Shell Ridge Open Space
Date: (Sun.) Feb. 14, 2010
Location: Walnut Creek, CA
Event Director: 
- 510.407.1876
Course Setters: Gavin Wyatt-Mair, William Morris, Jay Hann
Type: B; "Open" event in conjuction with a BAOC COOL (Junior) event
COURSE SETTER'S NOTES
By Gavin Wyatt-Mair
Shell Ridge is fantastic right now. It's so green and pretty, it's worth carrying a camera on the course.
Courses
Navigational Physical Course Length Climb Controls difficulty difficulty
White 2.8 km 85 m 12 Easy Easy Yellow 3.1 km 85 m 12 Easy Easy Orange 4.7 km 180 m 12 Moderate Moderate Brown 4.3 km 190 m 12 Hard Moderate Green 5.4 km 230 m 15 Hard Hardish Red 6.3 km 295 m 18 Hard Hard Blue 7.1 km 350 m 20 Hard Harder
Map
The Shell Ridge map is old.
The map is generally poor in vegetation quality — vegetation has changed; some trees may not be mapped, while others of equivalent significance are. It's a good idea to cross-check with other features and not rely heavily on vegetation for navigation.
There are many new animal trails — far too many to map — so be careful when using trails. Rock features and contours are reasonably reliable. Visibility is excellent.
Parking
Park on the street, on both sides. Please park close together, and carpool if possible.
Beginners' Courses
Trails may be muddy. It's much less slippery if you run (or walk) off the trails on the grass.
Advanced Courses
Footing is very good. The grass on the north side of the ridge has been nicely mowed by the cows, so it is really really nice out there. Grass on the south side of the ridge is longer — be careful where you put your feet. There are some steep sections, so wear cleats if you can.
Miscellaneous
All courses have E-punch. (If you don't have your own E-stick, you can rent one at the event. If you're not familiar with using E-punch, see our User's Guide to Electronic Punching.)
You can wear shorts if you like — it's pretty benign out there. To cross fences, you may go over, under, or through wherever you like, but remember it is barbed wire. Poison oak is dormant (note: some is just starting to leaf out) and easy to avoid entirely. I saw a lot of ground squirrels (they are really cute), many song birds and a few predator birds, and one fat coyote.
The start is about 0.5 km, up-hill, from the park entrance — it takes about 10 minutes to walk there.
Please be polite to other park users (in addition to being common sense, this is a requirement for future permits).
Registration for the regular O event will be open from about 9:00 AM to noon (see this page for information about the concurrent BOAC COOL event). Earliest start is at 10:00 AM; latest start at 12:30 PM. Please remember to check in at the download table even if you don't complete your course.
Driving Directions
Traveling north on I-680, take the Ygnacio Valley Road exit (which is just north of the Hwy 24 interchange). Turn right onto Ygnacio Valley, and go 0.9 mi to Homestead Ave. See below for the continuation from there.
Traveling south on I-680, take the N. Main Street exit, and head south on Main St. Turn left onto Ygnacio Valley and go to Homestead Ave.
Turn right onto Homestead, and go 0.2 mi to Marshall Drive (the first street on the left). Turn left onto Marshall, and go 1.1 mi to Indian Valley Elementary School (at the end of Marshall). The school gates are closed on weekends, so park on the street.
There's a map here that shows the location of the event. (Click on the "pins" in the East Bay until you find the one for this event, and then drag the map [not the pin] to center the pin, and zoom in to see more detail.)