The Golden Goat is back!
Please join us on Sunday, April 22nd at Pacheco State Park for the 22nd Golden Goat. Pacheco is gorgeous this time of year—green rolling hills, scattered oaks, and blooms of wildflowers.
The Golden Goat is a mass-start event, traditionally emphasizing long and hilly courses with some other deviations from traditional point-to-point orienteering. This year, four courses are available: Goat, Kid, Pygmy, and "Orange".
This year the _Pygmy is not a beginner course_—it is more like a "Brown Goat" for advanced orienteers who would like a somewhat less physical goat experience. For intermediate orienteers, an Orange course will be available.
Please note that there are no beginner courses at this event. Beginner courses will be provided at the other BAOC events on the schedule, and we hope beginners will attend those events.
Courses
The final course details are below:
Course Distance Climb Controls Technical Difficulty
Goat 12.6 km (*) 865 m (*) 39 (skip 3) Advanced
Kid 7.4 km (*) 450 m (*) 20 (skip 2) Advanced
Pygmy 4.5 km 220 m 12 Advanced
Orange 4.9 km 210 m 9 Intermediate
(*) Distances and climbs are without skips.
The Goat and Kid start and finish at the assembly area. To relocate to suitable terrain, the Pygmy course has a remote Start and Finish 1.5–2 km from the assembly area. The Orange course uses the Pygmy Start and the Goat/Kid Finish.
Schedule
Note that this event has a non-standard schedule with mass starts.
9:00–9:45 AM: Registration in the parking lot/assembly area
9:50 AM: Instructions for the Goat and Kid
10:00 AM: Mass start for Goat and Kid
10:30 AM: Mass start for Pygmy and Orange (remote Start, about 1.5–2 km by trail from assembly area)
1:00 PM or sooner: Awards ceremony (all three courses)
1:30 PM: Pygmy course closes, first-half control pick-up begins
2:00 PM: Goat, Kid, and Orange courses close, course-wide control pick-up
Note #1:
Everyone must return to the assembly area by 2:00 PM. The Goat especially travels a long distance from the Start/Finish—make sure you leave time to return! For Goat and Kid courses, there is a four-hour time limit. For the Pygmy course, there is a three-hour time limit.
Note #2:
We will start picking up the first 13 of the Kid and Goat controls at 1:30 PM when the Pygmy closes. At 2:00 PM, all controls are game for pick-up.
Special Pricing
This event has special "Goat" pricing:
Member entry fee, each person: Adult $20, Junior $10
Non-member entry fee, each person: Adult $25, Junior $10
(Juniors are under age 21)
Standard rates apply for optional compass ($1) and E-stick ($5) rental. Note that the Goat requires a high-capacity E-stick (up to 40 controls).
Please note that there is also a $10 State Park fee per vehicle for parking, paid with self-registration envelops on arrival.
Awards
Awards will be presented to the first three Goat, Kid, and Pygmy finishers for each of several categories. The awards ceremony will take place soon after the awardees have finished.
In addition, the top 15 finishers on the Golden Goat earn Golden Goat Lifetime Points. The current table of these points, and the rules for their awarding, are available here (PDF/85KB).
Volunteers
Volunteers would be greatly appreciated to help with control pick-up. If you can commit in advance, please email the Event Director. Volunteers will also be enthusiastically accepted at the event.
Driving Directions
Note: Be vary careful crossing Highway 152. The traffic is moving faster than you might think!
The entrance to Pacheco State Park is between Gilroy and Los Baños on the south side of Highway 152, just west of Pacheco Pass.
From most of 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.