Conquer the Crossroads Rogaine XXIV
March 28, 2026

Yellowwood State Forest is the site of the 2026 Conquer the Crossroads Rogaine XXIV

RACE HEADQUARTERS:  Yellowwood Lake Picnic Shelter

DATE: March 28, 2026

DIRECTOR: Frank Baukert (info@indyo.org)

CCR XXIV 2026 Rules and Course Notes

Ticks are already out in south central Indiana and cases of Lyme Disease have been documented in the area.  Be sure to take precautions:  use insect repellent containing DEET on exposed skin and DEET or permetherin on clothes, tuck pant legs into socks, and shower, do a tick check, and wash clothes as soon as possible after the race. 

You are looking for standard orienteering controls.  If you haven’t seen them before, there will be example set-up near the start.  Your clue sheet has a column marked IS which stands for “Intention Sheets”.  These are sign-in sheets located at selected controls.  When you get to your control and punch your scorecard, you will also need to sign the intention sheet.  put your team’s name or number, the time, and the number of your next control.  You must sign in.  The control will not count if you don’t sign the intention sheet.  They will be checked.  Yes, this means you will need a pencil or a sharpie, spares would be a good idea.

There are many exposed rock faces and earth banks in the forest.  They may not be readily visible.  Please use caution when ascending or descending especially as it gets dark.  There is no bouldering, free climbing, or rappelling in rogaining.  If you start breaking out the pitons and cams, you are wrong.

There is no swimming in rogaining.   If you find yourselves in water deeper than your knees, you are wrong.  All parts of the dam spillway are off limits, so you may not cross the top of the dam.  You may cross below the dam.  There is a bridge over Jackson Creek at CP-40.  You can cross Jackson Creek anywhere north of the bridge. 

The forest is not a closed venue.  You may encounter horseback riders, cyclists, hikers, campers, and anglers.  Please be courteous and considerate to anyone you meet out there.   Please give occupied campsites, picnic areas, shelters, and cabins a wide berth.  If you meet horses, please give them a wide berth.

Please respect private property.   The boundaries on your map represent the best available information, but they might not be entirely accurate. Forest boundaries have been marked with orange blazes on trees, but not everywhere.  Private property is marked with posted signs and purple blazes.  Some roads have signs telling you when you are entering/exiting the forest.  You are responsible for knowing where you are and staying in bounds.  Public roads are in bounds but you can’t cross private land to get to them.  If you find yourselves in somebody’s yard, driveway, crops, orchard, pasture, or their living room, you are wrong.  Turn around and go back!

Public and private land are interwoven.  The course will require you to loop in and out.  You may not cut thru private land, and you may not use stream beds to travel thru private land.

There are controls that will require you to navigate carefully in order to stay in bounds.  If precise cross-country navigation is not your thing, find a different route.

Watch out for traffic.  The local roads have serious horizontal and vertical curve issues.  Folks like to race pick-up trucks up and down them.  Yellowwood Lake, Lanham & Dubois Ridge Roads are popular with cyclists.  Trek defensively! 

The forest road west of the lake that follows Scarce O’ Fat and Tulip Tree ridges is off limits to motor vehicles and bikes.  That said, you may run into a lot of cyclists cutting through there. 

Teams can return to the start whenever they want for rest, clothes, water or food.  When you come back, check in with us, and turn in your scorecard.  When you are ready to leave, you can pick-up your scorecard, and head back out again.  When you finish, the entire team needs to check in and turn in your scorecard.  Time will not stop until the number of bodies at the finish matches the number of people on your scorecard.   Whatever else happens today; make sure you check in and turn in your scorecard!  Do not leave here without doing that because you won’t like the phone call we’ll be having at 1:00 AM otherwise.

Make sure you stay together.  We don’t have a set distance, but you need to maintain visual and verbal communications with all of your teammates.  This does not mean waving at them from the top of the mountain.  If someone gets sick or hurt or just doesn’t want to play anymore, the entire team needs to return to the start.  We will issue you a new scorecard, and you can continue as a new team.  Otherwise, you will be disqualified.

If you get there and there is no control—check your map.  If you are positive that you are in the right spot, look for an intention sheet if there is supposed to be one or an orange streamer tied on one end.  If the Intention Sheet is there, sign in, and write the code in the upper right corner of the sheet on your passport.  If there is a streamer, it should say “ICO CCRXXIV “and have an alpha numeric code.  Write the code on your scorecard, and continue on.  If there is no streamer, check your map again.  If you are still convinced that you are in the right spot, make some notes about the location, and we’ll talk when you get back.

Watch your time!  Start making your way back at the half-way point.  The last hour or two should be focused on getting back here.  Time speeds up at the end of a rogaine.  That last hour will seem shorter, and the return trip will be much longer than it looks.

The penalty for being late is 10 points per minute.  This is more than twice what the top teams can expect to earn.  There is no advantage to staying out late.  After 30 minutes, you will be declared overtime and will lose all of your points.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Be back on time!

Course Notes

CP-40 is on your score card twice.  If you punch at least one control west of Jackson Creek/Yellowwood Lake, you may punch your scorecard again and sign the intention sheet for another 40 points.

Some trails have been added to the map, but not every trail out there is on the map.  I make no promises about the accuracy of the mapping or the quality of the trails.  The trails west of the bridge over Jackson Creek were mapped using an official trail map, and they are wrong.  There are horse trails and old logging trails that follow the east edge of Dubois Ridge and Golden Rod Point.  This is the best way to travel between Dubois Ridge Rd, and the CP-43.  If you try to go cross-country, you will be sorry.

Please respect private property.   The boundaries on your map represent the best available information, but they might not be entirely accurate. Forest boundaries have been marked with orange blazes on trees, but not everywhere.  Private property is marked with posted signs and purple blazes.  Some roads have signs telling you when you are entering/exiting the forest.  You are responsible for knowing where you are and staying in bounds.  Public roads are in-bounds, but you can’t cross private land to get to them.  If you find yourselves in somebody’s yard, driveway, crops, orchard, pasture, or their living room, you are wrong.  Turn around and go back!

Public and private land are interwoven.  The course will require you to loop in and out.  You may not cut thru private land, and you may not use stream beds to travel thru private land.

There are controls that will require you to navigate carefully in order to stay in bounds.  If precise cross-country navigation is not your thing, find a different route.

When traveling between CP-31 and CP-51, you need to cross at the corner where the two parcels touch.  See posted map.

The state has made some improvements to Yellowwood Lake Rd.  The section from the boat ramp to Jackson Creek Rd has been paved.  North of here, the fords have been replaced with bridges.  There have been some cuts and fills.  Between CP-33 and Lanham Ridge Rd, portions of the road have been realigned, and the valley clear cut.  I’ve sketched in the new alignment as best as possible, but no guarantees.

The 2026 Conquer the Crossroads Rogaine course is EMBARGOED effective January 25, 2026.  This means that the entire Yellowwood State Forest is OFF LIMITS to all eventual competitors whether they are currently registered or not! This includes all roads and trails running through the forest.  The embargo will be in effect through Saturday, March 28, 2026. 

This embargo is being imposed to provide a "level playing field" for all teams. Please respect the spirit of this rule. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at info@indyo.org.

SCHEDULE:

Registration opens - 8:00 am

12-hour course start - 9:00 am

  6-hour course start - 10:00 am

TEAMS: Teams will consist of 2-5 members.  Junior teams must have an experienced member.  A team with a member 14 years or younger must have 1 person over 18 years of age.  Solo competitors will be allowed this year, with approval from the meet director. If you are interested in competing as a solo please contact us directly at info@indyo.org before registering. Thank you!

DIVISIONS: Divisions within each course will be determined based on entries received as of Mar. 23, 2026.

FEES: 

•   6-hour course: $40 per person 

• 12-hour course: $50 per person

Registration includes one set of maps per person and food and drinks at the start/finish area.  

ONLINE REGISTRATION HERE

All registration MUST be completed online.  Payment may be completed online by PayPal or you may mail it in.  Please note that payment must be received by Mar. 21 to guarantee your registration and maps!

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU WILL NEED TO REGISTER and SIGN THE WAIVER FORM FOR EACH TEAM MEMBER!  

VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS NEEDED:   If you can lend a hand for any length of time, especially picking up controls after the event, please contact Frank directly at 317-709-6591 or through info@indyo.org.