2019 Nav-X Challenge @ Wildcat

UPDATE: COURSE SETTER NOTES - CLICK HERE

Quick Info

• Date: Sunday, March 3, 2019

• Location: Wildcat Canyon Regional Park

• Event Director: Andrew Peterson (contact)

• Course Director: Vicki Woolworth

• Courses: 2 & 4h Map Trek

If you prefer to stay mostly on trails, or would like less difficult navigation, check out our Adventure Run (same place and date)

List of Registered Entrants

Follow this link to an updated list of entrants.

Event Summary

The 2019 Nav-X Challenge's 1st event brings us to a wild place in the middle of the bay area in the Berkeley Hills. Wildcat Canyon and the adjacent Tilden Park is a pretty large area with hills, lots of trails and varied terrain like oaks, grassy hills and eucalyptus groves. Using two maps specifically designed for navigation sports, course setter Vicki Woolworth will be treating us to a Map Adventure sure to please any navigation sports enthusiast, whether you are looking for a scenic 2 hr hike in the green hills, or a 4 hr endurance race against some of the best in the West.

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

Wildcat Canyon Regional Park encompasses 2,427 acres along the Wildcat Creek watershed and the surrounding hills and ridges east of Richmond. Wildcat Canyon is a popular destination for hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians, looking to enjoy it’s 25miles of trails.

Large coast live oaks, bay laurels, and a scattering of bigleaf maples and madrones grow on the park's east-facing slopes., while north-facing hillsides support some beautiful, nearly pure stands of bay laurel, fringed with coast live oak. Moist chaparral of coyote brush, poison oak, elderberry, snowberry, bracken fern, and blackberry grow in thickets high on the north-facing slopes.

In the gorge of bedrock-cutting Wildcat Creek grows a riparian forest of alder, willow, creek dogwood, and bay laurel. The forest extends the length of Wildcat Creek and part way up the tributaries. The west- and south-facing canyon slopes are covered with introduced annual grasses. A few stands of native bunch grasses persist. There are many native wildflower species, which will hopefully be in spring bloom during our event.

Expect to have get some great views of the surrounding Bay Area as you climb the hills of the park.

About the Map

The two maps used for this event have important differences. One is an up-to-date ISOM standard orienteering map (Tilden) of a well visited park, and one is older (Wildcat) with basic vegetation, trails, fences, water features and contours (lots of them) in a park frequented by more cows than people. Both have 5 m contours, but Tilden will be printed at 1:10000 and Wildcat at 1:15000, so watch your step (counting) when you switch between the two.

Green on the Wildcat map can mean anything from open forest to dense thickets. While the latter can be extremely difficult to cross, remember that cows can get pretty thirsty, and if there is water in the middle of the dense vegetation, cows will find a way and so can you if you follow the hoof prints. For control descriptions I have used "road" for paved (asphalt) and "trail" for gravel or dirt.

Courses & Divisions

There will be two courses offered:

• 2 hr Map Trek

• 4 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 (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 2019 Series Championship.

Price

Early fees (20% off) through Feb 17th (via online registration).  Regular fee is Feb 18th - Feb 28th (via online registration).  Day of Event Registration is cash or check only.

Discounts for orienteering club members (BAOC/GCO/etc...), $3 for adults (no member discount for juniors).  Discount applied during online registration process.

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. No e-punch trade-ins allowed (ie. to get a higher punch count e-punch).

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

There are two main ways to reach the Big Leaf Picnic Area, as well as a public transit option. Carpooling and public transit is always appreciated, this is a busy urban park.

From CA-24:

Take the Fish Ranch Road Exit (Exit 7A if headed E or W on CA-24), head W on Fish Ranch Road 0.7 mi, Right on Grizzly Peak Blvd 5.3 mi, Right on Wildcat Canyon Rd and immediate left onto Canon Dr, 0.4 mi to right on Central Park Dr, Big Leaf is on the left and parking both sides of the road. For additional parking turn left at Lone Oak Rd.

From I-80:

Take exit 13-A for Buchanan St toward Albany, turn right onto Buchanan St and continue for 0.5mi, continue on Marin Ave for 1.6mi. At The Circle, continue straight to stay on Marin Ave for 0.3mi, turn left onto Spruce St for 0.9mi, continue straight onto Wildcat Canyon Rd. Turn left onto Canon Dr immediately, for 0.4mi. Turn right onto Central Park Dr, Big Leaf is on the right, and parking is available on both sides of the road. There is additional parking at the end of Lone Oak Rd.

Public Transit:

Take 67 Bus from Berkeley Bart Station, bus will stop across from the Picnic Area after turning onto Central Park Dr from Canon Dr. Bus picks up at Big Leaf, and can also be caught at Spruce and Wildcat. (Here is a downloadable copy of public transit info)