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S.F. Twin Peaks Inaugural Event

Date: (Sun.) Jul. 24, 2005
Location: San Francisco, CA
Event Director: - 415.681.7075
Course Setter: Mark Prior
Type: C; Urban Street-O on BAOC's newest map; 50- or 100-minute Score-O format


Course Setter's Notes

By Mark Prior & Ian Tidswell

Greetings and welcome to the Bay Area Orienteering Club's newest map, Twin Peaks. Located directly in the center of the city of San Francisco, the map encompasses a myriad of neighborhoods and parks, each brimming with hidden treasures, surprising features, and beautiful views.

As announced earlier, the event will be in Score-O format, meaning participants may visit any of the controls in any order. Each control has a different point value indicated by the first digit of the control number. For example, control #31 would be worth 3 points. Upon completion, your total points will be added up, with a penalty of two points for every minute (or fraction) that you return after the course cutoff time. Both 50- and 100-minute options are available, but you do not have to specify at the start which option you intend to complete. You can start anytime from about 10 am to 12 noon. A mass start will be offered at 12 noon, after which time no starts will be offered. Please check-in at the finish regardless of your return time or course completion, at the latest by 2 pm. There are many great places for brunch afterwards in Haight Ashbury, Cole Valley, or the Castro.

Please remember that this map is intended for urban orienteering and has not been created to the standards of traditional forest orienteering maps. Most of the areas between the streets have been marked as green "private settlement", indicating no known through route. A great effort has been made to indicate all stairways, trails, and other access points that could be used to create a more direct route, and the control locations have been selected to maximize their use.

We expect a great deal of creativity in route choice, but you must obey a few rules.

A few guidelines and strong recommendations:

There are several parkland areas on the map, including four peaks over 900' and the cavernous Glen Canyon. As successful navigation of these landmarks will be key for advanced orienteers, basic trail and vegetation features have been mapped, but they are far from exhaustive. All control locations have been checked for map accuracy, but you may find imperfections as your traverse the map. Let's us know where we can focus our efforts.

Even the fittest person will be unable to achieve the majority of the course, so control picking and route choice will be critical. The wise competitor will plan their route to take into account the hills. The map has 20-foot contour intervals. We have no "safety bearing", but we do have a safety phone number: Yellow Cab at 415-262-2345. A mobile phone and a $10 bill are safety equipment!

Lastly, and most importantly, in the process of creating the map, we have seen many amazing specimens of exotic San Francisco fauna, including the infamous Mission Hipster, the Haight Street Hippy, and the elusive Castro Drag Queen. But, the most dangerous creatures of all are the 4000 pound pieces of sharp metal that roam the streets attempting to destroy innocent orienteers. Navigating safely through this city calls for complete concentration, prudence, and the knowledge that most drivers are tourists, uninsured, distracted, high, drunk, or all of the above. Anyone hit by a car will be disqualified!

The creation of the map has been a labor of love and we hope you enjoy our favorite urban forest as much as we do.

Mark and Ian