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Joseph D. Grant County Park

Date: (Sun.) Mar. 13, 2022
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: - 408.313.3753
Course Setters: Derek Maclean, Kim van Berkel
Type: B; Standard 7-course event for beginners through advanced

Related Event Information

Event Announcement Online Registration (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/joegrant2022)


Course Setters’ Notes

By Derek Maclean and Kim van Berkel

Welcome back to Joe Grant County Park. At almost 11,000 acres, the largest of Santa Clara County’s regional parks includes some of the County’s finest open-space resources, as well as rich environmental, cultural, and recreational assets. The landscape is characteristic of the eastern foothills of the Santa Clara Valley, with grasslands, steep wooded valleys, and majestic oak trees.

Exactly two years ago we were ready to hold this event​—​controls taped, maps printed, volunteers primed​—​and then COVID restrictions kicked in and we had to postpone. It’s great to be back!

This year’s event will be run in parallel with the National Junior ROTC championships. Hundreds of high school JROTC competitors are travelling from all over the country, with three days of courses provided by BAOC. We will share the assembly area and E-punch resources (registration and download) with JROTC, but the JROTC courses are in a different section of the park with separate Start and Finish locations.

Course Information 

                                             Technical       Physical  
    Course    Distance    Climb   Controls   Difficulty      Difficulty
    White      2.0 km      60 m      11      Beginner        Easiest   
    Yellow     3.2 km     140 m      17      Adv. Beginner   Easy
    Orange     2.8 km     170 m      14      Intermediate    Moderate  
    Brown      4.4 km     170 m      18      Advanced        Moderate  
    Green      5.0 km     200 m      17      Advanced        Challenging
    Red        6.0 km     230 m      22      Advanced        Very Challenging
    Blue       7.6 km     290 m      23      Advanced        Really Challenging

Beginners should be aware that the distances 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 Setters’ 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).

All the courses have remote Starts and Finishes.

Note: Since there are also Starts for the JROTC event, please be sure to go to the correct Start!

Remember to download back at the Assembly Area!

The White, Yellow, and Orange course will not have water on the courses. The Brown, Green, Red, and Blue courses will have a single water stop.

Map and Terrain

The map was substantially updated in 2015, and has been further updated for this event by Bill Cusworth based on Lidar data for terrain and vegetation. Recent changes mainly affect bushes, which are significant features throughout the park.

Open areas with scattered bushes are shown as yellow with pale green spots. Visibility in these areas is restricted, but passage is not significantly slowed. Most of the dark green on the map is denser bushes. Passage is slow but possible through most of those sections. Small dark-green circles might be prominent lone bushes or small trees. Within dark-green bushy areas, lone trees are not generally identified on the map.

There are many small unmapped animal trails. They are most evident when contouring through steeper areas, and might appear almost as large as some mapped minor trails, especially those mapped as indistinct or intermittent. At this time of year some smaller trails might have a grass covering, and thus are less easy to see when crossing, but still easy to follow.

The park has numerous erosion gulleys that are mapped as easily crossable (line of brown dots) or less easy to cross (solid brown line). The mapping is quite accurate in almost all cases. At the time of writing, conditions have been dry, and even the deeper gulleys are quite passable. However if there is significant rain before the event, crossing might become more challenging.

There are many fallen trees throughout the park, and the large majority are unmapped. Those used for control features are usually prominent and unambiguous based on neighboring features. The brown-triangle symbol is used for both short vertical stumps and large lying logs.

In many areas with lighter tree coverage, the map shows a mixture of small copses (patches of white) and lone trees. A copse might comprise as few as two trees that have a contiguous canopy. Controls on a lone tree will be placed close to the trunk on the indicated side. Controls on a copse will be placed close to the trunk of the tree that is furthest to the side indicated on the description. Clearings are also mapped based on the canopy and might be less distinct at ground level​—​looking up can be helpful. Controls in clearings will be placed on a stake in the region of the clearing indicated by the description.

Most fences are 4- or 5-strand barbed wire. Some fences are in disrepair and easily crossed. In general, for intact fences, rolling under the lower strand is the best way of crossing. Climbing over a fence is not recommended due to the risk of injury or damage to the fence. It might be necessary to look for the best crossing point near your line of approach. In steeper wooded areas, it might be harder to find a good location if the fence is in good repair. The Green, Red, and Blue courses might encounter one fence that is less easy to cross. We plan to tape sections of this fence on the expected route to indicate better places to cross.

Controls on similar features might be close to the lower limit of 100 m separation. Be sure to check control codes carefully.

Generally, controls will be hung such that competitors should find the feature before seeing the control flag, considering the location specified in the descriptions. Consistent with the required technical difficulty, controls will normally be more visible on White, Yellow, and Orange than on the advanced courses.

Hazards and Animals

From the FAQ/Hazards section of the BAOC website: Like any outdoor activity, orienteering does carry risks, however remote. These include sprained ankles, bee stings, snakes, mountain lions, wild pigs, pot farmers, and mosquitoes (e.g., Zinka virus). However, the most realistic and serious concerns in our area are poison oak and tick-borne Lyme disease.

Additional information about poison oak, and ticks/Lyme disease can be found in the FAQ.

Poison oak is present throughout the park. It can grow anywhere, but more often in shady valleys and north-facing slopes. In early March, it is not yet in full leaf and less noxious than later in the year. However, even contact with bare twigs can cause a reaction. Courses have been designed to avoid the worst sections, but it is likely not completely avoidable. Take appropriate precautions.

Ticks are known to be present in the park. Full leg cover is recommended.

You will see lots of evidence of the presence of feral pigs throughout the park. They have rooted up large areas of grassland and under trees, making the ground rough and less easy to run. The pigs mostly hide in dense brush during the day, but there are lots of them, and it is not unusual to see them. They can be startling if they burst out of the brush near you.

The park is actively used for cattle grazing, and cows might be encountered on the courses. Up to the time of writing, cows have not been present in any competition areas this year, but we understand that they might be introduced at any time. They are normally very docile, but never get between a calf and its mother. It's important that you leave all gates in the open/closed state that you find them.

Rattlesnakes might be seen sunning on a rock or trail if the weather is sunny and warm. They avoid human contact, and will normally move away when they sense footfalls nearby.

Horses and riders might be encountered, and have precedence over other trail users. Take care not to startle horses, for example when entering or crossing a trail. Slow down, step aside as necessary, and make verbal contact with the rider if appropriate.