Event Details For:

Training Course at Blue Mountain (Lake George)
Monday, June 1st, 2020 - Monday, September 21st, 2020

Course Setter: Neal Barlow
Course Vetter: N / A
E-Punch Coordinator: N / A
Meet Equipment: N / A

• Course Markers:

  Neal will be picking up the streamers on the Blue Mountain courses on September 21, 2020.

• General Information: THANK YOU to Neal Barlow for creating a set of Advanced training courses at RMOC's Blue Mountain map.

  NOTE:
  * Please complete RMOC's 2020 online waiver before starting any of the courses.
  * Please abide by all state & local guidelines related to COVID-19.

• Course Notes from Neal Barlow: Blue Mountain was one of the first areas I ran and planned on when I arrived in Colorado 20 years ago, and one of the reasons I decided to stay.

  Unfortunately time has not been kind to the area due to fire and man-made thinning, and the map is out of date. You will find unmarked rock features exposed by fire and erosion, logging roads, small drainage features, and vegetation that do not match the map.

  Also due to age the magnetic north lines printed on the map are off by a degree or two.

  After saying all of that, this is still a fun and challenging area.

  I have set three advanced courses. I would not recommend these courses for beginners, however Orange / intermediate-level orienteers could give them a try as there is a major forest road to the west for safety.

  The control sites are marked with numbered pink tape streamers (not the UsynligO app). Usually the streamers are on the ground by the feature; occasionally I was in a charitable mood and hung them six inches up. [Neal plans to maintain the streamers on the Blue Mountain courses at least through Labor Day, 9/7/2020. If you find that any streamers are missing, please notify Neal at thaum@yahoo.com.]

  Note that this is a remote back-country area so make sure someone knows where you are.

• Maps: Please print your own maps:

  * Loop 1 * Loop 2 * Loop 3

  
  Doug at Blue Mountain in 2011.

• Local Weather Forecast: NOAA.gov
• Driving Directions: From Colorado Springs, drive west on Highway 24 through the towns of Woodland Park, Divide, and Florissant, and into the town of Lake George. When you arrive in Lake George, turn left (southwest) at Granite Canyon General Store (formerly Starky's Liquor Store), onto County Road 96. SET YOUR ODOMETER HERE. At 0.9 miles, take the left fork onto Blue Mountain Road / Forest Road 244 (do not take the right fork to 11-Mile Reservoir). At 1.5 miles you will see the Blue Mountain campground on your right; keep going. At 2.9 miles, turn onto the dirt road on your left (County Road 61, no sign), then take an immediate right at the fork. The parking area is a pullout about 100 meters after the fork.

  [Google Map]