2025-26 Winter Wednesday 3 – Lake Wilderness Golf Course
Welcome to the third (OK, second) event in the 2025-26 Winter Wednesday training series on Lake Wilderness Golf Course in Maple Valley. We will use a new map created by John Brady and updated by Mike Schuh (a new club house is being built and there have been the inevitable minor changes in the terrain).
The Lake Wilderness Golf Course is contiguous to but not connected to Lake Wilderness Park.
As with other Winter Wednesday events, there will be an Easier and a Harder course. The Easier course will be suitable for orienteers with less experience navigating at night and can be completed by staying on the golf cart paths. The Harder course will be a significant step up and, given the flat and open nature of the terrain, is designed to encourage direct routes between controls. If you want to take an All Control maps and use it as a Score-O (or design-your-own course), that is also a possibility. Please respect all Out-of-Bounds areas.
Please see the Winter Wednesdays series page for more on the goals and philosophy of these events.
Instruction and coaching happily provided on request.
COURSES
Course designer(s): Mike Schuh
Course distances will be provided here once the courses are finalized.
Meanwhile, here are the estimated distances:
ESTIMATED
Easier – 1+ km
Harder – 3-4 km
Create Your Own Course (Score): as long as you want, just finish by 8:30 PM.
How are courses measured?
Courses are measured as the crow flies, in a direct line from control to control. Unless you have wings, you will travel farther than this distance! Courses are measured in kilometers, so a good rule of thumb is to simply round up to miles to estimate how far you will go. So in a 5 kilometer race, you’ll likely travel up to 5 miles.
COURSE NOTES
Check back later for special notes from the Course Designer(s).
SCHEDULE
5:04 pm – Sunset (or thereabouts)
5:37 pm – End of civil twilight
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Start window (no assigned start times)
8:30 pm – Course closure
Report to Finish by 8:30 pm even if you have to abandon your course.
The courses will be set by sunset and early arriving participants are welcome to go out on the courses as soon as they are available.
Why is there a start window?
This event uses an interval start, which means that participants are started in waves instead of all at once. Please check in with the organizers before you start.
PRICES
PRE-REGISTRATION PRICES
$12 base price
– subtract $4 for Cascade OC members
Participating as a group? Just $5 for each additional adult (18+) group
member, no cost for additional minors. Max group size is 3 including the group leader.
The Winter Wednesdays events will not use electronic punching.
SIGN UP
Online pre-registration closes: Tuesday January 27, 11:59 PM.
There is no Day-of-event registration.
LOCATION
PARKING
Due to construction of the new club house, parking is limited – please carpool if possible.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the club email group and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
No map preview available
SAFETY & ETIQUETTE
Return to the Finish
All participants MUST return to the finish and download their e-punch or turn in their punch card.
Even if you have not finished your course, you must still return to the the finish and confirm with event staff that you have returned safely.
Out of Bounds
Some areas may be marked out of bounds. It is imperative to respect these boundaries to maintain our relationships with land managers. Participants MUST NOT go out of bounds. Any participant caught going out of bounds will be disqualified.
Course Closure
All participants MUST return to the finish by course closure time. If a participant does not return by course closure, event volunteers will begin coordinating a search party.
If you need a long time on the course, start as early in the start window as possible, wear a watch, and be prepared to cut your course short to make it back by the course closure time.
Whistle
All participants MUST carry a whistle on the course. Complimentary whistles are available at the start tent (please only take one).
If you are injured on the course and need assistance, blow three long blasts to call for help.
If you hear a call for help, abandon your course to find the person in distress.
Voices
Part of the fun and fairness of orienteering is navigating your own course, so please be polite when you find a checkpoint and don’t holler that you’ve found it.
