Bayfront Park
Date: (Sun.) Jul. 30, 2006
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Event Director: 
- 650.906.9672
Course Setter: Brad Wetmore
Type: C; White, Yellow, Motala (1-3 loops), Fog-O, and Trail-O courses
By Brad Wetmore
Course Statistics
Course Length (km) Climb (m) ------ ----------- --------- Trail-O 3.0 15 White 2.2 57 Yellow 2.8 54 Motala-A 2.9 40 Motala-B 2.6 54 Motala-C/Fog-O 2.4 50
Trail-O Course
This is BAOCs third Trail Orienteering event at Bayfront Park, and the first since 2002. The course is at an Intermediate/Advanced level. You will need good map-reading skills and an understanding of symbolic O clues to be successful on the course.
How does it work? You will have a regular looking orienteering map, with a start, ten control circles and a finish. The clue sheet will be printed on the map (there are two columns used differently for Trail-O). You will have a control card, with columns labeled A, B, C, D, E, and None. Instead of going to the control location, finding the marker and punching, you will follow the trail to a viewing station, marked with a Trail-O placard (the location is not shown on your map). From the viewing station, you will see 3 to 5 control markers in the terrain. At most one of the markers is in the center of the control circle on your map, and matches the control description on the clue sheet.
Your challenge is to determine which marker, if any, is the correct one. From the viewing station, imagine the markers labeled from left to right as A, B, C, etc. If there are three markers, the second column of the clue sheet will say A-C; if there are four, A-D; if there are five, A-E. The last column on the clue sheet is an arrow which indicates the general direction in which you look from the viewing stations to the control markers. For example, an arrow pointing down indicates that the markers are roughly south of the viewing station.
To solve the problem, you may move back along the trail the way you came, or ahead as far as the location of the punch. You may not move off the trail either toward or away from the markers. When you determine which marker is correct, punch in the correct column for that control. If you decide that none of the controls match the location and clue, punch in the None column. There will be at least one control on the course where None is the correct answer. For any None controls, there will be unambiguous visual evidence.
Continue on the trail toward the next viewing station. Your route will be clear if you stay off trails marked on the map with a purple X and all small footpaths.
Model control: Near the start is a sample control. A map with the control circle is attached to the viewing station, and the solution is on the second stake where the punch would ordinarily be.
Timed control: The final control on the course is a timed control. It is not shown on your map. When you reach the end of the course, the monitor will have you sit facing the control markers, and hand you a correctly oriented map with the single control circle. Timing starts when you open the map, and ends when you indicate your answer by pointing to the letter on the map board. The timed control will not be a None control. The time (rounded down to the nearest second) serves as a tie-breaker.
Final notes: The course circles the periphery of the park. It is wheelchair accessible, 2.95 km in length, with 15 meters climb. You must finish by 2:00. Subject to that constraint, you have 2.5 hours to complete the course. Answer sheets will be available at the Trail-O timed control station after 12:30.
White, Yellow, Motala, and Fog-O Courses
All courses will use E-punch. If you do not have an E-punch stick, they are available for rent at the registration table.
The grass has been mowed in most sections of the park, but you may still want to use gaiters to keep the stickers out of your shoes. Also, be aware that the park is home to ground squirrels and other burrowing animals, and the cut grass can cover their holes.
Water
There will be drinking water at the Start and Finish locations, plus at the bathrooms near the parking area. In addition, there will be one water control located in the eastern center of the park. The White and Yellow courses will both visit this control, but the Motala does not. However, the water stop is just a short detour from the middle of each of the Motala loops, and is shown on all maps (look for the drinking cup symbol).
Control Locations
Due to the sparse terrain and small size of this park, we have tried to keep the controls as separate as possible. Note that some of the Trail-O locations may be close to Foot-O locations. However, the control numbers and control descriptions should be clear. Also, you can identify the Trail-O controls, because they will not have E-punch units.
Special Map Symbol
Most of the black X's on the map (including two used as control locations) are electrical junction boxes.
White Course
As usual, the White course is for beginners, or those out for a run/walk on established trails.
Yellow Course
The Yellow course is designed for orienteers who have successfully completed a White course and are ready for more of a challenge.
While you can successfully complete the Yellow course without using a compass, Bayfront park is an excellent place to practice your compass and map-reading skills. The course will reward orienteers who are able to take a rough bearing and travel cross-country. The course is set such that even if you do make a mistake, there is a number of large obvious features that will allow you to quickly relocate.
Trail-less Motala
Q. What is Motala?
A. It's a city about halfway between Stockholm and Gothenburg, the two largest cities in Sweden.
Q. Okay, what is a Motala?
A. It is a type of orienteering event named for the city of Motala, Sweden.
Q. Don't get smart with me. How does it relate to this event?
A. A Motala event is characterized by a series of short courses, run one after the other. After each course, the participant returns to the start and exchanges maps. This format is useful for smaller parks, where the number of control locations is limited. You might see other controls while on a course, but you will not know if that control is even on a later course, or from which direction you will be approaching. Some Motalas have mass starts and have participants run the loops in different order, but we will use the standard start intervals (every two minutes), and use the same loop order for everyone.
This year, we will be offering a trail-less 1-, 2-, or 3-loop Motala. You do not need to declare at the Start how many loops you think you will do. You can decide at the end of each loop whether to enter the Finish chute and punch the FINISH control, or enter the map exchange station. At the map exchange station, simply punch the numbered control, exchange your old map for a new one, and immediately begin your next loop. The numbered control will allow us to calculate your total time for each loop. DO NOT FORGET TO PUNCH AT EACH MAP-EXCHANGE STATION, as your score will be reported as a DNF if you forget.
The term "trail-less" means that all the roads, trails, and parking lots have been removed from the map. The absence of these mapped features will encourage orienteers to navigate using the remaining terrain features (contours, terrain type, etc.). This is very good practice for more remote areas.
Due to the size of the park, I have tried to emphasize route choice and fine navigation skills where possible.
Please CAREFULLY check the control number before punching. The longest course (3-loop Motala) has 29 controls. The older epunch sticks allow for 30 entries with times recorded and 3 entries without times. If you mispunch, you may run out of slots to store the time. If your punches are stored without times, you will not have complete splits. Also, if you punch a control twice, or hold the punch in the control too long (uncommon), it will take two time slots. If you are concerned about any of these problems, consider renting one of the newer sticks that have a larger capacity.
Fog-O Course
The third loop of the Motala will be a Fog-O. A Fog-O intentionally leaves sections of the map blank, with only the terrain immediately around the controls visible. This will allow you to practice bearing and pace-counting skills in a much more forgiving environment than the far reaches of Nisene Marks or Big Basin.
If you are not doing the Motola, you can register for the Fog-O as a separate course.
If you are doing the Motola, but you would like to try the Fog-O without it scoring as part of your Motala time, do only the first two Motola loops. Then, you can do the Fog-O as a separate, second course. (Note that you must register for any second course before Registration closes at noon.)
Note: Folks who do not understand how to take basic compass bearings are not encouraged to try the Fog-O.