Welcome to 2001: A Sunol Odyssey. Registration opens at 9:00 am, with start times from 10:00 am to 12:30 PM. We will have electronic punching on Orange and all advanced courses.
If you have never tried orienteering before, we recommend that you try a White course first (you'll probably have time for a Yellow course afterward). There will be informal beginner's clinics at 9:30 and 10:30 near registration.
Sunol Park has a variety of wildlife. This year the coursesetters have seen lots deer and turkeys but no bobcats or rattlesnakes. Coyotes were seen in early January. There are lots of wildflowers blooming and the hills are very green. Bird watching is usually very good at Sunol in the spring.
Course Length Climb Navigation Physicality Blue 8.7k 300m Advanced Very hard Red 7.0k 225m Advanced Pretty hard Green 5.3k 180m Advanced Hard Brown 3.7k 145m Advanced Moderate Orange 3.5k 120m Intermediate + Moderate Yellow 3.2k 135m Beginner + More climb than usual White 2.5k 75m Easy Easy, but some hillsThe advanced courses are relatively flat by Sunol standards, and we're expecting some pretty fast times. The intermediate course is "Dark Orange" (more brown than yellow). It will be physically easier than the past few years, but a tad more technically challenging. We would not recommend moving up to Orange from Yellow at this event. But if you are a solid Orange competitor or have done Sunol Orange before, you will have a lot of fun.
The parking lot was full last weekend and overflow parking was opened. Please carpool and allow plenty of time to register and catch the shuttle to the remote start. Plan on a 10 to 15 minute shuttle ride to the start. The start will be close to the shuttle drop-off...no hiking required!!
There are some map corrections for ALL courses, so please check the map correction board at the registration area. Some of the map corrections may be used for control locations, and/or some of the map corrections may be irrelevant.
Also, the terrain at Sunol is STEEP. The map scale is 1:15000 with 7.5 meter contours. Two closely spaced 7.5 meter contours can mean an uncrossable reentrant. In most cases contouring around reentrants is advised. The ground is drier than in the last few years and cleats may be considered optional.
Standard disclaimer: The map is generally accurate, however there are many unmapped animal trails. Cattle trails in particular can be well-defined and confusing in areas of mapped trails. Be careful you don't mistake an unmapped trail for a mapped one. A few of the unmapped trails will show up in the map corrections. It is good practice and very common to contour along animal trails. There are also some unmapped dead/fallen trees (rootstocks), and 3 of these will show up on the map corrections.
Some of the vegetation has spread and thickened since it was mapped. Much of the "green" (even the very light green) is poison oak. The courses have been designed to avoid the worst of the poison oak, however you will still encounter some on the courses. Most is low to the ground or can be avoided. Full body covering and the use of Tecnu is recommended. In general, the mapped vegetation is very reliable.
There are some new manmade features that are unmapped on Orange through Blue. These are 6-8 ft diameter concrete basins with a metal top. You should ignore these, and they are not on the map corrections. Most of the manmade features indicated on the map are, and typically look, older than 10 years.
Be sure the number on your control matches the number on your clue sheet. Some of the numbers on adjacent courses may be close and there may be similar features that are precisely 100+ meters from each other on adjacent courses. If you "punch" the wrong e-punch with your finger stick, you may still punch the correct control in the correct order without a penalty.
Where the control feature is a point feature (boulder) on the intermediate and advanced courses, the control is typically placed on the side of the feature opposite to the expected direction of approach. For White and Yellow, the control is on the side of the expected direction of approach.
For Orange and advanced courses, the safety bearing is south until you hit major trails, water, or roads. Then follow these handrails back to the finish.
The courses close at 2:00 pm. Every participant must check in at the finish by 2:00 whether or not you finish your course. Please be sure to download your finger stick after punching at the finish line as that helps us gauge how many participants are still out on the course. If you do not check in by 2:00, we will assume you are lost or injured and a search party will be organized. If you think you may take a long time to finish a course, please start by 11:00 so you have the full 3 hours to finish.
There are several fence crossings on the intermediate and advanced courses. Some of the fences have been repaired recently and are more difficult to duck under than in the past. Choose your crossing point carefully and be careful of the barbed wire. Also some of the ruined fences have really deteriorated in the last 10 years. All that may be left is a strand of barbed wire, so watch out for these in the general area of the fences. Gaiters are recommended.
There will be a First Aid kit at the registration area.