Spion Kop West Kelowna
April 14th 2021 8:00am - April 25th 2021 6:00pm
Organizers: Kevin Matrosovs (Event Director), Kevin Matrosovs (Course Planner), David Bakker (Assistant), Nathan Karsgaard (Assistant)
Map: Spion Kop
Post Event
We had some issues with some of the GPS parsing this week from participants starting GPS late, their coverage dropping out part way through the event, some novel data recording structures, and some parsing issues on our end. So take the results with a grain of salt, and we hope to be able to provide better stuff next time. The 3D-Reruns will likely be more functional than the results themselves for most courses.
- Results
- 3D-ReRun
- Beginner - Tracks started recording late. Click on a place in the course where both of them actually exist to synchronize their start there.
- Intermediate - We got all the problems sorted out with this course, and some changes to algorithm mean this particular issue will not happen again.
- Advanced
Overview
Due to COVID, at present, we are not having our usual in person events. Instead, we are setting up trainings that can be completed on your own, at any time during the week. We have checkpoint markers out in the woods, and individually email out your course maps. You print out the attached PDF to get your own map (or keep it on your cellphone) to use.
This event is beginner friendly, and we are happy to help answer any questions you have. Just get in touch!
The advanced course would be great training for any adventure racers registered for the May and June adventure races in Penticton!
Location, Parking, and Map
Spion Kop is a significant peak in Lake Country. Much of the area is very steep with varying degrees of vegetation density and frequent amazing views. There is an extensive trail network used by hikers, runners, dirt bikes, ATVs, and some mountain bikes. The scrub brush can be a bit stiff and scratchy, so it would be best to wear long pants for the off-trail travel, especially on the intermediate and advanced courses.
The arrowleaf balsamroot and other spring flowers are just starting to pop up!
Spion Kop is a very popular trail network, especially now with people looking for healthful social distancing activities. Please keep this in mind when you plan your visit. If you can go in the early morning, the trails will likely be less busy.
The parking location is at the end of a scenic drive to the Spion
Kop Raven Ridge Trailhead above Carrs Landing Road on the west side of
the trail network. Parking is along the side of the road but not in the turnaround at the end of the road, where there are No Parking signs. Please park on the uphill side of the road leading to the trailhead.
Courses
Three courses are offered this week. Controls (checkpoints) will be marked with standard orienteering flags.
Each control has the control code written on a strip of masking tape attached to it. You can use this code to verify that you have found
the correct control, but please try to avoid touching the control. If your printed map is black and white, you can
carry a cell phone with the pdf on it to check the map in colour if you
need it, which can be helpful to identify features such as vegetation
and clearings.
The distances specified below are as the crow flies between controls. You will go further.
- Beginner: 2.2 km straight-line distance in some nice rolling forest. Controls are near trails and generally easily visible. This is Spion Kop, though, so there is still a good amount of climbing and descending.
- Intermediate: 3.5 km straight-line distance with some significant climbing and descending. This is basically a shortened version of the advanced course with similar navigation but a lot of distance and climbing removed.
- Advanced: 5.0 km straight-line distance with a lot of climbing and descending, some of it quite steep. This also means that there are some spectacular views. There is significant off-trail travel on this course. It is an adventure racers' special!
COVID Safety
- Read through the Orienteering Canada Self-Guided Orienteering Guidelines.
- Please stay home if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or illness.
- Please stay home if you have been in close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
- Only participate in orienteering activities with individuals from your COVID-19 bubble.
- Stay at least 2 metres away from all other park/wilderness users and do not congregate at the trailheads or control sites.
- Do not touch the control (checkpoint) flags – just get within 5 metres or so.
Cost
These trainings are being offered as a free mental health service to all Sage Orienteering Club members. Now is a great time to go for a run by yourself or in a very small group in the beautiful Okanagan nature.
How it Works
- Register your Sage Orienteering Club membership and waiver online (just one combined form this year!).
- Send an email to Kevin to register for the course of your choice and let us know how many of you are going. Everyone participating needs to be a member of Sage for insurance reasons.
- Run the course whenever you want during the time when the event is open. If you are interested in comparing results & routes with others (a great learning experience for everyone), record a GPS track on your smartwatch or phone.
- (Optional) Upload a .gpx file (you can export this from Strava, Garmin Connect, Attackpoint, and many others) to our website (link will be posted once registration is open) which will calculate your split times. We will also then overlay all the GPS tracks onto the map together so you can compare route choices with others. We might not be able to gather socially, but we can still talk about or route choices digitally.