Weekend of Orienteering in Prescott

Come join us for a weekend of fun in the cool pines near Prescott. On Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22, we'll present 3 separate orienteering events in the Prescott area:
(Click a link below to jump to the details for an event.)

• Saturday morning - Short Classics (3) and Mini-Motala at Schoolhouse Gulch (new area, new map).
• Saturday evening - 2-Hour Night-O at White Rock.
• Sunday morning - 3-Hour Score-O at Big Juniper.

All event locations are in a Ponderosa forest, at about 6000 - 6500 foot elevation. Locations are a 15 – 30 minute drive from downtown Prescott.

All maps have been updated with 5 meter contour lines derived from Lidar data.

SAVE MONEY by pre-registering for one or more events. Pre-registration closes at 11:59 PM on Thursday night, May 19.

Saturday Morning Short Classics (1, 2, or 3) and Mini-Motala (Schoolhouse Gulch)

Saturday 21 May 2022, 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the Schoolhouse Gulch event site.

After parking and preparing your gear, CAREFULLY cross the road and walk about 100 meters south on the road to the Registration/Start area at the intersection of Senator Highway and Schoolhouse Gulch Road.

****NOTE**** as of May 2, access to the map area has been restricted due to the Crooks Fire. Neither the mapping nor the course designs have been completed yet, but we'll have something ready by May 21. The area is not likely to burn from the fire*****

This is a newly mapped area, about 4 miles south of Prescott on Mt. Vernon Ave/Senator Highway. The area is mostly smooth terrain (at least, by Prescott standards) in a forested area. There is also less brush than on the Big Juniper or White Rock maps. The terrain and the 5 m contours should make for an enjoyable orienteering experience.

There will be three classic courses in the Motala event. The courses will be too long to call them "sprints", but the format is similar to a typical GPHXO Sprint event. Do 1, 2, or 3 courses in any order. Timing results will be both for the individual courses, as well as an overall time for those completing all 3 courses.

Schedule:

Registration/check-in opens at 8:00 AM.

Short Classic Courses open at 8:30 AM.

Courses close at 1:00 PM.

• $10 for pre-pregister/pre-pay, $15 onsite. Discounts for members/non-members for doing all three events.
• Pre-register . Pre-registration deadline Thursday, May 19 at 11:59 PM. Fees increase for on-site registration.

Saturday 2-Hour Night-O

Saturday 21 May 2022, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM at the White Rock event site.

This night-O is a 2 hour event with a mass start at 8:00 PM. We will be using a Score-O format with one point per control (18 possible points for 18 controls). There is a severe penalty of 1 point for every 2 minutes elapsed after the course closes at 10:00 PM. The Score-O is roughly 5.2 km long with 150 m of elevation gain.

Schedule:

Registration/check-in opens at 7:30 PM.

Pre-Race Briefing/Distribute Maps at 7:50 PM.

Mass Start at 8:00 PM.

Last time to return without a time penalty: 10:00 PM.

Course closes, participants marked as DNF: 10:15 PM

• $10 for pre-pregister/pre-pay, $15 onsite. Discounts for members/non-members for doing all three events.
• Pre-register . Pre-registration deadline Thursday, May 19 at 11:59 PM. Fees increase for on-site registration.

Sunday 3-hour Score-O (Big Juniper)

Sunday 22 May 2022, 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the Big Juniper event site.

The Forest Service has been using their Shredder machine to clear brush in this area. The good news is that a lot of the brush is now gone, although the ground is torn up and has some shredder debris on it--which makes for loose (slower) footing. These areas are very crudely marked with the "Rough Open Ground" area symbol.

There are also some "fringe" areas on the north and southwest edges of the map area that are not well mapped. It shouldn't affect basic navigation to the controls, but don't expect detailed boulder mapping in these parts of the map.

This Score-O course includes 22 controls on a 8.5 km course with an elevation gain of 530 meters.

Schedule:

Registration/check-in opens at 8:00 AM or earlier.

Score-O course opens at 8:30 AM.

Last time to start Score-O and still get 3 hours is 10:00 AM.

Course closes at 1:00 PM.

• $15 for pre-pregister/pre-pay, $20 onsite. Discounts for members/non-members for doing all three events.
• Pre-register . Pre-registration deadline Thursday, May 19 at 11:59 PM. Fees increase for on-site registration.

Other gear for special events

Primitive Camping

Besides the numerous hotels and campgrounds in the Prescott area, there is limited primitive camping available in designated areas (some are quite close to the Big Juniper and White Rock event sites. See the Prescott National Forest brochure .

Note: There have already been some closures to dispersed camping this year in the Prescott National Forest. Refer to the forest service website here for more information.

Schoolhouse Gulch event site.
White Rock event site.
Big Juniper event site.

Note: There is a package discount for members and non-members who participate in all three events.

• Saturday AM: Short Classics at Schoolhouse Gulch: $10
• Saturday PM: Night-O at White Rock: $10
• Sunday AM: Score-O at Big Juniper: $15