the SE and we took off in that direction.  We spotted the control about 75 meters to the SE along the finger.  There was a sign there with coordinates for the next control, 03953596.  This was to the SW of control #10.  I set the compass and we were off.

Control #11 - clue: saddle
Headed SW down the into the re-entrant and up the spur until we found a saddle with the control.  Here was a sign with the next control information.  Head 289 degrees for 370 meters to find control #12.

Control #12 - clue: re-entrant
I thought the control would be located along the creek at the bottom of the large re-entrant.  We stayed a little to the right of a direct heading of 289 degrees, staying on the ridge for the first half of the leg.  We then dropped down on the North side of the finger and followed the contours around to the SW.  As we came around, we saw the control off to the left in a small re-entrant.  Two other teams had just made it there and were copying down the information for the next control. Info posted at #12:

ORIENTEER ON HILLTOP AT 04363610 REPORTED SEEING SOMEONE  ENTERING A CULVERT WITH A CONTROL AT A HEADING OF 269 DEGREES FROM THE HILLTOP.  ANOTHER ORIENTEER AT 03453558 REPORTED SEEING SOMEONE EXITING A CULVERT WITH A CONTROL AT A HEADING OF 338 DEGREES FROM THEIR LOCATION
After plotting the to lines and determining their intersection, it looked like we head West along the stream and find the culvert where the stream crossed under the road.

Control #13 - clue: culvert
We took off to the West following the stream.  When we came to the road, there was a culvert with a control located midway through the culvert.  The previous culverts had been relatively dry - not this one.  At the entrance to the culvert was a small pool of water about a foot deep with briars surrounding the entrance to the culvert.  The entrance to the culvert had about 6 inches of water in it.  Well, we got our feet wet and entered the culvert.  Nick held the punch card in his mouth and proceeded through the culvert punching the control half way through.  At the far end of the culvert was an even bigger pool of water.  Not much chance of avoiding the water, so we stepped into the pool with one foot and then onto the dry land.  The pool was about knee deep.  There was a sign there that said the next control was down stream and located under a foot bridge.  

Control #14 - clue: under bridge
We took off in a trot following the winding stream until we came upon a foot bridge.  The ditch with the stream was about 8 feet deep here (not much water).  Nick jumped down into the ditch and punched the control card.  The sign there said the next two controls were located downstream along the stream.  

Control #15 - clue: under rootstock in stream
Since the stream was in the bottom of a deep ditch, Nick went down one side of the ditch and I followed on the other side.  In this manor we could see the entire ditch as we went along.  We ran along opposite sides of the stream looking for the control.  About 100 meters down the stream, Nick spotted someone coming up out of the ditch.  He jumped down in the ditch and found the control under the large rootstock.  After punching the card, we proceeded along the stream.

Control #16 - clue: rock wall
We followed the stream for another 100 meters.  Here we came upon the spillway below a dam.  There was a rock wall with the control.  A sign here said to follow the streamers to the next control.

Control #17 - clue: building, West side
We followed the streamers up the stair-stepped spillway (each of the steps were about 3 to 4 feet high) and under the road to the edge of the lake.  The streamers then exited the spillway over the steep wall about 5 foot tall.  The steamers followed the road over the dam to the midway point on the dam.  At that point there were a very long set of stairs down the back side of the dam to a building.  The control was at the edge of the building.

At the control we were told to enter the building for the an activity.  Inside the building there was a pistol target range set up.  Pistols with laser targets.  Each person was given 5 shots at the target.  The scores were each recorded by the target.  The best score was recorded for each team.  I had a score of 5 out of 5.  Nick had scored 0 out of five.  We later found out that the gun Nick had used was not working.

From there we were directed to a small field next to the building.   Here there was a small grenade throwing area set up.  Each person had three chances to land a grenade in a square about 6'x6' located about 50 feet away.  We had a total of 1 point on this.  

From here we were instructed to an area with information posted on a tree.  Pick up a new map and copy the next two control locations onto your map and proceed.  The original map being copied was an orienteering map.  The map we were given was a park map.  This meant that you had to do a little bit of studying of the two maps to relate the control locations on the two different maps.

MAP #4 park map (our course shown in blue)

Control #18 - reentrant / power line
Nick and I were familiar with this area.  It was right behind the cabin we had been staying in.   We ran along the lake and then up the reentrant to the power line crossing.  Unfortunately, I did not see the control right away.  It was hidden among several large fallen trees.  Nick punched the control and we were off to the next control.  We had seen #19 on our way to #18.

Control #19 - Island
We headed up out of the reentrant and down the road to the edge of the lake.  Nick had been telling me to follow him, but I wound up going to the wrong area and had to back track a short distance around the lake to the flat bottom boats used to get you to the island.  We put on our life jackets and took off to the island.  There was another team to our right and we could not get to the tip of the island as we had been instructed.    The boats had a rope attached to them and the officials on the shore would pull on the rope to prevent you from going to the easy to land spot on the island.  Nick realized that they were not going to let us get to the island and the other team was blocking our progress, so Nick jumped into the water and swam the last 15 or 20 feet to the island.  I made sure the map bag was zipped up and followed him into to the water.  Nick beat the other team to the island - his only problem was that he did not have the punch card.  It was in my map bag.  He had to wait on me to get the punch card.  By that time the other team had just passed Nick and I.  To leave the island, there was a small rope bridge, one rope on which to step and on rope above your head to hold onto with your hands.  We were making our way across the rope bridge, with the other team just a few feet ahead of us.  Nick made it across the foot bridge and raced about 200 meters to the finish line.

We wound up finishing in 2nd place for the short course, just a few seconds behind the team that passed us at the last control on the island.