China Camp State Park (Miwok Meadows)
Date: (Sun.) Jun. 11, 2006
Location: San Rafael, CA
Event Director: - 510.526.9071
Course Setter: Bill Papendick
Type: B; Standard seven courses (White through Blue), plus Long Orange course for Adventure Racers
Course Setter's Notes
By Bill Papendick
Courses
Map Scale 1:7500 — 5-meter contours — ALL courses will use E-Punch
Course Controls Length Climb Level
White 7 2.2 km 40 m Easy Beginner Yellow 10 3.5 km 120 m Beginner with interest
Map Scale 1:10,000 — 5-meter contours — ALL courses will use E-Punch
Course Controls Length Climb Level
Orange 9 3.4 km 210 m Beginner Intermediate Long Orange 11 5.5 km 225 m Intermediate Brown 12 3.1 km 190 m Experienced Green 11 3.4 km 240 m Advanced Red 12 5.1 km 360 m Advanced Blue 14 6.4 km 415 m Most Advanced
Schedule
- Registration is open 9:00 to noon.
- Starts are available until 12:30.
- Courses close at 2:00.
Notes
Everyone must punch the START unit at the Start, punch the controls in numeric order on the course, and punch the FINISH unit last. Then check in at the download test.
EVERYONE MUST CHECK IN AT THE FINISH BY 2:00 PM WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE FINISHED THEIR COURSE!
Please return the rented e-punch sticks at the download tent.
There are two remote Starts:
- Intermediate and Advanced courses (Orange through Blue), follow streamers up hill from the northeast end of the parking lot for approximately 350 m.
- Beginner courses (White and Yellow) follow the streamers across the open field at the west end of the parking lot for 400 m.
The safety bearing is north to N. San Pedro Road and the Bay.
Hazards
- Be safe while walking or running and crossing the paved road.
- Watch out for bicyclist; clearly indicate where you intend to walk so they know which side to pass. Groups should stay on one side of the trail.
- Horses have the right of way. Stop, communicate with the rider and walk slowly.
- White and Yellow courses do not have any poison oak, but elsewhere it is prevalent.
- Check for ticks.
- It is not a good idea to cross the salt marshes. The blue lines are tidal creeks with steep muddy slopes. Some high areas at low tide may be crossable.
- Some trails may be overgrown and indistinct.
Comments
Be on the look out for Wild Turkey, deer (especially fawns), rabbits, and squirrels.
Enjoy the views.
The park is drying out from all the rain and there are some stickers and foxtail now. Some areas have healthy tall thistles and thick grasses that will slow a runner. There are a lot of down branches and trees that make navigating difficult. Some areas of light green are runnable but dark green is gnarly. There have been numerous mudslides. The map has been updated this spring by Bob Cooley and is fairly accurate.
The courses are China Camp action. Navigation is technical on the advanced courses (Brown, Green, Red, and Blue) but there are some easier segments, and they will tend to feature route choice decisions. Green, Red, and Blue go into some steep areas.
White and Yellow are the beginner courses. Yellow goes a bit more off the trail and has some interesting options.
Long Orange is almost the same as running Orange, except it has a few extra controls. Both have some tricky advanced-type legs.
Also watch out for the views. They could slow you down.
Pants, gaiters, and spiked shoes are recommended for Orange, Long Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue.
I like to set courses where the map is generally accurate. A few obvious corrections were made. It's hard to redraw vegetation, though, and white forest is not always super runnable. And it's not just the Sudden Oak Death that has fallen quite a few oaks out there — Manzanita sprouts up too. It pays to keep your head up. If you can see far enough and it looks runnable, go for it, otherwise consider an alternate (and sometimes quicker and easier) route.
The park features gentle, open hills, large grassy meadows, a salt marsh, and steep forested slopes with breathtaking views of the bay. The forest consists of oak, bay, and some redwoods. Unfortunately, China Camp has been hit hard with the Sudden Oak Death, so there are a lot of downed oak trees and limbs that might interrupt your direction of travel. Other hazards are poison oak and ticks.
Enjoy!