Discussion: O-Maps of New England to help a beginner?

hi everyone, i'm just starting out in orienteering and especially need help learning to connect what's on the map with what's in front of me. i happened upon some nice NEOC and CSU members at the beginning of december at Pine Hill and they gave me a map of that area, but i'm looking for more sources for O-maps so i can practice (hiking while reading maps) over the winter. anyone able to point me in the right direction? i think it wouldn't be wise for me to join a group until the spring when i have proven i can actually do this sport. maps of Horn Pond, Breakheart Reservation, the Fells would be amazing. i have worn the Pine Hill map down to a nub. :) thanks for even considering helping me out.

Ann, I'm one of the folks you met at the beginning of December. I'd be happy to send you some lightly-used local maps, including those listed. Just e-mail me your address.

many many thanks

i think it wouldn't be wise for me to join a group until the spring when i have proven i can actually do this sport.

On the contrary, joining a local club and getting out to some training is how you'll learn to do the sport - this isn't an easy sport, and there's no requirement to be good before you get addicted. ;-) I think you've probably already found that there are a lot of very friendly NEOC and CSU peeps out there, and I'm sure they'd be more than welcome to have you along to their informal training events. Don't let orienteers intimidate you. Only some of us bite, and that's usually something only done in more intimate situations.

I would like to support Cristina's comments and add that map reading, while the essence of orienteering, is no where near as interesting as finding control points on a course. That's where the thrill comes in. Yes, you read the map, but you have to make decisions about which trail to take, which stream to follow, which boulder is the one you're looking for. Then, when you find your control, you feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment. And, when you fumble around a while, not quite sure where you are but eventually figuring it out and THEN find your control point, you realize a sense of victory! We all make mistakes, even those of us who've been doing this for 20 or 30 years, but that's how we learn and that's how we get better. Consider Taco-C's advice and join in on a local training event soon. If you love maps, you'll LOVE orienteering.

Practice, practice, practice (it's SO much fun!).

thanks Cristina and MaryJo--i really appreciate your comments and advice. i've had some major thrills just knowing where i am on the map! :) keep the suggestions coming my way...

Ann, CSU holds local trainings every week. In the winter, most of them are street orienteering trainings. But, come spring, they will hold trainings at local parks and all are welcome. If you're interested in finding out more about this, let me know!

SS--joined the google group so i can get updates on the CSU training...THANKS!! also, just joined NEOC.

So you can come to the party this weekend, great!

so i heard! will probably be there, just need to figure out my schedule.

NMO does not hold local trainings and I have never been to any other clubs' local trainings. So, what's involved?!

The CSU crowd started running a weekly get together a few years back. The main driving force is that exercise and training is more fun with friends. Our weekly training is mid-week in the evening, for instance Tuesday at 7pm, and we take turns organizing. Someone will set up streamers in local parks or devise street-orienteering courses or sometimes we'll just meet up for a hill workout together.

It's becoming quite common to eat dinner together after such events. We'll also send emails out about planned weekend outings and some of our more ambitious members will create armchair orienteering trainings as well to do while running or on your own later in the week.

I know that other clubs have quite active training groups as well, they may do similar things.

The CSU training tend to be as simple as possible while still accomplishing the objective. You can set a fun 4k night-O in a park without going to too much trouble. Everyone times themselves, decides if and when to bail out, and is back by a certain time. The training sessions don't have to be complicated to be effective. Admittedly, most of the CSU attendees are regulars; when new people come, we give them more instruction.