Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Calero County Park

Date: (Sun.) Oct. 4, 2015
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: - 650.281.5280
Course Setter: Theo Verhoeven
Type: B; Regular event with courses for beginners through advanced


Course Setter's Notes

By Theo Verhoeven

Welcome back to Calero. The park is as beautiful as ever, but, unfortunately, you will readily notice the impact of the ongoing drought. Many trees appear to be dying, and vegetation has changed dramatically. Thus, you should be careful to not rely on just one vegetation feature while planning your routes.

Courses

Courses are shorter than last year's A-meet. Here are the details:

                                             Water
    Course     Length     Climb   Controls   Stops
    White      2.8 km      85 m      11        1   
    Yellow     2.7 km     100 m      13        1
    Orange     3.7 km     235 m      14        1
    Brown      2.9 km     175 m      11        1
    Green      4.5 km     270 m      17        2
    Red        6.2 km     375 m      17        3
    Blue       7.4 km     420 m      20        3

The remote Start is a short, mostly flat, walk from the parking lot (750 m for the beginner and intermediate courses, 600 m for the advanced courses), and the Finish is 10–15 minutes away. However, Calero is hilly and the courses are still very physical, and involve significant climb and contouring. There are water stops on each course as indicated above, but depending on the temperature and your expected time on the course, you may want to consider carrying additional water.

Beginner Courses – The White and Yellow courses are a bit longer than usual. The White course is fully on trail, while the Yellow course requires short excursions off-trail.

Intermediate Course – The Orange course is fully off-trail. It might be a bit more difficult than usual, and requires good map reading.

Advanced Courses – The advanced courses use different areas of the park, from the open grass lands to the more covered open areas, and have a mix of longer and shorter legs.

Orange Streamers – You might notice many orange streamers in the park. They very likely do not indicate any control location. Most are not set out by us, but by the park rangers to mark future trail projects. Please do not remove them.

Out-of-Bounds Areas – The Green, Red, and Blue maps include a large out-of-bounds area. It is off-limits to all runners to protect California's serpentine rock.

Hazards

Horses – Please watch for horses on the trails. Give them the right-of-way. Do not run closely past a horse. If you are on a narrow trail, step aside and let the horse and rider pass. Above all, don't startle them. We don't want anyone to be thrown off a frightened horse.

Poison OakPoison oak is prevalent in the park. Most plants have lost their leaves and may appear as short sticks. The sticks are still poisonous though. Take precautions: wear long pants and long sleeves, and wash yourself properly after your run.

Hills – Calero is very hilly and the courses require a lot of contouring. The ground is very hard, and, when covered with leaves, can be very slippery.

Stickers and Seeds – Open areas have long grass with seeds that are sharp and work their way into your ankles and feet through shoes and socks​—​gaiters are recommended.

Gullies – Be vigilant and take care when crossing any gully. If a gully looks too dangerous to cross, there likely is a safer crossing nearby.

Wildlife – Calero has a variety of wildlife, including deer, mountain lions, and rattle snakes. Ticks are present in the park and may carry Lyme disease, so check yourself all over after getting home.

Heat – Calero has steep terrain, and early October temperatures may be in the 70s or 80s​—​runners should stay hydrated and run within their limits.

Map

The map scale is 1:7500 for the White and Yellow courses; it is 1:10000 for the other courses. The contour interval is 25 feet.

The ongoing drought in California has changed the appearance of many features. I have updated the map in many locations, but many inaccuracies remain. Please read the following notes carefully.

Vegetation – Due to the drought, the vegetation is often less dense than mapped. Care should be taken not to use vegetation boundaries as your sole navigation aid.

Trees – There are many unmapped ruined trees, fallen trees, and rootstocks, while some mapped ruined/fallen trees/rootstocks may have mostly eroded.

     On the Map:

     On the Clue Sheet:

Boulders – Generally only larger rocks are mapped. This is however not always used consistently, and, at times, smaller rocks (0.5 m–1 m) are mapped, especially when there are no other boulders in the vicinity. Boulders on a slope might be indicated in the control descriptions with two heights (i.e., for the up-hill and down-hill sides).

Trails – Some mapped trails are no longer used, and might be partially overgrown and appear less distinct than mapped.

Lake Level – The lake level is significantly lower than mapped. While this should not affect your route choices, it is something Red and Blue runners should pay attention to.