+catcher24 Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Just wondering how many (if any) geocachers had experience with or continue to do orienteering? I have done orienteering for about 12 years, and when I read about geocaching it sounded rather like "super orienteering" or perhaps orienteering with a GPS. That is what first piqued my interest in geocaching. It seems to me that others active in geocaching might have orienteering experience, too. Just wondering. Catcher24 "You see, you spend a good deal of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." Jim Bouton Quote Link to comment
+Web-ling Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I've been a competitive orienteer for 12 years. I stumbled on geocaching.com while websurfing for orienteering sites. I've really started liking geocaching better, because: A) I don't have to wait for a meet to go hunt for something, and Geocaching is more of a "family event." I'm currently working on a combined "Geoteering" event: 2003 Texas State Geocaching Extravaganza Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 on my own with an orienteering map, I didn't go looking for flags and getting a card punched but we went through the woods with the map. It sounds like a lot of fun, competing like that. Cache you later, Planet I feel much more like I do now than when I first got here. Quote Link to comment
+GEO*Trailblazer 1 Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 From The days of the CUB Scouts,our Pack Leaders were all mostly military and we lived in a remote area of the Desert and we were taught from early on how to find things with a map and compass as well as an event once a year were we went to the Mountians and the Leaders hid things, and we all went to look for the clues and the points.All at the same time remembering where you are,safety,ect,ect..Dad use to take me Hunting and Fishing in remote parts of the Rockies and have me to be the guide.It to me is the same as orienteering, to orient yourself to all the possibilities of the suuroundings.I wish I had a GPSr when I was younger,there are still places in memory only that I would love to go back to and Cache... WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS *GEOTRYAGAIN* http://www.msnusers.com/MissouriTrails Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Orienteering is for those who can't figure out how to use a GPS. "An appeaser is one who keeps feeding a crocodile-hoping it will eat him last" -Winston Churchill Quote Link to comment
+catcher24 Posted March 14, 2003 Author Share Posted March 14, 2003 Web-ling: Agreed. I also live quite distant from where most meets in this area are held, so have only been able to attend a few. My favorite was the Score-O. Yes, I believe geocacing is more family oriented (no pun intended), although completeing a permanent O-course was always a family event, as we could take our time finding the controls and do a few each time out. Your geoteering idea sounds like fun! Keep me posted, please. Planet : Try a permanent course some time, or a local club event (these are a little easier than larger, A-type meets). There is almost always someone from the local club around who will be happy to help you. Also, try this website for more info: www.us.orienteering.org/ . BrianSnat: I disagree. I think the orienteers are the ones who will still find the way out - or maybe even the cache - when the GPS breaks! Catcher24 "You see, you spend a good deal of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." Jim Bouton Quote Link to comment
+Scook Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I was involved with the local orienteering group for several years in the early 80s. While I enjoyed the sport as an activity, the Ann Arbor/U of M group viewed it as solely a competitive sport. They came out, ran the course, logged their times and left when the results where posted. It was not a social activity and you were ignored if you weren't running the course and didn't finish with main group. Geocaching is much more social and they no problem stopping to see a bird, plant or mushroom along the way. Geocachers will even take time to admire a view. Unless orienteering has changed a lot, I believe it's still mainly an athletic competition and not a family activity (unless it's a family of runners.) I stil carry my old Silva Prospecter and probably have stashed away somewhere my old laminated topo maps of some of the regular orienteering spots. "Adrift in a world he never made!" Quote Link to comment
+LoneHowler Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I was taught it in Junior High but I probably forgot most of it More to see, More to do Quote Link to comment
The Foster Clan Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I started Orienteering with my son and co-worker (Shubbed) who is also starting to Geocache (he's the one getting me going on all this stuff). I grew up in the Marine Corp. so using a map and compass has always be something I must do and know. After the service, that life style sort of left me for a time but I've been getting back into the swing of things now that I have a house full of my own kids. We try to keep everything family oriented so Orienteering hasn't been really high on the list. I'll agree with the others that it's more of a "one on one" sport. Keeping the kids busy is our primary concern so this kind of stuff is great. Jon. Come visit us on the web!! The JJ&C Railroad Quote Link to comment
+shawhh Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 have been navigating off trail for many years. love the challenge of using map and compass to find my way. have been to several "o" events and had a great time. unfortunately, most events are either some distance from my home or are on days i work. geocaching is great in that i can play at my convenience and closer to home if i don't have time to drive. i encourage anyone who hasn't tried orienteering to try it. similar, yet different from caching. -harry Quote Link to comment
Tahosa and Sons Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 Been doing Orienteering for a long long time. Went to my first meet about 43 years ago. Its a wonderful way to have fun in the woods. And the GPS sure has expanded on the sport. Did a combination event here in CO, last summer and plan on doing 1 again this summer. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=20843 Tahosa - Dweller of the Mountain Tops. Quote Link to comment
+catcher24 Posted March 15, 2003 Author Share Posted March 15, 2003 Thanks for all of the replies. To Scook, The Foster Clan and Shawhh, I would recommend trying a permanent course, if there is one at a location near you. My orienteering now consists almost exclusively of doing permanent courses. If not familiar with these, it is an orienteering course with the controls being more or less permanent fixtures. The Buffalo (NY) orienteering group I belong to uses 4X4 metal signs attached with nails or wire close to the control. The Richester Orienteering Club has 6x6 posts in the ground at the control. Buffalo sets the course in April and it remains in place until November, so you can take the family, go any day, take your time and enjoy the view and surroundings. I, too, had the same concerns you voice - very competitive, only on weekends, not family oriented - but I think some clubs have addressed these concerns by establishing permanent or semi-permanent courses. I would strongly encourage you to try one, if available in your area. I think you would enjoy it, and the ability to use a compass and read a topo map can't be beat, especially if the GPS dis! Thanks again for the replies. Catcher24 "You see, you spend a good deal of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." Jim Bouton Quote Link to comment
+SeaTrout Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 My wife and I would like to orienteer,but not in a running competative way.We would like tough courses that would require better compass and map skills but not racing against a clock and others.Part of the fun with caching is that many can find the same cache at different times at their own pace.Extremely Tough compass courses with small items to find and report would be fun to us. Seatrout Brunton Eclipse 8099 rules ! Quote Link to comment
+dwmurphy Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 and had a great time. We did the Yellow course again which basically used the park trails for the course and is one step up from White which is for beginners. Only when we got near a marker did we have to leave the trail system. I'm not Lost, my GPS says I'm right here....no over here......no over here. Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Tahosa:Been doing Orienteering for a long long time. Went to my first meet about 43 years ago. ---snip --- Did a combination event here in CO, last summer and plan on doing 1 again this summer. Doing it in Colorado, huh? Recommend visiting Loveland, huh-huh? I'll bet a dollar or two that you can send my regards to Bob and Virginia, and to Sharon too, once in a while. Right? Anders Quote Link to comment
The Foster Clan Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 Don't get me wrong, I really like Orienteering. Even the competitive side of it. But these days I would rather spend as much time with my wife and kids as possible... I swear, the kids were born yesterday and today they seem like young adults. It's gonna suck when they leave home! I'll have to check into the permanent courses around here too. I'm always up for something fun. We like the harder courses as well. Last year when my son was 10, he did the red course at Pontiac lake. Let me tell you, I was dripping with sweat and could barely draw breath while he was walking around like he hadn't done anything all day. I guess time catches you and doesn't let go very easily. And I'm not that old yet! Jon. Come visit us on the web!! The JJ&C Railroad Quote Link to comment
+catcher24 Posted March 15, 2003 Author Share Posted March 15, 2003 Foster Clan - If you can find a permanent course in your area, I think you would enjoy dong some or all of it with the family. In the ones I have done, the controls range from very easy to quite difficult. Hope you get a chance to try one in your area. SeaTrout - See above. Some controls are simply small knolls or boulders, and I actually learned to do pace counting to zero in on the control when close. If you enjoy using a map and compass, I think you would enjoy finding some of the more difficult controls. The Buffalo O Club puts a two letter code on each control sign. Sings are only 4x4 inches, so you do have to find the control. Our semi-permanent courses have 25 controls, with a score card to track the controls. To add a little more interest, once the card is filled in you can send it in and get a small certificate and also be eligible for a rpize drawing held at the annual meeting. If you can find a semi or permanent O-course in your area, give it a shot. Catcher24 "You see, you spend a good deal of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." Jim Bouton Quote Link to comment
+Web-ling Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 quote:Originally posted by BrianSnat:Orienteering is for those who can't figure out how to use a GPS. A GPS is for those who can't read maps. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 quote:Originally posted by catcher24:Just wondering how many (if any) geocachers had experience with or continue to do orienteering? I have done orienteering for about 12 years, and when I read about geocaching it sounded rather like "super orienteering" or perhaps orienteering with a GPS. That is what first piqued my interest in geocaching. It seems to me that others active in geocaching might have orienteering experience, too. Just wondering. Catcher24 "You see, you spend a good deal of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." Jim Bouton I've only "Oriented" once because of a class. That's if you take it as doing it for the fun of it. The rest of the time I had a place in mind and got there via reading maps and the like. Which seems to be the purpose of it. Now that I've got a GPS nothting has changed, just the tools used to get the job done. Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
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