THE BIG MUDDY RANCH ROGAINE
By Brad and Yvonne Poe

 Oregon…June…70 degree weather…rogaine…sign us up, we’re there!  The thought of escaping
southern Arizona for a cool weekend in Oregon to participate in the first Big Muddy Ranch Rogaine,
hosted by the Columbia River Orienteering Club, was a no-brainer.  Having honed our limited
navigational skills in the 12 hour portion of the Little Rincons Rogaine in March, we decided to
sign up for our first 24 hour event.  Off to Oregon!

“98 degrees” the bank sign in Portland flashed incessantly.  So much for the “cool” weather.  The
next three days would all top out above 90 degrees.  Warmest four day stretch since 1996 the
papers would say.  Hmmm…maybe we could use this to our advantage!?  Together with fellow TOC
member Peg Davis, who was paired with a Canadian lady, we hoped our experience with the heat
would be of assistance.

The Big Muddy Ranch is located approximately 100 miles east of Portland and 50 miles south of the
Columbia River.  Originally inhabited by  Native Americans, the area was later homesteaded and
eventually consolidated into the Big Muddy Ranch.  At one point the ranch was owned by the Baghwan
Shree Rajneesh and his followers.  Rajneeshee ownership was a central theme for the event with
several rogainers dressing the part of the guru’s followers and a likeness of the Baghwan himself
appearing on the event T-shirt.  The ranch is now owned by Young Life, a Christian youth ministry, who
graciously allowed use of their ranch for the event.  Kudos to rogaine guru Mal Harding for obtaining
access to this truly spectacular location.
[Ed note: The T-shirt image is actually that of Mal Harding...!]

To our navigationally-challenged eyes, it appeared as though the course was divided into two relatively
distinct sections.  The western section had more rolling hills while the eastern portion featured a more
dramatic topography including steep cliffs and hilltops, canyons and a big blue lake.  Us desert dwellers
appreciated the green foliage, although the cheatweed was going to seed which necessitated gaiters
and duct tape.  Course setter Les Stark told us that the grass had a two week window when it would
be green, after which it would turn a more familiar desert brown.  Fortunately for us, the grass was still green. 
Shorts, hats and lots of sunscreen were in fashion for most of the rogainers due to the warm temperatures.

Parking, registration and the small tent city revolved around a huge hanger-type building which also
served as the hash house.  The hash house was centrally located on this rogaine course, and teams
scattered in all directions at the 11 am start, following a two hour period in which strategies were
devised in the shade of the hanger.

We opted for a course through the rolling hills leaving the rough stuff for another day.  We found the
first controls without incident, only to spend an inordinate amount of time on our third control.  So
much for any overconfidence.  We got ourselves back on track and spent the afternoon having a lot
of fun and enjoying the beautiful countryside.  As evening approached, we found ourselves at our
second water stop.  Several people were there, in various stages of exhaustion due to the high
temperatures.  Hooray for Arizona-like heat!-we felt great-refilled our water bottles and off again
we went.  As darkness fell, we hit the hash house and partook of yummy chili and pasta salad, while
coming up with another route, as we had completed our original plan far sooner than anticipated. 
We decided a nap was in order before setting off again.  Much to Brad’s chagrin, I fell asleep within
minutes while he listened to a symphony of crickets and snoring.  The alarm went off and we discovered
something-the moon had set!  It was completely dark, so I took this to mean another hour of
napping was in order.  At dawn we set off again, this time into the eastern portion of the ranch,
encountering many of the beforementioned canyons and hilltops.  We did not make it down to the lake,
instead bailing out on a dirt road to get back to the hash house before the cutoff.

Despite encountering more snakes in one weekend than all year back home, we had a great time
experiencing the ranch, its resident elk herd and our fellow rogainers.  We definitely plan to attend the
second Big Muddy next year, which is to be held on a different section of the ranch.  Oh yeah, and
we had better plan for a setting moon too!