Welcome to the Hamilton Island orienteering meet!! This meet is the second event of the 2019 CROC best-5-of-7-events classic Series. May 18 is also World Orienteering Day!
Quick info
Date: Sat. May 18 (10 am to 3 pm)
Location: Hamilton Island on the Columbia River near Bonneville, WA
Courses: Four different courses for all skill levels
Intermediate Skills Workshop: (see below)
Meet Directors: Rick and Jill McBee
Event overview
Hamilton Island (approx. 35 miles east of Portland ) lies along the Washington shoreline of the Columbia River, upstream of Beacon Rock, and downstream of Bonneville Dam near Cascade Locks. Hamilton Island used to be an island; however, it is now a peninsula. In the 1970s the upper part of "Hamilton Slough,” bordering the northeast side of Hamilton Island, was filled in with debris from the construction of Bonneville's North Powerhouse. The lower part of Hamilton Slough became part of Hamilton Creek, which borders the west and northwest side of Hamilton Island. On the southeast and south is the Columbia River.
The terrain is mostly wide open with scattered copses, and you can run. There is one large low hill to go around or climb multiple times!!! There are marshy areas, some thickets, and shorelines. You can enjoy beautiful river gorge views.
If this is your first time orienteering, welcome! We offer free beginner clinics to get you up to speed.
Electronic scoring (e-punch) will be used on all courses. Learn more about e-punch here.
Times
Registration 10:30 am - 12:45 pm
Beginner Instruction open to all! 10:30 and 11:00 am
Intermediate Workshop: 10:00 a.m - 10:45 a.m (details below)
Course starts anytime between 11 am and 1 pm
Courses close at 3:00 pm (controls will be picked up)
ALL TEAMS MUST CHECK OUT through the course finish before leaving the park, even if the team does not finish the course or returns after the course closes.
Intermediate skills workshop
Distance and Direction: Counting Paces and Setting Bearings
Intermediate skills workshops are for people who want to up their skills beyond the Experienced Beginner level. Meet at the registration area at 10:00; no additional fee for the workshop. After the workshop you will have time to do your course of choice.
We’ll practice these two key skills for navigating through open fields and forests. How many steps does it take to go an inch on the map? And how do I take a direction on the map to the correct direction in the field? We’ll do three short exercises.
Meet at 10:00 am by the registration area. Workshop will conclude before 11 am.
Courses
White: Beginner: easy on-trail navigation. Length 3 km., 35 meters of climb, 11 controls.
Yellow: Beginner / Intermediate: on-trail and near-trail controls, navigation on trails. Length 4 km., 49 meters of climb, 12 controls.
Orange: Intermediate: technical: many off-trail controls, route choices, trail and cross country navigation. Length 5 km., 110 meters of climb, 14 controls.
Green: Advanced: mostly off-trail controls, route choice, trail and cross country navigation. Length 7 km., 160 meters of climb, 17 controls.
Costs
Payment is by cash or check only; credit/debit cards are not accepted.
Fees for this event are:
CROC members $7 - individual, $12 - group of 2 or more (plus e-punch rental if needed)
If not a CROC member: $12 - individual, $17 - group of 2 or more (plus e-punch rental if needed)
+$5 - e-punch rental (Note: e-punch is required. Organized scout or youth groups - $12 per team (includes e-punch rental)
Become a CROC member - Buy your own epunch
There is no entry charge for using the park.
Maps
See a map of a previous event here.
Volunteers
All CROC orienteering events are put on by volunteers, and the meet director can almost always used some extra hands. Please keep in mind:
No prior experience is needed for many of the tasks
You can help out AND still run your course of choice
Typical ways to assist are: helping with starts and finishes, checking in folks at registration, and picking up control flags after the course closes.
Please contact the meet director at the email address on the bottom of this page if you'd like to volunteer at this event. For more details, see the Volunteer pages.
Results
Results are posted to the Events & Results web page a few days after the event.
Contact
Meet director Jill and Rick McBee
Driving directions and map to event
Note the event site this year is in North Bonneville, not at the 2017 location. Note also there will NOT be a CROC sign on Hwy 14, as the locals like to (ahem) remove them.
Latitude longitude coordinates of event: 45.6338, -121.9790
Click for a Google map, or copy/paste these latitude longitude coordinates into Google maps or your smartphone mapping app to get a map and driving directions to the event.
Driving directions from Portland:
Exit I 84 at Cascade Locks
Cross the Bridge of the Gods into Washington (Toll $2)
Turn left (west) onto Hwy 14 and go approx. 4 miles
Turn left onto Bonneville Road – signposted North Bonneville, turn at the Chevron gas station.
Immediately turn right onto W Cascade Drive and go approx 1/2 mile through North Bonneville village. Follow the signs to "ball field"
Turn left onto Portage Drive and go about 1/4 mile farther. Park in the baseball field parking lot.