Wilder Ranch

6th annual Golden Goat

Santa Cruz
Sunday, July 29, 2001

Contact: Thorsten Graeve, 408-293-1718

Come on down and join the sixth annual running of the Golden Goat. The Golden Goat is essentially a "Long-O" event with a mass start, wherein the competitor may skip a control of his or her choosing.

There will be two loops in this year's Goat. Competitors may decide after the completion of the first loop (the "Kid") whether to go on to complete the second loop (the "Goat"). Thanks to meet director Thorsten Graeve's efforts in previous years, this map is now on OCAD, and for this year's Goat, course-setter Van Boughner is making some new corrections and additions to the map to faciliate the Goat.

There will be no other courses offered during this event due to the lack of a good area for a White course.

Terrain

Wilder Ranch is located just a few miles north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1. It is the site of a historic dairy farm dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. The center of the dairy farm will be our registration area, start, finish, and map exchange. It is an interesting location and many of the old buildings there are being maintained as a cultural preserve. Historic evidence of farming activity can be found throughout the park as remains of fences, corrals, roadbeds, and other structures. Wilder Ranch is comprised of approximately 3900 acres, 900 of which are coastal beach lands under cultivation for agricultural use (this land and the surrounding area produces 18% of the nation's brussel sprouts), while the remaining 3000 acres consist of a mixture of open hillsides and steep, wooded reentrants.

There are many miles of trails, and while these and the open hillsides offer fast navigation, the reentrants range from overgrown (with lots of poison oak) to impassable. The course will encourage you to use trails to get around the worst of these, with the most passable crossing areas marked. The total elevation difference from the highway to the top of the park is a little over 700 feet, and at the higher elevations you will be rewarded with majestic redwood canyons and magnificent views of Monterey Bay.

Registration

All entrants who preregister will receive a premarked map. If you haven't registered yet but want to attend and have a premarked map, please email assistant director Chuck Spalding at chuckadept.com or phone him at (408) 434-5189. (We're considering making late registrants hand-copy the course onto their maps, AFTER the mass start. How's that for an incentive to preregister?!)

The entry fee is $20 with a T-shirt, or $8 without. Payment is not due until the day of the event.

Schedule

The mass start for the Goat and Kid will be at 10:30 am at the dairy farm/cultural preserve near the main parking lot. Make sure you allow time to register. (Preregistration is only to reserve a map. You still need to fill out a registration form and pay fees.)

E-Punching

E-punching will be used at this event, so don't forget to bring your E-stick. Rental sticks will be available. (Be prepared to be considered MSP in the e-punch results, unless we can figure out how to convince the computer that it really is okay to skip a control on this course.)

Course Info

There will be two loops. The first loop will be 10.2 km with 350 meters of climb. When you complete the first loop, you will have completed the Kid. You may skip ONE control on the first loop.

The second loop will be 3 km with 50 meters of climb. You may not skip any controls in the second loop. Upon completion of the second loop you will have completed the Goat.

The time limit for the first loop will be 4 hours. If you complete the first loop within that time, you will be allowed to proceed with the second loop if you wish.

Please note that this is not a "beginner" event. Unlike all other BAOC events, there will be no other courses offered during this event due to the lack of a good area for White and Yellow courses.

Prizes!

First prize for the Golden Goat will be a bottle of "Goat's Head" red table wine (from the Columbia River area in Washington) -- donated by Ev and Jean Beuerman.

First prize for the Golden Kid will be a postcard of a kid (the four-legged kind, appropriately) -- donated by Abby Wolfe.

T-Shirts

All entrants will be eligible to receive a T-shirt, regardless of how much of the course they complete. Preregistration is NOT required for a T-Shirt; you can sign up (and pay) for one at the event.

That's the good news. The "other" news is that the T-Shirts will not be available at the event. We will distribute them at upcoming events or by mail. Please accept our apologies for the disappointment.

Weather

Thorsten's official forecast for the coast this weekend: "Lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s, with morning fog that may or may not clear. Definitely bring some warm clothes for hanging out at the finish."

Directions

To get to Wilder Ranch state park, take Highway 1 north from Santa Cruz. Turn left (towards the ocean) about 2 miles past Western Drive, at the brown State Park sign. Pay the $6 parking fee at the entrance kiosk and park, then follow the signs to the registration area (in the cultural preserve where all the buildings are).