Bay Area Orienteering Club

 

 

 


408-255-8018

http://www.baoc.org

 

 

 

Event Director's Notes

Tahoe 3 Day

Memorial Day Weekend

May 24, 25, 26, 2003

 

Welcome to the Tahoe 3 Day.  We hope you have a good time.  I think the courses are interesting and challenging, and the terrain and maps are good.  It will be wetter this year, particularly at Burton Creek, than in previous years because of the unusual late snow.  However, except for the fact that you will probably get your feet wet because of the higher streams, marshy ground, some unmapped streams, and the occasional patch of snow, particularly in the higher elevations of Burton Creek, you should encounter nice running conditions. 

There will be a two day cumulative time classic distance event on Saturday and Sunday, with the first day at Spooner Lake and the second day at Burton Creek, and then a 1 day short course event at Burton Creek on Monday.  This is a "bare bones" A meet.  There will be no formal dinner, although a get together at the Blue Agave restaurant in Tahoe City at 6:00 pm on Saturday has been arranged by Olivia Graeve, and a pot luck dinner on Sunday at the Sugar Pine Point Campground has been organized by Nancy Lindeman.  Also, there is no T-shirt, no model event, the awards will be modest (ribbons), and child care will be performed on a cooperative basis by the parents. 

Terrain
On Saturday, the US Forest Service portion of the Spooner Lake map west of highway 28 will be utilized.  This area has not been used since August 2000.  The central portion of the map is a moderately hilly with runnable pine forest, but drops off steeply to the west.  There is complex rock detail in the northern part of the map.  The trail network is relatively sparse except at the southern end of the map.

On Sunday and Monday, the events will be at Burton Creek State Park.  Burton Creek offers some of the most interesting orienteering terrain in northern California. Terrain in California is notoriously known as being very steep, but Burton Creek is significantly flatter, with only mild to moderate climb, particularly in the northeastern portion of the park which will be utilized for the short course event. Large areas of the park are very runnable. The park is used as a cross-country ski area in the winter.  Vegetation varies from meadow-like clearings covered with wildflowers, to pine forest, to brush and chaparral. The density of rock features varies from sparse to moderate. Some parts of the terrain have many boulders which vary in size from 0.5 m to 5.0 m, with 1.0-2.0 m being the most common. The trail system ranges from moderate to relatively dense in the northeastern part of the park. There are a number of  small streams, which are unusually full for this time in May. There also will be marshy areas and occasional snow patches. The altitude ranges from about 6800 to 7100 feet. There is no poison oak in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Maps
George Kirkov mapped Spooner Lake in 1998, with revisions in 1999.  The scale is 1:10000 with a contour interval of 5 meters for the orange and advanced courses and 1:7500 for the white and yellow courses.  The Forest Service has done some clearing of trees in an effort to decrease fire hazard, and so the vegetation boundaries may have changed slightly since the map was made.  This map also contains many small rough open clearings which may be hard to discern in the field. Since the same mapper produced both Spooner Lake and Burton Creek, one will get a good idea of his mapping style at Spooner.

The map scale for Burton Creek is 1:10000 with 5 meter contours.  The map is generally quite good.  George Kirkov did the original field checking and cartography in 1999 and 2000 and Zoran Krivokapic did extensive modifications in 2002.  The contours are very reliable.  Most of the rock features are well mapped.  One source of confusion may be the "boulder fields".  When the boulders became too numerous to be mapped individually, the small black scalene triangle, the boulder field symbol, is utilized.  This symbol appears to be less prominent than the individual boulder (round black dot) and boulder cluster (relatively large black equilateral triangle) symbols.  However, when the boulder field symbol is used it means that there are a lot of boulders in the area, and each boulder is not mapped individually.  Only the very large boulders or significant boulder clusters are mapped in an area where the boulder field symbol is utilized.

The large clearings are quite reliable.  However, there are numerous small clearings which may be difficult to discern, and you should not rely on them for navigation. Many of these have been eliminated in the last field check and replaced with rough open with scattered trees. Similarly, individual trees (green X's), small copses (green O's), the brown X, which represents either a rootstock, a large stump or standing dead tree,  and a brown T or a brown X with a line extending from it representing a downed tree (the long line is in the direction of the trunk) are sometimes difficult to discern in the field. Also, there are many stumps and downed trees that are not mapped. Therefore, these symbols may not be the most reliable feature to use for navigation. 

There are new unmapped logging tracks here and there.  The park is implementing a road to trail network and eliminating some roads and trails, but new ones created by mountain bikers appear frequently.  We will make map corrections for the ones you are likely to encounter, but don't be surprised if you see a short but obvious unmapped track to a clearing  just off a main logging road. 

Course Statistics

Note:  The distances below include the distance from the start line to the remote start triangle.  However, this distance may not be included in the course descriptions printed on the maps.

Saturday, Spooner Lake

Course

Length

Climb

No. Controls

White

2.18

95

9

Yellow

2.65

150

8

Orange

4.55

160

9

Brown

3.98

130

9

Green

5.0

190

12

Red

6.15

270

14

Blue

7.88

300

19

re

Rec White

1.85

70

8

Rec Yellow

2.55

125

8

Rec Orange

4.65

150

9

 

Sunday, Burton Creek

Course

Length

Climb

No. Controls

White (A meet & Rec.)

3.5

75

13

Yellow (A meet & Rec.)

3.7

70

11

Orange (A meet & Rec.)

4.43

85

11

Brown

3.63

75

11

Green

5.1

140

13

Red

6.7

130

20

Blue

9.4

240

24

Adventure Racer

6.34

125

15

 

Monday, Short Course, Burton Creek

Course

Length

Climb

No. Controls

White

2.55

30

11

Yellow

3.45

50

13

Orange

2.75

45

11

Brown

2.05

45

12

Green

2.83

60

16

Red

3.78

55

16

Blue

4.7

80

21

 

Winning Times
On Saturday and Sunday, there will be classic distance events with the following estimated winning times: White, 25-30 min; Yellow, 35-40 min; Orange, 50-55 min; Brown, 45-50 min; Green, 50-55 min; Red, 60-65 min; Blue, 75-80 min.

For Monday, the short course winning times will be 25-30 minutes for the orange and advanced courses.  Yellow and white will be "classic distance" and the winning times will be those  listed in the previous paragraph.

Course Closure
All A meet competitors will have the full three hours to complete Saturday's and Sunday's classic distance courses.  Therefore, the courses will probably close about 2:30 to 3:00 o'clock on those days.  However, on Monday, because of the short course format, the time limit for completion of the course is 90 minutes.  Therefore, the courses will probably close about 12:30-1:00 p.m.

Electronic Punching
SportIdent electronic punching will be used for all classes on all three days of the A meet. Each competitor must have his or her own SI card.

To use the SportIdent electronic punching system, you put the SI card (also called a finger-stick or dipper) on your finger, typically your index finger of your dominant hand.  It is a good idea to attach a string or lanyard through the hole in the base of the finger stick and tie it around your wrist because they sometimes get pulled off and lost in the forest.  The replacement cost for a rental finger stick is $30.00.

Be sure and insert your finger stick in the Clear unit before starting the event.  It takes about 6 seconds to clear the card of its previous data.  Then put the card in the Check unit to be sure it has been cleared properly.  You will also be asked to put your finger stick in the Check unit carried by one of the start officials to double check that you have cleared your card, and also to serve as a backup for who actually started.

When the start official tells you to start, insert your finger stick in the Start unit and then follow the streamers to the remote start triangle at which point you will pick up your map and start navigating to the first control.  It does not matter if you have to wait a few seconds to punch the Start unit, as your time does not begin until after you punch.

When you get to the control, check the code, and then insert your finger stick into the hole on the top of the unit and wait for it to beep and flash, usually in about 1 second.  If the unit fails to respond, use the manual punch and punch your map to document that you visited the control.

If you take a control out of order or punch a control that is not on your course, this will not cause a problem if you eventually punch all of your controls in the proper sequence.  Thus if you find 5 before 4 and punch 5 and then 4, you must revisit 5 and punch it again.  The unit writes the code number and the time of punch on your finger stick, and the controls must be taken in sequential order to count.

At the finish, be sure and punch the Finish unit.  Once you punch the finish unit, you may not reenter the competition area, so be sure you have all of the controls before you punch the finish unit.

After finishing, proceed as soon as possible to the Download station, which is located near the finish area.  Download your card into the computer.  You will receive a print out of your splits after you download.

Be sure and go to the download station and download your finger stick, even if you do not finish your course.  Telling the finish crew that you retired from the course is not sufficient, as the computer will not know you have returned unless you download your card.  If you do not download, we will have to assume you are lost or injured, and may have to send out a search party for you.

If you are renting a finger stick, you may keep the finger stick if you are returning the following day to compete.  All rental finger sticks must be returned Monday.  If you do not return your rental finger stick, you will be charged $30.00.

Start Locations and Procedure

The start for A-meet competitors for Saturday is about 150 meter walk and 25 meter climb.  Allow about 5-10 minutes to get to the start.  The start for the recreational courses on Saturday is about 350 meter walk and 50 meters climb up a very steep hill.

The start for Sunday for all courses is about 150 meter walk with no climb. Allow about 5 minutes to walk to the start.

The start for Monday is about a 150 meter walk with no climb.  Allow about 5 minutes to walk to the start.

For A meet competitors, you will be called up 6 minutes before your start time.  Your name will be checked off.  At 4 minutes before your start time, you will advance to the holding line.  At that point an official will use the Check unit to double check your finger stick.  At two minutes before your start, you will advance to the start line.  When the horn sounds and you are told to start, punch the Start unit, and start running to the remote start triangle, about 50 meters away on Saturday, and 100 meters away on Sunday and Monday.  At the start triangle, pick up the appropriate map from the map box and begin navigating to your first control.  It is your responsibility to pick up the correct map.

Loose control description sheets will be available at the start area prior to being called up to the start line.

Recreational participants will not have pre-assigned start times.  After registration, proceed to the start area and request a start time from the start official.  When your start time is indicated on the display clock and the horn sounds, take your map out of the map tray, proceed to the start triangle, and begin navigating to the first control.

Hazards
The biggest hazard at this event is probably the altitude.  You will be competing at 6200 to 7000 feet.  One of the best ways to decrease some of the effects of high altitude is to stay hydrated throughout the competition.  Start drinking water about 1 hour before your start, and drink water at all of the water stops.  If it is warm, it is even more important to stay hydrated.  There are no rattlesnakes or poison oak..  Bears are occasionally seen but they usually are not aggressive.  Be alert for mountain bike riders on the trails.  The safety bearing is east at Spooner Lake to Highway 28 and at Burton Creek south until you reach a residential area or Highway 28.

Whistles
Whistles must be carried by all competitors.  If you do not have a whistle, ask for one at registration at no charge.

Awards
Separate awards will be given to the top 3 finishers in all classes for the combined time 2 day classic distance event and also for the short event.  The awards ceremony will begin as close to 2:00 pm on Sunday, May 25th,  and 12:00 p.m. on Monday, May 26th  as possible.  The awards will be ribbons.

Childcare
Childcare will be provided as a parent cooperative effort. We will provide a childcare coordinator.  No formal paid childcare will be available.

Dinner and Potluck
Olivia Graeve is organizing a get together for dinner on Saturday, May 24th at the Blue Agave - a great Mexican restaurant in Tahoe City (425 N. Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA).  It should be a fun evening with orienteering friends. The restaurant has reserved a table for us. Everyone will pay for their own meal, drinks, etc... There will be no course reviews, but do bring your maps so that you can discuss your courses with other sympathetic ears around the table.  As informal as it sounds, the maitre de wants to know how many people will be showing up, so that she can organize the waiters appropriately.  If you would like to attend and have not yet signed up, contact Olivia at oagraevelanset.com or 408-439-4577.

 

Nancy Lindeman is also organizing a pot luck dinner at the Sugar Pine Point Campground at 6:00 pm Sunday evening.  Bring your own eating utensils and a dish to share.  If possible, bring some firewood for the campfire, and any musical instruments you may have for an orienteering song-fest.  Sugar Pine Point is on the west side of Lake Tahoe, 10 miles south of Tahoe City on Route 89.  See Nancy for details.

 

Important Dates and Times
May 24th—Day 1 or classic distance event at Spooner Lake.  Registration opens 9:00 a.m.  First starts at 10:00 a.m. Dinner at Blue Agave Restaurant, 6:00 p.m.

May 25th—Day 2 of classic distance event at Burton Creek.  Registration opens at 8:30 a.m., first starts at 9:30 a.m. Awards Ceremony for classic distance event at 2:00 p.m.  Potluck dinner at Sugar Pine Point Campground at 6:00 p.m.

May 26th—Short Course event at Burton Creek.  First starts at 9:30 a.m. Awards ceremony at 12:00 noon.


Parking

On Saturday, free parking is available at the Nevada Highway Department lot just north of the intersection of US 50 and Route 28.  Please follow the instructions of the parking crew so that all of the cars can be parked in the lot.  On Sunday and Monday, there is free parking in the North Tahoe High School parking lot.  In addition, you may park on the streets near the school.

 

Directions

To Spooner Lake:

>From the Bay Area, take I-80 east to Truckee.  In Truckee, take Route 267 south towards Kings Beach.  At the T-intersection, turn left onto route 28 east.  Go for another 18 miles past the main entrance to the Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park at Spooner Lake.  Go about another 500 meters and turn right into the parking lot on the west (right hand) side of the highway, just before the intersection with US-50.

Alternative route from the Bay Area:  Take I-80 east towards Sacramento, then US 50 east towards South Lake Tahoe.  Continue on US 50 through South Lake Tahoe, and about 14 miles later, turn left onto Route 28 North.  Make the first left into the parking lot.

From Reno:  Take US 395 south to Carson City, and then U.S. 50 west towards South Lake Tahoe up Spooner Summit.  After crossing the summit, turn right onto Route 28 north towards Incline Village.  Make the first left into the parking lot.

 

To Burton Creek:

From the Bay Area:  From I-80, turn south on Route 89 towards Tahoe City.  In Tahoe City, at the Y-intersection, continue straight on Route 28, also known as North Lake Boulevard. Go about 2 miles towards Dollar Point, turn left onto Fabian Way (there is a 7-11 on the south side of the highway), then an immediate right onto Village Road. Turn left at the 3rd intersection onto Polaris Drive, and go to the end of the street and follow signs for parking at the North Tahoe High School.

 

From Reno:  Take I-80 west to Truckee.  Go south on Route 267 until you come to the T intersection with Route 28 in King's Beach.  Turn right and go west until you come to Dollar Point, then turn right onto Fabian Way and then an immediate right onto Village Road. Turn left at the 3rd intersection onto Polaris Drive, and go to the end of the street and follow signs for parking at the North Tahoe High School.

 

Event Officials
Event Director--Evan Custer, 1-925-254-5628, evancusterattbi.com
Course Setter--Saturday classic distance courses at Spooner Lake, Thorsten Graeve
Course Setter--Sunday classic distance courses and Monday short courses at Burton Creek, Dan Stoll-Hadayia.
Vetters--Bob Cooley, Thorsten Graeve
Mapping Director--Bob Cooley
Registrar--Steve Beuerman
Recreational Registration--Ev and Jean Beuerman
Start Crew Chief--George Minarik
Finish Crew Chief--Dan Greene
EP Crew Chief--Jeff Lanam
Signage and equipment--Mark Blair
First Aid--Joan Roos
Construction and Set-up--Matthias Kohler and Bill Pappendick
Search and Rescue--Bill Straka
Control Pickup Crew Chief--Peter Graube
Social--Olivia Graeve
Webmaster--Ben Wahlstrand
Parking--Rick and Dayle Lavine
Start Time Assignments--Marsha Jacobs
Publicity--Lucy duPertuis, Dan Stoll, Nancy Lindeman
Camping Coordinator--Nancy Lindeman
Flyer--Tony Pinkham