I have an excellent sense of direction, and one of the fun things I like to do is head out of Rochester in my car and try to become lost. I usually have to go pretty far, and I usually only get lost for a short time. However, in that short time I usually find something interesting. Like the time I found Nine Pines Country Store, open on a Sunday afternoon, miles down a dirt road near Newark. Whoddathunk? I bought a beautiful wrought iron chandelier that day. Or I come upon a spaghetti or bar-b-que dinner put on by a church or legion hall. Because of this, the idea of orienteering has always intrigued me. Using a compass, a map, and common sense, you track your way around an outdoor course.

I really didn't know what to expect when getting ready for National Orienteering Day with the Rochester Orienteering Club at Highland Park. Would I get lost in the woods and have Lassie sent out to find me? Or better yet, get stuck in a cave with Tom Sawyer? So I put on my dorky sneakers and headed out. I thought about packing a lunch and some supplies, but it was Highland Park after all. And I don't own even a Cracker Jacks compass.

Everyone was required to sign in, which took a while as many of us were newbies requiring instruction. There are different levels of courses and I chose the white one, for the beginners. I exchanged my keys for a compass, which they said reminded us to return it afterwards, got my map and punch card, and headed off. Each checkpoint had an orange and white flag to which a hole punch was attached. It was really more of a needle punch, with each checkpoint poking a different design and amount of pricks in the punch card, which we had safety pinned to our shirts.

There are two different methods to do the courses. The first is just following the map. The second is speed. Some people sprinted the courses. I think I might have won the Slowest Ever to Not Complete Award. I kept getting side-tracked looking for four-leaf clovers, talking to the birds, and watching the other people, especially the parents teaching their kids. Highland Park has many nice places to take a sit-down.

If you ever want to be an Indiana Jones, you should probably start with orienteering. It's almost like following a treasure map, and there were even cookie treasures at the finish. One thing that is really important is to sign back in. If not, they get worried. They don't want to send Lassie out for nothing.