Event Details For:
Memorial Day Weekend Advanced Practice Courses at Happy Jack Area (Laramie, WY)
Saturday, May 23rd, 2026 - Monday, May 25th, 2026
Course Setter: Mikell Platt
Course Vetter: N/A
E-Punch Coordinator: N/A
Meet Equipment: N/A
Pre-Registration Deadline: 10:00 pm MDT on Thursday, May 21st, 2026
[List of Registered Runners]
Volunteers: We will need volunteers! [Sign-up Sheet for Control Hanging and Control Pickup]
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.
Event Details:
We're planning three advanced orienteering practice courses near Laramie, WY, in the Medicine Bow National Forest, over Memorial Day weekend.
- Difficulty: The weekend's events will consist of three practice courses for advanced-level orienteers (anyone able to complete a Brown, Green, Red, or Blue course).
- Logistics: This event will not include timing, results, or beginner instruction.
- Pre-Registration: Pre-registration is required by 10:00 pm MDT on Thursday, May 21st. Use the form at the bottom of this page.
- 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.
- 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.
- Eligibility: All participants must be members in good standing of an OUSA-recognized orienteering club (e.g., RMOC or LROC).
Saturday,
May 23Sunday,
May 24Monday,
May 25Map: Bisbee Hill Pelican Bay Remarkable Flats Course Setter: Mikell Platt Course Details: Red / Advanced
(all courses will have shortcut options)8.2 km 7.1 km 8.5 km Check in: 10:00 - 10:30 am MDT Start: 10:00 - 10:30 am MDT * Courses Close: 1:00 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 1:00 pm. If you arrive late, look for maps on the windshield or tailgate of Mikell's blue SUV.
Map & Course Notes from Mikell:
* Saturday, May 23 – Bisbee Hill: The course is 8.2 kms and offers a complete sampling of all that Bisbee Hill has to offer. There will be a good bit less of "prairie" running compared to last year, and, one week out from this training, annual vegetation has really only just gotten started growing and should be substantially shorter than what we had last summer. As a reminder, the "core" forested area of the map was subjected to a prescribed burn several years ago, and most of what is light green on the map has either been eradicated with little trace that it was ever there, or is starting to grow anew in the form of tightly spaced small aspen saplings. Remember to sign the waiver where you promise not to step onto any of the more beautiful flowers — and the flower police will be out there with cameras to enforce this. Or you can just bribe the event director with Mountain Dews and cross your fingers... No shade, so bring your sunscreen and hope for lots of rain! :)
* Sunday, May 24 – Pelican Bay: This course is 7.1 kms and here, too, much of the forested area has been affected by forestry operations (thinning and some subsequent spot burning), none of which is reflected on the map. I can't say that it really matters much except in some areas where there is enough debris on the ground to make the running a little more difficult than it once was, perhaps more than offset by other areas where sage patches were burned away entirely. The nature of the area is such that there are several controls where if you hit them straight on, you will think nothing of it, but if you miss, you could drop a lot of time because "it all looks the same!" (We will not disclose who uttered those words, and will just say it never looks *exactly* all the same.)
* Monday, May 25 – Remarkable Flats: This course is 8.5 kms, or maybe I should write it's only 8.5 kms — this might be the shortest course ever at Remarkable Flats, and I'm not really sure what happened this time around. Perhaps it involved a dream or something. At any rate, the course opens tough and then gets easier. Or is it the other way around? That's the problem with dreams — it's so hard to remember!
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.
* We're providing map pins but Google Maps may lead you on roundabout routes or impassable dirt roads; follow the directions below.
* Saturday, May 23 – Bisbee Hill: From I-80, take Exit 323 (Summit/Visitor's Center exit), drive north over the interstate, then bear left on WY 210 (Happy Jack Road). Follow WY 210 for 2.7 miles and turn left onto Forest Service Rd 712 at the parking lot. Follow 712 for 2.1 miles to a "T" intersection and turn right onto 702. Stay straight and continue for 1.1 miles (note that 702 turns into 701 with a sign at the cattle gate) to 701C. Turn right onto 701C and follow for 0.6 miles and park in the vicinity of a small boulder and short rail fence segment. Start and Finish are essentially at parking. [Google Maps Pin]
* Sunday, May 24 – Pelican Bay: From I-80, take Exit 323 (Summit/Visitor's Center exit), drive north over the interstate, then bear left on WY 210 (Happy Jack Road). Follow WY 210 for about 8.2 miles and turn right onto Forest Service Rd 707A. Continue for a little more than 0.3 miles and park in the vicinity of higher ground 200m or so before the road fork ahead (same area as where we parked last year and got "fogged"). Start and Finish are essentially at parking. [Google Maps Pin]
* Monday, May 25 – 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 for 8.1 miles and then turn left onto Forest Service Road 708. Begin parking just before the first intersection or in that vicinity. Start is about 600m down the road from parking and Finish is a little further down the same road. [Google Maps Pin]
Pre-Registration Form
· The online pre-registration deadline for this meet is: 10:00 pm MDT on Thursday, May 21st, 2026.
· After you submit the registration form, use the "List of Registered Runners" link (below) to double-check your registration status.
· If you need to make a change to your registration information, send an email to the webmaster.
· Teams who will be doing a course together only need to submit the entry form one time for the team. If you need to register additional family members or friends who will be doing the course separately, enter them separately.
Current date and time: 2026-05-20 04:45:03