Tom Jahn standing by a huge fallen tree at Big Basin in 1996 (Photo: Joel Thompson)

Sunol Regional Wilderness

Date: (Sun.) Mar. 20, 2005
Location: Sunol, CA
Event Director: - 925.462.2254
Course Setter: Gary Carpenter
Type: B; All seven courses, plus a Long Orange (Adventure Race training) course

Course Setter's Notes

By Gary Carpenter and Mark Blair

Welcome to Sunol Regional Wilderness! The "standard 7" point-to-point courses are offered today: White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue. In addition, we have a Long Orange course that may be of interest to "Adventure" runners. If you've never tried orienteering before, we recommend that you try the White course first. If you like it, you may have time for the Yellow course, too.

There will be informal clinics for beginners between 9:30 and 10:30 AM near the registration area.

COURSE STATISTICS:

                                          Technical      Physical
  Course        Length   Climb  Controls  Difficulty     Difficulty
  White         2.3 km    45 m     10     Novice         Easy
  Yellow        2.8 km   155 m     12     Adv. Beginner  Easy
  Orange        3.6 km   190 m      9     Intermediate   Moderate
  Long Orange   4.7 km   385 m     12     Intermediate   Hard
  Brown         3.2 km   135 m     10     Advanced       Moderate
  Green         3.8 km   200 m     12     Advanced       Hard
  Red           5.5 km   330 m     17     Advanced       Hard
  Blue          6.8 km   460 m     18     Advanced       Very Hard

BEGINNERS: Due to the recent lush growth of early spring grasses, some sections of smaller trails on the White and Yellow courses may be partially overgrown. These sections are usually fairly short, and shouldn't cause any significant confusion.

REMOTE START: The assembly area for the Orange, Long Orange, and advanced courses (Brown, Green, Red, Blue) is located 1.7 km from the registration area: allow 20 to 30 minutes for the hike. Follow the signs and pink streamers across the bridge then right on the trail. Take a left at Hayfield Road (dirt road) and hike uphill (approx. 190 meters climb) to the assembly area. There will be water at the assembly area (no need to bring your own). There are toilet facilities about 200 meters from the assembly area. You can leave warm-ups at the start area, and we will arrange to transport them back to the registration/e-punch download area.

TERRAIN: The terrain at Sunol is STEEP. The contour interval is 7.5 meters. Two closely-spaced 7.5 meter contours can mean an uncrossable reentrant. In most cases, contouring around reentrants is advised. The footing is generally pretty good. The recent rains have made it soft, but not too soft (particularly if you stay off the cow trails). That being said, CLEATS are strongly recommended on Orange and advanced courses.

MAP: All course maps are pre-printed from OCAD. White and Yellow maps are printed at 1:7500 scale. All other maps are scaled at 1:10,000. Electronic punching (e-punch) will be used on all courses except White and Yellow.

The map is basically a direct conversion to OCAD of the old Sunol map, and doesn’t reflect all of the changes that have occurred in the 14 years since the park was mapped. It does reflect changes that have made over the past couple of years by Mark Blair and Bob Cooley, as well as some new changes this year (mostly in the immediate area of controls).

Some map items of note: There are many unmapped animal trails, primarily the result of cattle grazing. Some of the mapped trails and vehicle tracks are overgrown and indistinct. Cattle trails in particular can be surprisingly well defined and confusing in areas of mapped trails. Be careful not to mistake an unmapped trail for a mapped one. There are also many unmapped dead/fallen trees (root stocks). Some of the vegetation has spread and thickened since it was mapped. Much of the "green" (even the very light green) is poison oak. The courses have been designed to avoid the worst of the poison oak, but you'll still encounter some on the courses. Full body covering and the use of Tecnu is recommended.

CONTROL MARKERS: Most of the control markers for the advanced courses will be on stands about knee high. Where the control feature is a point feature (such as a boulder), the control is typically placed on the side of the feature opposite the expected direction of approach.

HAZARDS: Sunol Park has the usual wilderness hazards, which include poison oak, ticks carrying Lyme disease, rattlesnakes, and steep loose terrain. There are several fence crossings on the intermediate and advanced courses. Some of the fences have been repaired recently and are more difficult to scrooch under than in the past. Good crossing points have pink flagging. Choose your crossing point carefully and beware of the barbed wire. There will be a First Aid Kit at the registration area.

CATTLE, WILDLIFE AND FLORA: Sunol Park has a variety of wildlife including wild pigs, bobcat, deer, rattlesnakes, and mountain lion.

COWS!!!!! The advanced courses will all cross an area with a large herd of cattle. One of the mothers is very protective and has exhibited aggressive behavior. Both the course setter and vetters have been challenged by this cow. It’s best to avoid the cattle if possible. I found that if you make some noise/clap your hands loudly they will move out of the way. Hopefully, after the first few runners pass through the grazing area, the cattle will move on. One word of caution, avoid getting between a mother and her calf!!

EQUESTRIANS: Sunol Park conducts trail rides near the beginning of the White and Yellow courses. Please note that the equestrians, as always, have the right-of-way. IF YOU ARE NEAR EQUESTRIANS, PLEASE WALK TO AVOID SPOOKING THE HORSES.

SAFETY: Every participant (or group) on every course must carry a whistle. Whistles will be available at registration for participants that don’t have one. Whistles should be used only in an emergency. Blow three short blasts at 1 to 2 minute intervals to signal that you need help. The safety bearing is SOUTH to Alameda creek, which runs through the park near the registration area.

The courses close at 2:00 PM. Every participant must check in at the finish by 2 PM whether or not you finish your course. If you do not check in by 2 PM, we will assume you are lost or injured and a search party will be organized. If you think you may take a long time to finish a course, please start before 11 AM so you'll have the full 3 hours to finish.