Trail work on the Luge

[dft]

any idea of when joplin will open. would it be the same time as luge maybe?

[DISCO]

This is a tireless and thankless effort to do things trough the proper channels and sometimes the process can be maddening. Sorry to miss you guys, my brother needed help moving. Getting the refrigerator up the stairs damn near killed me.

Padre; Getting approved as a F.S. volunteer might take longer than it would to re-open the closures, let me tell ya trying to organize trail work up here can sometimes be difficult....

Big props to the men who made something happen, as soon as it's open this place will rock again. For the meantime most hands are tied and and progress moves at the speed of bureaucracy so we all have to be patient till the green flag drops. Any rides into these areas must be submitted and approved and all participants have to be on the official roster. Furthermore these are not fun rides it's all recon and damage control and journals have to be maintained. Even when the area opens up it is going to take a year or so till things are restored to normal.

[guero]

does anyone have an idea of how many fines have been handed out to mt. bikers riding stt/luge? it seems like there have been quite a few patrols, and a few accounts of the WS encountering a few people on the trail, heeding warnings to those on the trail....but has anyone been fined?

what is the purpose of all of these recent patrols other than to reitterate what the sign says on the gate at the entrance? i know i've read that the WS reports vegetation growth, but how much of that is needed?

just curious.

[KeepsWhatHappens]

Originally Posted by guero

does anyone have an idea of how many fines have been handed out to mt. bikers riding stt/luge? it seems like there have been quite a few patrols, and a few accounts of the WS encountering a few people on the trail, heeding warnings to those on the trail....but has anyone been fined?

what is the purpose of all of these recent patrols other than to reitterate what the sign says on the gate at the entrance? i know i've read that the WS reports vegetation growth, but how much of that is needed?

just curious.

There really haven't been that many patrols. We definitely aren't out there looking for bikers/trail users to bust. And usually when we do encounter people up there we don't write about it in a public forum for legal reasons.

Most of the patrols are either for trail assessment for upcoming trail work, or for installing/checking cameras to try and stop illegal vehicle traffic.

Originally Posted by dft

any idea of when joplin will open. would it be the same time as luge maybe?

Yes we assume it will open at the same time as the rest of the forest. FYI Joplin is in bad shape, loose, overgrown with poison oak and as if that's not enough, 4x4s and motos have been trying to drive up it from Old Camp.

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by KeepsWhatHappens

Old Camp.

so how's OLD camp? proB missed it on some tread but has anyone seen it since? is it as bad as the luge?

[OMR]

Originally Posted by ShinKen

so how's OLD camp? proB missed it on some tread but has anyone seen it since? is it as bad as the luge?

Actually, Old Camp itself is in OK condition. As John said Joplin needs a LOT of work... as does parts of the Santiago Truck Trail... remember those nice tunnel bushes coming back from Old Camp.... now gone the way of the bulldozer.. trail is very loose, off camber and rocky... needs work.

[ladera Dave]

Great Job, the Warriors are the best, We must give back to our trails or we will not have them to ride.

[genusmtbkr5]

Trust me everyone. It took a lot of arm twisting by us to the USFS to get any trail work started up there in any of the closed area. The only other closed sections that has been worked on was the Silverado Trail aka Motorway which was posted to the masses to help. Harding was done by heavy equipment.

The trails are in bad shape and think how bad the trails would be by Nov if and when it opens, if we didn't start now. I agree with John and we have recommended that the STT/Luge be opened so that the vehicles stop going up to the flag or to Old Camp and tearing up what work has been done. As I said before, I would love to take a hundred of you up there and we would be done in no time.

On another note: We tried to do guided rides but after the time when we did some guided training rides for the CC/VQ, Chris decided it was too much BS to get insurance, sign-in rosters, qualified ride leaders/guides/sweepers and a planned route. While on that ride, I carried a 6 page document with me which was our legal "permission slip" for being there. SHARE also tried to schedule a trail work at Aliso but it rained the day before, as we all know, would've been a good time to it, but it got canceled because the park was closed. Whether it's County, State or the US Government we have to deal with to try and get anything done, are any of you surprised we have to jump through hoops? I don't like it anymore than any of you.

[bikelmo]

Re: the motorized vehicles coming from Cadillac --- can't they put a friggin' gate back there? Whose was the previous gate? The thought of a four wheeler going up Joplin from Old Camp makes me kind of sick. . .

[genusmtbkr5]

Originally Posted by Darkhelmet

I can appreciate the work the Warriors are doing, but their priviledged access to the closed public lands the rest of us yearn to ride is, frankly, getting old.

Like others have said, you can access the closed area if you go through the proper channels. Sign up and become a USFS volunteer and you too can access the closed area.

Originally Posted by bikelmo

Re: the motorized vehicles coming from Cadillac --- can't they put a friggin' gate back there? Whose was the previous gate? The thought of a four wheeler going up Joplin from Old Camp makes me kind of sick. . .

There is a gate and it's locked, but there still a way around it if you know about it. That truck that caught on fire last week is sort of in the way which is why it's still up there.

[Abui]

All that's needed to complete this thread is a complaint about "sanitizing trails".

[maxxisracing]

Originally Posted by EJ_92606

Well, look at the bright side, the FS at least didn't bring in a bus of convicts or laborers and a bobcat and tell em to go fix the trail like a certain other park seemed to do

Dont get me wrong I am stoked for whiting but I agree, I think us mountain bikers would have made the park alot better if we were the ones fixing it up.