Event Details For:
Advanced Practice Courses, Aug 29-Sept 1 at Happy Jack Area (Laramie, WY)
Friday, August 29th, 2025 - Monday, September 1st, 2025
Course Setter: Mikell Platt, Tori Borish & Carlo Giacometti
Course Vetter: N / A
E-Punch Coordinator: N / A
Meet Equipment: N / A
Pre-Registration Deadline: 6:00 pm MDT on Thursday, August 28th, 2025
[List of Registered Runners]
Volunteers: Sign-up Sheet for Control Pickup
Event Details:
We are planning four advanced orienteering practice courses near Laramie, WY (~two hours north of Boulder / Denver), in the Medicine Bow National Forest, over Labor Day weekend.
- Difficulty: The weekend's events will consist of four practice courses for advanced-level orienteers (anyone able to complete a Brown, Green, Red, or Blue course).
- Logistics: This will be very high quality training and there will be no timing, results, or instruction of any sort.
- Water: There will not be water on the courses, or at the start / finish; please bring your own water bottle or hydration pack and your own snacks.
- Toilets: There will not be porta-potties or pit toilets at the practice course locations. Bathrooms are available at the Visitor Center when you exit I-80.
- Pre-Registration: Pre-registration is required by 6:00 pm MDT on Thursday, August 28th. Use the form at the bottom of this page.
- Eligibility: All participants must be members in good standing of an OUSA-recognized orienteering club (e.g., RMOC or LROC).
Friday,
August 29Saturday,
August 30Sunday,
August 31Monday,
September 1Map: Forest of
LittleSome HopeBisbee Hill Area 307 Remarkable Flats Course Setter: Mikell Platt Mikell Platt Carlo Giacometti
& Tori BorishMikell Platt Course Details: Red / Advanced
(all courses will have shortcut options)5.4 km 8.3 km 8.3 km 11.8 km Check in: 3:45 - 4:00 pm MDT 9:45 - 10:00 am MDT Start: 4:00 pm MDT * 10:00 am MDT * Courses Close: 6:00 pm MDT 12:00 pm MDT Map Cases: Maps will be in map cases. * There will not be a specific mass start time or start window for the training courses. You can start whenever you'd like after Mikell gives out maps, but please return to the finish no later than 6:00 pm (Friday) or 1:00 pm (Saturday, Sunday & Monday). If you arrive after the check-in & start window, look for maps on the windshield or tailgate of Mikell's white pickup truck or blue SUV.
- Difficulty: The weekend's events will consist of four practice courses for advanced-level orienteers (anyone able to complete a Brown, Green, Red, or Blue course).
Entry Fee: There is no charge to participate. Donations to LROC to help with map printing costs are welcome.
Waivers:
All participants are required to sign an online LROC waiver HERE.
If you're attending as part of a group, every participant in the group (including minors) needs their own signed waiver.
Map & Course Notes:
* Friday, August 29 – Forest of
LittleSome Hope: So many people have complained about the feeling of futility of running in a forest of little hope that, in order to partially offset that, some additional area comprising a portion of forest where there is some hope has been added. Thus the new map name for this map: The Forest of Some Hope.Also, some other new terrain has been added off to the south of the old map, and some of this new terrain is extremely complex.
The course will take in both of these additions, and several legs traversing the north slope of The Heap will offer an orienteering experience unlike what most orienteers have likely experienced before, thus answering the question: are you experienced? (Answer: you are not, not yet.) Be prepared for some very large stones and other curiosities.
The course length will be 5.4 km and map scale of 1:10,000. At this scale the map will be almost impossible to read, thus it will be impossible to determine if any controls have been misplaced. Therefore we can stipulate in advance that no controls are misplaced. :)
* Saturday, August 30 – Bisbee Hill: It has been quite a while since we have used the Bisbee Hill map and in fact I can't remember when we used it last. But I suspect that most of our active orienteers today have never been to Bisbee Hill before. The core area — consisting of the forested areas surrounding Bisbee and Markley Hills — features detailed granite terrain that is a bit different than what is found on most of our other Laramie Range maps. But it's difficult to finger exactly how it's different. To me it just looks and feels a bit different.
And for those who have run at Bisbee before, suffice to say it won't be the same as you might remember it. The Forest Service conducted a burn two years ago that took in nearly the entirety of the core forested area, and in large portions of the area 100% of the trees were killed, though most remain still standing.
So running through the area is something like running through a ghost forest. Unsurprisingly, visibility in the forest now is exceptionally good! And all of the green areas (aspen) on the map were also burned, but are now vigorously re-growing from shoots emerging from the roots of the burned trees. This re-growth is easy to get through now, but in another two years or so it will likely be high and thick enough that it will be a quite different situation.
For now, however, runnability in the burned zone is quite good and very fast. The only exception is that there are some areas of Canada Thistle. Fortunately, these areas of thistle are mostly shorter plants, about knee high or so, and with leg cover (advised), they aren't bad. I ran through them in shorts and gaitors and had no problem — it's a case of looking much worse visually than they are in fact.
It's also worth noting that where sagebrush occurred, there are often short stubs remaining that didn't burn completely. In some cases these stubs will give way with almost no resistance (rotted at the ground) but some of these stubs have zero give and are way sturdier than your foot, and so are worth avoiding and keeping an eye out for.
Because of the explosion of new growth wherever the tree canopy has disappeared, probably any future use will need to avoid summer time, and be restricted to spring before seasonal vegetation has had a chance to grow much. But for this coming Labor Day Weekend, it ought to be fun and a rather special, if not unique, experience. Prepare for charcoaling!
* Sunday, August 31 – Area 307: Overall runnability is fast to very fast, except for some areas with denser brush. Visibility is excellent. The course will take advantage of some additional new area that was mapped last year, and which has never been used before.
* Monday, September 1 – Remarkable Flats: ###
Travel: Please refer to our 2018 event page for detailed information about hotels, camping, and activities in Laramie.
- Local Weather Forecast: Weather.com
- Driving Directions:
* Please park no more than one car length off the dirt road.
* There won't be any directional signs and cell phone service may be limited.
Course Locations
* Friday, August 29 – Forest of Little Hope: From I-80, take Exit 323 (Summit / Visitor's Center exit). Cross over the interstate, bear right at the intersection with WY 210, and then continue straight past the Visitors Center, over the cattle grate, and onto Forest Road (FR) 705. Continue on FR 705 for about 4.5 miles to the intersection with FR 707. Bear left onto FR 707 and continue for about 0.7 miles to the intersection with FR 707A, and turn right onto FR 707A. Continue on FR 707A for about 0.4 miles to 707AE, turn right on 707AE, and continue for about 100 m. Park on the right (west) side of 707AE. [Google Maps Pin]
Note: For those who might consider driving in on 707A from the *east*, we recommend against this unless you have a vehicle with higher clearance and 4-wheel drive, due to road conditions.
* Saturday, August 30 – Bisbee Hill: From I-80, take Exit 323 (Summit / Visitor's Center exit), drive north over the interstate, and then bear left onto WY 210 (Happy Jack Road). Take WY 210 for 7.6 miles and turn left (north) onto Forest Service Road 701. Take 701 for about 1.8 miles and turn left onto 701 H. Take 701 H for about 0.4 miles and park. Start will be about 300m from parking and finish will be at parking. [Google Maps Pin]
* Sunday, August 31 – Area 307: From I-80, take Exit 323 (Summit / Visitor's Center exit), drive north over the interstate, and then bear left onto WY 210 (Happy Jack Road). Take WY 210 east towards Cheyenne for about 2.8 miles and turn left (at parking lot) onto FR 712. Follow 712 for 2.1 miles to a "T" intersection and turn right. Continue on 712 for 0.3 miles and turn left at the junction. Continue on 712 for about 1.8 miles to a four-way intersection and veer/turn left, heading north now on 714. Continue north for 1.6 miles, driving through a four-way intersection where 714 turns into 713. Turn right onto 713C and follow for 0.6 miles to a four-way intersection; drive straight through the intersection, pass through the gate in the fence right past the intersection, and park. [Google Maps Pin]
* Monday, September 1 – Remarkable Flats: From I-80, take Exit 323 (Summit / Visitor's Center exit), drive north over the interstate, and then bear left onto WY 210 (Happy Jack Road). Take WY 210 towards Cheyenne for about 8.1 miles and then turn left onto Forest Service Road 708. Begin parking just before the first intersection or in that vicinity (same place we used for our May training). [Google Maps Pin]
Pre-Registration Form
Online pre-registration has closed, and onsite pre-registration will NOT be offered. Please join us at a future event.
Current date and time: 2025-11-08 02:04:17