Event Flyer (JPG/77KB)
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Event Flyer (JPG/77KB)

O in the Oaks 2011

2011 U.S. Interscholastic Championships

2011 U.S. Intercollegiate Championships

Casa de Fruta Orchard Resort & Pacheco State Park

Date: Apr. 15 - 17, 2011
Location: Near Hollister, Ca
Event Directors: - 925.934.6567, - 925.872.3935
Course Setters: Tapio Karras, Toby Ferguson, Derek Maclean, Dan Greene, Pierre Delforge
Type: A; 3-day A-meet for all (competitive & recreational) orienteers, featuring the 2011 United States Interscholastic & Intercollegiate Orienteering Championships

Table of contents

Image:Pacheco_SP_300x225.jpg
Pacheco State Park awaits your visit

Please note that fees and time limits apply, unless otherwise mentioned below. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


All the A-meet results are available here.

The Meet Directors' Notes are available here (PDF/208KB).

The Course Setters' Notes are available here.

Q&A - Have questions? – Answers here

Pre-registration is closed ... but you can still register at the event.

Volunteers Needed! Please see the Volunteers section below, or click here (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkYuwMAxP4YGdFEtU2E4NDhMUkpYU3l6Zi1YeUowNlE&hl=en&authkey=CPvTiRI) to sign up.

Early runners needed Saturday & Sunday – details here

Flyer for Interscholastic/Intercollegiate Championships

Flyer for O in the Oaks 2011 A-Meet (PDF/107KB)

Check out your teams here.


April 11 Update from the Registrar:

Start times have been posted here (https://www.o-signup.com/baoc2011/reglist/index.php).
There are plenty of Sprint start time slots later in the day, so don't fret if you don't make your assign Sprint start time. The last assigned Sprint start is around 5 PM, but starts are open until 6:30 to handle the late comers.
Also, on Saturday and Sunday, there are two Green courses, so even though it may look like two people are starting on Green at the same time, rest assured that they are on different courses. Men (except M-18, the IS/IC classes) will be on Green-X, while women and juniors (including M-18) will be on Green-Y.
Any other start-time questions, other than the ones above, please let me know. But the best way to change a start time is to go to the start on the day of the meet and ask for one of the open slots.
If you haven't sent your waiver and check in yet, please do not send it now. Instead bring it with you to packet pickup. Otherwise, I would need to receive it in the mail by Thursday.
Should be a fun weekend. Almost 400 attendees. Lots of extra activities. The weather should be good. See you all there.

A-Meet Registrar


The Bay Area Orienteering Club invites you to participate in a spring orienteering extravaganza at beautiful Pacheco State Park (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=560) near Hollister, California. We are offering A-meet, championship quality Sprint, Middle, and Long courses, and a super array of activities that will immerse you in fun and friendly competition. This event will be the highlight of the 2011 spring orienteering season.

This event is for everyone: advanced, beginner, competitive, recreational, ..., you!

The Saturday Middle and Sunday Long A-meet courses will serve as the U.S. Interscholastic Championships and the U.S. Intercollegiate Championships.

This event will be the final one that counts towards U.S. Team selection for Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) (http://www.jwoc2011.pl) to be held in Poland this July. All three days of A-meet competition will count towards JWOC selection.

We're looking for juniors who would like to be on a club team — sign up individually or just come for the recreational courses. It should be lots of fun to see so many juniors enjoying orienteering and the activities. Please come join us and invite your friends. You won't want to miss it!

This will be the second use of BAOC’s large map of the area atop Pacheco Pass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacheco_Pass) in Pacheco State Park. The map (http://baoc.org/gadget/cgi/reitti.cgi?act=map&id=195&kieli=), which was field checked and drawn in 2008 by Vladimir Zherdev, is scaled at 1:10000.

BAOC's Bob Cooley has also made a new map of the Casa de Fruta Orchard Resort (http://www.casadefruta.com/visit-casa-de-fruta.php) family campground and recreation center. This location is used annually for the Renaissance Faire. Casa de Fruta will serve as Event Headquarters, and we will hold the Friday A-meet Sprint at Casa de Fruta, as well as the majority of the fun activities. Casa de Fruta is located 50 miles south of San Jose, California, on CA-152 14 miles west of Pacheco State Park. Here is a YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NahfQanBwsc&feature=related) that shows the potential for a great Sprint event.

The weekend A-Meet format will be

The Championships and A-meet are sanctioned by Orienteering USA (http://orienteeringusa.org).

Pacheco State Park is a popular place to see beautiful fields of wildflowers (http://jasonbranz.com/blog/?p=309). You might want to do a Google search for "Wildflowers Pacheco State Park" to see what it might be like, or look at this brochure (PDF/928KB) (http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/560/files/Pacheco.pdf) for the park. The really competitive people might not even notice the wildflowers, but others will.

As of March 18, we have over 230 people signed up for this event, including 75 students. 97 people have signed up for the activities, which include Laser Tag, Extreme String-O, Trail Orienteering and Archery, Sports Labyrinth, and Night-O.

More information will be posted on this page periodically, so be sure to check back from time to time.


Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

O in the Oaks 2011 Timetable

There's a diagram (PDF/1.5MB) that shows where things will happen at Casa de Fruta.

Monday, January 24Early Registration Opens

Saturday, March 19Early-registration deadline

Wednesday, April 6Preregistration deadline

Friday, April 15

Packet pickup at Casa de Fruta, 1:00 to 6:30 and 8:00 to 10:00 PM
Sprint course starts at Casa de Fruta, 2:00 to 6:30 PM
Model Event course open at Pacheco, 2:00 to 7:00 PM
Dinner at Casa de Fruta, 6:00 to 7:30 PM (Menu) (*)

Saturday, April 16

Parking at Casa de Fruta, shuttles to and from Pacheco State Park
Breakfast at Casa de Fruta, 7:30 to 9:30 AM (Menu) (*)
Packet pickup at Pacheco State Park, 8:45 to 11:30 AM
Model Event course open at Pacheco, 8:00 to 11:00 AM
Middle Course Starts at Pacheco State Park, 10:00 AM to noon
Lunch at Casa de Fruta, 11:30 to 2:00 PM (Menu) (*)
Courses close, 3:00 PM
Activities at Casa de Fruta, 1:00 to 9:00 PM
Laser Tag, 1:30 to 4:30
Extreme String-O, 1:00 to 5:00
Trail-O starts, 1:00 to 4:30
Archery, 1:00 to 4:30
Sports Labyrinth, 1:00 to 5:00
Carousel rides, train rides, miner's sluice (approximately) 1:00 to 5:00
Orienteering USA Board Meeting, 2:00 to 5:00
Hilton Garden Inn, 6070 Monterey St, Gilroy, CA – All are welcome
Banquet at Casa de Fruta, 5:45 to 7:15 PM (Menu) (*)
A-meet Sprint and Middle Course awards at the banquet at Casa de Fruta, 6:15 PM
Night-O at Casa de Fruta, 7:46 to 8:31 PM

Sunday, April 17

Parking at Casa de Fruta, shuttles to and from Pacheco State Park
Breakfast at Casa de Fruta, 7:00 to 9:00 AM (Menu) (*)
Packet pickup at Pacheco State Park, 8:00 to 10:30 AM
Long Course Starts, 9:00 to 11:00 AM
Lunch at Pacheco State Park, 11:30 to 1:30 PM (Menu) (*)
Awards at Pacheco State Park (IS & IC Championships, & A-meet Long), 1:00 PM
Courses close, 2:00 PM
(*) Note: All meals must be reserved and paid for when you register for the event.

About the Courses

The Course Setters' Notes will be available here prior to the event. Be sure to read them for more information.

The Sprint

The Sprint is an A-meet semi-urban sprint that will be held at Casa de Fruta on Friday afternoon and evening. The Sprint will not count towards the Interscholastic Championships or towards the Intercollegiate Championships. The Sprint will count towards JWOC selection and U.S. rankings.
Earliest Sprint start will be at 2:00 PM and latest start will be at 6:30 PM. Sunset is at 7:40 PM and the end of civil twilight is at 8:07 PM. Start interval: 1 minute. Winning time: 12–18 minutes. Time limit: 1 hour. Awards at the banquet on Saturday evening at Casa de Fruta.

The Middle

The Middle is an A-meet middle-distance OUSA standard orienteering event that will be held at Pacheco State Park on Saturday. The Middle will count towards the Interscholastic Championships, Intercollegiate Championships, JWOC selection, and U.S. rankings.
Earliest Middle start will be at 10:00 AM and latest start will be at 12:00 noon. Start interval: 2 minutes. Winning time: 30–40 minutes for M–21+ and F–21+ runners, other classes may be less. Time limit: 3 hours. Awards at the banquet on Saturday evening at Casa de Fruta.

The Long

The Long is an A-meet long-distance OUSA standard orienteering event that will be held at Pacheco State Park on Sunday. The Long will count towards the Interscholastic Championships, Intercollegiate Championships, JWOC selection, and U.S. rankings.
Earliest Long start will be at 9:00 AM and latest start will be at 11:00 AM. Start interval: 2 minutes. Winning time: 80–100 minutes for M–21+ runners, other classes will be less. Time limit: 3 hours. Awards at Pacheco State Park at 1:00 PM on Sunday.
All the Pacheco A-meet Long (Sunday) courses are ready for vetting. All the control sites are streamered and vetted by the two course setters. If you can't make it to the event, but would like to help vet the courses, please let know and he will arrange a map for you. (March 17, 2011)

Recreational Courses

White, Yellow, and Orange recreational courses will be available on the A-meet days at regular BAOC fees. Advance registration is not available (or needed) — simply show up at the event, register, pay, and enjoy your course(s).
Recreational registration will be available at the Casa de Fruta Friday Sprint between 2:00 and 6:30 PM. On Saturday and Sunday you need to register at Pacheco State Park — before noon on Saturday, before 11:00 AM on Sunday.

Model Event

A small map and course that is representative of the Saturday and Sunday maps and courses at Pacheco State Park will be included in your packet. The model event, which is an untimed practice course at Pacheco State Park, is available from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Friday, and from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Saturday. The Model event is free. It will consist of 5 to 10 controls that you can visit in any order. (Note: You will need a Friday parking pass, which you can pick up with your packet at registration/packet pickup.)

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Competitive Classes, Competitions, and Awards

We will offer the standard 51 OUSA classes (http://www.us.orienteering.org/binder/rules.html#_Toc255979300) for the three A-meet races. These races will count toward your OUSA ranking (http://www.usof-rankings.org).

Competitive classes and rules for eligibility for the Interscholastics competition can be found on the OUSA website (http://orienteeringusa.org/rules#K). Competitive classes and rules for eligibility for the Intercollegiates competition can be found here (http://orienteeringusa.org/rules#J). Please refer to the rules for eligibility details.

For your convenience, a summary of the competitive classes is below. If there are errors, the OUSA rules take precedence.

Ages are determined by subtracting birth year from 2011. Age classes are indicated by a "–" and/or a "+". A "–" before the age means "and younger"; a "+" after the age means "and older". Gender classes start with "F" for female and "M" for male. Classes containing the course color are age neutral. Classes containing "Gr" or "M/F" are age and gender neutral. Classes containing "Gr" are groups.


Course Competitive Classes for A-meet Sprint at Casa de Fruta
White Sprint (Beginner) F–10, M–10, F–White, M–White
Yellow Sprint (Beginner) F–12, M–12, F–14, M–14, F–Yellow, M–Yellow
Medium Sprint (Intermediate) F–16, F–18, F55+, F60+, F65+, F70+, F75+, F80+, F85+, F90+, F–Brown, F–Orange, M–16, M65+, M70+, M75+, M80+, M85+, M90+, M–Orange, M–Brown
Long Sprint (Advanced) F–20, F–21+, F35+, F40+, F45+, F50+, F–Green, M–18, M–20, M–21+, M35+, M40+, M45+, M50+, M55+, M60+, M–Green, M–Red


Course Competitive Classes for A-Meet Middle and Long Courses at Pacheco State Park
White (Beginner) F–10, F–12, M–10, M–12, M/F–white, Gr–White,
F–ISG (grades 1–6), M–ISG (grades 1–6)
Yellow (Advanced Beginner) F–14, F–Yellow, M–14, M–Yellow, Gr–Yellow,
F–ISI (grades 1–9), M–ISI (grades 1–9)
Orange (Intermediate) F–16, F–Orange, M–16, M–Orange, Gr–Orange,
F–ISJV (grades 1–12), M–ISJV (grades 1–12), F–ICJV, M–ICJV
Brown (Advanced) F–18, F55+, F60+, F65+, F70+, F75+, F80+, F85+, F90+, F–Brown, M65+, M70+, M75+, M80+, M85+, M90+, M–Brown, F–ISV (grades 1–12)
Green (Advanced) F–20, F35+, F40+, F45+, F50+, F–Green, M–18, M50+, M55+, M60+, M–Green, M–ISV (grades 1–12), F–ICV
Red (Advanced) F–21+, M–20, M35+, M40+, M45+, M–Red, M–ICV
Blue (Advanced) M–21+


Depending on attendance, we may split overloaded courses into X- and Y- versions. If we do that, the two courses will be comparable.

Team awards for teams of 3–5 students:

• School Varsity (F–ISV or M–ISV)
• School Junior Varsity (F–ISJV or M–ISJV)
• School Intermediate (F–ISI or M–ISI)
• School Elementary (F–ISG or M–ISG)
• Club Varsity (F–ISV or M–ISV)
• Club Junior Varsity (F–ISJV or M–ISJV)
• Club Intermediate (F–ISI or M–ISI)
• Club Elementary (F–ISG or M–ISG)
• JROTC Varsity (F–ISV or M–ISV)
• JROTC Junior Varsity (F–ISJV or M–ISJV)
• AFJROTC Varsity (F–ISV or M–ISV)
• AFJROTC Junior Varsity (F–ISJV or M–ISJV)

Team awards for teams of 3–5 College students:

• College Varsity (F–ICV or M–ICV)
• College Junior Varsity (F–ICJV or M–ICJV)

Team awards will be presented at Pacheco State Park on Sunday at 1:00 PM.

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Embargo Notice

Casa de Fruta and Pacheco State Park are hereby embargoed to orienteers who plan to compete in the 2011 U.S. Interscholastic Championships, the U.S. Intercollegiate Championships, or the O in the Oaks 2011 A-meet. Anyone who visits Casa De Fruta or Pacheco State Park between January 17, 2011 and April 15, 2011 will be allowed to enter and participate in the events at these locations, but will be excluded from the official results, will not receive awards, and will not earn OUSA ranking credit. The shops and parking areas of Casa De Fruta, and the public parking areas of Pacheco SP and roads leading to those parking areas, are not part of the embargo.

Fun Activities at Casa de Fruta

All those who purchase the Activity Package or the All-Inclusive Package will be included in the East-vs-West Competition, which consists of the following fun events Saturday afternoon at Casa de Fruta (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NahfQanBwsc&feature=related):

1. Laser Tag (1:30 to 4:30). Laser Tag USA will set up an outdoor laser-tag competition. Teams of up to 15 compete against each other. Each competition lasts for 20 to 25 minutes. If availability permits, you may be able to do this more than once. Practice dodging and weaving through the “forest”!
2. Extreme String-O (1:00 to 5:00). The string course is about 150 yards long, and twists around various obstacles. There are about 7 e-punches set up along the course. Run the course as fast as you can. You can try as many times as you like; your best time will be used for your score. This is a great way to practice e-punch technique!
3. Trail Orienteering (1:00 to 4:30). A Trail-O course consisting of about 8 controls will be set up. Carefully choose what you think are the correct controls. This is a great way to practice map reading and clue interpretation!
4. Sports Labyrinth (1:00 to 5:00). A labyrinth of simple obstacles will be set up, with a large number of controls on it. You will receive a map with the controls you need to punch. Quickly run the course. Your time determines your score. Up to three tries (with different maps) are allowed, and your best score is counted. This is a great way to practice quick decision making and fast navigation!
5. Archery (1:00 to 4:30). Features a certificated range master and safety equipment. PSE (brand) recurve bows from 15- to 30-pound draw weight, perfect for all ages.
6. Night-O (7:46 to 8:31). After the Banquet, starting at 7:46 PM when the full moon rises, run a short night-orienteering course. Time limit is 45 minutes. This is a great way to practice your bearings.

In addition to the above, the folks who purchase the Activity Package or the All-Inclusive Package will get a ticket to ride the Casa de Carousel (http://www.casadefruta.com/visit-attractions.php) and the Casa de Choo Choo train (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXf4ZZK7ilA&feature=related), and can pan for gems at the Sluice Adventure. (Carousel, train rides, and miner's sluice open approximately 1:00 to 5:00.)

There's a diagram (PDF/1.5MB) that shows where the activities will be located at Casa de Fruta.

As of April 4, 136 people have signed up for the activities.

The East-vs-West Competition

If your primary place of residence is east of the Mississippi, you are on the East team. If it is West of the Mississippi, you are on the West team. For Canadians, Manitoba is East, Saskatchewan is West. Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa and Europe are East. Russia, Khazakhstan, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand are West. Scores will be combined to reach a total for each team. The bigger the teams the better, and everyone’s score may count.

The Banquet and Meals

The Saturday evening Banquet will start at 5:45 PM, near the stage at Casa de Fruta. There will be three entree options: Chicken, Tri-tip, or Veggie. The complete menu is available here. There will be music and a campfire, a disk jockey, a full moon, ... (As of March 18, we have 142 people signed up for the Saturday banquet.)

In addition to the traditional Saturday dinner, catered meals will be available Friday evening through Sunday lunch. The times are in the event schedule above, the prices for the "Meal Plan" are below, and the menus are available here.

Note: All meals must be reserved and paid for when you register for the event.

Free Wireless Internet

There will be free wireless Internet access at and around the Casa de BAOC event center and camp site. So, instead of rushing off to your motel, or wherever you go to satisfy your need to be connected, you can hang around the event center.

Registration

Pre-registration for the event has closed. However, you can still register at the event.

A list of registered participants is available here (https://www.o-signup.com/baoc2011/reglist/index.php).

Any questions should be directed to the Registrar, , by e-mail or at 408-739-9376.

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Event Pricing

The fees listed here for camping, banquet, T-Shirt, etc. apply to everyone. However, as mentioned below, normal BAOC course fees apply to recreational courses.


ADULTS Postmarked by March 19 Postmarked by April 6 Day of Event
Friday Sprint at Casa de Fruta $22 $26 $30
Saturday Middle at Pacheco State Park $28 $32 $36
Sunday Long at Pacheco State Park $28 $32 $36
Friday Camping at Casa de Fruta, per person $8 $8 $8
Saturday Camping at Casa de Fruta, per person $8 $8 $8
Pre-erected Tent, per person $2 $2 $2
Banquet at Casa de Fruta $15 $15 $15
Meal Plan, per meal selected (excludes Banquet) – Menu $6 $6 $6
T-Shirt $14 $14 $14
Casa de Fruta Activity Package that includes Laser Tag, Extreme String-O, Trail-O, archery, sports labyrinth, Night-O, miniature train ride, carousel, miner's sluice $30 $30 $30
All-Inclusive Package that includes meet fees, Activity Package, banquet, all meals, camping in pre-erected tents, T-shirt $155 $170 $200


JUNIORS (born in 1991 or later) Postmarked by March 19 Postmarked by April 6 Day of Event
Friday Sprint at Casa de Fruta $8 $10 $12
Saturday Middle at Pacheco State Park $17 $19 $21
Sunday Long at Pacheco State Park $17 $19 $21
Friday Camping at Casa de Fruta, per person $5 $5 $5
Saturday Camping at Casa de Fruta, per person $5 $5 $5
Pre-erected Tent, per person $2 $2 $2
Banquet at Casa de Fruta $10 $10 $10
Meal Plan, per meal selected (excludes Banquet) – Menu $5 $5 $5
T-Shirt $14 $14 $14
Casa de Fruta Activity Package that includes Laser Tag, Extreme String-O, Trail-O, archery, sports labyrinth, Night-O, miniature train ride, carousel, miner's sluice $30 $30 $30
All-Inclusive Package that includes meet fees, Activity Package, banquet, all meals, camping in pre-erected tents, T-shirt $115 $126 $150


Adult members of OUSA (or some other national orienteering federation) may subtract $4 from their total fee for each A-meet event entered ($12 for all three days). Juniors who are members of OUSA (or some other national orienteering federation) may subtract $2 for each A-meet event entered ($6 for all three days).

After April 6, A-meet entrants must pay day-of-event prices, and may register at the event.

There is a $3-per-day fee for e-punch rental if you don’t have your own e-stick.

The meal plan is $6 per meal. You may select from Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, Saturday lunch, Sunday breakfast, and/or Sunday lunch. There is a separate charge for the Saturday Banquet. The menu is available here. All the meals will be at Casa de Fruta, except for Sunday lunch, which is currently planned to be a bag lunch at Pacheco State Park. (As of March 15, we have 62 signed up for Friday dinner, and 129 signed up for the Saturday banquet.)

Parking is free at Casa de Fruta on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Saturday and Sunday, a free shuttle pool will take you 14 miles to Pacheco State Park. However, if for some reason you really want to park at Pacheco, you may do so at a cost of $20 per day per vehicle. If your vehicle is a bus with 10 seats or more, we will waive the parking fee. Parking is limited at Pacheco Park, and we have to leave some room for the general public and for shuttle turn-around, so we strongly encourage you to park at Casa de Fruta and save the money. It is absolutely prohibited to park along Highway 152 — it’s way too dangerous! It is also prohibited to park in Pacheco Park on the roadside or anywhere except in the relatively confined designated parking area. And for safety’s sake, please note that if you do drive to Pacheco Park, getting on and off Highway 152 is quite hazardous, so be very careful!

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Recreational Courses

There will be non-competitive White, Yellow, and Orange recreational courses. Normal BAOC event fees will apply to recreational courses. Registration for those courses will be at the event each day.

Volunteers

Of course, this event can't happen without the contributions of many volunteers. We (the club) need between 80 and 100 volunteers for this major A-meet. Actually, since large sleeping tents need to be erected on Thursday the 14th, we need volunteers for that, too.

The priority right now is for the crew chiefs listed below, but we also need a lot of crew members. The crews "work" in shifts, so everyone gets to run their course. Please sign up at your earliest convenience to fill the void.

As of mid March, we need crew chiefs for the following roles:

  1. Starts
  2. Finishes
  3. Search and rescue
  4. Packets
  5. Parking

In addition to the "top five", we need a course setter for the Night-O (or there won't be one), and vetters for the Night-O and the Trail-O.

We also need additional primary folks (kinda “chiefs”) for things such as electrical, audio/visual, photography, labyrinth, CHP liaison, hotels, ..., although these tasks don’t require the kind of preparation and organization that the five above do.

Since we are hosting the A-Meet, Interscholastic Champs, Intercollegiate Champs, Trail-O, Night-O — and also have all the activities — we'll need lots of volunteers. We're hoping that more people will sign up to help us. Thanks to everyone who has signed up so far! We couldn't do all this without you.

To volunteer to help, please sign up on this on-line spreadsheet (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkYuwMAxP4YGdFEtU2E4NDhMUkpYU3l6Zi1YeUowNlE&hl=en&authkey=CPvTiRI) (note: your input is saved automatically). If you can't access the spreadsheet, or if you have questions, please contact , the BAOC Volunteer Coordinator.

If you don't have a preference, but want to help, you can sign up at the bottom of the spreadsheet (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkYuwMAxP4YGdFEtU2E4NDhMUkpYU3l6Zi1YeUowNlE&hl=en&authkey=CPvTiRI) or contact , and we'll find a place/duty for you.

Please help the club have a successful A-meet.

Note regarding control pick up (CPU):
The A-Meet is only a few weeks away. We (Penny and I) still need several more volunteers for contol pickup for Saturday and Sunday. As has been noted by the Event Director, due to limited parking at the event site, there is a need for carpooling and/or shuttle service from Gilroy to the event site. I realize that this restriction on parking keeps volunteers and the regular course runners from coming and going from the event site on their own schedule.
What I would like is to have a large number of volunteers for control pickup for each day (Saturday and Sunday), and I will contact them individually as to where they are staying, who has a car or SUV, whether they are going for Friday events, or arriving Saturday morning, etc.
I understand that there may be several participants at the event who are staying east of the event venue — either camping or at a motel. Perhaps they aren't interested in the Friday activities at Gilroy, and plan on going to the event on Saturday and Sunday. I have one individual who has volunteered for CPU who would be willing to arrange carpooling from the eastern access. So if you are willing to help pick up on Saturday and/or Sunday, carpooling can be arranged.
I would welcome any suggestions that someone might have.
Thank you,
Harold and Penny DeMoss
(March 15, 2011)

Motel 6 Accommodations

Orienteering USA has negotiated discounted rates with our sponsor, Motel 6. The closest Motel 6 to all the events is in Gilroy. They are currently offering OUSA members rates from $44.99 to $55.79 per night plus tax. To get these rates you must book through the Motel 6/OUSA Partnership website (http://www.motel6.com/reservations/promo.aspx?id=uen11d30&WT.mc_id=CP546). By booking through this website you will be supporting U.S. Orienteering. There are other Motel 6 locations on the east side of the pass in the Santa Nella/Los Banos area. However, it is recommended that you stay on the west side of the pass, because you will be closer to all of the activities and there are parking restrictions at Pacheco that require shuttles from Casa De Fruta.

Camping

Camping for the nights of Friday, April 15, and Saturday, April 16, is available at Casa de Fruta. This campground is at the east end of the RV lot, on the lower grassy level. Flush toilets and hot showers are available. Camp sites have water, electricity, and garbage canisters.

We will pre-erect tents for you if you select that option. Two to six occupants per tent. Please let know your arrangements — who is in what tent, what size tent is needed, when it is needed and so on, so we can set you up nicely.

Here is more information about the pre-erected tents: Gavin is bringing ten 10x10 tents for us to set up so that the juniors flying in would not have to pay the extra luggage fees to bring their own tents. The tents do not have wood floors, pads, or cots. They are just basic tents that sleep up to 6 people.

We will have a little music jam session around the campfire, so we're inviting people to bring their guitar, fiddle, harmonica, ukulele, banjo, zydeco tie, tambourine, voices, etc. to join in. Nancy will bring an extra guitar and some rhythm instruments to share.

As of March 15, we have 41 campers staying in our pre-erected tents and 9 other campers. The campground area is large, so we are planning to have the pre-erected tent area, the regular camping area, and then off in the back (away from the others) the "quiet" camping area. I think this arrangement will make everyone happy.

Check-in time is 2:00 PM, and check-out time is 12:00 noon.

Park Conditions and Weather

Spring is a wonderful time of the year for Pacheco State Park. The terrain is classic oak woodland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_oak_woodland) found in Bay Area parks with many wonderful views. There is very little poison oak and it is easily avoidable. In Spring the park is a verdant green, soft underfoot, with beautiful, colorful wildflowers (http://jasonbranz.com/blog/?p=309) everywhere. Wildlife is abundant, with a great variety of birds and small animals.

Temperatures for April 15–17 are expected to be between 45°F and 75°F, and 60°F is typical average. Chance of rain is 20%. Here is more detailed long-term climate and sunrise/sunset information (PDF/120KB). A current weather forecast is available here (http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.05230015041591&lon=-121.21232986450195&site=mtr&smap=1&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text).

The official park brochure is available here (PDF/928KB) (http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/560/files/Pacheco.pdf).

Excerpt from the March 25, 2011 Wildflower Hotline (http://www.theodorepayne.org/hotline.html) of the Theodore Payne Foundation (http://www.theodorepayne.org):

"... we do want to add a nice site this week in the central coastal mountains. Pacheco State Park (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=560) in Merced County has the beginnings of a fantastic spring bloom. Walk the trails and among the grassy slopes [to] see a lovely display of fiddleneck (Amsinckia sp.), purple sanicle (Saniculua bipinnatifada), California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), checker bloom (Sidalcea sp.), shooting stars (Dodecatheon sp.), miner's lettuce (Claytonia sp.), blue dicks (Dichelostema capitatum), red maids (Calandrinia ciliata), and Johnny Tuck (Triphysaria eriantha)."

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Directions

The nearest airport to the event is San Jose. Oakland, San Francisco, Fresno, and Sacramento are alternatives.

Parking

Please note that parking at Pacheco State Park is very restricted (and expensive — the details are above).

Friday: Park at the east parking lot of Casa de Fruta. Parking is free.

Saturday: Park at the east parking lot of Casa de Fruta. Parking is free. Catch the free shuttle from Casa de Fruta to Pacheco State Park and back.

Sunday: Park at the east parking lot of Casa de Fruta. Parking is free. Catch the free shuttle from Casa de Fruta to Pacheco State Park and back.

Driving Directions to Casa de Fruta

From San Jose and the West: From US 101, take CA-152 (exit 356). Drive 13 miles east to the Casa de Fruta exit. Turn right into the resort, then turn left and drive past the Chevron station to the east-end parking lot. Follow O' signs to registration.

From Sacramento and the North: From I-5, take CA-33 south (Santa Nella exit 407) 3 miles to CA-152. Turn right onto CA-152 and go 22 miles west to the Casa de Fruta exit. Turn left into the resort, then turn left and drive past the Chevron station to the east-end parking lot. Follow O' signs to registration.

From Los Angeles and the South: From I-5, take CA-152 (exit 403B) west 26 miles to the Casa de Fruta exit. Turn left into the resort, then turn left and drive past the Chevron station to the east-end parking lot. Follow O' signs to registration.

Driving Directions to Pacheco State Park

Please note that parking at Pacheco State Park is very restricted (and expensive — the details are above).

From San Jose and the West: From US 101, take CA-152 (exit 356) 14 miles east to Pacheco Pass. Turn right into the park. Follow O' signs to registration.

From Sacramento and the North: From I-5, take CA-33 south (Santa Nella exit 407) 3 miles to CA-152. Turn right onto CA-152 and go 8 miles west to Pacheco Pass. Turn left into the park entrance — be careful crossing the east-bound traffic!. Follow O' signs to registration.

From Los Angeles and the South: From I-5, take CA-152 (exit 403B) west 12 miles to Pacheco Pass. Turn left into the park entrance — be careful crossing the east-bound traffic!. Follow O' signs to registration.