Overview
Calero County Park covers a large expanse of hilly terrain with a mix of grassland and deciduous forest typical of the local area. The park is scenic and highly runnable at this time of year, making this the perfect backdrop for a day of orienteering.
This event will be a standard local event with eight point-to-point courses: White, Yellow, Orange, Silver (short Brown), Brown, Green, Red, and Blue.
Map
The map was fully reworked by Misha Kreslavsky in 2023 and is still in great shape. It uses the ISOM-2017 standard, drafted for 1:10,000 scale, printed at 1:10,000 for the Red and Blue courses, and at 1:7,500 for all the other courses. The contour interval is 5 m.
Large and small green circles denote larger and small trees; green dots (not an ISOM-2017 symbol) denote bushes; green crosses denote standing or partly standing dead trees. Fallen trees are not shown; a few areas of overlapping fallen trees are shown as intermediate green patches. Light green is runnable (just a little slower than white forest); intermediate green is slow; solid green is uncrossable.
Depending on the weather, small watercourses (thin blue lines) might be dry and look like small gullies.
Gullies shown with bold brown lines are uncrossable.
Courses
The White course follows the trail network. Controls on the Yellow course are mostly off-trail, but can be reached easily from trails. The Orange and advanced courses have been designed to test competitors' technical navigation skills, and offer route choice on the longer legs.
The Silver and Brown courses are printed on the same map. No matter which course you sign up for, you might elect to take the Silver "shortcut" (denoted by a dashed line) to finish early and compete as a Silver participant.
Note: If you end up doing a course that is different from what you initially told E-punch (i.e., either at the event or during online registration), please tell E-punch before you download.
Here are the course details:
Course Length Climb Controls Map Scale Navigation
White 1.9 km 100 m 5.3% 9 1:7,500 Beginner
Yellow 2.7 km 105 m 3.9% 10 1:7,500 Adv. Beginner
Orange 3.4 km 185 m 5.4% 9 1:7,500 Intermediate
Silver 2.4 km 75 m 3.1% 7 1:7,500 Advanced
Brown 3.0 km 100 m 3.3% 9 1:7,500 Advanced
Green 4.6 km 230 m 5.0% 16 1:7,500 Advanced
Red 5.8 km 295 m 5.1% 15 1:10,000 Advanced
Blue 7.0 km 365 m 5.2% 20 1:10,000 Advanced
Notes:
- Maps for the Beginner courses (White and Yellow) are given out at registration, and can be looked at before starting the course.
- Maps for the Intermediate course (Orange) and Advanced courses (Silver through Blue) are provided at the Start, and must not be looked at before starting the course.
- Beginners should be aware that the course lengths 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 Setter's 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).
- Horses always have the right of way. If you encounter a horse, you must stop running and respond to the rider's direction.
The Assembly Area is the trailhead parking lot at the usual McKean entrance (coordinates: 37.1749,-121.7611). The Start is a little over 1 km from the Assembly Area, including a flagged off-trail section and approximately 50 m of climb — expect the walk to take 20 minutes. Please stay on the marked route and do not enter the abandoned ranch it passes. The Finish is near the ranch — there is a short (flat) walk back to the Assembly Area.
There will be no water or food provided on the courses, so please bring any additional refreshments that you will need.
Park Conditions & Hazards
In general the park is rather steep, so cleated running shoes or hiking boots are highly recommended, especially for advanced courses. Beware of rocky patches that can also be wet and slippery. Depending on the weather, roads might be muddy and flat areas might be wet. There remains some evidence of the controlled burn that took place a couple years ago.
There is a fair amount of poison oak, mostly bushes (which are easy to avoid) or on the ground in forested areas. Long pants and/or gaiters are recommended for the advanced courses, which will enter these areas. There are areas with long grass that might be wet if there is rain.
Be sure to check for ticks, which can carry Lyme disease, and are abundant in the park.
Other park users might include horses and mountain bikes, so make sure to stay aware and give way as needed. There is plenty of wildlife in the park, mainly birds and deer (and to reiterate, ticks), but also be on the lookout for rattlesnakes, coyotes, and bobcats.