FOOTPATHS

Urban Scrambling Scales Northwest Streets

By Doug Beyerlein

Joan at Vashon Island checkpoint.

Doug and Nisqually at Bellevue Street Scramble.

We are lost. Actually, we know where we are...we’re just not where we think we are. Confused? Yeah, so are we.
My wife and I are competing in the Bellevue Street Scramble. We are in a residential neighborhood in Bellevue, WA, looking for checkpoint 43, which is described on our map as “Porch, north side of northeastern building.” We have to find the checkpoint and answer the question, “What are the first words on the plaque attached to the porch swing?” Possible answers are: A: Established, B: Donated by, or C: In memory of. Welcome to the world of the Street Scramble.

Joan and I have been competing in Street Scramble events since 2003. Street Scrambles are on-foot events where you are given a city map dotted with 30 checkpoints. Each checkpoint is worth a certain number of points; the ones furthest from the starting line are the most valuable. You have three hours to walk to as many checkpoints as possible. Any route you choose is essentially an out-and-back, because the finish line is in the same place as the start line.

Before the event begins, you have 30 minutes to decide which checkpoints to visit. You can take any route you want, go anywhere you want. You don’t have time to find every checkpoint, so you have to know how far you can travel on foot in the time allotted. You can go fast, you can go slow. You can stop at a corner market and get a cold drink or a snack. You can go solo or go as part of a team. Joan and I compete as Team Nisqually (named after our malamute, who joins us for these events).

Street Scramble events have taken us to seldom-visited corners of Seattle, Bellevue, Puyallup, Kenmore, and Vashon Island. We often wander down quaint neighborhood streets, admiring the beautiful old homes and thinking that we would like to live there — if only we had the appropriate seven-figure income.

The events are organized by the Cascade Orienteering Club and Seattle-based Meridian Geographics. Street Scramble events are similar to orienteering, only you don’t need a compass or the ability to navigate through the woods. All you need are comfortable walking shoes, a water bottle, and maybe an energy bar or two.

And, of course, someone on the team needs to be able to read a map (that is my job; Joan answers the checkpoint questions).

Street Scrambles are modeled after rogaine events, which are 24-hour cross-country navigation challenges. The first Street Scramble was the 2003 Seattle Night and Day Challenge, which featured both a seven- and a 16-hour challenge (we tackled the seven-hour version). From there, shorter Street Scrambles were started, ranging in duration from 90 minutes to three hours. There is still the longer Seattle Night and Day Challenge for those more ambitious souls, plus a companion event in San Francisco.

Street Scrambles are scheduled through the rest of this year and are set in the Seattle neighborhoods of the University District, Seward Park, Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake, and the Pike Place Market. Additional events are planned for Everett, Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and Yakima. More information can be found at www.StreetScramble.com.

And what about checkpoint 43? Did we ever find it? Yes, we did — after I concluded that my brilliant map-reading skills had led us to the wrong intersection, one block away from our actual goal. We adjusted course, found checkpoint 43, and were on our way again. We returned to the start/finish line with a few minutes to spare. When all was said and done, we earned 390 points out of a possible 1000. Team Nisqually won first place in the Mixed Veteran category.

Doug Beyerlein is a hiker, runner, and Street Scramble competitor. He and his wife Joan, a nurse and triathlete, live with dog Nisqually and three cats in Mill Creek, WA. His day job is principal engineer and CFO for Clear Creek Solutions, Inc.