By Scott Aster, Event Director, and Dennis Wildfogel, Course Setter
Our Bon Tempe event used to be known for stormy, rainy conditions, but in recent years the weather gods have smiled down upon us, and given us sunshine. This year, cold, dense fog enveloped the courses, resulting in very poor visibility, making the courses much more challenging then planned. The fog also ruined the potential for great views from the top of Pilot Knob, which on a clear day, truly are impressive!
This year marked the advent of the use of completely newly mapped terrain, on Water District land south of our original map of the area. Mapper Bill Cusworth created an outstanding, wonderfully-accurate picture of the land, making navigation by the innumerable landmarks a much easier task than with older, more-out-of-date maps. The terrain is similar to that of the original map, with redwood groves, rolling grassy hillsides, and very little underbrush to deal with.
Course Setter Dennis Wildfogel designed six (or seven) courses, all of advanced technical difficulty, allowing participants to choose the length of challenge best suited to them. While the courses were vetted and reviewed by multiple people, many took routes that were not anticipated, proving how difficult it can be to anticipate the routes people will take on a very technically-difficult map!
As has become traditional, many participants brought treats to share, including some wonderful cupcakes decorated with orienteering map symbols! The "event center" in a parking lot island, served us well for E-punch, treats, and a welcoming gathering place for course discussions.
This is the annual Volunteer event for the club. It's a great venue for a (nearly!) year ending event and recognition of the many people who make the club work so well for all of us. As the Water District has dropped the restriction on number of participants, we're hoping to have an even larger event here in 2026!
Of course, even a volunteer recognition event needs volunteers to run it! We start with course setter Dennis Wildfogel, who spent countless hours, designing and fine tuning the courses. Dennis made fine use of the terrain, and successfully challenged people to utilize their "O" skills, as only one trail bisects the map, making the navigation that much harder.
Bill Cusworth, created this beautiful map for us, and also helped with course vetting and assisted Dennis and myself with hanging controls the day before the event.
Jeff Lanam and Phil Lacroute ran E-punch flawlessly, and both also completed a course. As mentioned earlier, thanks to all who brought food to share, we had a feast and very little was left by the end of the day.
Finally, dear to this Event Director's heart, seven people volunteered at the end of the day to go out and collect the controls. Huge thanks to Ian Smith, Stephanie Maclean, Tapio Karras, Derek Maclean, Eric Rosenzweig, Theo Verhoeven, and Werner Haag for bringing in all the bags, and letting us leave the park by 3 PM!
– Scott
I'd like to add some additional thanks to people who helped me during the process of course setting. It was very interesting trying to set courses in a venue where no one had orienteered before, leaving me uncertain about whether some areas would be too difficult or too steep and so on. Then in late August I hurt my knee and I haven't yet been able to run again, making it difficult to continue exploring the area as much as I would have liked. So I asked a number of people for assistance, and they really came through. We all owe them our thanks.
Scott tried some early versions of legs that went through the area where all the courses started and finished, and gave me valuable feedback on what worked and what didn't. He reviewed several different iterations of the courses and provided some excellent suggestions, and then helped hang controls on the day before the event.
Bill Cusworth was very responsive to my requests for map changes, and also reviewed course designs, assuring me that some of the places that were difficult for me to even walk on would be fine for Red runners. Bill also helped put out controls on the day before the event, willingly handling the most distant ones (ones I would have taken a very long time to get to with my knee the way it is).
Martin Kunz reviewed several versions of the courses, and came out and tested some of the legs that would have been too risky for my knee. While doing that, he placed a number of control stands, making control hanging much easier the day before the event.
Gavin Wyatt-Mair (who'd told me he'd be in South Africa at the time of the event) reviewed the courses at a late stage of development, and wrote a terrific analysis of several of the legs, indicating all the routes he'd consider, and what he saw as the advantages and disadvantages of each. Extremely helpful.
Two long-time orienteering friends who live on the East Coast, Wyatt Riley and Charlie DeWeese, patiently answered repeated questions from me like "What routes would you consider for this leg, and which one would you choose?" Their answers were extremely valuable in helping me get the most out of the possibilities offered by the Pilot Knob area.
I feel very fortunate to be part of a community of such talented and helpful people — and that includes all of you who we honored for being volunteers by offering this chance to run in a terrific new venue.
– Dennis
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