Lets get County to work on Cholla trail in Aliso Woods

[jmaeding]

Back a few months ago, Cholla got graded by accident by the County. I called the head guy, and he said they would be repairing the trail at some point, when the water content of the soil rose so it would not turn to dust. Well, it seems like now would be a great time for them top work on narrowing the trail back up. It used to be nice singletrack, but various areas got turned into 10 foot wide flat areas.
That trail needs to be fixed, on their nickel. The reason it was trashed was because the tractor operator needed to do some grading at the top or bottom, and did not want to take the long way around, so he drove right down and up the trail, chopping off my favorite rocks.
If any provate person made this mistake, there would be a huge uproar by the county. But they do it and nothing happens.
Lets remind the County they are not finished.
Anyone know the right person to pursue at the County? I lost the name of the person I talked to...

I'm sure Jamr could point you in the right direction, try dropping him a PM on here. I agree, Cholla has gotten very wide in many areas and a bit less challenging.

[boboso]

As you may or may not know the dozing of Cholla was due to a lack of communication with the dozer operator the intent was not known to the rangers or others (i.e land management etc).

Education & Awareness:
At some time there was regional trails commitee meeting (back in July or August) last year that reviewed the incident and I believe a letter was drawn to be submitted to the County for purposes of education to any agency, company or other doing work within a "park" for awarness of such issues and impact. Someone in the know (JamR) may have addtional info or follow up.

What we can do:
-Prior to this incident Cholla, as with many of the high use trails in AW, had widened due to trail users taking the "wide line". We as users of the trails should hold it as our responsibility to ride the proper line. If it is a single track, ride the center line. If you cannot ride the center line due to obstructions (rocks, roots, etc) we should walk it, until we can ride it. If users continue to ride the "sides" the local plant community cannot grow back, or support the environment. Think domino effect in some cases.

-Get involved with the local groups (SHARE, Warriors, Trails4 All etc) and scheduled park activities. I have found this is often the best way for a voice to be heard.

-Contact the County of Orange RDMD/Harbors Beaches & Parks
1 Irvine Park Road
Orange, CA 92869
714-973-6865 or 866-OCPARKS
Be courteous and clear.

[Von-Diggity]

Originally Posted by DINO

I'm sure Jamr could point you in the right direction, try dropping him a PM on here. I agree, Cholla has gotten very wide in many areas and a bit less challenging.

We could make it into a dual slalom run on the downhill! Outta my way, I'm totally DH'ing!

[TURNERob]

The "Whistler" would enjoy having his downhill singletrack made a little tougher since he now has a full suspension rig and new Carerra goggles

[Big Guy]

The trails you ride are almost exclusively maintained by volunteers from local groups. The county does not have the rescources to work those trails. the best way to keep our great trails, is to get involved. Join one of the clubs that support and maintain your trails. It's amazing the sense of ownership you get when you worked one day repairing a trail.

[jmaeding]

I feel ownership just because I ride there all the time. I would even be happy to contribut money to help maintain the trails, if I knew it was being used for that.
Either way, the County screwed up and we are left to fix the trail, not cool.

[Steven Jackson]

I like to shuttle Cholla, sometimes its too hard for me to hike my bike up it.

[Big Guy]

I heard a rumor that they will install a chairlift over Cholla.

[Von-Skipp]

Originally Posted by Big Guy

I heard a rumor that they will install a chairlift over Cholla.

Looks like your shuttle days are over Steven.