In Memory of Whiting

[KeepsWhatHappens]

From all accounts all of Whiting Ranch has now burned or is burning.

For many, Whiting holds a special place in their mountain biker hearts. For many it was their first mountain bike ride. For some it's the only place they ride. Or for others it's their weekly ride spot. There are many reasons why bikers (and other trail users) made Whiting a frequent destination. But one thing we all had in common was the love for it's beautiful canopies of oaks shrouding rich riparian habitats and chapparal covered slopes.

Sadly all of that is but a memory now.





So that we can re-live the memory one more time I've posted a 25-minute video helmet-cam tour of Whiting. I posted two files: one is moderately compressed and is 480x360 at 150 megs and the other is 640x480 and 285 megs with alot less compression.

Sorry no youTube (quality sucks) and no embed on STR (filesize too big)....So,

The best way to view it is to go here and right-click to save the file of your choice as a download and then play it from your computer.

If you have troubles with that, the direct link to the smaller file is here but playback will be jerky unless you have a really fast connection.

KeepsWhatHappens

[foofighter]

thanks for the video...it's been quite the depressing weekend/week so far

[OMR]

They said the same thing about Yellowstone National Park when it burned several years back. Whiting will come back (that's the great thing about nature) and perhaps it will be better than it was... although it may take a long time. Many thanks for the video... it's a keeper!

[mazer75]

What!!! Oh no!!! I guess I'm glad I did STT-Luge-Whiting on Friday last week... but I'm pretty bummed out now! Oh man!

[KeepsWhatHappens]

I agree that fire often helps a habitat but sadly I don't think we'll see the majestic 100-300 year-old oaks return in our lifetime. Hopefully, by some miracle some areas will be spared.

KeepsWhatHappens

They said the same thing about Yellowstone National Park when it burned several years back. Whitting will come back (that's the great thing about nature) and perhaps it will be better than it was... although it may take a long time. Many thanks for the video... it's a keeper!

[rmb socal]

Wow, this is the first I've heard this about Whiting, and I'm actually really bummed.... Whiting was one of the first places my wife and I went riding together and she actually really loved it. We saw 3 deer and a bobcat on one ride, she was stoked. Its always been one of my top 5 short rides. I've come up many times from SD just to get a quick spin there. I knew the fire was close, but not that close.......

[TrailJesus]

This makes me sad. I for one love nature and I've heard about this trail and was wishing to ride it sometime in the near future but this totally blows that trees as old as that have gone up in flames. Damn arsonist!

[m210]

what is the boundaries of the burn area? fire has not reached stt yet has it?

[Keith B]

I always wonder where all the wildlife runs to - there are lots of deer and the like in Whiting. Hopefully they made it over to STT

[guero]

wow, i just rode there yesterday morning. whiting ranch was also my very first 'real' taste of dirt on a mt. bike. i hope they are able to preserve at least some of it. it is crazy as i look back at my RR from yesterday, i never would have thought that it would be my last one for whiting for a very long time. we snapped a couple pix at 4 Corners, i'll see if i can get them from her to post...this is really bumming me out.

here it is, the last RR of whiting: http://www.socaltrailriders.org/foru...uiser-lap.html

[KeepsWhatHappens]

No it has not. However it is burning in Modjeska Canyon. My uderstanding is the firefighters are using Santiago Canyon Road, Glenn Ranch and Portola Parkway as lines of defense.

Let's all hope and pray the winds die down or shift and that STT and Luge are spared.

KeepsWhatHappens

what is the boundaries of the burn area? fire has not reached stt yet has it?

[KBL]

It does suck that the face of Whiting Ranch is radically changed for the worse.

At the same time, this could be an opportunity for us as a community of mountain bikers to participate in clean-up/re-planting projects.

By all accounts, an arsonist (or a selfish car thief) was the origin of the problem. We can't go back and stop him, but we can help bring back some of what was lost.

Do any of you know of an organization that would spearhead such a re-planting effort? The Arbor Day Foundation comes to mind...I don't know if they plant trees in wilderness parks or not.

I would be willing to spend an afternoon re-planting in Whiting (or wherever) if someone organized an event. I don't have the time or resources to organize it, though.

[bikelmo]

The Warrior Society, SHARE, or IMBA are organizations that might help rebuild Whiting, but someone from socaltrailriders can also call the Whiting ranger after the fire and arrange for a trail maintenance day where we can all come out and show our support. Let's hope for the best now. . .

[KeepsWhatHappens]

Whiting is SHARE territory. The Warriors Society handles the Trabuco District of the Cleveland National Forest.

KeepsWhatHappens

The Warrior Society, SHARE, or IMBA are organizations that might help rebuild Whiting, but someone from socaltrailriders can also call the Whiting ranger after the fire and arrange for a trail maintenance day where we can all come out and show our support. Let's hope for the best now. . .

[Pilas]

Sad day indeed. Whiting Ranch was my first mtb experience. It was the ride that started it all, back in November 2000.
Now, let's not forget to keep things in perspective. We have lost some of our beloved trails, but hundreds of people all over Southern California have lost their homes and everything they had. Let's hope that this ends soon. This is a nightmare for many fellow Californians.

[Fired Yo Momma]

My first ride was in Whiting as well...very sad. It was sad because I was watching the news last night and they were saying as the fire fighters were fighting the fires the squirells, rats, and rabbits were running out.

[SheDevil]

That was my first ride too....

[slowSSer]

It does suck that the face of Whiting Ranch is radically changed for the worse.

At the same time, this could be an opportunity for us as a community of mountain bikers to participate in clean-up/re-planting projects.

By all accounts, an arsonist (or a selfish car thief) was the origin of the problem. We can't go back and stop him, but we can help bring back some of what was lost.

Do any of you know of an organization that would spearhead such a re-planting effort? The Arbor Day Foundation comes to mind...I don't know if they plant trees in wilderness parks or not.

I would be willing to spend an afternoon re-planting in Whiting (or wherever) if someone organized an event. I don't have the time or resources to organize it, though.

habitat rehabilitation isnt an easy task. I've done it before for work and the pre-work that goes into it is amazing with permits, documents and agreeing what stage to put it back to. being in a designated wilderness area makes it even more difficult. that and you can only do rehab at certain times of the year, especially due to nesting/breeding seasons for other critters. (do a little research on the "california gnat catcher" to find out how difficult things can be)

keep in mind that there are several local plant species that require fire for their seeds to even open, much less disperse. that and "primary growth" (the 1st stuff growing after a fire) is a natural step that really shouldnt be screwed with.

the cool part is that those small primary growth stands actually promote the secondary and tertiary growth by giving a place for the blown or dropped seeds to germinate in a safe area.

sorry- geeked out a little much there.

I do agree that this could be a good change for whiting- maybe it could start with more sustainable (read: less erosion prone) trails to get workers back into the canyons. then, we plant! I like it- sign me up......I just wish I still worked for a bio-related company so that we could spearhead the remediation effort....damn.

[tkblazer]

this really saddens me, Whiting was the first place i ever mountain biked as a kid... having lived in Foothill Ranch, my friends and i used to ride there everyday. Fast forward 10 years later and its the same trail that got me back into the sport. I've spent a lot of time there in the past 2-3 years and i've met a lot of nice people there. I for one will do what i can when the time comes to help out Share and the rangers at Whiting.

[Keith B]

Whiting Ranch was my 1st mountain bike ride on US Soil. I was living in F-Hill ranch and was blown away with Whiting Ranch in comparison to the relatively flat forest where I'd ridden in the UK