Just found out about a wilderness orienteering race, called
Mission Uncharted
One scheduled event happens to be in May 2017, in the national forest two hours north of Pittsburgh, in the NW area of Pennsylvania
All I see when I click the link is a message that says I'm using an outdated version of Internet Explorer. Which is just nuts, since I'm using Safari and don't even have IE on this device!
If you are considering clicking, mute volume first!
I'm really curious to see how these guys do. They have 25 events scheduled around the US, including a final event with a $10,000 prize.
But otherwise, there doesn't seem to be a lot going on (not much discussion on social media and the web), and parts of the website are still generic text.
Some of the rules seem like buzzkills, though. No running (it's supposed to be a hiking/backpacking competition), and mandatory camping stops.
Add to buzzkills, a GPS is required.
The reason a GPS is required (and actually it is provided) is because at some point, participants must find a geocache, that will have water and other supplies, and possibly other "items" that enable the continuation of the competition.
I saw that. Had imagined coordinates and a map vs electronics. The site was a bit difficult to work with on my phone so I didn't spend a lot of time looking at it. Is there a non-gps nav component?
I hope the events are successful and draw a lot of participants. It might be a great scouting or family activity. (Imagine if scouts could come away with a couple of merit badges and maybe a couple of partials.) For me, as an adventure racer/rogainer, it's not quite the shiny object it appeared at first glance.
It will be interesting to see how they do.