2018 Nav-X Challenge @ Pacheco

UPDATE: COURSE SETTER NOTES - CLICK HERE

Quick Info

• Date: Sunday, October 7, 2018

• Location: Pacheco State Park

• Event Director: Vicki Woolworth (contact)

• Course Director: Dennis Wilkinson

• Courses: 3 & 6h Map Trek

List of Registered Entrants

Follow this link to an updated list of entrants.

Event Summary

The fifth event in the 2018 Nav-X Challenge series brings us to the oak studded hills of Pacheco Pass State Park. This event will be held in the expansive and wild park just West of San Luis Reservoir, using a high quality orienteering map.  Dennis Wilkinson has designed approachable yet challenging courses for a total adventure of either 3 or 6 hours. Come for the weekend, camping is available nearby at San Luis Reservoir (Basalt Campground) and other locations. Note there is a $10 per car parking fee (bring cash) - carpool to save both kinds of green. There is no potable water in the park, so please come to the event with full bottles. 

Schedule

New to Map Trekking or Rogaining?

Map Trekking is a “Navigation Sport” that has elements of a few other sports and activities like Trail Running, Fell Running (XC hill running), Hiking, Orienteering and Geo Caching.  More specifically, Map Trekking is a time-based challenge, 2 hrs or more in length, where participants try to score as many points as possible within the time allowed, by visiting checkpoints scattered across a vast, wild landscape.  Participants are free to decide which checkpoints to visit, and in what order.  Typically, a set time is allowed before the start for participants to study the map, and determine their route.  Participants travel on foot and navigate their chosen route using the map and a compass (No GPS allowed except for recording your track).  A late finish comes with point penalties, adding another layer of challenge to the sport.  Checkpoints vary in difficulty and the point value reflects the same, so that easy ones yield a lower point value than difficult ones.  To encourage beginners, course setters typically provide plenty of easy checkpoints near the start and finish location.

Venue / Park Info

The park has beautiful scenic vistas and outstanding trails for horse-back riding, hiking, and mountain biking. The 28 miles of trails offer several loop options to give visitors the choice of a hike or ride of from one to twenty miles or more. During the spring the park's grassy slopes abound with blossoming wildflowers. The park is home to tule elk, deer, bobcat, coyote, fox, several hawks, golden eagles and many other smaller animals. Cattle continue to graze on the ranch in the winter and spring months.

About the Map

The map we will be using is an Orienteering map produced by the Bay Area Orienteering Club. Its scale is 1:10,000, meaning that 1 cm on the map is 100 m in the terrain. The contour interval (elevation between two contour lines) is 5 m (~16 ft)..

Courses & Divisions

There will be two courses offered:

• 3 hr Map Trek

• 6 hr Map Trek

Participants can compete in the following divisions:

• Junior (19 & Under, 1-5 person teams)

• Open Female (20-49, 1-5 person teams, All-female)

• Open Male (20-49, 1-5 person teams, All-male)

• Open Mixed (20-49, 2-5 person teams, mixed Male-Female)

• Masters Female (50 and up, 1-5 person teams, All-female)

• Masters Male or Mixed (50 and up, 1-5 person teams, All-male)

• Masters Mixed (50 and up, 2-5 person teams, mixed Male-Female)

• Family - Adults (20+) + children (12 & under)

Results from this event count toward the 2018 Series Championship.

PRICE

Early fees (25% off) through Sept 23rd (via online registration).  Regular fee is Sept 24th - Oct 3rd (via online registration).  Day of Event Registration is cash only.

Discounts for orienteering club members (BAOC/GCO/etc...), $4 for adults and $2 for juniors.  Discount applied during online registration process.  Discount applied during online registration process, not available day of event.

For family teams (2-hr course only), it is required to have at least one adult (20 & over) and at least one child (12 & under).  Children 12 & under race free.  Children must be registered and accompanied by an adult.

Additional fees to rent an e-punch ($5) and/or compass ($2).  Only one e-punch number or rental request is required per team.  On the registration page, please enter "0" for e-punch number if you are not the first person registering for your team.

REFUND POLICY

Refund policy: 100% refund up to 10 days before event. Future race credit 1-9 days before event. No refunds for no-show.

WHAT TO BRING

Wear what you would normally wear for a strenuous hike in Northern California.  Here are some tips:

• Sturdy shoes with a good tread

• Long pants or gaiters

• Visor hat

• Compass (you may rent one for $2)

• ePunch (SI stick with 50 control capacity - you may rent one for $5 if you don’t have one)

• Pen and maybe a highlighter marker (for marking up your map and making notes)

• Water (enough for the time you will be out on the course)

• On the go snacks (energy bar, gel, etc.)

MAP AND DIRECTIONS

From the Bay Area:

Take US 101 south from San Jose to Gilroy, and then Highway 152 east. Pacheco State Park is to the right just before the very top of the pass, about 10 minutes after the exit for Casa de Fruta. There is a large gravel lot (often used by trucks) on the right-hand side of the road that does connect to the park entrance; a superior route choice is the paved road to the park immediately after the gravel turnout.

From points further east (Central Valley, Sacramento, Livermore, Antioch):

Take Interstate 5 south to Highway 152 west. Pacheco State Park is a left turn (there is a turn lane) immediately after the top of Pacheco Pass.