Flying Pig XIII - Camp McKee and Carter Caves

 

Overview   Orienteering Cincinnati will host 3 races over 3 days.  Races will have courses for all ages and abilities and will be open to anyone.  The events will take place in eastern Kentucky, east of Lexington and southeast of Cincinnati.  Saturday and Sunday will be the Orienteering USA 2018 Master’s National Championships, with awards based on 2-day total time.  Friday’s race will be a single day middle distance National Ranking Event.

 

Courses and Classes

            Competitive   All standard OUSA competitive courses and classes will be offered.

            Recreational   Recreational Courses will be offered at all events.  $10 per individual for each event.  Recreational participants may enter day-of-event.  (white / yellow / orange courses only – more advanced courses are open to event volunteers with permission of event director only)

 

Awards

            Friday – Middle Distance National Ranking Event

                        Flying Pig medals will be given to the first three individual finishers in all classes.

            Sat-Sun – 2018 Orienteering USA Master’s Nationals

                        Orienteering USA Championship medals will be awarded to the first three places, based on two-day total time, in male and female age classes for each 5 year increment, for those who turned age 35 or over in 2018.  When you register, you will automatically be given the choice to enter the course / class based on your 2018 orienteering age.

            Sat-Sun – National Ranking Event

                        Flying Pig medals will be given to the first three individual finishers in all classes which are not part of the 2018 Orienteering USA Master’s nationals, based on two-day total time.   For those not in the masters nationals, your 2019 age will determine your age class.  If you turn 35 in 2019, you are not eligible for 2018 Master’s Nationals, and may run either a -21+ class, or open class on any other course.

 

Embargo Information   The following areas may not be used for orienteering training prior to these events:

            1. Camp McKee, Mt Sterling, KY

            2. Carter Caves State Park and Tygarts State Forest, Olive Hill, Kentucky

            Embargo note 1: The lodge, cottages, and campground at Carter Caves State Park may be used.  You may drive the main entrance road to access the lodge, cottages, and campground.  You may also use the visitor center and visitor center parking lot.  Cave tours are permitted but you must stay with the tour on marked paths to and from the caves.  The Cascade Cave area, which is outside the main park entrance, including the Cascade Trail is not embargoed and may be visited at any time.

            Embargo Note 2:  After finishing Saturday’s Courses, the embargo is lifted for areas east of the visitor center and east of the lodge road.  You may then use the rappelling / rock climbing area (must obtain permit from lodge, rappelling and top rope only – traditional climbing and sport routes are prohibited).  You may also hike to and visit the beautiful areas of Raven Bridge, Fern Bridge, Horn Hollow, Horn Cave and Laurel Cave (entering the caves without permit is prohibited).  Most of you will have seen one or more of these spectacular areas while doing your Saturday courses, and you are free to return for a more leisurely visit once you have completed your course.  Areas west of the lodge, lodge road, and visitor center remain embargoed.

Safety   All competitors must carry a whistle and dress appropriately for the weather conditions.  Orienteering USA keychain whistles may be purchased for $2, or flat OCIN whistles for $1.

Friday evening Cave Tour   We will be offering a Friday evening cave tour at Carter Caves.  Since there is a drive of about 70-75 minutes from the Friday site to Carter Caves, we recommend requesting an earlier start on Friday if you plan to do the tour.   Cascade Cave Tour – one of the park’s interesting and beautiful caves.  Cave Tour is $10.  If you are driving to the cave tour, you must exit the park on KY 182 south, then turn right on KY 209.  Allow at least 15 minutes from lodge or cabins.  Parking is limited.  If you are coming from I-64, watch for Cascade signs to turn on route 209 before reaching the park.  Optional shuttle vans will leave the lodge at 6:45 and 7:30.  Those taking the early van will have time to hike the scenic Cascade Trail before starting the tour.

 

Banquet Dinner   (Saturday evening).  Location: Carter Caves State Park Lodge.  Menu: 2 pasta dishes, salad, garlic bread, desserts, drinks.  $26 for adults age 21+, $20 for juniors age -20.  We are planning to have a speaker about bald eagles, and we will also present the awards from Friday’s race.

Race Details

 

Maps

            Maps will be 1:10,000, 5 meter contours for most courses.  White and brown courses at Carter Caves (Sat and Sun only) will be printed at 1:7500.  All Friday courses (Camp McKee) are printed at 1:10,000.

 

Control Descriptions

            Control descriptions are printed on your map.  Loose description sheets may be picked up when you enter the call-up area 2-3 minutes before your start.   Descriptions for white and yellow courses are in English only.  Descriptions for orange course and above are in IOF symbols only (ISCD2004).

 

Control Markers

            Control markers will be IOF standard orange and white flags.  Control markers will have a blue stripe, either diagonal or vertical.  All controls are on stands with SportIdent electronic timing.

 

Course Length (km) and Climb (m) Table (subject to change)

Course

Classes

Friday – Middle

Camp McKee

Saturday – Classic

Carter Caves

Sunday  - Classic

Carter Caves

 

Course Setter

Mike Minium

Dave Waller

Ben Hart

1 White

F-10, F-12, F white, M-10, M-12, M white, Group white

1.9km, 60 m

2.4km, 100m

2.3km, 100m

2 Yellow

F-14, F yellow, M-14, M yellow, Group yellow

3.1, 120

3.1, 155

3.1, 150

3 Orange

F-16, F orange, M-16, M orange, Group orange

3.9, 180

4.0, 220

3.8, 190

4 Brown A

F65+, F70+, F75+, F brown, M 75+, M brown, all 80+ classes

2.8, 130

3.3, 200

3.3, 180

5 Brown B

F-18, F55+, F60+, M65+, M70+

3.1, 150

4.0, 230

3.9, 200

6 Green A

F35+, F40+, F45+, F50+, F green, M green

3.9, 190

4.7, 355

4.7, 220

7 Green B

F-20, M-18, M50+, M55+, M60+

4.1, 240

5.7, 435

5.1, 220

8 Red

F-21+, M-20, M35+, M40+, M45+, M red

4.4, 230

7.8, 600

7.7, 410

9 Blue

M-21+

4.8, 250

9.4, 690

9.2, 440

 

Start Procedures

            Clear and check your SI card when you arrive in the start area.  Air+ may NOT be used.

            You will be called up 3 minutes before your scheduled start.

            2 minutes before your start, you will move forward and may pick up loose control descriptions.

            1 minute before your start, you will move forward to the map line.  You may mark your name / number on the back of the map.  Do not look at your map.  You may ask the starter to check that it is the correct course.

            When the beeper sounds, you punch “start” and pick up your map.

            There may be a short streamered run to the start triangle shown on your map (to be determined).  You must run to the triangle.  There is a flag but no punch at this point.  At this point you may begin navigating to your first control.

 

Drinking Water on Courses

            There will be at least one control with drinking water on all courses of orange length and above.  Please use the cups provided and dispose of them in the bag or bin provided.

 

Time Limits

            Time limit will be 2 hours for Middle Distance (Friday) and 3 hours for Classic Distance (Sat. and Sun.)

 

Friday – Camp McKee

            Middle Distance, ALL maps will be 1:10,000

 

            Parking is adjacent to registration and the finish.

 

            Restrooms will be in the dining hall adjacent to parking, registration, finish.

 

            Walk to the start is less than 300 meters, slightly uphill.

 

            Terrain is hilly Appalachian foothills, with a dense network of paths and structures.  There is very little visible surface rock, just a few outcrops along a couple of the streams.  There has been significant selective logging, and 2 large clear cut areas, which you probably will not enter.  Streams should remain crossable unless there is really extreme precipitation, but expect to get wet and muddy feet in places.

 

            Course notes and special symbols:

                        Black X is a manmade object, usually junk or a large sign

                        Black O is usually a flagpole

                        Black O with pavement infill is a gaga ball pit

                        Blue asterisk (ISOM 2018) is a water trough / hand washing station typical of scout camps.

                        Small black squares represent wooden tent platforms.  The number of mapped platforms is representative of a cluster of platforms; but the positions and exact number can change.  Do not expect the number or positions of mapped platforms to exactly match the number or positions on the ground.

                        Enclosed buildings are mapped dark grey with a thick border.  Buildings which are roofed but open sided are mapped with the lighter grey “canopy” symbol and a thinner border.  Some buildings have small overhangs or porches which are not shown.  Very small buildings are mapped with a solid black square; generally these are outhouses (pit toilets), although smaller cabins or sheds may be mapped this way as well.

                        Green O is a prominent tree in open or rough open land.

                        There are NO rootstocks mapped on this map or Carter Caves, although large ones are numerous.

 

                        Vegetation:  The forest is mostly mapped as light green, with patches of white and medium green.  The forest has many small saplings and fallen limbs, but both light and medium green are generally passable at reasonable speed.  Clear-cut areas are mapped as rough open, but have scattered slash and uneven ground.  Logging extraction tracks are mapped as a narrow ride, and are generally not as fast as minor paths.  Very narrow strips of white on the map may look a little like logging extraction tracks – there may or may not be some ruts or tracks through some of these white strips, making them appear similar to the mapped rides.

 

                        There are a few areas of dark green, which you generally want to avoid.  You might see a couple small areas of rhododendron, which are mapped as dark green.  The woody plant (a lot like mountain laurel) holds bright green leaves and is clearly visible from a great distance.  There is a scattering of greenbrier, but generally not dense patches, and a scattering of other bramble bushes.  The greenbrier has green stems, which give you a chance of seeing it before you run into it.  If you are going fast, you’ll get some scratches.

 

            Small knolls.  A few individual small knolls (brown dot) as low as 1 meter high have been mapped.  However, there are also a couple areas of the disturbed ground symbol (brown dots) which have a number of knolls of similar size.  If they were by themselves, they would be mapped individually, but within areas mapped as “disturbed ground”, individual knolls are not mapped.

 

                        Archery and shooting ranges are closed.  You may pass through them without fear.  You may see scattered old yellow caution tape along the wooded sides of the ranges, which can be ignored.  A couple of the ranges have a yellow rope at waist to chest height across the road or path at the entrance to the range; you don’t want to run into the rope.

 

                        There is a narrow concrete footbridge on the run-in from the last control to the finish.  Slower traffic, please keep right!  It is wide enough to pass a slower runner or walker who is reasonably courteous about keeping right, but two runners sprinting side by side could get pretty dicey; please be careful and courteous.

           

Saturday and Sunday – Carter Caves State Park

            Classic Distance, Most maps will be 1:10,000.  White and brown courses are printed at 1:7500.

 

            Parking for both days is at the lodge, adjacent to registration and the Sunday finish.   Please leave the parking spaces in front of the lodge for lodge guests.  Park either in the lots to the right before the lodge, or continue past the lodge through the turnaround circle, and up the hill to the golf course parking lot.

 

            Restrooms will be in the lodge, adjacent to parking and registration, and the Sunday finish.  There are also restrooms at the visitor center by the Saturday finish.

 

            Walk to the start on both days starts from the east end of the lodge parking lot.  The walk to the Saturday start is 1 km from the lodge, over somewhat rocky and uneven trail.  Allow plenty of time.  Sunday, there is a trail walk of about 400 meters.  There are no restrooms at either start, and the woods are very open.  We will return warm-up clothing both days, but please, please try to go very light on warm-ups on Saturday as it will be a long, rugged walk back for our volunteers.

 

            Saturday – Please park at the lodge.  There is a walk to the start and a walk back from the finish.  We will try to have shuttle vans running from the finish back to the lodge.  If you must park at the visitor center near the finish, please use the overflow parking lot across the road from the Visitor Center.  The Visitor Center parking lot must be left open for non-orienteering park guests.

            Lodge to Saturday start:                         1 km, path with rocks and uneven footing.

            Cabins to Lodge:                                    850 to 1200 meter on paved road.

            Finish (visitor center) to Lodge:                1500 meters path (uphill) and road.

            Finish to Cabins:                                    1100 to 1400 meters path (uphill) and road.

                                                                        (cabin 239 is only 400 meters from finish)

 

            Sunday – Please park at the lodge.  There is a 400m walk to the start.  The finish will be at the lodge.  Awards will be presented at the amphitheater near the lodge.

 

            Map and Course Notes for both Saturday and Sunday

 

            The Carter Caves map was made for the 2015 U.S. Middle and Long Championships.  The map has aged well, with just a few minor edits to vegetation and a few manmade features.  The golf course was closed a little over a year ago, and is mapped as rough open – it is generally quite runnable, and will be crossed by many courses on Saturday.

 

            Terrain is very steep and rocky.  In places, there are rock cliffs as high as 20 meters or more.  Be extremely careful approaching any mapped cliff from above.  There are also several natural arches, and you may cross either over or under some of them on your courses.

 

            Carter Caves is named for its many caves.  Some of them are huge openings in the sides of hills; others are just holes in the ground, with the bottom of unknown depth in the darkness far below.  A black “v” symbol (rocky pit) may be a large, visible pit, or it may simply be a hole in the ground.  In either case, exercise extreme caution, as the pit may be bottomless, and if you fall in, we may never find your corpse.  Some small depressions (brown u) and pits (brown v) may also have openings in the bottom.

 

            White and light green vegetation is generally quite runnable.  Medium green may be younger, denser trees or patches of brambles, but usually is also not too difficult to cross.  There are a few areas of rhododendron or mountain laurel, mapped as medium or dark green.  Advanced courses on Sunday may see some larger areas of medium to dark green which are scrubbier and thornier.

 

            On Sunday, red and blue courses only, will likely cross a very long cable bridge in both directions.  The bridge sways, and it is suggested that you cross it at a “race-walk” keeping at least one foot in contact with the bridge at all times.  Please respect other people crossing the bridge, and be especially courteous if non-orienteers are encountered – for some people crossing the bridge may be a terrifying experience.  Since conditions are expected to be dry, you may also choose to cross the small river / large stream at points other than the bridge.  Black bank lines have been removed from one short section of the river; this is the only place you should consider crossing, and you should still look carefully for shallow spots.  Within this area, in most places it is only ankle to knee deep, but there are a couple deeper pools – look ahead.