Joseph D. Grant County Park
Date: (Sun.) Mar. 17, 2024
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: 
- 650.941.8251
Course Setters: Tac Sugiyama, Derek Maclean
Type: B; Standard 7 courses, plus a "Silver" option, for beginners through advanced; free introductory instruction for beginners, who are very welcome
Related Event Information
Event Results Course Setters' Notes Attackpoint Event Page (http://www.attackpoint.org/eventdetail.jsp/event_57352) Last Year's Event
Final Info for Joe Grant Orienteering
- It looks like it will be quite warm this Sunday at Joseph Grant County Park. There will be water on each of the advanced courses, but please hydrate adequately before your race. There are working water fountains at the assembly area to refill bottles or hydration packs.
- Park admission is $6 per car. To avoid backups at park entry, having exact cash is best. If needed, there is a ticket machine that accepts credit cards.
- We still need a few volunteers, notably for control pickup and beginner instruction. Reply to me if you can help.
- Maps are printed and look good on waterproof Synaps paper. Bring your own letter-size map case if you want one.
- Stephanie Maclean, Event Director () (March 15, 2024)
Southbound I-680 Closed on Sunday
- Be aware that southbound I-680 will be closed on Sunday from I-580 (Pleasanton) to Highway 84 (Sunol).
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. Keep distance from cows, and never get between a calf and its mother! When encountering horses, slow to a walk and talk to the riders so as not to spook the horses and to let them know you are a human and not a cougar, and to know how the riders want you to proceed.
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)
- 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all courses
- 2:00 PM: Courses close, checkpoint control pick-up begins
- Note: There will be a 10–15 minute walk to the Start.
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/12KB)).
Note that 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 (but you can if you want, but please don't show up earlier and expect to be served).
Beginner clinics are short (15–20 minutes), 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, and then promptly go to the download table, even if you do not finish your course. 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! For beginners, this is a good time to ask questions.
Costs and Registration
The following fees apply at this event:
- $3 for each junior on Beginner (White) and Advanced Beginner (Yellow) courses
- $8 for each adult on Beginner and Advanced Beginner courses
- $5 for each junior on Intermediate (Orange) and Advanced (Brown–Blue) 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:
- At the event, we can accept payment by cash, check, or credit/debit card (but no electronic payments — e.g., PayPal, Venmo).
- Juniors are age 8 through 20 (under age 8 is free).
- There is no charge for a second course (but you must end up paying for the more expensive course—i.e., the Intermediate course or an Advanced course after a Beginner course).
- Members of other orienteering clubs can pay the "member" fee. (We hope your club would do the same for our members. 🙂)
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.)
Optional Online Registration
Online registration has closed, but you can still register at the event.
- Notes:
- Online registration is not required—you can register at the event.
- You can see who is registered here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/josephgrant2024) (but keep in mind that others will register at the event.
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.
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 as 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 E-punch 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.)
Courses
The course statistics are below. Be sure to read the Course Setters' Notes for more information.
In addition to the normal White through Blue courses, this event will have a Silver course. This course will be based on the Brown course, but with several "more-gnarly" controls skipped. The map will be the same for both courses, with a dotted line indicating the shorter route. Competitors may choose either course after they start, and should speak to the E-punch crew at Download if they switched from their registered course.
Technical
Course Distance Climb Controls Difficulty
White 2.2 km 30 m 8 Beginner
Yellow 3.1 km 100 m 11 Easy
Orange 3.2 km 110 m 10 Intermediate
Silver 3.0 km 120 m 9 Advanced
Brown 3.6 km 160 m 11 Advanced
Green 4.5 km 170 m 12 Advanced
Red 5.9 km 260 m 11 Advanced
Blue 7.2 km 300 m 13 Advanced
- 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).
The Start for all the courses is about 750 m from Registration, along park trails, with minimal climb. Allow 10–15 minutes to get there.
The Finish for all the courses is adjacent to Registration.
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 they might carry Lyme disease. So, please be sure to check yourself carefully after the event.
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 — we have many positions available:
early setup, beginner clinics (1 more person needed), starts (early or late), and control pickup. No experience is necessary for any of the tasks — just send email to Stephanie Maclean, the Event Director ().
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.
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).