OUR SAT MAY 28 “PADDLE, BIKE or RUN” SCORE-O MEET will be at beautiful Fort Yargo State Park, just 40 miles NE of Atlanta near Winder, GA.  This special annual meet will include a “potluck-style” picnic and free hotdog cookout at our reserved picnic shelter near the lakeside START area followed by our GAOC Annual General Meeting.  Please read carefully the event details and directions below.  If you have further questions feel free to contact our volunteer Meet Director Charlie Cottingham at Cott4Treks@aol.com.

TIMETABLE for MAY 28  MEET, PICNIC & GENERAL MEETING:

9:00 AM-12:00 Noon:  Eight Rental Canoes available on first-come-first-serve basis at O Meet START area by Fort Yargo “Area B” boat dock (see more below).

10:00-11:00 AM:  Beginner Orienteering Instruction available at START.

10:00-12:00 Noon:  “Paddle, Bike or Run” Score-O Registrations & Start Times available at START.  Entry/Map Fee: $6 per Member and $10 per Non-Member.  2-hour Time Limit per individual or crew (see more below).

12:00-2:00 PM:  GAOC “Potluck Picnic” served at Picnic Shelter #4 on hill near START area:  If you’d like to participate please bring an item of your choice that would feed about 5 to 6 people - your item might be, for example, a Covered Dish, box of Chicken, Salad, Fruit plate, Hors d’Oeuvres plate, Dessert, etc.  The Club will provide delicious grilledHotdogs and “fixins” and also Chips & Dip, Soft Drinks & Water, Ice, Paper Plates & Cups, Napkins, and Utensils.

2:00-3:00 PM:  GAOC Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) at Picnic Shelter #4.  All GAOC members are encouraged to attend!

3:00-5:00 PM:  Pick-up of Control Flags by GAOC volunteers.  Please contact the Meet Director if you're available to help!

"PADDLE, BIKE or RUN” SCORE-O MEET DETAILS: The control flags will be hung at points on or near the perimeter of the lake at Fort Yargo State Park.  In this “Score-O” event it will be up to you to decide which controls you wish to try to find within your 2-hour time limit (see more below).  The points you can earn will range from as few as 10 for easily accessed controls near the START by the lakeshore to as many as 50 for those requiring, for example, a 200-meter hike up a hill through the woods.

   In keeping with our traditional annual GAOC “Canoe-O” events, the main focus of this special meet will be for “crews” of one or more individuals to paddle your canoe or kayak to various points around the lake and if necessary to get out of your boat occasionally to locate controls that may not be directly on the lakeshore.  Crews of 2 or more paddlers are asked to register together on the same form, and you can pay a single entry fee if you share your map.

  As worked well at our Sweetwater Creek meet last year, we’ll also allow non-paddling “crews” or individuals to participate without a boat by running or walking around the shoreline, and this year we’ll also permit mountain-biking (or any combination of the above) if you prefer!  You can rack up a few extra bonus points for solving optional course-related puzzles described on the Control Description Sheet.

SCORE-O TIME LIMIT & PENALTY SYSTEM: The time limit for each participant or team will be 2 hours from your assigned START time until the time you turn in your Score-O punch card back at the START table, with an assessed penalty of 5 points for each minute that you’re late if you exceed your 2-hour limit.

SPECIAL BOATING NOTES (for all who intend to paddle):  If you have one or can borrow one, please bring your own canoe, kayak or other small personal watercraft plus paddles and lifejackets.  We also expect to have 8 rental canoes available at our O Meet START area by the small Area B Boat Dock, beginning at 9:00 AM, on a walk-up first-come-first-serve basis (no advance reservations allowed).  Our $12 cash-only flat-fee canoe rental rate includes use of paddles and lifejackets (max of 2 adults + one child per canoe).  All rental canoes should be returned to the START area no later than 2:00 PM. (Rental canoes have been arranged on a special contract basis with the Fort Yargo State Park office and their canoeing concessioner.)

QUESTIONS? Contact GAOC volunteer Meet Director Charlie Cottingham by emailing him at Cott4Treks@aol.com or by leaving a message on his home/office phone at 404-321-3230.  Charlie greatly appreciates the assistance of his friend and fellow GAOCer Warren Rudert who has volunteered to manage the START Area for this meet.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of GAOC START AREA:  For custom directions (or a driving map) from your point of departure go to Google.com/maps and enter the following approximate Lat/Lon coordinates of the GAOC START area as your destination.  These coordinates may be also be useful for those of you who use GPS navigation with your vehicle:  33.96463,-83.740196

DIRECTIONS to MAY 28, 2011 GAOC EVENT at FORT YARGO STATE PARK

FROM I-85/I-285 "SPAGHETTI JUNCTION" INTERCHANGE in NE ATLANTA:
(About 35 miles - perhaps a 40-minute drive if Mem. Day wkend traffic isn’t too bad.)

1. Head northeast on I-85 North and go about 10 miles (from Spaghetti Jcn).

2. Take I-85 Exit #106 to merge onto GA-316 eastward toward Lawrenceville/Athens and go about 21 miles to the traffic light at “Loganville Hwy.”

3. Turn Left onto Loganville Hwy (GA-81 North) and go about 1.8 miles to Yargo Area B Road. (You may notice a low orange & white “Orienteering” directional sign here.)

4. Turn Right onto “Yargo Area B Road” and continue 0.4 mile to the parking lot near the boat launching ramp and small dock.  The O Meet START area will be beside the small dock and our reserved picnic pavilion will be the one high atop the hill (above the parking fee envelope dispenser).

IMPORTANT PARKING NOTES:  If the marked parking spaces in this “Yargo Area B” boat-launch area are filled when you arrive it is OK to park on the shoulders of the roadway and parking lot as long as you do not block other vehicles or boat trailers in any way.  You must pay the $5 GA State Park parking fee unless you display a valid 2011 GA-DNR parking pass. An attendant will likely be on duty to collect this, but if not please pay your $5 fee with the self-serve envelopes that are available at the parking lot.