Table of contents

Joseph D. Grant County Park

Date: (Sun.) Mar. 15, 2020 CANCELED
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: - 408.878.5073
Course Setters: Derek Maclean, Kim van Berkel
Type: B; Standard 7-course event for beginners through advanced

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Please note that fees and time limits apply. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


This event has been canceled

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Joe Grant orienteering event is cancelled.
We intend to reschedule for the future.
– Peter Graube, Event Director (March 13, 2020)

March 10th Update

The event is still on! We hope to see many of you out there.
Guidance from Santa Clara County concerning COVID-19 is here (https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/Pages/Novel-Corona-Virus-Parks-Updates.aspx). In particular, please note the following:
  • If you are sick, please stay away, for the protection of the community.
  • If you are at higher risk for serious illness, you may choose to avoid public gatherings for your own sake.
  • Bring your own hand sanitizer in case we run out!
We will provide some pre-packaged snacks for after your run, but in less quantity than usual​—​you are encouraged to bring your own food.
Online registration is open, and you can see who has already registered.
Please consider helping out at the event. See below for details.


March in the foothills of Mount Hamilton should be perfect conditions for springtime orienteering. The grass will be green, the ground will be soft and ideal for running.

Please be aware that there are cows grazing and horses being ridden in the park, which might be in the area of the courses. When encountering horses, slow to a walk and talk to the riders so as not to spook the horses and let them know you are a human and not a cougar.

After they are posted, be sure to read the Course Setters' Notes for more information.

The park website is here (https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Pages/JosephDGrant.aspx).

What is Orienteering?

An adventure! Discover the outdoors and discover yourself! You can explore a course by yourself or go as a team with your friends. You will get a highly detailed orienteering map, probably unlike any map you have seen before. The map will have a lot of detail on it, such as fences, boulders, lone trees, vegetation boundaries, and anything else you might see. Your course will be printed on the map.

Orienteering is easy to learn, a challenge to master, and incredibly fun! You can read more about orienteering here.

Schedule

  9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration open
  9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginners’ clinic instruction (free)
  9:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all courses
                  2:00 PM: Courses close, checkpoint control pick-up begins

At registration, all juniors must be accompanied by parents or legal guardians, or bring with them a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian (the registration form is available here (PDF/90KB)).

Note that you can register and start on the courses anytime during the open times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be “punctual” at 9:00 (but you can if you want, but please don’t show up earlier and expect to be served).

Beginners’ clinics are 15–20 minute, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the beginner (White) course.

Note that you must return to the Finish by 2:00 PM, and then go to the download tent, even if you have not finished your course. Please do not leave without checking in! If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.

After you finish, stick around and socialize with other participants!

Costs

The following fees apply at this event:

  $3 for each junior on beginner’s (White) and advanced beginner’s (Yellow) courses
  $8 for each adult on beginner’s and advanced beginner’s courses
  $5 for each junior on intermediate (Orange) and advanced (BrownBlue) courses  
$15 for each member on intermediate and advanced courses
$20 for each non-member on intermediate and advanced courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an E-punch fingerstick rental (if you don’t own one; each group will need one to complete their course)
$15 (and up) for one-year BAOC membership (optional)  
  $6 per-car park fee (collected at the park entrance)  

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/90KB), which you can print and fill out in advance to save some time at the event. (You will need one entry form for each group of people going on a course together.)

Notes:

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ.

What to Bring

For beginners' courses (White and Yellow), comfortable outdoors attire and shoes are fine.

For intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown through Blue) courses, leg cover or gaiters are recommended, as well shoes with some extra grip on the sole.

A compass is not necessary, but can be helpful. We have compasses available for a $1 rental fee.

We time the courses with the SPORTident system, so each entry/team needs to have a SPORTident fingerstick. If you don't have your own, you can rent one at registration for $5. (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)

Venue Facilities

The assembly area (E-punch download, registration, snacks, and restrooms) will be at the Stockman's Group Area (i.e., our standard location). The driving directions are below.

Picnic tables, piped water, and flush toilets are available, so please feel free to bring along a picnic lunch to enjoy after you finish your course.

The park does not want us serving open containers of food and water at the event. We will have a selection of sealed food items, and some small individual water bottles. However, it would be a good idea to bring your own water and reusable bottle.

Courses

The course statistics are below. Be sure to read the Course Setters’ Notes for more information.

    Course    Distance    Climb   Controls
    White      2.1 km     100 m      12  
    Yellow     3.2 km     150 m      17
    Orange     3.4 km     140 m      17
    Brown      4.3 km     150 m      17
    Green      5.1 km     180 m      19
    Red        6.1 km     240 m      21
    Blue       7.5 km     280 m      23

Beginners should be aware that the lengths shown are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. The climb numbers represent the amount of ascending that would be done on the "optimum route" (in the Course Setter’s opinion), without regard for any descending. Because you won’t travel in straight lines, and might not follow the optimum routes, your actual distance and climb will be somewhat more than what is shown above, and will depend on your route choices (and any errors you make).

Note: Horses always have the right of way. If you encounter a horse, you must stop running and respond to the rider’s direction.

Hazards

For participants on the intermediate and advanced courses, the park has some poison oak which you will want to avoid. It looks like this. Washing clothes and shoes, and bathing with dishwashing soap or a commercial product such as Tecnu, is recommended to remove the irritant oil. (Note that you can be exposed through clothing, and that stalks without leaves are still a risk.)

Deer ticks are found in this area and may carry Lyme disease.

Park Rules

Fence gates must be left closed, except if they are fastened open.

Please note that horses always have the right of way. If you encounter equestrians while running on a multi-use trail or road, please walk until you are clear of the horses. A startled horse could throw and injure the rider. Also be careful not to jump onto a trail when horses are nearby.

Request for Volunteers

As always, we need volunteers for this event. Please consider volunteering to help in one of the ways below.

Please sign up by emailing or calling him at 408-878-5073.

Driving Directions

The approximate coordinates for the assembly area are 37.3357,-121.7159.

To reach the park, take I-680 to the Alum Rock Avenue exit in San Jose. (From southbound Hwy 101, it's easiest to go past Alum Rock Ave, exit onto I-680, and then exit to Alum Rock Ave.) Head east on Alum Rock to Mt. Hamilton Road. Take a right onto Mt. Hamilton Rd and proceed about 7.5 miles to the park entrance on your right. Be careful to look for bicyclists along twisty Mt. Hamilton Rd.

Here's an alternative route choice (after all, orienteering is all about route choice): Quimby Road is believed to be faster, with a shorter (but steeper) windy road, than Mt. Hamilton Rd from Alum Rock. Some people (and Google Maps) recommend this route even for those coming from the north on I-280 or Hwy 101. In that case, from 101 South exit at Tully Rd, and head east (toward the hills). Turn right onto Quimby Rd (just before East Ridge Shopping Center); take this up and over the hill until it meets Mt Hamilton Road. Turn right and go a few hundred meters to the park entrance on your right.

From the south, coming up 101, take the Capitol Expy exit and head east (toward the hills). Go about 1.5 miles, turn right onto Quimby Road, and follow the directions just above.

At the park entrance, pay the $6 park entry fee (if the entrance booth is unattended, use the ticket machine, which accepts credit cards or cash), and go about 0.6 miles to the parking area designated by the O' signs.

There's a map here that shows the location of the event.

Carpool Sites

People sometimes meet at the junction of Alum Rock Ave and Mt. Hamilton Rd, where there is plenty of parking. That might seem so near the park as to not be helpful, but it does save the twisty drive up Mt. Hamilton Rd, and the park entrance fee for the cars that are left below.

Similarly, people taking the Quimby Rd route could meet at East Ridge Shopping Center (at Tully and Quimby).