Fw: [SouthBayAR] Orienteering Opportunity November 2nd

[Faith Pacifico]

Hi There, I'm just checking in to see who else is going.  I know Randy was kind enough to offer helping with orienteering, and doing some training. I plan to take him up on his generous offer..   Anyone else going? Want to carpool?? Faith Pacifico (faithp...@yahoo.com)       --- On Mon, 10/6/08, Faith Pacifico <faithp...@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Faith Pacifico <faithp...@yahoo.com> Subject: [SouthBayAR] Orienteering Opportunity To: south...@googlegroups.com Date: Monday, October 6, 2008, 8:07 AM Hi There,   I'm planning to use the off season to learn a little bit about navigation. I took Mark Manning's class last summer, but have never practiced it.  I have his notes and a compass...but, unfortunately I've forgotten most of it!   So, if anyone wants to get lost on a trail with me :-) I'm considering doing this BAOC event to practice!  I'd love company.  I don't mind walking or running, I want to spend time with the map and use the compass some, even if it isn't necessary.. You can register day of, so we don't need to decide unti lthe last minute..   http://baoc.org/wiki/Schedule/2008/Las_Trampas   Happy Monday, Faith Pacifico (faithp...@yahoo.com)

[Randy Franklin]

Hi Faith,

Yup, I was actually looking at the BAOC site just now to figure out times/etc. 

I'll be there at 9:30 to start the orange course at 10am. I'd love to have people join me - we can hike the orange course and still finish within the allotted timeframe. Last year was 2.7 km off-trail, 175 m climb, 12 controls if that gives you a sense of the distance and terrain.  It'll definitely be strenuous but also fun and rewarding. 

Topics we can discuss.

- Reading an orienteering map

- contours

- colors

- symbols

- Determining distances

   - Compass basics

- Shooting a bearing

Stuff to bring

- Small backpack

- Water

- Long pants

- Long-sleeved shirt

- Baseplate compass if you have one

- Pen

- Change of clothes and Technu/poison oak wash for afterwards (this is a poison oak heavy park)

- Cash: http://baoc.org/wiki/FAQ/How_much_does_it_cost%3F 

All welcome!

-Randy

[Dale]

I would love to go as well, and to carpool.  I do need to be back home in Mountain View by 12:30, if that is workable.   Dale

[Faith]

Randy,

Perfect! We'll get a carpool group going, too. Do you want to carpool? For some reason I thought you lived north? SF?

 

I'll plan to be there by around 9am-sh to get registration done so I can really pay attention :-) Cherie, Dale, should we meet at Cherie's around 8am, on the road by 8:15 at the latest? Dale, it ends at noon, so I'm not sure if you'd be back by 12:30 to mountain view, though.

 

Anyone else in??

Should be fun!

Faith

[Monica Condit]

Hi All,

 

   I would like to join also.  I would also be interested in carpooling.

 

~ Monica

---

From: Faith <fep...@gmail.com>
To: ra...@randyfranklin.com
Cc: faithp...@yahoo.com; south...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 10:26:20 PM
Subject: [SouthBayAR] Re: Fw: [SouthBayAR] Orienteering Opportunity November 2nd

[Monica Condit]

[Faith Pacifico]

Excellent!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

---

From: Monica Condit <macm...@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:35:19 -0700 (PDT)
To: <ra...@randyfranklin.com>; <south...@googlegroups.com>
CC: <south...@googlegroups.com>

[Paul Komarek]

I'm also interested!

I'll offer to drive, since Cherie took care of us last time. My car
seats 5 (with a person-sandwich in the back middle), which is just
enough for the current crew (faith, cherie, dale, monica, paul).

Paul

[Cheryl Kadis]

I'm in, but I live in Fremont, so I'll probably drive myself.

cheryl

[Kim Roland]

I'm in as well and would love to carpool if there is still room.  Also, remember that the clocks change this weekend!...:-) Kim --- On Mon, 10/27/08, Paul Komarek <komare...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Faith]

Oh right, the clocks!  I would have totally forgotten. Thanks.

 

We might need 2 cars, but that's A-OK because I think it might be a good opportunity for me to go to CCK in Oakland afterwards, get my paddle looked at, and demo a few more kayaks.. I can drive one of the 2 cars, then head out on my own afterwards.  (of course, depending on the dog-sitting situation! )

 

Faith

[Randy Franklin]

Hi all,

Appended is the course setter's notes for the Las Trampas orienteering event, please read....

Also, remember that we will have to rent e-Punch devices at the event. Please factor this into your cost. $3. 

(Ohh, and I just noticed that compass rental is only $1 so that could be a good choice for those who don't have one)

Thanks,

Randy

------------------------------------------------------

LAS TRAMPAS 2008: COURSE SETTER'S NOTES

 

Even by BAOC standards, the oak and grassland hillsides of Las Trampas Regional

Wilderness can be a little rugged.  But that's all part of its charm.  And that's

also why we traditionally save this event until sometime during the last two

months of the year, when mild temperatures make the slogging up those slopes a

whole lot easier.  We'll also continue another Las Trampas tradition that's

emerged in recent years which tends to keep the wildness down:  All courses will

be confined to the lower third of the park south of Bolinger Canyon Road, where

the terrain is much more open and the canyons are considerably less steep than

in the savage forests of the upper two-thirds.

 

 

THE COURSES

 

The "standard 7" courses will be provided.  But since only the lower third of

the park will be used, this leaves us with a smaller area than that of a typical

BAOC wilderness event.  So we sometimes use this as an excuse to do something a

little creative with some of the courses.  This is one of those times.

 

First, the specs:

 

COURSE  CONTROLS    LENGTH     CLIMB      DIFFICULTY

White ..... 9 ..... 2.4 km .... 75 m .... Easy Beginner

Yellow ... 13 ..... 2.5 km ... 172 m .... Beginner

Orange ... 11 ..... 3.6 km ... 240 m .... Intermediate

Brown .... 10 ..... 3.5 km ... 255 m .... Hard

Green .... 12 ..... 4.1 km ... 345 m .... Harder

Red ...... 13 ..... 5.2 km ... 360 m .... Brutal

Blue ..... 14 ..... 5.8 km ... 405 m .... Abandon all hope

 

Electronic punching (e-punch) will be provided on all courses.

 

FOR ADVANCED COURSES ONLY, all utility pole lines and almost all trails will

be left off the map.  This will add a bit more navigational challenge to those

courses in a way that we hope will provide some worthwhile map-focus training

for BAOC's "O' in the Oaks '08" A-meet coming up on November 14-16.  Since

we've increased the technical challenge, we've accordingly decreased the

physical challenge: All advanced courses will be a little shorter than usual.

 

Maps for the White, Yellow, and Orange courses will show all trails, utility

pole lines, and other features as they ordinarily would.

 

SPECIAL NOTE FOR YELLOW COURSE RUNNERS: This course will take you through the

Little Hills Ranch next to the parking lot we'll be using for this event.  You

will enter this area through a pedestrian gate next to a larger green gate at

the front of the ranch.  You'll exit the area through a gated opening in the

barbed wire fence at the back.

 

The Yellow course also traverses a small area where the trails are obscured by

a covering of fallen leaves.  Don't worry.  There will always be a nearby fence,

also shown on your map, that you can use as a guide.

 

 

MAP AND TERRAIN

 

Like all orienteering maps, the BAOC Las Trampas map has its own "personality" .

This map was field checked and drawn by George Kirkov in 2002.  Since then, many

of the man-made features, especially fences, have changed quite a bit.  We have

corrected the map to reflect these changes in all areas where any course runner

is likely to set foot.

 

IMPORTANT: The interval between adjacent contour lines on the map is 7.5 meters,

not the usual 5-meter contour interval found on most orienteering maps.  Slopes

can turn out to be a lot steeper than they may appear from a casual glance at

the map.  Visualize 3 contour lines for every 2 lines you see on the Las Trampas

map and that will give you an idea of how steep the terrain would appear on a map

with the typical 5-meter contour interval.

 

The terrain is also deceptively rugged in another way: The upper parts of many of

the steeper streambeds and re-entrants actually have sides which are almost

vertical, even though they are not indicated as gullies on the map.  Such gullies

are impassable, or passable only with great difficulty.  Rule of thumb:  If it's

a particularly steep-looking portion of a stream or re-entrant, do not plan on

crossing it.

 

Green point features are also mapped in a curious style.  A lone tree (a single

tree not touching any other trees) can be indicated on the map as a green "X" or

a green "O".  The same applies to a distinguished tree (a tree that stands out

clearly from its neighbors in some way).

 

 

HAZARDS AND PRECAUTIONS

 

Because it's autumn and because almost all the trees in the park are deciduous,

many areas are covered in fallen leaves.  Since it's hardly rained yet, the

ground underneath those leaves can be fairly hard.  All of this, combined with

the steep terrain, is a recipe for "slippery slope".  If you intend to run an

advanced course, YOU MUST WEAR CLEATS!  Do not attempt to slither your way

around one of these courses in old running shoes.  On the Orange course as well,

cleats or hiking shoes/boots with good traction are highly recommended.

 

Poison oak is always lurking somewhere on just about any vegetated hillside in

the Bay Area.  At Las Trampas, poison oak is present throughout the park in the

forested areas.  But it's spread very sparsely and it's alomst always very low to

the ground.  The only places where you'll find it in bush form are impassable

areas of thick vegetation shown in dark green on the map.  At this time of year,

poison oak has shed many of its leaves, so it's harder to spot but less potent

if you do happen to make contact.

 

Las Trampas Regional Wilderness is a popular area for equestrians, particularly

the trails that will be traversed by participants on the White, Yellow, and Orange

courses.  If you come across a horse and rider, STOP and wait for them to pass.

Do not run past the horse!  It might get spooked and throw the rider.  ABSOLUTELY

DO NOT run out of the forest and suddenly pop onto a trail in front of a horse and

rider.  This is a surefire recipe for disaster.

 

 

ENCOURAGEMENT

 

Go punch 'em!

 

 

--- Mark Blair, October 2008