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The Adventure Zone

Past stories The Calgary Stampede Moraine for Life Adventure Relay Monarch Redux Rockies Bird Festival Arctic Winter Games Bolivia's Acotango Mount Kilimanjaro The Drambuie Pursuit Canadian Aboriginal Festival Mountain Mania Adventure racing Manitoulin Island Star Party Celebration of Light Algonquin Park Ottawa Race Weekend Maple syrup festival Cain's Quest Have Snowshoes, Will Travel Quebec Ice Hotel In the Eye of the Storm Arctic Aurora Borealis Canada's 'Deep South' Agawa Canyon Ablaze Mahone Bay Boat Festival Vancouver Island's rocky trail Wild Women Expeditions Eco-Endurance Summiting Canada Gourmet getaway Yukon Arctic Ultra Canadian Wind Riders Winnipeg's urban pathways Canoeist/artist Bill Mason Take a hike Whitewater kayaking The 2005 Sea Cavalcade Moonstruck - Adventure racers Delta Marsh Birding Festival Climb for conservation The Eagle has Landed Gold Rush Trail Whistler Film Festival Fit to ski Whyte Museum of the Rockies Cheakamus Challenge "Super Dave" Norona Ontario's French River region Cabot Trail Relay Race Point Pelee Festival of Birds Canmore Ice Climbing Festival Winterlude Yeti Mountain Snowshoe Series Golden Horseshoe Orienteering Club Banff Mountain Book Festival Haliburton Highlands Sand Sculpture Championships BC Mobility Society Bathtub Race Championship Bike Month Running off the road Birds of a Feather Grand Plans in Grand Cache Le Festival du Voyageur Raid Ukatak Around the World Alone November culinary adventure Mountains in Miniature In the Belly of the Dragon Raid the North Extreme!! Making a splash! Volunteer for nature Cycling for sustainability Working for Wildlife Whale of a time Canadian Death Race Mont Tremblant Skiing Nanook of the North Eco-challenge Climate Change Caravan Royal Regatta Unleash the hounds World Cup mountain bike race Yukon River Quest On top of the world Canada's World-Class Heritage Gliding across the silver screen Marathon Madness National Ski and Snowboard Week Christmas Bird Count Banff Festival Adventure racing Coast-to-coast trek Whitewater rodeos In praise of parks Watching Canada's wildlife Canada's Highest Peak Alaska Adventure Racer

FORGET THAT OLD CHESTNUT, "Who am I?" When you're deep in a forest with a waist-high boulder to your left and a gurgling creek to your right, what you really need to know is, "Where am I?"

Wonder no more because THE CHASE — the Golden Horseshoe Orienteering Club's (GHO) inaugural event in the Toronto-Hamilton-Oakville-Mississauga Adventure Series (THOMASS) — is on. December 7, 2003 marks its 10th year, and it's just one of a growing number of events taking place across the country that celebrate orienteering, which is affectionately known as "the thinking sport."

The GHO is one of the oldest clubs in the province and draws its membership from throughout southern Ontario. Host to some of North America's most-high-profile outdoor events, the club is also a font of information about orienteering — or "cunning running," as some call it — with a library of more than 50 topographical maps of southern Ontario.

An invigorating combination of strategy, decision-making, map-reading and physical fitness, orienteering suits all ages and abilities. "It can be enjoyed as a walk in the woods or a competitive sport," says one enthusiast. Experienced orienteerers wear hiking shoes or boots, dress for activity and bring along a compass and a whistle. Still, it's best to have your wits about you. Organizers provide an official orienteering map, and participants are left to figure out the quickest routes from A to Z, punching in at control sites as they go. Winter events in cold climes are traditionally timed for 90 minutes, but canny competitors who make the right decisions can bring in times half that.

Visit www.dontgetlost.ca/gho/ click for more information on the Golden Horseshoe Orienteering Club and this year's program. For navigation clinics geared to get you from "where you are to where you want to be," click on Backwoods Adventure. Does it get any better than that?