Black Rock Canyon Meet

Some information from the last year, amended for this event.
This is a Classic course format traveling in sequential order. You're welcome to go at whatever pace you prefer.

We will have our usual 4 courses:
1. Beginner Course (stats TBD): A good choice for beginners. Due to wilderness of the area we will require any child to be accompanied by a shadowing grownup.
1. Sport Course (stats TBD): A good choice if you'd like to develop your navigation skills and move up from the beginner level.
2. Intermediate (stats TBD): An opportunity to apply compass-bearing and contour-reading in rugged terrain.
3. Advanced (stats TBD): Same terrain and technical ability as intermediate with a lot more endurance required and enough distance to satisfy that need to run.

Keep in mind that these distances are based on straight path distances, not the distance of your travel, that will be farther.

This venue does not lend itself to a beginner course, this not a city park venue. There are many varying ground coverings (smooth, sandy, to rocky, to boulders), in addition to steep and rocky cliffs. However, we will try to put something suitable for shorter and easier course to accommodate people who just started the sport. We will publish more information closer to the meet.

LOGISTICS
When: Saturday, March 16
Starts from 10:00AM to 12:00AM. Course closes at 2:00PM. (that means please be back at the start by this time.)
Meet Location:
Ten miles south of Bruneau on the west side of State Highway 51. This is approximately 1.5 hours drive from Boise - but it is worth the time.
Wear gators if you have them. The cheatgrass isn't terrible, but bad enough that is your be glad to have. Grounds may be soft so shoes with cleats may be a good idea. Of course, remember your compass, or bring $1 to borrow one for the day. You definitely will need one to take bearings in this open terrain!

There is limited parking at the site. Pease keep that in mind as you come into the turn off and if your vehicle allows, you may need to pull off the road further. Car pooling is encouraged.

The Google Map pin shows the location of the start and finish.
Please RSVP by Thursday evening March 14 with name & course choice. So we may preprint maps for you. You can RSVP either in the comments below or directly to [email protected]. Limited number of extra maps may be available but do not rely if you didn't RSVP.

PUNCHING on the course:
We will use SI electronic punching. You may rent SI stick for nominal $2 or bring your own.

There is not cell phone coverage in the canyon, but generally there seemed to be some elsewhere on Verizon.

Map Notes:
The vegetation is simple--scattered sagebrush, rabbit brush, and other species. Cheat grass, never dense, covers the entire area. It was never a problem with gaiters and awn resistant shoes. Basalt outcrops like those pictured above punctuate large areas of flat runnable terrain. The only thing, and it's an important consideration, that prevents the terrain from being 100% runnable is the prevalence of softball-size rocks on much of the venue. Safety requires extra attention to foot placement in many locations. Recommended to tape ankles or wear ankle braces to prevent potential sprains. It also will provide you with more confidence and additional protection from grass and scrub.
Cliffs are the predominant feature for control placement and navigation. It was not very useful to try to map all of the many boulders. Their absence from the map, with a few exceptions, produces what we believe will be a less cluttered and more readable map.

Liability Waivers:
Non-members please bring printed and signed liability waivers (available for download at ctoc-boise.org/pub/ctoc_ind_waiver.pdf ) from home. We will have blanks if you forget. If you are bringing a minor who is NOT your own child, you MUST bring a waiver signed by their parent or guardian.

Sturdy shoes are a must; we also recommend gaiters to protect your legs and feet from cheat grass . Some slopes are steep and unstable. It's not a city park, so safe travel requires attention to your footing on hillsides. A compass is essential for setting and following bearings.

COST:
Single meet (day) dues: $10 per person/team, free for members
Single Junior (up to 20 years old): $5 per person/team, free for members
If more than one map is needed for a team, a small additional fee may be needed per the discretion of the meet director depending on printing costs.

CTOC annual membership make all our meets free:
Join and use Monthly Pro-Rata for membership fees.
Membership form and instructions found here.

Yours,
Sergey