Event Details For:

☀ Ongoing UsynligO Training Course at Manitou Park North (Woodland Park)
Saturday, July 25th, 2020 - Thursday, December 31st, 2020

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


  • General Information: THANK YOU to Galen Moore for creating a set of training courses at RMOC's Manitou North map.

    These courses are loaded in the UsynligO app. UsynligO ('InvisibleO' in Norwegian) is a GPS-based smartphone app that makes orienteering courses available without flags to mark the control points. The app vibrates and makes a sound when you have found the control point location. Beginners can ask the app for hints (direction and distance).

    * Download the app HERE.
    * Read the app configuration requirements HERE.
    * Launch the app and tap "UsynligO Events" to search for Manitou North.
    * Tip from Attackpoint: set the punching radius to 25m and the minimum accuracy to 100m.

    Attention! You must load the course into the app while you still have cell service, even if you're using a printed paper map. Once you start the course, the app only requires GPS (not cell service) to track your location.

    NOTE:
    * Please complete RMOC's 2020 online waiver before starting the course.
    * Please abide by all state & local guidelines related to COVID-19.
    * If you want a paper map, find it using your browser HERE or use the UsynligO app to download and print (tap map name, "Tap Here for the Map", and then tap the share icon to send the PDF file to your email or printer).

  • Maps: Please note that these maps were manually, and very roughly, georeferenced for loading into UsynligO:

    * Yellow (Beginner)
    * Orange (Intermediate)
    * Green (Advanced)
    * Red (Long Advanced)

  • Map & Course Notes from Galen: - All maps are 1:7,500 scale, 5m contours.

    - This is a DIY event. Be sure to submit an online waiver for every participant, and keep in mind that there will be no control flags, no controls/punches, no scoring, no port-a-potty, and no drinking water.

    - Start/Finish: same point for both, see aerial map below. For those of you who've run on Manitou North before, this is the trail/road junction at our usual meet assembly area here. Start / Finish coordinates: about 39.0895, -105.0876.

    - Besides the usual risks of scrambling up and down slopes, loose soil, clambering over fallen trees, etc., please be on the lookout for barbed wire laying around on the ground.

    - Cattle have recently been moved onsite. Please don't disturb them.

    - Early up and early down is strongly recommended. Keep an eye out for thunderstorms, even if the morning's weather report looked good.

    - There has been basically no water in any of the few watercourses during my recent visits.

    - I've found cell reception to be very poor up there; please bring your whistle in case of emergency. There are likely to be hikers who might hear your whistle.

    - In terms of the map, I'd recommend focusing on contours and landforms, paying less attention to vegetation, and giving minimal heed to trails. There have been hikers and dog walkers every time I've been up there, so I'm hoping they'll keep doing trail 'maintenance' for us over time and improve what's mappable in terms of trails.

    - Course specs, subject to minor change:

    Course / Length / # Controls / Climb
    Yellow / 2.1k / 9 / 65m
    Orange / 2.7k / 9 / 125m
    Green / 5k / 16 / 315m
    Red / 6k / 21 / 435m

    Course-specific comments:

    - On the Yellow course, leg 4 -> 5 is an "Orange" difficulty leg; the road shown on the map cannot be seen on the ground after a bit, but at that point the campground can be seen and used as a catching feature. From control #6 to the Finish there are no handrails or great catching features, but the area is mostly open and each feature can be seen with a little progress away from the previous feature. This Yellow is not very difficult overall, but it is not recommended for brand-newbies to orienteering.

    - The Orange course has a mix of easy legs and legs that will require careful route choice and solid terrain reading. There will be options to follow barbed wire fence, but please follow strict social distancing from barbed wire fence – it is not your friend, and it will reach and catch you in the worst way if you lose your footing while too close to the fence.

    - The first half of the Green course (basically the Red course, truncated) will have you working through the super-fun detailed terrain in the NW part of the map. There will be plenty of up-and-downing, but the forest in this area is mostly very runnable otherwise. The second half will take you through the NE and highest part of the map where you'll find more dense brush and therefore slower running, before working back through lower terrain. Expect to make 4 fence crossings, at least two of which can use downed sections of barbed wire fence shown as an optional crossing point on the map.

    - The Red course: same notes as for the Green course but that you should expect 6 fence crossings (one a ruined length of barbed wire on the 8 -> 9 leg, partly marked with survey tape, and another section of ruined fence at control #7). Of the remaining 4 crossings, only one can be conveniently crossed at a mapped crossing point.

    Feel free to e-mail me with any questions or concerns.

    Stay well!
    Galen

    Parking & Start / Finish Location:
    Map.

  • Local Weather Forecast: NOAA.gov
  • Driving Directions: From Colorado Springs, go west on Highway 24 to Woodland Park. From Woodland Park, go north on Highway 67 for 8.1 miles (you'll go past the picnic area at Manitou Lake). Turn right on County Road 79 and continue for about 0.1 miles to a fork. Take the right fork and continue for another 0.1 miles. Turn right onto Forest Service Road 345 and go south for about 0.7 miles across a cattle guard. Park just east of the cattle guard, not more than one car length off the road.

    [Google Map]


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