Pohick Camp Wilson

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February 13
Sunday

Pre-registration is now CLOSED; there will be NO day-of registration.
We are expecting some snow between around 1am to mid-morning Sunday.
WE FULLY ANTICIPATE THAT THIS EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE AS SCHEDULED.
See you at Camp Wilson.

Welcome back to Camp Wilson at Pohick Bay Regional Park (PBRP).  Jon Torrance will be providing a full set of classic courses for this event. And this year, all of the courses offered will include a road crossing from PBRP across Gunston Road and the opportunity to do some orienteering on a section of Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA). For an overview of the areas being used for this event, see this map [2].

Check-in will be in the vicinity of the Camp Wilson wash house--easily visible next to the camp road as you enter Camp Wilson.

The entrance to Camp Wilson is SEPARATE AND DISTINCT from the park main entrance that many of you are used to using (see photo). It is located just before the Gunston Fire Station. It's easy to miss, so slow down after you pass the entrance to the Pohick Golf Course and be on the look-out for the event signs.

Parking will initially be in the parking strips along the entrance road.  Once that parking area is full, we will use camping areas C, D, and E.  Buses will park in the far rear of the Camp Wilson area next to the disused Scout Hall. No parking is permitted along the sides of the Camp Wilson entrance road, except in designated slots, in order to avoid any impediment to emergency-vehicle access. As you enter Camp Wilson, look for a parking volunteer in a reflective vest who will direct you to the appropriate parking areas and spaces.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
For the courses crossing Gunston Road, there will be controls on both sides of the designated crossing point. This point, just adjacent to the Camp Wilson entrance and clearly marked on the pavement, is the only permissible crossing point to and from Meadowood. The visibility from the crossing point in both directions along Gunston Road is excellent, but the speed limit is 50 MPH and cars often exceed that speed, so make sure to stop and observe carefully before crossing. A road guard, wearing a reflective vest, will be in place at the Gunston Road crossing point to watch for approaching vehicles and warn them, as necessary, that there is foot traffic at the crossing point.

You may encounter horses and riders on Meadowood East, which is a local center of equestrian activity and features trails specially designed to withstand the effects of horse traffic. When moving near a horse and rider, please slow down until you pass them and yield the right of way, if you encounter one while running on a trail.

Also, please do not cross any part of the Pohick Bay Golf Course, which is located north of Camp Wilson.

CANCELLEDARDF Radio Orienteering Courses: We will also be offering a ten-control "Fox-O" radio-direction-finding (ARDF) orienteering course designed by Mike Kholodov, a perfect complement to your classic course for those who would like to try a new orienteering experience. Click here [3] for more details.

COVID Risk Reduction Protocols:

As with all 2021-2022 QOC events, this event requires pre-registration via the link below. QOC’s COVID risk reduction protocols, as also enumerated somewhat here [4], are in effect. Please read these guidelines carefully. Key points:

• PROPERLY WORN MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING ARE REQUIRED at all times when near registration, epunch and any other areas or queues where volunteers and/or participants are congregating.
• No water will be provided. Provide for your own hydration needs before, during, and after the event.
• There is no planned, on-site beginner instruction, but beginners are encouraged to watch relevant videos such as this one [5] created by QOC's instructional guru David Onkst.
• There will be eight 15 minute check-in windows followed by two 45min windows (as for most QOC events this season).

Other points:

• The size of start teams (groups of individuals orienteering together with one e-punch) on a course must be no more than four (4) individuals (juniors and adults combined).
• Port-a-johns will be on site.
• Pets are permitted in the park but must be leashed at all times.
• You're Invited! QOC veteran Sidney Sachs will host a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, February 15th at 8pm to review selected Pohick course legs and analyze the routes various orienteers took. Please contact Sid Sachs [6] for the invite link.

Location	Pohick Bay Regional Park, Camp Wilson, Lorton, VA (Classic)
Registration	Registration for this Sunday event opens at 6pm on Monday, Feb. 7 via this link [7]. Registration will close at noon on Saturday Feb. 12. Who's registered? Check by clicking here [8]. Sorting by column is possible too - just click on the column name.
Start Times	Start times will be by windows (to be defined for this event before registration opens).
Schedule	Sunday, February 13 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Classic:
Volunteers	Event Director: Scott Sharp [9] Course Designer: Jon Torrance [10]
Location Details	Classic Pohick Bay Regional Park Camp Wilson Lorton, VA Google Map [11] From I-95 exit 163 (Lorton Rd, VA-642), head east, then turn right/south on Rt 1 (Richmond Hwy). Turn left on Rt 600/242 (Gunston Rd), and then drive 1.5 miles until and turn left on a dirt road marked by a Camp Wilson sign, immediately before the Gunston Fire Station. If you see the main entrance to Pohick Bay Park you've gone too far.
Course Details	Classic Course Name Length (km) Climb (m) No. Controls White 3.6 90 10 Yellow 4.3 115 12 Orange 5.4 195 14 Brown 5.3 165 13 Green 6.4 180 17 Red 7.8 305 19 Blue 9.6 370 19 ARDF 4.6 210 10
Course Notes	Classic All courses for this event will start on the south side of Gunston Road with orienteering in Meadowood SRMA then cross back into Pohick Bay Regional Park for varying amounts of orienteering before finishing at Camp Wilson. There will be a crossing guard at the road crossing - please heed their direction and take care to cross safely in both directions. There will be a control on each side of the road on every course and the time taken between punching those controls will not count towards your total time on course, so please take all the time you need to cross safely in both directions. Because the best orienteering terrain at Meadowood is some distance from Gunston Road, all courses involve some distance walking or running along a trail from the start to get to where the orienteering really begins and then back to the road crossing. White, yellow, orange, and brown courses are therefore all a little longer than usual for QOC events. Please make your judgements as to which course to do, particularly whether to move up a level from your usual course, with that in mind. The Pohick Bay map was new in 2017 and is aging more or less gracefully, with mapped rootstocks decaying over time and scattered new ones popping up. Don't rely absolutely on rootstocks to determine your location and you should be fine. The Meadowood map is several years older. Fortunately the woods are mostly very open, so being ambushed by unexpected thicker vegetation shouldn't be a significant problem. The first generation of mapped rootstocks, depicted in brown with trunks, have all or nearly all decayed away and have been removed from the map. Remaining rootstocks depicted on the map with a green X are newer and probably still at least detectable but by no means all of them are mapped. Therefore, as on the Pohick Bay map, absolute reliance shouldn't be placed on them except when the feature at the center of the control circle is a rootstock. Trails on the Meadowood map are generally as shown on the map (some updates were made for this event where trails had been significantly rerouted). Mapped rides - the thinner black dashed lines than trails, with longer dashes - are often not very obvious in the terrain. There are some signs in various places throughout the trail network saying the area beyond the sign is closed to park visitors. These signs may be disregarded while orienteering.
Entry Fees	Individual Entries Note: juniors = under 21 Club Member, adult Club Member, junior Non-Member, adult Non-Member, junior $10 $5 $20 $5 Group Entries Participants are welcome to orienteer together as a group (up to the maximum for that event; usually 4). Each member of a group is charged their individual rate as shown above, up to a group total of $30 (maximum), and each receives a map. A group receives one epunch. Individuals or groups desiring to compete on a second course after completing their first can do so for a reduced fee of $2/map subject to approval at the event by the Event Director. Important Notes If you wish to become a QOC member you should join online in advance via this webpage [12] (which also explains the member benefits). Membership is completely optional. Most of our events use an 'epunch' timing chip for electronic timing. Individuals or groups without their own epunch will be loaned one for that event. Loaned epunches that are lost incur a $40 replacement fee. Epunches (also known as SI-cards or finger sticks) can be purchased from online vendors as described here [13]. Former QOC members who have let their membership lapse pay non-member fees. Compasses are available at no charge, but if lost incur a $15 replacement fee. Please provide collateral (such as car keys) when borrowing a compass or epunch. There is no planned, on-site beginner instruction, but beginners are encouraged to watch relevant videos such as this one [5] created by QOC's instructional guru David Onkst