Read before going out, with map in hand
Start and finish symbols. On an orienteering map, the Start location is typically marked with a pink/purple triangle, and the finish is marked with a double pink circle (a target). Note that the finish on this map is on the north (far) side of the road from the parking lot so you can take a breather before carefully crossing the road.
Trail symbols. Note the variety of trails you use to the first few controls and how they are depicted on the map. The wider and more distinct a trail is, the darker and wider it will be shown on the map. An indistinct trail will be shown as intermittent dashes on the map. Trails change over time as they get more or less use, so always interpret a map with that in mind.
Vegetation symbols. On your way to #3, note that white space on an orienteering map typically indicates “runnable” forest – a full cover of trees and forest that is relatively easy to walk through off of a trail. Control #3 is located on a vegetation boundary. Notice that the yellow color indicates open land where you can easily see the sky. (Look for this color again at control #8.) The adjacent light green indicates taller vegetation that is thick enough that is slows you down by at least 25% if you’re not on a trail. The greener the symbol, the slower the going. Always avoid dark green if you can.
Control 4. The heavy black dot on the map represents a BIG boulder. On the map, it’s <1cm from the trail, so on the land, it’s < 50 m away. Maybe you can see it from the trail.
Rough navigation. From the boulder at control 4, plan your route to control 5. You could go back to the trail, go south, etc.–a perfectly good route choice. Or, if you have a compass, you can use it to point you roughly in the direction of control 5 and take a short cut. If you want to try that, hold your compass flat in your hand and wait for the magnetic needle to settle. Ignore every part of the compass except that needle. The end of the needle that is NOT red is pointing south. If you walked the direction that non-red end of the needle is pointing, you’d be travelling south and pretty soon you’d hit the trail that leads to control #5. Try facing south. Now, you could also get to that trail and shorten your walk a bit by going SE. From south, turn 1/8 of a turn to the left and pick a distinctive tree out there and walk to it. Do this a few times to proceed SE. Part way to the trail, you should be able to see the open sky above the marsh on the other side of the trail you’re headed toward. You could also just walk toward that open sky over the marsh and you’ll hit the trail. Don’t try going straight east to control 5 because you might stray too far to the north and miss the trail target. Once on the trail, go left and look for the boulder or the turn in the trail to re-orient yourself.
A saddle is a fun feature. Control #5 is in a subtle saddle: the land slopes up in two directions and down in two directions, just like a saddle on a horse.
Trail intersections! Stay alert. There are some tricky ones between 5 and 6.
Handrails!! From 6 to 7 (a boulder), try using the contour of the land as a ‘handrail’ to lead you to the boulder. One way to do this: walk the trail south from 6 to the first intersection, turn west (right) and follow the trail to the next intersection. Turn north (right) and go up the hill. At the top, turn left and note the land is flat to your right and there’s a distinct dropoff to your left. The slope is shown as the parallel brown lines on the map. Walk NW, parallel to those contour lines along the crest of the slope, about 100 m and you should see the boulder on your right. To get to the trail north of the boulder, on your way to 8, just continue along the top of the slope, parallel to the brown contour lines.
For more challenge, you can follow that same contour handrail almost all the way from 6 to 7: Walk the trail south from 6 to the first intersection, turn west (right). Then, instead of following the trail down the hill, maintain your elevation and follow the top of the slope between the two trails. Note that the brown contour line (and top of slope) leads you toward the control. If you follow the top of the slope across one major trail, you should encounter the boulder after another ~100 m.