Open Event and Hiking Challenge at Cane Creek Mountains, March 15
If you love the North Carolina mountains and don’t get there as often as you like, do yourself a favor and make a visit to Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area in Alamance County. Just over an hour from Raleigh and even less from Chapel Hill and Durham, Cane Creek has all of the rugged, rocky terrain and elevation you would expect deep in Pisgah National Forest located at our doorstep.
On Sunday, March 15 from 11 AM – 2 PM, BOK will have an open event offering 6 orienteering courses:
Beginner (White): 1.9k
Intermediate (Yellow): 2.7k
Advanced (Orange): 3.4k
Expert Short (Brown): 3.7k
Expert Medium (Green): 5.7k
Expert Long (Red): 6.4k
There is also a “Cane Creek Mountains Hiking Challenge” course available from now until 2 PM March 15. For this challenge, you receive a map and plot coordinates for a stage/checkpoint and then navigate with map and compass to this stage. Repeat for each successive stage and then return to the start/finish. There is a small red/orange pin punch hanging in plain sight at each of seven stages along this 4 to 5 mile loop. Taped to each punch are coordinates for the next stages in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction of travel. This course is inspired by and designed to be training for the Birkhead Hiking Challenge (BHC).
Participants in this challenge get to choose, or will be assigned their direction of travel. They also get to choose which type of map to use: one with a Degree Decimal Minute (DDM) grid, or one with a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid, both are 1:10,000 orienteering maps. The DDM is more difficult to use, but is the best practice for BHC. The UTM is designed to be easier for those not as experienced, or interested in BHC.
Estimated time for completing the challenge loop is 2-3 hours, but there is no time limit other than to abide by park hours and be finished before the conclusion of the March 15 BOK event when stages get picked up. You can either register to do the challenge during the BOK event on Sunday March 15, alternately you can use this link to obtain a digital copy of the challenge maps and initial coordinates so you can print your own map and go when you please.
Registration is open until NOON on Friday, March 13.
Check-in and starts will be located at the Pine Hill Trailhead: 5075 Bass Mountain Rd, Snow Camp, NC 27349. (GPS location = 35.958089, -79.420903). Bathroom facilities and drinking water are available from the park near the start.
If you’re new to orienteering, be sure to prepare yourself by watching our introductory videos at the top of this page. If you have questions that aren’t answered in these videos, we will have a friendly BOK member available near registration at 11:30 to answer questions.
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