Score-O

 This past weekend was "Score-O" out in Bridgeport Texas.  I love this event so much.  Now I never really do very well but, the enjoyment of teaching others how to navigate with a map and compass in a game environment teaches so much in 4 hours than I could teach in a week.  Above you can see this years map.  Your team gets a map 30 minutes before the competition begins and it has around 75 points on it worth various amounts from 5 points to 50 points for the single hardest point to get.  The event starts at 1pm and ends at 5pm and everyone gets the same map with the same points on it.  The start and finish line are the same place.  So the competition part is how well you plan out your route stamping your map with the punchers that are located at the way points.

 The legend on the map is amazing.  The people that put this event on each year really make a safe and fun event that I feel comfortable having any age scout wandering the forest or lack of forest rolling around in the cactus and getting chased by the free range cows.  They mark every deer stand and rock cluster in the area.

With diabetes and orienteering, I make sure to eat a large breakfast and we had some killer breakfast burritos with sausage and egg and hash browns on the side.  Lots of carbs for about 6 miles of hiking.  I turned my basal rate down a bit much and my BG's were a little high in the 2:30pm time frame so I bolused and turned off my temp basal rate.  The day was warm as well so bringing a water bottle is essential and planning your route around the water buffalos helps keep you hydrated.  A personal first aid kit, pocket knife, and the propper clothes ensures a successful time. 

If you are an outdoors type of person and also like the thrill of competition.  Then lets say you are not a fast runner, swimmer, or can hit a softball propperly.  Then you should consider taking a look at orienteering.  This is a low cost, high thought processing, and active sport that is so overlooked by many people.  Just put ther city you reside in and the word "orienteering" in a google or bing search and you will come across events and clubs in your area.

http://orienteeringusa.org/

http://ntoa.com/index.htm