Joaquin Miller Park
Date: (Sun.) Jul. 17, 2005
Location: Oakland, CA
Event Director: 
- 510.525.1574
Course Setter: George Minarik
Type: B; Standard White through Blue courses
Course Setter's Notes
By George Minarik
PLEASE NOTE THAT E-PUNCHING WILL BE USED FOR ORANGE AND ADVANCED COURSES.
BAOC welcomes you to some midsummer Orienteering. Joaquin Miller Park (JMP) was the site of the first BAOC event in 1978. We plan to offer the usual 7 courses. Each will transverse a variety of terrain. The park has an area of flat Redwood forest that all the courses will cross. Much of the rest of the park is dotted with picnic areas and recreational sites, but some parts can be very steep and thick. The Blue and Red courses will provide a tough physical challenge with several steep uphill climbs. The Green and Orange courses involve a moderate physical effort with one steep climb. The Brown, Yellow, and White courses will have a minimum of climb. We hope you will find the courses interesting and fun.
Electronic punching will be used for the Orange and advanced courses, so bring those e-sticks. If you don't own an e-stick, you can rent one for $3.
Plan to bring your family and friends for a picnic. It is a great place to introduce the sport to newcomers.
We will have short beginner's clinics starting at 9:30 AM. We have rented a picnic area under the Redwoods. JMP may be the coolest spot around on a July afternoon.
We need more volunteers; see Leslie Minarik at the event if you can help out.
Driving Directions
From Highway 13 in the East Bay (the Warren Freeway), take the Joaquin Miller Road (JMR) exit. Go uphill (east) on JMR. Make a left onto Skyline Blvd. Go about 1 mile, and turn right at the O sign into the parking area. Do not turn into the Roberts Recreation Area pay-parking area. The Orienteering parking area will be about 1/2 mile further down Skyline.
From the parking lot, follow the O signs to registration at the Redwood Bowl picnic area. Parking is very limited, so please try to carpool. If the O lot is full, use the Science Center parking lot, which is the next turnoff after the regular parking area.
Registration, Starts and Finishes are close to the Redwood Bowl Picnic area. There is about a 7-minute walk from the parking lot to registration area. Watch for O signs and streamers.
Course Statistics
Course Controls Length Climb Technical Difficulty Physical Difficulty
White 15 2.6 km 103 m Beginners Easy Yellow 7 2.5 km 110 m Advanced Beginners Moderate Orange 10 3.5 km 238 m Intermediate Moderate/Hard Brown 14 3.2 km 212 m Advanced Moderate Green 15 4.1 km 341 m Advanced Moderate/Hard Red 19 5.7 km 419 m Advanced Very Hard Blue 22 7.2 km 645 m Advanced Macho
Restricted and Dangerous Areas
(Competitors entering these areas will face disqualification, if not a worse fate.)
North of the registration and finish area is an extensive archery range. This area is out of bounds and dangerous. It is marked by purple hatched lines on the map. Most of the area is also fenced in.
The slopes around Redwood Bowl meadow are out of bounds due to a restoration project. Some of this territory is adjacent to the start area. Do not head North from the Start Area. We will try to streamer the area so people avoid it. It will be marked on the map with purple lines.
Your courses will take you close to picnic and other recreational areas. Please be courteous and avoid running through someone's wedding, picnic or softball game.
Hazards: The Orange and advanced courses will go into steep and thick areas. This is especially true for the Blue and Red courses. Use common sense.
There is a moderate amount of poison oak on the Orange and advanced courses. Full arm and leg cover is recommended. Washing with Technu after competing is a good idea.
All courses will cross Skyline Drive at least twice. This road has high speed traffic. Stop and look both ways before crossing Skyline and other park roads.
Goats and Electric Fences
Joaquin Miller Park has a herd of goats that they move around to munch on the vegetation. These goats are surrounded by white or orange electric fences. The herd and fences move around the park from day to day. Do not try to cross these fences. Don't be surprised if you are forced to alter your route choice because of a recently fenced-off area.
Map Notes
A big apology in advance. The mapping of the vegetation is rough. Areas mapped as white forest can have thick thorny patches and deadfall. Conversely, areas mapped as various shades of green can be very runnable in spots. Although it is a good idea to stay out of the dark green areas.
Because of our wet winter and spring, vegetation is thicker than usual.
Permanent course markers: There are red and white permanent course markers throughout the park. In a few cases these are used as control points. Many, but not all of these markers have been mapped as an X.
A few of the trails on the White and Yellow courses will be streamered to make them more distinct.
Notes for Red and Blue runners: The Red and Blue courses will visit the northern part of the map — an area that vetter, Steve Gregg, has termed as the "Dark Side". On the Dark Side the slopes are steep. The map is also not so great. But we have not used it very often, so I decided to plan a few legs there for the enjoyment of the Red and Blue runners. This makes the climb stats for Red and Blue well above standard.
See you there.
George Minarik