Presidio of San Francisco
Event #1 of 6 in the BAOC 2024 Summer Series
Date: (Sun.) Jun. 2, 2024
Location: San Francisco, CA
Event Director: 
- 415.531.3627
Course Setter: Deron van Hoff
Type: C; This is the first event of the 2024 Summer Series. Everyone is welcome, including beginners, with free short clinics to explain orienteering.
Related Event Information
Course Setter's Notes
By Deron van Hoff
Our thanks to Bill Cusworth, who has spent many hours updating the map over the last two weeks. However, the map is still not perfect in the area we will be using, and will take many more hours to update for future events since a serious mapping effort has not been undertaken in this part of the Presidio.
Three distinct courses are being offered; a Beginner course that is Yellow-level difficulty in navigation and control placement, and two intermediate/advanced courses (Short and Long in accordance with the Summer Series guidelines).
The orienteering is not Sprint-style, as this part of the Presidio is partially forested. Also note the number of controls in the course statistics. The Beginner course is entirely on trails and roads. The Short course, except for one control, can be accessed via trails/roads, although it will not always be the fastest route choice. You will have to venture off-trail for the Long course. Typical trail-running shoes should be fine for all courses.
The map scale is 1:7500. The contour interval is 20 feet (6 m).
The course statistics are as follows:
Course Length Climb Controls
Beginner 2.1 km 45 m 9
Short 3.0 km 80 m 9
Long 4.6 km 140 m 14
- Beginners should be aware that the course lengths shown are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. Because you won't travel in straight lines, your actual distance will be somewhat more than what is shown above, and will depend on your route choices (and any errors you make).
- Keep in mind that you can earn Summer Series points from only the first course you run at the event, and only if it's one of the ranking courses. That is, you will not earn points if you run the Beginner course first and then one of the ranking courses.
You may encounter poison oak on your course. A general rule of thumb is the amount of poison oak is proportional to the closeness of the spacing of the undergrowth symbol (vertical green lines) on the map. Also, it may be hard to avoid entirely on some of the minor trails, since it grows close to the trails. Also, I removed a tick after one day of vetting, so make sure to check after your run.
Unfortunately for those that want to bring their dogs, courses use some of the trails and surrounding terrain that have postings that indicate they are closed to dogs because it is the middle of coyote pupping season. I saw coyotes while I was vetting courses. More details are provided here (https://www.presidio.gov/presidio-trust/planning/coyotes-in-the-presidio).
There will not be any water placed on the courses, so if you think you will need it, please carry it with you. Water (not enough for filling your water containers) will be provided at the Start and Finish.