Catalina State Park is a favorite of visitors to Tucson, with stunning views of the Santa Catalina Mountains and technical orienteering in varied desert terrain (elevation 2800′). White on this map may not look anything like your white forest at home–it indicates the default vegetation in our mid-elevation Upland Sonoran desert scrub area. Desert scrub consists of many desert trees, such as palo verde and mesquite, that tend to be short and bushy. There are also many types of cactus, agave, and grasses. Large saguaro cactuses with significant arms are mapped as green dots. Washes, which are usually dry, are mapped with the blue dots normally reserved for linear marshes. Leg coverings are recommended for this terrain!

Note that there is a 1km (flat) walk to the remote start for all courses, so plan your arrival time accordingly. We’ll have warmup maps that you can use along the route to the start so you can be acquainted with the mapping and vegetation style.