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Huddart Park

Date: (Sun.) Nov. 7, 2021
Location: Woodside, CA
Event Director: - 650.906.9672
Course Setter: John Richardson
Type: B; Standard 7-course B-meet in this beautiful redwood park

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


November 5th Update

A few final notes about Sunday’s event:
  • There will be water out on every course except White and Yellow.
  • Ongoing forestry work in the park required significant last-minute modification in the Yellow course, and tweaks to a couple of the advanced courses. The Course Setter’s Notes have been updated to reflect the new course statistics.
  • Recent rain has left the ground soft, but there’s not a lot of mud.
  • Start procedure: There will be a 250 m walk, marked with flags or streamers, from Zwierlein to where volunteers will check you in and assign start times. At the assigned time, you will punch the START control, pick up your map, and follow a streamered route for about 125 m to a control flag on a trail. That flag marks the Start Triangle on your map. You do not punch there, just head to your first control.
  • The White and Yellow maps are printed at a 1:5000 scale. The other courses are printed at 1:7500.
  • The map uses the most current IOF symbols. The most important difference from the older symbols is that a rootstock is now represented as a small brown triangle, rather than the brown × we are accustomed to. (See The Map Features section of the Course Setter’s Notes for more comments about the maps.)
  • Redwood rings are used for a few control locations. The clue sheets use the circle (Special Feature) symbol. The control flag will be located in the interior of the redwood ring.
  • There will be two events taking place Sunday morning at Huddart Park: ours, and a 10K/Half Marathon/50K trail run. The trail runners all set out early in the morning, but some orienteers, especially on the Red and Blue courses, might encounter them. The more significant impact for us will be on parking, since their assembly area is near ours. Here is my advice on where you should look for parking, in order of convenience:
  1. Anywhere on the park’s main loop (Zwierlein, Lower Werder, Upper Werder).
  2. The parking areas just past the entrance kiosk.
  3. Uphill from the main loop to Modoc and Miwok Picnic Areas.
  4. Downhill from the first intersection inside the park to the Sequoia area.
  • Also, be aware that the trail-run organizers have put out some streamers and “Wrong Way” signs around the major park trails. You can ignore them​—​you are free (if not encouraged!) to go the “wrong way”.
  • Last but not least, I could use a couple more volunteers for control pickup!


BAOC returns to the dramatic redwood forests of Huddart Park (http://parks.smcgov.org/huddart-park) on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains above Woodside. We will offer all seven standard courses, so there will be something for everyone from beginners to advanced orienteers. The usual event schedule and fees will be in effect, and electronic punching will be used.

Huddart is a steep park. The club map from the 1990s had a contour interval of 7.5 meters, and suffered from some imprecision in contour lines (typical of redwood forest). We now have a new map that is based on 5-meter LIDAR data! That makes the map more precise, but unfortunately does not make the slopes any less steep.

Huddart is popular with equestrians, and it is mandatory that all runners yield to horses. If you encounter people on horseback, you must stand by the side of the trail and let them go by. It has been suggested that when approaching a horse and rider, say “Hello” to the rider at a distance so that the horse knows you are a human being, and so will not be spooked. If you are about to emerge from the woods onto a trail, look and listen for horses first, and wait if they are nearby. The worst thing you could do is burst out of the woods onto a trail near a horse.

There are likely to be hikers and other group events in the area. Please be considerate of them, too.

No dogs are allowed in the park.

Remember that Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 AM the day of this event (i.e., be sure to “fall back”).

In addition to the information below, be sure to read the Course Setter’s Notes.

For more information, or to volunteer to help (😉), please contact , the Event Director.

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!

COVID-19 Precautions

We will be following the San Mateo County health ordinance guidelines on the day of the event. That generally means that we can hold the event without social distancing and wearing masks. Nevertheless, we should all be cognizant of the ongoing risk of contracting COVID-19, even for those who have been fully vaccinated. Please stay home if you are feeling unwell in any way.

If you are not vaccinated, we ask that you wear a mask while you are in the assembly area, including at the Start and the Finish.

Also, no food will be provided at the assembly area, and water will not be available on the White and Yellow courses. Please bring what you will need.

Location In The Park

The assembly area will be at the Zwierlein Picnic Area. From the entrance station, proceed straight ahead at the first stop sign; the road will take you to the picnic area (which will be on your right, opposite a large open field).

There are several parking areas around the loop that starts about 200 m (~1/8 mi) after the park entrance. The picnic area is on that loop.

The Start and Finish, picnic tables, and restrooms are all nearby. A children’s playground is about 200 m from the picnic area.

Schedule

  9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration open
  9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginners clinic instruction (free)
 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts open
                  2:00 PM: Courses close, checkpoint control pick-up begins
Note: At on-site 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/12KB]).

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

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

Please note that everyone must return to the Finish by 2:00 PM, and check in at E-punch, even if you don't complete your course. We need to account for all participants, because otherwise we must organize a search party for you.

After you finish, stick around and socialize with other participants (at a distance?)!

Registration and Costs

You can register online here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/huddart), and optionally pay via PayPal. (If you prefer, you can register online and pay at the event [with cash or check].)

Online registration will close at 6:00 PM on Saturday, November 6th.

You can check your status, and see who has registered, here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/huddart) (but keep in mind that others will register at the event).

At on-site 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/12KB]).

The following fees apply at this event:

  $3 for each junior on beginners (White) and advanced beginners (Yellow) courses
  $8 for each adult on beginners and advanced beginners courses
  $5 for each junior on intermediate (Orange) and advanced (BrownBlue) courses  
$15 for each adult member on intermediate and advanced courses
$20 for each adult non-member on intermediate and advanced courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (if you don’t own one; you’ll need one to complete the course)
$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)  

Notes:

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/12KB), 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.)

What to Bring

For the beginner (White) course, comfortable outdoors attire is fine, but you should wear sturdy running or hiking shoes. Hiking boots with an aggressive tread are recommended for the advanced beginner (Yellow) course.

Due to the dry weather, matted leaves, and loose soils, we recommend O-shoes or shoes with cleats on the intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown through Blue) courses.

We recommend long pants and gaiters on all the courses, except White.

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 (note that there’s a significant charge for a lost rental). (Use of the “E-punch” system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)

Note: The controls will be set up to respond to SPORTident SIAC “touchless” fingersticks. That type of fingerstick might be available for rent at the event, but note that the charge for a lost SIAC stick will be $80, not the amount shown on the entry form.

Courses

The final course details are below.

    Navigation     Course    Length    Climb   Controls
    Beginner       White     1.9 km    115 m      11  
                   Yellow    2.2 km    135 m      11
    Intermediate   Orange    3.3 km    215 m      10  
    Advanced       Brown     2.6 km    165 m       8  
                   Green     3.7 km    270 m      12
                   Red       5.3 km    405 m      14
                   Blue      6.4 km    485 m      18

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” (i.e., 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).

Be sure to read the Course Setter’s Notes for more information about the courses.

There will be water on all the courses, except the White and Yellow courses.

As noted above, the controls will be set up to respond to SPORTident SIAC “touchless” fingersticks.

Hazards

Steep hillsides: As mentioned above, Huddart is a steep park (the trails are generally fairly tame, although more indirect because of that). Be mindful when planning routes, and be careful when traveling off-trail on slopes.

Poison Oak: Participants on all except the beginner (White) course will encounter some poison oak, which you will be able to avoid. There are photos and comments here. Washing clothes and shoes and bathing exposed skin with dish-washing soap or a commercial product such as Tecnu is recommended to remove the irritant oil.

Ticks: Although the course setter has not seen any (yet), ticks are found in this area and may carry Lyme disease. Be sure to check yourself after completing your course.

Non-Hazard Items

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

Request for Volunteers

As usual, we need many volunteers at this event. In particular, we will need people for these tasks:

Please contact , the Event Director, to reserve your spot before they’re all taken! 😉

Driving Directions

From the Bayshore Freeway (US 101) or Interstate 280 on the Peninsula, go west on Highway 84 (Woodside Road). About a mile west of 280, you will come to a stop sign at the intersection of Mountain Home, Cañada Road, and Woodside Road (near Roberts Market). (Heed the 25 mph speed limit in Woodside!) Continue straight for 0.7 miles to Kings Mountain Road. Turn right (northwest) and follow Kings Mountain Road for 2.1 miles to the park entrance.

Pay your fee at the entrance station and follow the park signs to the Zwierlein Picnic Area (proceed straight ahead at the first stop sign). Park in any of the designated areas along the road. (The road loops around the area of the picnic area, with parking available all the way around the loop.)

There is a park entry fee of $6 per vehicle. If the entry kiosk is not staffed, you must use a self-service process nearby (which involves putting exact cash in an envelope).