"Hey, if you get lost, fire three shots," a hunting buddy joked to me as our group left the trucks. (I was carrying a bow and arrows.) I was also carrying a map and compass in my pack, and felt reasonably confident that I could navigate in and out of the dense Maine woods.

As a flatlander - the term for what Mainers call people from southern states, except for people from Massachusetts, who are called another name - I'd learned the basics of map and compass. A GPS is an awesome tool, but in Maine's thick spruce/fir forest and proximity, a GPS sometimes wasn't reliable.If you have an interest in learning to use a map and compass, or expanding that to include learning about orienteering, mark your calendar for the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association's 25th Annual Training and Camping Weekend, Sept. 10 and 11 at Hickory Run State Park. Events begin at 10 a.m. Saturday; you must pre-register by August 27 (go to

www.DVOA.org.)Members of DVOA will supervise beginner, intermediate and advanced training and orienteering exercises on Saturday and Sunday.There will also be a Night-O (night orienteering event). You'll need to bring your own compass (or DVOA will rent you one), and there's a nominal participation fee of $6, to help the club cover the cost of printing maps for participants.DVOA member Fred Kruesi, Exton,is the registrar for the event. He has long loved to hike, and that pursuit led him to a further interest in learning to use a map and compass."I did a lot of hiking at French Creek State Park, where there's a permanent orienteering course, and once day I guess back in 1992 I picked up a brochure about it," he said. "I thought it would be a useful skill, and from the brochure I learned about the DVOA, and got their schedule of events.""A GPS is good until the batteries die," he said. "It's important to have a basic skill such as reading a map."And that's where "beginners" to orienteering start, Kruesi explained."For the beginners it's an easy course, with an emphasis on reading a map and staying on the right trail," he said. "When you get more advanced, you're in thick woods, getting around obstacles, and off trail all the time."Kruesi said that while people may attend the event so that they can learn to find their way, they're also sure to find plenty of kindred spirits."You will find people of all ages, from parents carrying kids in backpacks to people who are in their 80s or so; we'll have a lot of families, and a lot of (Boy and Girl) Scouts," he said. "This weekend is special, and people come a good distance to train, and meet new friends."