Harvey Bear Scenes
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Coyote Lake–Harvey Bear Ranch County Park

Date: (Sun.) Feb. 6, 2022
Location: San Martin, CA
Event Director: - 650.906.9672
Course Setter: Lubomir Sebo
Type: B; Standard 7-course event for beginners through advanced; at different parking lot than for previous events

Please note that fees and time limits apply. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


Welcome to BAOC’s first event of 2022!

Coyote Lake–Harvey Bear Ranch County Park is a large park straddling a ridge rising from the eastern flank of the Santa Clara Valley. The club has used the eastern (Coyote Lake) side several times in the past; this will be our first event on the western (Harvey Bear) side. Compared to Coyote Lake, Harvey Bear offers:

The hills are lovely, covered with lush green grass, scattered oak trees (mapped), and scattered cattle (unmapped). There is a 2.25 km walk to the Start with about 100 m climb for all courses. The Finish is 300 m further away, so you will pass the Start when returning to the parking lot. Allow at least 30 minutes to walk to the Start, so please don’t try to register at the last minute!

We hope to have bottled water at the Start, Finish, and assembly areas. However, if you anticipate wanting water before your start, we recommend that you take a bottle with you from the assembly area. There will be no water on the courses, so plan accordingly. We will not provide snacks.

Important Notes

We will not be using the Coyote Lake parking lot that we have used for previous events. Instead, we will park at Harvey Bear Ranch, off of San Martin Avenue.
Furthermore, we are not using the public parking lot at Harvey Bear. Go past the park entrance on San Martin Ave about 400 feet, and turn left into a dirt road. Go straight ahead to a big meadow and park there. Registration and E-punch are in that meadow. The coordinates are 37.0992,-121.5739; see complete driving directions below.
Registration at the event will close at 11:30, which is earlier than usual.
For the record, the park permit has been fully approved.

The park's website is here (http://parks.sccgov.org/santa-clara-county-parks/coyote-lake-harvey-bear-ranch-park).

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.

COVID-19 Precautions

With COVID-19 still surging, please observe the following:

We will monitor any relevant regulations from Santa Clara County, and announce them here if they impact our event.

Schedule

    9:00 AM11:30 AM: Registration open (it will close earlier than usual!)
    9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginner clinics 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: Because of the long walk to the Start, registration will close at 11:30 so everyone can finish registration, E-punch check-in, and any other preparation they need to do. You should be on your way to the Start by noon at the latest.

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 the 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 15–20 minute, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the beginners (White) course.

Note that you must return to the Finish by 2:00 PM, and then go to the download tent, even if you have not finished your course. Please do not leave without checking in! If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.

Costs and Registration

The following fees apply at this event:

  $3 for each junior on beginners (White) and advanced beginners (Yellow) courses
  $8 for each adult on beginners and advanced beginners courses
  $5 for each junior on intermediate (Orange) and advanced (BrownBlue) courses  
$15 for each member on intermediate and advanced courses
$20 for each non-member on intermediate and advanced courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an E-punch fingerstick rental (if you don’t own one; each group will need one to complete their course)
$15 (and up) for one-year BAOC membership (optional)  

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.)

Notes:
  • At the event, we can accept payment by cash or check (but no electronic payments).
  • 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​—​e.g., intermediate after beginner).
  • Members of other orienteering clubs can pay the “member” fee. (We hope your club would do the same for our members. 🙂)

Registration

You can register online here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/harveybear), and pay via PayPal (with or without a PayPal account).

If you register online, you must pay sometime before the event, and you must complete the online waiver.

Online registration will close on Saturday, February 5th, at 6:00 PM.

Notes:
  • Online registration is not required​—​you can register at the event. Individuals and groups might want to register in advance to simplify check-in at the event.
  • Compass rental cannot be arranged during online registration, but you can register online and rent a compass at the event.
  • You can see who is registered here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/harveybear) (but keep in mind that others will register at the event).

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 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.)

Venue Facilities

The assembly area (registration, E-punch download, and [rented] portable toilets) will be in an open field where we will be parking. That field is not accessed from the park's public parking lot (see the directions below). Unfortunately, there are no picnic tables (or even shade).

Courses

The course statistics are below. Be sure to read the Course Setters’ Notes for more information.

    Course   Length      Climb    Controls  Navigation      Map Scale
    White    3.6 km    70 m  1.9%    11     Beginner        1:7,500
    Yellow   4.0 km   110 m  2.8%    13     Adv. Beginner   1:7,500
    Orange   4.6 km   200 m  4.3%    12     Intermediate    1:7,500
    Brown    4.2 km   120 m  2.9%    10     Advanced        1:7,500
    Green    5.4 km   230 m  4.3%    12     Advanced        1:10,000
    Red      6.9 km   250 m  3.6%    16     Advanced        1:10,000
    Blue     8.1 km   340 m  4.2%    22     Advanced        1:10,000

Beginners should be aware that the 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).

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

Deer ticks are found in this area and may carry Lyme disease. For prevention and treatment of tick bites, see this webpage (http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html).

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.)

Park Rules

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 to help in one of the ways below.

Please sign up by emailing or calling him at 650.321.9713.

Driving Directions

Note: We will not be using the Coyote Lake parking lot that we have used for previous events. Instead, we will be parking in a field at Harvey Bear Ranch, off San Martin Avenue (i.e., at coordinates 37.0992,-121.5739). However, we will not use the public parking lot at Harvey Bear Ranch.

Take Highway US-101 S beyond San Jose (i.e., toward Gilroy). Take exit 362 for San Martin Ave (between Morgan Hill and Gilroy). Turn left onto E San Martin Ave. About a 1/4 mile (400 meters) after crossing Foothill Ave, you will pass the park entrance ("Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park" sign) and continue on San Martin Ave for about 400 ft (130 m). Then turn left onto a small dirt road that will take you to our parking in a big open field.