Saturday, April 11, 2026
This is our fourth time using this map. There have been a few changes on the ground as DEC has made some habitat related changes, but it’s pretty much the same as it was, though it’s always hard to know how and when DEC will mow the fields, which they do both for habitat and for hunters. It’s not a large area, but I have tried to use mostly
different features in different sequences.
The only notable change from the two versions ago map is that in using the newer IOF 2017 symbol set, I first changed from the Mark Dominie “crevasse” symbol (as used primarily in Thacher Park) to the newly added “very broken ground”area symbol, which is a lot of brown dots, instead of lots of short brown slashes. Then, I decided to just not use anything, because it makes other features too hard to see, and so far in four times mapping/course setting I have not come across any hidden gaps where you might break a leg or twist an ankle (unlike at Thacher).
I am still using a few other Dominie symbols: cemetery, very ruined wall, boundary marker, and a smaller black X for the large birdhouses put up by DEC. I also used the small X for some newly discovered high fence posts, in a square formation in the middle of the forest, with no remaining fence.
The symbol used for the large open shale area in the northern part of the map is “Sandy Ground”, which is what most mappers said to use when I asked about it as I was first creating the map.
Both the Long and Intermediate courses will cross Pleasant Valley Road once, with the Finish across the road from the Start, so you can return to the Registration/Results area at an easy pace (not on the clock). Traffic is modest on this road, but it can move fast, so extra care must be taken both times.
The Short course does not cross the road, but it is not entirely set along trails. Two late controls are along stonewalls/fences, which are easy to follow as handrails.
The Parking Area for this event (there are two of them in Margaret Burke) is the northern one, on the east side of Pleasant Valley Road. It is small, and you likely will have to park along the road. To keep the road passable, everyone should park along the east side of the road.
There are NO facilities at Margaret Burke. If you need a rest room, find it before you come up the hill. There will be water on the course at one control on the Intermediate course and two on the Long course. There will be no water on the Short course. There will be water (and snacks) at the Start/Finish.
As this will still be early spring, it is likely that the ground will be rather wet, so plan accordingly.
DEC’s Margaret Burke website is here
https://dec.ny.gov/places/margaret-burke-wildlife-management-area
If there are significant event changes, they will be updated here.
It will help me to have enough maps if you let me know you will be attending, and which course you will do. EMPO members (and others) should remember that if you are a paid-up member, you will not have to pay on site to enter (unless you need to rent an SI stick or compass, $2 and $1 respectively). You can join or renew at the EMPO web site using PayPal here:
https://empoclub.org/empo-membership-application/
Course Statistics
| Course Length | Climb | Controls | |
| Short | 1.4 km | 20 m | 6 |
| Intermediate | 2.8 km | 65 m | 8 |
| Long | 5.0 km | 85 m | 13 |
Please let me know if you see any places where you think the map needs adjustment or addition/subtraction.
-Phil H-T