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More GPS Courses
  • Topic created by gahlswede on Mon Jun 29, 2020 at 3:57 pm
    Greg Ahlswede (gahlswede)
    gahlswede
    Num Posts: 20
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Stuckey Pond
    First O: 1998
    I've designed more GPS courses that you can find on Usynligo.

    The courses are on three maps I've created remotely through the Poconos and around Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

    If you enjoy these courses, let me know! I'll try to find time to make some more.

    Have fun!

    Greg
  • Reply by EricW on Wed Jul 1, 2020 at 2:03 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    On the Usynligo website it seemed useful, almost essential, to know the names of the maps. (one huge list in alphabetical order)
    I figured out "Mocanaqua" and "Haystack Mountain", and I forget the third.
  • Reply by gahlswede on Wed Jul 1, 2020 at 3:08 pm
    Greg Ahlswede (gahlswede)
    gahlswede
    Num Posts: 20
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Stuckey Pond
    First O: 1998
    Good point! Sorry, I thought they had enabled the map feature to see them.

    The maps are Mocanaqua, Haystack, and Lost Lakes.

    The georeferencing is still a bit off on Mocanaqua, but it worked fine yesterday.

    There are quite a few thorns around #4 on Advanced 2 at Mocanaqua. But there is a path to the control location made by AJ and yours truly.
  • Reply by Sandy on Thu Jul 2, 2020 at 5:54 pm
    Sandy Fillebrown (Sandy)
    Sandy
    Num Posts: 311
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run 1:15000
    First O: 1993
    If you go to Usynligo.no and click on "All events" there is a map that you can scroll to the part of the world you want to look at.  Or, in the app, click on "usynligo events", then click on "within 50 km" and it gives you an option to change it.  If you click on "within 500km"  it still lists events in order of proximity so you can search for things that way.

    I just did one of the Lost Lake courses.  Very challenging but great terrain and so much fun!
  • Reply by kathyu on Thu Jul 2, 2020 at 6:48 pm
    Kathy Urban (kathyu)
    kathyu
    Num Posts: 671
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run Sand Spring
    First O: 2004
    Sandy, how long did it take you to get up to Lost Lake?
  • Reply by Sandy on Thu Jul 2, 2020 at 7:35 pm
    Sandy Fillebrown (Sandy)
    Sandy
    Num Posts: 311
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run 1:15000
    First O: 1993
    It's about the same as Hickory Run from my house with the new exit off the northeast extension, so about 90 minutes.
  • Reply by EricW on Thu Jul 2, 2020 at 11:36 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    That map wouldn't budge for me a couple days ago.
    Tonight, I got it to move to North America, and the Poconos, but only with extra patience.
  • Reply by gahlswede on Fri Jul 3, 2020 at 3:34 pm
    Greg Ahlswede (gahlswede)
    gahlswede
    Num Posts: 20
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Stuckey Pond
    First O: 1998
    Hmmm, that sounds like a strange problem, Eric. I haven't experienced anything like that yet. 

    Is it happening with every map?
  • Reply by kathyu on Fri Jul 3, 2020 at 5:25 pm
    Kathy Urban (kathyu)
    kathyu
    Num Posts: 671
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run Sand Spring
    First O: 2004
    Re Eric's remark, the big map seems to get in a groove and work more smoothly the more you use it.

    Dave and I went to Lost Lakes.  Enter Lost Lakes Trailhead on google maps, takes you right there passing Pocono Raceway.  We were looking for an easy day so we picked up 1, 2, 3, 8 and then ducked out to the trail and took the long way around for a nice 5k on a very hot day.  We might go back and do some more.

    Thanks Greg.
  • Reply by EricW on Fri Jul 3, 2020 at 6:18 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    OK, I just tried 4-5 more times with complete log ins/log offs.
    Twice I was able to pull the map over and into PA. but only very reluctantly. The other times I couldn't even get the map to fully display, along with other nonsense/ freeze ups that I can't remember or describe,when I tried to click on things.

    I'm FIOS and Firefox, if anyone is wondering about those things

    Don't worry about me, I've been able to get what I wanted, but this website is definitely on my sh*t list (or vice versa), even though it performs a nice function, in theory.

    After two failed attempts to post this message, I think I just discovered a built in censor on this eboard.
  • Reply by EricW on Fri Jul 3, 2020 at 6:27 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    Related to Pocono Raceway, I happened to catch a few minutes of the NASCAR race there on Sunday (?), and I'm rather sure that the highest peak on Lost Lakes was showing up on the horizon in one of the camera shots, or at least in my mind.
  • Reply by GlenT on Tue Jul 7, 2020 at 10:47 pm
    Glen Tryson (GlenT)
    GlenT
    Num Posts: 28
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    Janet and I visited Lost Lakes today.  Really challenging stuff.  Good footing but lots of "in your face" vegetation so visibility is reduced with leaves out.  Contours, marshes and streams are well mapped, but this area is definitely for the experienced orienteer.  And it has the biggest rhodedendron I've ever seen (and they were in bloom).  Thanks Greg for setting this up.
  • Reply by kathyu on Wed Jul 8, 2020 at 11:18 am
    Kathy Urban (kathyu)
    kathyu
    Num Posts: 671
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run Sand Spring
    First O: 2004
    So glad everyone else felt Lost Lakes was challenging.  A trekking pole helped swipe those saplings out of my face!
    I am experiencing a steep learning curve when it comes to technique on GPS courses.  Primarily leave the phone out of sight, look for the feature and rely on the app only when hopelessly snarled up.  The "helper" features of distance and direction are a crutch and a distraction.  The score-o feature is great when you go out for navigation training.  
    But time for a question --
    Is there any way to set up an old second phone to use USYNLIGO?  
  • Reply by EricW on Thu Jul 9, 2020 at 0:03 am
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    I've posted other places, but not on the DVOA eBoard, that I find Lost Lakes to be the most difficult area of any area Greg A has been training on, although he (and others?) will apparently vote for Minsi Lake.
    For me the difficulty is mostly because of the vegetation, not the underlying topo and other details.
  • Reply by kathyu on Thu Jul 9, 2020 at 9:22 am
    Kathy Urban (kathyu)
    kathyu
    Num Posts: 671
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run Sand Spring
    First O: 2004
    Which map is Lake Minsi closest to?
  • Reply by EricW on Thu Jul 9, 2020 at 2:19 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    The closest Usynligo map is Lost Lakes, but it's not very close.
    Of official DVOA maps, it's roughly midway between the Bethlehem maps (Illick's Mill) and the Del Water Gap maps (Egypt Mills).
    It googles up at about 95 minutes from Sandy's place, which is a pretty good representative center of DVOA's domain :-)
  • Reply by Sandy on Tue Jul 14, 2020 at 6:46 pm
    Sandy Fillebrown (Sandy)
    Sandy
    Num Posts: 311
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run 1:15000
    First O: 1993
    Tried one of the Haystack Mountain courses today.  Completely different terrain, maybe a little less challenging navigtionally (better visibilty), but just as much fun.  Highly recommend.

    By the way, it takes several minutes on my computer for the UsynligO map to load - it appears with a bunch of locator markers but then a few minutes later, a whole bunch more pop up.  I can't move the map until that second set of maps is populated, but once it is, then the map moves fine for me.  But it does take several minutes for all the locations to load, most times only 1 or 2 but occasionally up to 5.
  • Reply by kathyu on Thu Jul 16, 2020 at 9:31 am
    Kathy Urban (kathyu)
    kathyu
    Num Posts: 671
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run Sand Spring
    First O: 2004
    Dave and I did Haystack Mountain yesterday.  2 hours to get there by tpk and 3 hours for a leisurely trip home via 309S including a Wawa stop.  We did the course in 2 hours.  We had only the one phone which worked great until the sixth control when I jammed it in my pocket and caused havoc.   Dave did the course with no phone, relying on me to show up shortly after him.  It was a good system -- he navigated at his own speed and I confirmed he was indeed at the correct location when I finally showed up.  I suspect he would have done the course in 90 minutes tops.  The uphill grind at the end was tough.  
    Was it worth 4 or 5 hours in the car?  I guess it depends on your tolerance for long drives.  We should have packed the longer course maps, make it more worthwhile.  Good woods though, with some random cool (unmapped) boulders.
    Thanks Greg.  How about Lake Minsi?  
  • Reply by EricW on Thu Jul 16, 2020 at 1:20 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    Greg can speak and act for himself, but Minsi Lake is a possible (likely?) A meet venue in the medium range future, with issues relaed to that.
  • Reply by EricW on Thu Jul 16, 2020 at 1:54 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    Does Haystack Mtn have the "super lidar" like Mocanaqua? Lost Lakes?
  • Reply by Sandy on Fri Jul 17, 2020 at 9:52 am
    Sandy Fillebrown (Sandy)
    Sandy
    Num Posts: 311
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Hickory Run 1:15000
    First O: 1993
    Not sure what you mean by "superlidar".  The map was similar quality to Lost Lakes: extremely accurate contour detail, mapped features were there but lots of unmapped things that would be mapped if field checked.
  • Reply by EricW on Fri Jul 17, 2020 at 2:19 pm
    Eric Weyman (EricW)
    EricW
    Num Posts: 99
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 0
    Part of PA is covered by lidar that is much denser than normal (more points per sq meter). If I recall, this  coverage had 40+ points per sq m, compared to a more typical 1-10 points. Greg (and others?) can clarify.

    I believe Greg first used this source on part of Mocanaqua, and the improvement in detail over the previous version, was striking. Most notable to me were small trails, individual boulders, and even some stony ground(?)

    I noticed the boulders on Haystack and got wondering.
  • Reply by gahlswede on Tue Jul 21, 2020 at 2:22 pm
    Greg Ahlswede (gahlswede)
    gahlswede
    Num Posts: 20
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Stuckey Pond
    First O: 1998
    Hey guys!

    I'm not planning on posting Minsi Lake on UsynligO because of its A meet potential. 

    I decided to train there because I need good training venues and I'm happy to just put out and pick up controls for that event.

    To Eric's question, Haystack is covered by the super lidar. I could probably remotely map many of those unmapped features if I had enough time. But work and training already take up most of my time. I actually try not to be extremely, extremely detailed with these maps because if I spend too much time with them, I'll end up memorizing them. And I want to use them for training. So I try to bring them to a level that's useful and fun for training and keep it there.

    If anyone else wanted to spend the time necessary to increase the level of detail, I'd be happy to send you the map file! : )
  • Reply by JanetT on Fri Jul 24, 2020 at 6:36 pm
    Janet Tryson (JanetT)
    JanetT
    Num Posts: 115
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map:
    First O: 1990
    We also highly recommend Haystack ... awesome area! Blueberries (tiny ones) are starting to ripen if you happen upon them...I ate a half dozen or so on my course when I got "off-course" and frustrated to one control. The rest of the controls were (in most cases) quite visible before I heard the tune. Thanks again, Greg!

    If you only get up that way once, Haystack is more fun; Lost Lakes will truly test your navigation skills. ;-)
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