Buffalo Ridge Park
Beginner's Clinic
Lone Mountain
2-Hour Night-O

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Note1: Due to permit restrictions, pre-registration is required for these events. We will not have on-site registration for either event.

Note2: Our permit for the Lone Mountain Night-O does not allow us to charge a registration fee. However, we still have expenses for the event, including insurance, printing costs, etc. We ask that you consider selecting the "Participating - With Donation" option on the registration page.

[image:O flag] Pre-Registration (Deadline Thu, Jan 19, 11:59 PM)
[image:O flag] Buffalo Ridge Park Safety Plan
[image:O flag] Lone Mountain Safety Plan

Summary
Time Event(s) Location Directions Google Maps
Sat, Jan 21
9:00 AM -
10:30 PM 		Beginner's Clinic (Beginner's Clinic Description) Buffalo Ridge Park Directions Placemark
Sat, Jan 21
5:30 PM -
8:15 PM 		2-Hour Night-O (Night-O Description) Lone Mountain Directions Placemark

Buffalo Ridge Park Lone Mountain

Introduction

We hope you'll consider joining us for one or both of our events on Saturday, January 21, 2023. We start the day with a beginner's clinic at Buffalo Ridge Park in North Phoenix. We end the day with a Night-O at Lone Mountain.

Beginner's Clinic
Starting at 9:00, we'll conduct a beginner's clinic at a quiet park in North Phoenix, just south of the Loop 101 and east of 16th Street. The park includes fairly sparse desert vegetation as well as rocky terrain leading to the top of one of the many mountain hilltops in Phoenix. Those who participate in the clinic will get an introduction to reading topographic maps and will learn how to determine distance and bearing between two points using only the map, a compass, and a pace count. (Click here for more information about the Beginner's Clinic.)

2-Hour Night-O
Later Saturday evening, we'll present a 2-hour Night-O at Lone Mountain, just north of the Usery Mountain Regional Park, north of Mesa. During the Night-O, participants try to find as many destination markers (reflective tape on PVC pipes) as they can in the 2 hour time limit. The navigation is similar to our regular events with one twist - it's dark! Navigation at night requires a little more patience and attention to detail than daylight navigation. Don't worry, we won't place the destination markers in places that are too difficult to find. Sign-in for the event will start at 5:30 PM. We'll have a pre-race briefing at 6:00 PM. We'll hand out maps shortly before a mass start at 6:15 PM (the end of civil twilight in Phoenix on Jan 21). (Click here for more information about the Night-O.)


Pre-Registration

NOTE: Pre-registration/Pre-payment is required. Our permits do not allow us to conduct registration or accept payment for events on-site.

Click [image:O flag] here to pre-register. Deadline: Thu, Jan 19 at 11:59 PM.

Cost

Beginner's Clinic at Buffalo Ridge Park $5 per participant
Night-O at Lone Mountain Requested Donation: $5 per participant

Parental Consent:

Parental Consent Now Required (Click here for more information)

All participants under age 18 are now required to have a signed parental consent form on file with the club. You can complete the form before the event and either scan it and send it to us by e-mail or bring it with you to the event.

Schedule:

08:45 AM Check-in: Beginner's Clinic
Location: [image:O flag] Buffalo Ridge Park
09:00 AM Beginner's Clinic Begins
10:30 AM Beginner's Clinic Ends
05:30 PM Check-in: Night-O
Location: [image:O flag] Lone Mountain
06:00 PM Pre-race briefing (mandatory)
We'll hand out maps at the end of the briefing. You'll have a short time to plan your course before the mass start.
6:15 PM Mass start
8:15 PM Course closes

Details:

Details for our Beginner's Clinics are found here.

Details of our Night-O events are found here.

Equipment

It is best if participants provide their own compass. Suggested models include the Suunto A-30 and the Silva 360 Explorer. Other models are acceptable as long as they have a flat baseplate. We rent compasses for those who do not have their own.

What to bring:

Whistle Participants at orienteering events are required to carry a whistle. Since orienteering involves navigating off-trail, participants can sometimes travel to areas that are rarely visited by other users of the area. The whistle is a safety precaution which allows orienteering participants to signal their presence to others in case of an emergency.
Compass We prefer participants to bring their own compass. This will allow them to learn techniques during the training, then practice the techniques further at home. We will provide compasses to those who are not able to bring their own.
Sun screen. In late January, the sun at 10:00 AM is already high enough to be an issue. Even though we are starting at Buffalo Ridge fairly early in the morning, we suggest you apply sunscreen to avoid burning. For those participating in the Night-O, we suggest that sunscreen is less important.
Headlamp. For those of you participating in the Night-O, we suggest that you'll find it very useful to have a light source like a headlamp. You're certainly welcome to try navigating in the dark. Without a headlamp, it will be difficult to see the reflective destination markers as well as the ground at your feet. It's also useful to carry spare batteries or a backup light source.
Water There will be water at the start/finish . You may also want to bring your own water bottles or a camelback.
Sturdy hiking shoes and
Long pants 		The courses involve hiking off trail, sometimes in areas with thick brush.

Directions

Beginner's Clinic
Click [image:O flag] this link for directions to the Buffalo Ridge Park event site.
[image:O flag] Buffalo Ridge Park Safety Plan


Night-O
Click [image:O flag] this link for directions to the Lone Mountain event site.
[image:O flag] Lone Mountain Safety Plan