[roc-info] Addenda to map and terrain notes for Rotary meet tomorrow

[Richard Detwiler]

Below is a repeat of the information sent out a few days ago (just to be 
complete), along with additional comments about the terrain and map, at 
the end:

----------------------------

Orienteering this Sunday, October 24, at Rochester Rotary Sunshine Camp.

There will be a meet this Sunday, with a full range of courses: White, 
Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, and Red. So there is something for everyone!

This is the last of the Club Series meets for 2010, which means the club 
champions in each age group will be decided.

Courses offered, along with the lengths, are given below. The climb is 
relatively insignificant; even though there is a lot of sometimes 
intricate contour detail, there are no really significant hills to overcome.

    * White: 1.6 km, 9 controls
    * Yellow: 2.7 km, 11 controls
    * Orange: 4.2 km, 15 controls
    * Brown: 3.7 km, 12 controls
    * Green: 4.7 km, 14 controls
    * Red: 5.8 km, 15 controls

You can start any time between noon and 2:00 p.m. All courses close, and 
controls will be picked up promptly, at 4:00 p.m.

Directions:

    *

      Take I-390 to the Rush exit (Rt. 251/Rt. 15)

    *

      Turn left on Rt. 15.

    *

      Go 2.75 miles south on Rt. 15, then turn left on Honeoye Falls
      Five Point Road (there will be a sign pointing to "Sunshine Camp"
      at the intersection).

    *

      Go about 1 mile on Honeoye Falls Five Point Road to the first
      intersection. Turn right, and go about 0.5 miles to the entrance
      to Rochester Rotary Sunshine Camp.

    *

      Park in the main lot at the Sunshine Camp.

    *

      The start/finish is in the Memorial building adjacent to the pond,
      which is about a 300 meter walk from the parking lot. There will
      be streamers and/or signs directing you to the Memorial building.

Important note: The bowhunting season for deer opened on October 16. 
Thus, there may be bowhunters on the DEC land! It is highly recommended 
that everyone on Orange, Brown, Green, and Red courses wear bright 
colors. And please be courteous if you encounter any hunters. I'm sure 
we're not all that pleased that hunters will be in the woods, but they 
are also probably not that pleased that orienteers are running through 
the normally deserted woods! Keep in mind that both groups have the 
right to be there. There is very limited parking for the DEC land (two 
very small lots, each of which hold 2-3 cars), so presumably if hunters 
are present at all, there should be few of them.

We will be using a brand new map, field checked in August through 
October of this year. The base map utilizes LIDAR contour data, 
high-quality aerial photos, and the previous map, made in 1997 by Karl 
Kolva.

The terrain will consist of the Sunshine Campus land, along with DEC 
land which borders the Sunshine Campus land on two sides. White and 
Yellow courses will remain on Sunshine Campus property, while other 
courses will utilize significant areas of the DEC land as well as the 
Sunshine Campus.

A few comments about the terrain and the mapping:

    *

      The scale is the fairly standard 1:10,000. The contour interval is
      2.5 meters, and there is extensive use of form lines to better
      show some of the more subtle land shapes.

    *

      There are a lot of rock features, probably more than any other
      local park except maybe Oatka.

          o

            Boulders are mapped as either a "boulder" (relatively small
            solid black circle), or "large boulder" (distinctly larger
            solid black circle).

          o

            The approximate cutoff for mapping a boulder is that
            anything knee high or above would be mapped. Sometimes
            boulders shorter than knee high would be mapped depending on
            their visibility -- if the boulder is large (long/wide) with
            a lot of rock plainly showing, it is generally mapped even
            if less than knee high at the tallest point. On the other
            hand, if a boulder is smaller and covered with moss (and
            thus not nearly as obvious in the forest), it would not be
            mapped unless knee high.

          o

            When boulders are higher than waist high (roughly 1 meter),
            they are mapped as large boulders. (Some are higher than
            head height!)

          o

            There is one cliff that is mapped.

          o

            Other rock features are boulder cluster (several boulders in
            close proximity, where it wouldn't be practical to map each
            one), boulder field (a larger area of boulders, too many to
            map clearly), rock pile, and rocky ground.

    *

      There are quite a few rootstocks (root system of a fallen tree).
      The cutoff for mapping a rootstock is that it is mapped if 2
      meters tall or higher, at the highest point.

    *

      The Sunshine Camp and DEC boundaries are shown on the map, and are
      fairly well posted, going either way, from Sunshine Camp to DEC
      and vice versa, and from Sunshine Camp or DEC land to private land
      and vice versa.

    *

      Many trails on the DEC land are indistinct in any season of the
      year, and are particularly indistinct in the fall, when they are
      covered with leaves. (They are shown as indistinct trails on the map.)

_*Added comments about the terrain and mapping:*_

    *

      The terrain in general is very dry. Areas mapped as "indistinct
      marsh" are generally so dry you wouldn't even get your shoes
      muddy. Water channels mapped as "intermittent stream" have
      absolutely no water in them. It is supposed to rain tonight, but
      unless we get a deluge, I don't expect this to change significantly.

    *

      There are many man-made features on the Sunshine Camp property,
      only very few of which are mapped, because it would have been way
      too confusing to map them all. These unmpped man-made features
      generally consist of (1) obstacle-course type equipment, and (2)
      maintenance/construction type supplies and debris.

    *

      Trails which were indistinct a week ago are, if anything, more
      indistinct now.

    *

      I spent some time in the DEC area today (Saturday, the day before
      the meet), and I did not encounter any hunters. Still, please wear
      bright colors.

    *

      The following inaccuracies in the map were observed during my
      travels today:

          o

            There is more than one rootstock which is not mapped, which
            should have been;

          o

            There is more than one boulder which is not mapped, which
            should have been;

          o

            There is more than one area of rocky ground which is not
            mapped, which should have been;

          o

            There is at least one (fairly small) area mapped as white
            woods which should have been a shade of green. Conversely,
            there is at least one area mapped as light green that now,
            in late October, should be mapped as white.

          o

            The mapper apologizes for the imperfect map, and promises to
            have it improved by the next meet with hold here!


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