One Year Before the Big Event

From Chattahoochee Bend

Took three days and went back to finish the construction details on the map. They are on track to open the park in June, which was the original opening time frame. They were paving the RV campground while I was mapping it (the asphalt was still hot!). Also added the hiking trails that the Friends of the Park group have been working so hard on. They have constructed a river trail that goes from the day-use area all the way to the bend. Also a small trail between the visitor center and a small trailhead parking lot.

The photo above is the observation platform down on the river bank. Massive! I doubt a 500 year flood would have much impact.

I added some more pictures of the park in April - one year away from the big event!

The Southwest Corner

From Chattahoochee Bend

There it is - the far southwest corner. I will probably be the only orienteer ever to visit this spot - and I'll probably never go back.

Error of Closure

The Heard County 100 acres, for which I have no basemap, was an interesting challenge. A few genreations ago, surveyors would have used a plane table to map this area. Basically a flat board and a heavy wooden tripod, it also had a large compass rose and rotating arm used to take bearings. The whole contraption would be carried out into the field and set up at a point of interest, with the plane table leveled and oriented to north. Then bearings would be taken to other points and the distance measured with chains. What a lot of work!

Essentially I am using a simplified plane table. My map board is the table, with the basemap sandwich of materials taped to it, along with a baseplate compass. When I want to add something, I level the board, orient it to north, use my ruler to sight to the next point, and either pace the distance or use my laser rangefinder. So it's the same technique, just simplified, lighter, and considerably more mobile.

In the Heard County 100 I first mapped the linear features, then filled in the point features, building everything gradually using what I had already done. The southernmost stream ran across the map for about 600 meters before emptying into the river. No hint of it on my blank basemap, of course, so I used my simple plane table to take bearings along the stream and pace it off. By the time I got to the river I was 10 meters too far. That's what they call the "error of closure". Imagine mapping a fence that encircles a field. How far off are you when you get back to where you started? That's the error of closure. 10 meters over 600 meters is pretty good.

I didn't do nearly as well with the contours. One part of the Heard 100 is a gently sloping hill. The contours are 100 meters apart! I could draw them in any direction and it would look correct. The easiest way is to draw an imaginary line down the spurs and the bottom of the reentrants to get a direction, then imagine a level line where the contour goes. But if there are no spurs or reentrants I have a problem.

Well, the orienteers will be more than willing to tell me how well I did, usually as soon as they finish their course while they are still hot and bothered. Probably only the upper-level runners will every see the Heard 100, which is probably a good thing.

Christmas 2010 update

From Chattahoochee Bend

I've been hard at work, closing in on the final bits. My main problem is the very long walk to get to the final SW corner of the map. I have succeeded once in getting entry to drive around from the construction company. It's very hit and miss in late December. The walk in is about 3 miles. The walk out is 3 miles. Plus the one-mile-an-hour mapping amble that I do. That makes for a very long day.

Here's the progress map. As you can see, only the 100 acres in Heard County in the far SW corner are left:

From Chattahoochee Bend

I have no base map for those 100 acres, so I will have to resort to the old fashioned methods. It will take a couple of days at least, maybe more. Map the linear features first using compass and pacing, then fill in the details. It's not fast, and I wouldn't want to do a large area this way, but it does work.

Estimated time of finish? New Year's day 2011.

Armadillos

From Chattahoochee Bend

I surprised him (her? how do you tell?) rooting around in the leaves. He scurried into his hole. I waited, getting my camera ready. They have very poor eyesight - I probably looked like a tree standing there. He poked his head back out and I took his picture.

I've been seeing a lot of them lately. My theory, which may be totally bogus, is that it's too cold at night for them to forage, so they have been coming out when the temperature warms up in the afternoon. It was probably 50 degrees when I took that picture.

How Much Longer?

From Chattahoochee Bend

The Visitor Center is finished!

If nothing interferes, I hope to "finish" the map before the New Year. I put "finish" in quotes because I am going to finish before the construction is finished. I will have to update the campground and the rest of the park road when they are done. Also the hiking trail currently under construction by the Friends of the Park. The park is supposed to open in the summer of 2011.

Another Week of Field Checking

Took advantage of a vacation week to get in 5 straight days of field checking and one day of drafting. What a week! I'm exhausted. Let's see if I can remember what happened.

Day 1: Finished the marshes on the west map, see previous blog post.
Day 2: Mapped all the low hills between the new road and the marshes, out as far as the campground.
Day 3: Mapped the strip of land between the new road and the big power line, finishing this base map page. This narrow area had to be mapped, of course. Who knows if it will ever be used for any real orienteering.
Day 4: Started the final base map page. This is the area that extends south past the campground along the river. I walked all the way out there, then followed the boundary around, then walked all the way back. By my calculation, a distance of 14 km. I vowed never to do that again, and when I got home I phoned a contact I had with the construction company and got permission to drive out there.
Day 5: Drove out just short of the campground and parked, then mapped in the new area. For the first time I got behind the gate and drove on the new park road. What fun!. But the logging roads are terrible, even for my pickup truck. Very afraid of getting stuck, but managed to get out there and back OK.
Day 6: Collapsed in front of the computer and caught up on the drafting.