The Course ↑

Forty challenging, interesting, and/or beautiful checkpoints will be scattered throughout the park, extending from ocean bluffs at the southern end of the park, up to the upper reaches of the park in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The course should be a little faster paced than typical, with an average (straight-line) distance between checkpoints of roughly 1/4 mile. A very strong team may (or may not) be able to "clear the course".

There will be a lot of opportunity for travel on trails, combined with lots of short to moderate stretches off-trail.

General ↑

The event center / registration will be in the Cultural Preserve Area, a 0.2 mile walk east from either the official parking lot within the park, or from parking alongside Hwy 1 (which is 0.1 mile east of the park entrance). This area is on the south side of Hwy 1 and is a small complex of historic buildings and fenced-in corrals, with the event center located on the central and largest lawn. The Start will be a further 0.2 mile walk from the registration area.

The current weather forecast (a week in advance) suggests a very nice event day — partially cloudy and around 70 degrees.

The Terrain ↑

Wilder Ranch is located on Hwy 1 just west of Santa Cruz and the UCSC campus. It extends from ocean front bluffs and beaches on the southern side of Hwy 1, across to the north side of Hwy 1 where most of the park then stretches up into the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The park consists of areas of open grassland, of scattered and more than just scattered brush, and of slow to dense forest.

The Map ↑

The map was created roughly ten years ago. While largely accurate, various natural and man-made changes have occurred over the years. All notable and relevant updates have been made to the map. The two notable caveats are the following:

Areas shown as "white" open forest have largely come to have moderate to dense undergrowth. Traveling through "white" may occasionally be reasonable, but generally is discouraged. Areas of steeper terrain also coincide with these "white" areas. The simple rule, especially for route planning, is to not try and go through "white" areas.

Areas shown as "tan" rough open, now vary between grassland, grassland with scattered brush, and moderately dense brush that can be slow to travel through. Places where you may be readily motivated to travel off-trail across a stretch of "tan" (say to get to a checkpoint) will generally be travel-friendly. Conversely, in areas where the "tan" has become denser brush, checkpoints are placed closer to trails and it is probably better to leverage the trails.

Please also note that the rangers have "encouraged" us to limit travel across the big stretches of open pastures/grassland. Especially in the areas near the Start and to the northwest — where other park visitors and rangers may be present — please keep this in mind. The course has been designed to minimize motivations to do this.

Note that there is one large, clearly marked, out-of-bounds area in the southern part of the map, on the north side of Hwy 1. There is also a section of an official park trail that is closed due to erosion, with small dirt berms and cables at the two ends; this is marked on the map. An alternate or "detour" trail has been created that connects between the two ends of this section; this trail has been added to the map.

Within the building and fence complex of the Cultural Preserve Area, do not climb over the fences (there is no need to do this during the event).

Hazards ↑

There will be two water drops: at the northern/upper end of the park, and near the southern end at the event center. For strong competitors — who will have a chance to pass by the northern location — carrying water is still strongly encouraged. For the majority of people, carrying water is also encouraged unless you end up staying in the lower third of the park.

Poison oak should be very limited and avoidable — as long as you don't try to travel through "open forest / white" areas that now have moderate to dense undergrowth.