Fall, of course, is the perfect hiking season. And, if you want to take it up a notch, it's also the perfect season to try the wonderful sport called orienteering.
Orienteering is essentially what you always wanted to do as a kid: run through the woods with reckless abandon. OK, not reckless abandon, but it is quite a blast negotiating trees, trails, swamps and creeks with a map as you work your way to the finish.
The local orienteering club in the D.C. area is top-notch _ the Quantico Orienteering Club. They put on a full slate of meets with courses ranging from easy to expert.
The photos above are from a meet at Prince William Forest Park earlier this month. I took a group of Boy Scouts, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My college-age son and I tried a moderate-to-difficult course, and he beat me for the first time. He finished in 14th place; I was 17th. (Oh, the humiliation!)
Here's the QOC website. Check 'em out: http://qocweb.org
Orienteering is also popular in Europe. In fact, if you sign up for our 12-day hiking trip to Switzerland, you can give it a try during one of your free days.
Learn more about our hiking adventure to the Alps _ July 12-22, 2011 _ by visiting our website at http://myhikingvacations.com
Happy Hiking _ and Orienteering,
Joseph
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