El Moro unauthorized trail closure

[Chopper]

I got a call today from a State Parks environmental managment people to let me know that they have closed a popular illegal trail in El Moro. The trail is known to some as Deliverence or Carpet Muncher.
Fire crews pulled in the sides to obstuct access and also removed some bridges and other wooden structures. I was told that the entrance to the trail was signed but I am pretty sure that there are several entrances to the trail from various locations.

Let's all show our support of responsible mountain biking by not only avoiding this trail but by encouraging others to do the same.

Where Crystal Cove is concerned, the more we (mountain bikers) support them, the more they support us.

[guero]

thanks for the heads up.

one quick question though, how can they 'close' a trail that was never 'open'?

[Chopper]

Originally Posted by guero

thanks for the heads up.

one quick question though, how can they 'close' a trail that was never 'open'?

The answer to that question would have to start with a definition of the word "open".

[2wheel_lee]

nevermind...I was thinking that they closed a trail without authorization.

[kbteachme]

Does this trail start at the top just next to Park Ridge Drive and drops down left into Dear Valley for about 1.5 miles?

[bevaaler]

That one isn't Deliverance, but it is also an unauthorized trail or whatever you want to call it. You would definitely know it if you ever dropped in on Deliverance!!

Originally Posted by kbteachme

Does this trail start at the top just next to Park Ridge Drive and drops down left into Dear Valley for about 1.5 miles?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...01502&t=k&z=19

[kbteachme]

Thanks.

[Chopper]

Originally Posted by kbteachme

Can someone here post a map of where the Deliverance trail is exactly located at El Moro? I'll like to be informed so I can let others know. Thanks.

Posting exact locations of illegal trails can be counter productive to keeping people off of them, as you can probably imagine. A good rule of thumb is to simply stick to trails that are on the parks official map.

[kbteachme]

Originally Posted by Chopper

Posting exact locations of illegal trails can be counter productive to keeping people off of them, as you can probably imagine.

We, the patrol riders on STR, just want to know so we can inform others while riding around El Moro during peak riding periods.

[kbteachme]

I have also noticed while riding in the park that there are a lot of trail closure signs completely faded or painted over like the one at Fence Line that links to Ridge Park. Are those trails now opened or are they just waiting for state funding to be refurbished back to new?

[Chopper]

Originally Posted by kbteachme

I have also noticed while riding in the park that there are a lot of trail closure signs completely faded or painted over like the one at Fence Line that links to Ridge Park. Are those trails now opened or are they just waiting for state funding to be refurbished back to new?

No, that area is not open but people keep knocking down the signs and going around the fence so the park can't keep up with it. Like I mentioned before the best guidline is to just use the trails that are on the map. There's new sign with a trail map on it at the end of Fence Line.

[CPATCRASH]

To bad. That was the perfect trail for a rigid SS.

[jcampbell]

Don't really understand how you can close an already closed trail. Everyone who rides its knows its illegal already. And the ladders will just be rebuilt. Atleast Bommer is still open... yea!

I wish other bikers would push to open trails like that instead of getting all stoked on the chance the poachers might get busted. Its one of the best trails in the park. Obviously not for everyone, but isn't that what can make a park great. IE: having diverse trails for everyone to enjoy. Don't we all pay taxes?

[Chopper]

Originally Posted by jcampbell

Don't really understand how you can close an already closed trail. Everyone who rides its knows its illegal already. And the ladders will just be rebuilt. Atleast Bommer is still open... yea!

I wish other bikers would push to open trails like that instead of getting all stoked on the chance the poachers might get busted. Its one of the best trails in the park. Obviously not for everyone, but isn't that what can make a park great. IE: having diverse trails for everyone to enjoy. Don't we all pay taxes?

This is a subject that has been hashed and reshashed a thousand times. Basically, we have to keep in mind that El Moro is not a mountain bike or recreation park. The highest priority is protection of the habitat so the area will stay as natrual as possible while still allowing the public to access and enjoy the open space. If they just let everyone come in and build trails where ever they wanted to, the place would look like a big BMX park.
Also there are at least 5 government agencies involved in controlling the amount of land that can be used for trail access. If the park does not abide by the regulations imposed by those agencies it could be facing some pretty stiff penalties.
Lastly, when we try to get approvals to build new trails, those agencies look at the trails that already exist, legal or not and take the number of trails into account when deciding to approve or disapprove new trails. In other words, illegal trails actually prevent us from building legal trails.

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by Chopper

If they just let everyone come in and build trails where ever they wanted to, the place would look like a big BMX park.

Never really thought about it like that. That's awesome! Sounds great to me! Ah man, with the rains we just had we should go out there and start diggin'!

So what you're also saying is that it won't be too long until this trail is open again. Maps...yeah...no one reads those stinkin' maps (if you can ever find them).

[Rivet]

Originally Posted by Chopper

Lastly, when we try to get approvals to build new trails, those agencies look at the trails that already exist, legal or not and take the number of trails into account when deciding to approve or disapprove new trails. In other words, illegal trails actually prevent us from building legal trails.

Let's see over the last 10 years approximately 40 trails have been closed and termed illegal in Laguna and exactly ONE legal trail has been built, awesome. Wow, that system sure works.

[L8 APEKS]

Originally Posted by Chopper

Posting exact locations of illegal trails can be counter productive to keeping people off of them, as you can probably imagine. A good rule of thumb is to simply stick to trails that are on the parks official map.

No more than talking about them on the internet.

Originally Posted by Chopper

The highest priority is protection of the habitat so the area will stay as natrual as possible while still allowing the public to access and enjoy the open space.

...until a development company shows them enough money and more homes are built. But nobody whines about the MILLIONS of acres of natural habitat destroyed. Instead, people get in a flurry over a narrow dirt trail that was "constructed" inside an already existing park of trails.

Don't get me wrong...I have never ridden it, and if there's obvious signs of closure I will not go around them. I also realize the "system" is all we have to work with. But that doesn't change the fact that it still sucks...and in one way or another, it all comes down to money...NOT environment...in the end.

The reason we don't have more trails or bike parks here...like they have in Canada, for example...is because it's not profitable. It has NOTHING to do with environment, or habitat, or anything like that. Everyone has to make their buck calling mother nature "theirs." Property in Southern CA is very expensive, and the suits don't think a bike park would be profitable. Not like a cookie cutter housing track or a shopping mall, anyway.

So we get a couple small parks that we have to share with the general public (that were never intended for mountain biking to begin with, as our sport didn't exist when the parks were established)...and that's all we will ever get here.

For this reason, it's even more crucial to follow the rules or we'll be left with virtually nothing.

The system really is kind of a big hypocritical/ironic joke. And people who think it's about environment couldn't be more wrong. It's about money, and that's it. Count all the dead coyote and deer and rabbits in south OC that have been displaced due to development over the last 15 years in the RSM area and tell me I'm wrong.