Winter is Coming

Global warming has made White Walkers less frightening than they used to be

After weeks of dry, sunny weather, the extended forecast finally shows Showers on the 9th day from today. Sketchy predictions aside, winter cannot be avoided, and the puzzle hunter must be prepared.

My confidential informant tells me the medallion is around here somewhere

But first...

Somehow last week I forgot another October puzzle hunt:  the 2nd Emerald City Search of 2012, which starts on October 21, 50 years after the end of the Seattle World's Fair of 1962.  [Speaking of weather, Century 21 had pretty good weather its whole run, except for one notable day, Columbus Day, 1962, when the worst recorded windstorm in the Pacific Northwest blew into town...]

I won the first 2012 ECS back in April, so I'll probably lay low for this one.  Well, maybe I'll bug some friends to go get it if I have a good idea or two.  In other words, I'll send some friends on wild goose chases.

Last chance to enter (in 2012)

What's out

The First Thursday runs take a break over the winter; November is the last one of 2012, and they start up again in March 2013.  Take advantage of your chance to win free stuff while you still can.   Be sure to bring a light or reflective vest until the sunset once again is after 7pm (May?  June?).

If you're a geocacher (or hiker or biker), be aware that the Snoqualmie Tunnel closes from November to May due to the hazardous icicles that form on the ceiling.  The Tunnel is the home to one of the most popular caches in the state, Bloody Fingers, Dirty Diapers, as well as the easiest access to two other popular caches just past the west end of the tunnel (Mission 9: Tunnel of Light Reclaimed and Iron Horse).  These two can be accessed by taking the Iron Horse Trail from the west, but that's much more of a climb than the flat (but dark) walk through the tunnel.  I will try to get these caches at the end of the month on a trip to the Tri-Cities.

If you absolutely, positively have to go up in the mountains in the winter...

What's In

Of course, many lowland trails remain open year-round, such as walks near the Puget Sound shore or on the coast, or almost year-round, such as those around Cougar and Tiger Mountains.  And if geocaching is your thing, there is almost surely a cache on any trail you choose (in the case of Cougar/Tiger Mountains, hundreds of them).  If you're looking for advice where to hike, your best resource is the Washington Trails Association.  Their trail descriptions are often lifted straight from popular hiking books (with the author's permission, of course), and the Trip Reports will usually clue you in as to whether the trail is clear or snow-filled (and likewise for the road to the trailhead).  The website often has lists of good hikes to do right now, such as fall color hikes, easy-access winter hikes, or snowshoe/cross country skiing 'hikes', if that's your thing.

Special orienteering events continue, such as the Fall BEAST race and the Holiday Street Scramble in the Market.  But the real orienteering action is at the WIOL (Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League) meets and the public meets associated with them.  As you might have deduced, WIOL is for school-age kids, from kindergarten through high school.  Elementary and middle school competition is usually pretty relaxed, but things get a lot more competitive in the high school brackets.  If your child is interested in orienteering, it's a great place to start.  There are 2 meets per month, every month from November through February, and the courses generally start easy in an urban park and progress to trickier stuff in places like Lord Hill Park in Snohomish, culminating with a championship in February.

Even if you aren't in K-12, there are always associated public courses at every meet, and given the range in courses required for the kids, there will be something at your level.  Run the basic course the 3rd graders do, and work your way up to the toughest high school level courses.  In the process you get to visit a number of interesting parks around the Puget Sound, from Olympia to Monroe and Whidbey Island.  There's always someone around to teach you the finer points of the sport, and if you have a kid competing in WIOL, you can join the mailing list, where they often give free tips on the finer points of orienteering like aiming off and catching features.

The first WIOL meet is November 3 at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

Are you orienteerierer than a 12th grader?

Upcoming

(italics = new since last time)

• Lake Sammamish Orienteering - October 7, Lake Sammamish State Park.  No, you don't actually go running in the lake, silly.
• The Hunt for Odin's Horse - October 13 and 14, online and Ballard, free.   You must register by October 7 to compete in the live event on the 14th.
• Sunset Hill Hood Hunt - October 13.  Just call it Ballard if you like.  Start at 10:15, end at 11:30, find checkpoints in a 1 square mile area.  Free, {but/because there are} no prizes and you have to print your own map.
• Choose Your Corn Maze Adventure - October 14, Bob's Corn Maze, Snohomish.  Orienteering in a corn maze.  This should be interesting.  Starts early, before the maze opens to the general public, who would probably be confused by strangely-attired folks running through the maze.  I don't know, though, maybe next time they should just issue the orienteers Halloween costumes and have them scare the other folks.  Haunted Corn Maze!
• Art Dash for Ca$h - October 20.  12 hour (10am-10pm) Bike Scavenger Hunt for public art.  Teams of two or more required.  Cash prizes of some sort.  I am definitely intrigued.
• Emerald City Search 2012, Part II - October 21.  Surely you know the drill by now.  Find a medallion hidden in the city somewhere in plain sight, following cryptic clues (one per day).   Thousands of dollars in prizes.
• Messmann's Messquerade - October 27, 7pm, Belltown, $30/person.  Bike Scavenger Hunt, with costumed teams and a huge party afterwards.  A Halloween tradition, back after a year on hiatus.
• Choose Your Vampire Adventure - October 27, 6pm, Lynndale Park.  Orienteering with a twist.  A few orienteers are 'vampires' who can steal your punch card at any time.  And it's in the dark.  Spooky.
• First Thursday Adventure Run - November 1, Green Lake.  Last one before March.  Remember:  if it's raining, they still give away the same prizes, so your chances of winning skyrocket.
• WIOL/Winter O #1 - November 3, Lincoln Park.  See above.  Competitive orienteering for young and old.

Photo Credits

Snowmen:  vintagedept via photopin cc
Tunnel: Richard T. Moore
Snowshoers: AlexiUeltzen via photopin cc
WIOL: http://cascadeoc.org/wiol