Prince William Forest is a 15,000 acre park.  O’maps from 1973, 1983, 1992 and 2000 were digitized and used in the creation of the current version.  New areas have been mapped.  Contours from old areas were updated with recent data using Light-Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology.  The LIDAR base map contours generated by QOC were combined with aerial photography and older map versions, and then field checked in the traditional manner.  Mark Dominie was the chief map maker who helped perform this work.  He field checked the areas between Camps 2 and 5 all the way to Quantico Creek, and covered the Pine Grove area too during the late Fall of 2006.  Many QOC club members contributed greatly to produce the final maps as well.  Over the course of  the year preceding the event Co-President Greg Lennon, Course Setter Francis Hogle, Event Organizer Diana Todd, Chief of Courses Nadim Ahmed, Chief Vetter Jon Torrance, Course Setter Keg Good, Course Setter Dave Onkst and several others on the vetting team all generated changes.
 
The Sprint Map of the Pine Grove area near the park entrance is 1:5,000 with 2.5m contours.  It covers the park Visitor Center, picnic grounds and the forest beyond.  Details such as smaller ditches and smaller dot knolls which are often not represented on larger scale maps are shown in this version.  The wooded areas are generally considered White and allow for fast running.  However, they are not quite as fast and open as in some other woods mapped as White.  Many areas exist where deadfall poses an obstacle.  Aside from the random fallen branch, deadfall of larger blow-down areas has been mapped with the low vegetation symbol (green slash) wherever it is low enough to see over and cross.   Deadfall is sometimes shown in shades of green where it might be several feet high or combined with saplings.  Short steep hills with many reentrants are bountiful around Pine Grove as is the trail and road network.  Many old roads and old trails long ago gone to disuse can be recognized in the terrain as well-some of these are mapped with the ditch symbol, often with a wider spacing.  A few fields with scattered trees exist.  Cemetery headstones can be found.  These areas are out of bounds and courses do avoid them. 
 
The Day 1 and 2 competition maps cover the middle and western portions of the park.   Map scales are 1:10,000 or 1:15,000 depending upon the course.  The contour interval is 5m.  The level of detail is much more generalized when compared to the Sprint Map.  While some of the areas for the competition will traverse ground used in the 2002 U.S. Individual Championships, much of the terrain is new. As a general rule, the further west one goes in Prince William Forest, the greener the terrain is.  The super fast forest in the east of the park gradually gives way to areas with deadfall and some areas with thorns.  Thorny vines such as Greenbriars may be anywhere on the map but the more vertical/impassable thickets are mapped.  Deadfall is usually mapped as medium green, unlike previous versions such as South Fork.  Tags on rootstocks are sometimes shown to indicate in which direction travel is significantly more difficult.  The timing of forest succession, from farm fields to mature stands, is the main reason for more green areas being in the west.  The flatter farmable land that remained in cultivation longer was in the west of the park. 
 
The primary features of the park are ridges, valleys, and vegetation.  Many areas of the park could be viewed as a maze of almost parallel features.  Cairns may be less than a foot high but are generally 6 feet across.  Cliffs and boulders do exist but are relatively rare.  Rock features may be mapped as low as 0.3m. What is not rare in the west of the park is deadfall-fallen trees and branches.  Significant deadfall shown in shades of green on the map, along with corridors of white or light green must be navigated.  Route planning with direction changes based upon the reading of vegetation and/or contours must be made and executed with confidence in order to race well.  While very few areas are impenetrable, racers are advised to “respect” the green that is shown and to plan the best route accordingly..  White woods would indicate at least 80% runnability; light green would indicate 50% to 80% runnability; and medium green would indicate less that 50% runnability.  Rootstocks in areas with many features will generally be about 1.7m and have a substantial amount of dirt.  In more sparse areas, the mapped size may be smaller.  Other vegetation such as mountain laurel creates its own challenge.  There are areas where clumps of mountain laurel can be run through by going around individual plants in small S-curves.  Mark Dominie has represented these areas with a special non-IOF symbol referred to as “mottled green”.  Mottled green on the map is a series of repeating but asymmetrical shapes.  Each little shape does NOT represent the actual shape of an individual clump.  (See below).  For runability, the mottled areas (see below) generally take the indication of the lighter color, although as mentioned, these areas are not likely to be traversed linearly and the sight distance in these areas is often significantly reduced.:

(Mottled Green)

There is a recent burn area covering a few hundred acres that occurred in March/April 2006.  While it is unclear what effect this fire will have had on vegetation at the time of the competition, in the spring of 2007 the area’s runnability had been improved. 
 
 
Old roads exist throughout the park as a result of human habitation over many centuries.  Many of the old roads have essentially disappeared leaving only traces for a discerning eye to see.  You might cross perpendicular to one and not see it, while traveling parallel, that same road might seem very obvious.  They often run along the tops of ridges and occasionally up from and parallel to streams.  Mark has represented these using ditch symbols, contours, formlines and earthbanks where appropriate (See above).  For more on the history of the park and its roads, see below.
 
Among other terrain and features which the park and map have to offer are hills. The park has many steep hills which drop to streams.  It can be a particularly physical effort to traverse east-west across the ribs of the major creeks.  Several cabin camp grounds exist in the park.  Open fields, informal trails and road networks are part of them.   Root stocks are mapped in two sizes but these are usually for the largest of them.  Some are mapped because they pose navigational issues and have tags.  Deciduous deadfall almost always shows roots pulled out of the ground; however, pines frequently snap off leaving totems of various sizes often reaching several meters.  There is likely to be new deadfall and rootstocks that do not make the map.  Given a 5 to 7 year cycle from fall to rubble, in excess of 90% is likely to be shown in some manner.
 

Seasonal Weather Averages for the First Week in November

Typically the first light frost (29-32F) will be in mid to late October.  Moderate frost (25-28 F) may occur by the days of the competition too.  Oaks & Beeches will still have their leaves.  Most other leaves should be on the ground but not yet matted. 
·        Average Low Temperature: 40F
·        Average High Temperature: 60F
 

Prince William Forest History

The National Park Service reports evidence of human habitation in Prince William Forest as far back as 8,000 B.C.  Indians used slash and burn techniques even up to the time of the first European settlers.  Orienteers should be aware of numerous old road and trail cuts throughout the park that are sometimes too faint to map but otherwise noticeable.  Many of these old road and trails were tobacco trade routes emanating from the nearby Potomac River to various farms and towns.  The Potomac Path, an Indian route and Kings Highway (by degree of the King) went through the park.  The (George) Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route passed through the park near present day Pine Grove.  During the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, a county Poor House was erected within the park as result of the separation between church and state.  The economy for farms once within the park got worse after the ravages of the Civil War and poor soil conservation practices.  Mills existed on the Quantico Creek with one near present day Camp 4.  Gold and Pyrite mining (ore from Pyrite mines was a source of sulfur used in gunpowder) operations occurred in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.  The battle for racial equality played out a chapter during the 1930’s with the creation of unofficially separate cabin camps for whites and African Americans in the 1930’s.  Camps from both sides will be used over the weekend.  For more details, see: 

US Sprint Championship 2007 Course Notes

Now Available: DOC PDF
 
 

US Individual Championship 2007 Day 1 Course Notes

Now Available: DOC
 
 

US Individual Championship 2007 Day 2 Course Notes

Now Available: DOC