Any word on Chino Hills?

I did a quick ride up the hill from the Sapphire gate on Wednesday. The gate to access Bane Ridge and Sidewinder is still closed and signed as "closed to the public because of utility work". It sucks but I sure won't miss those towers.

 

Yesterday I rode from Carbon Canyon into Chino Hills and did part of my favorite Loop. Because I did a long ride Saturday, I decided not to do North Ridge but I rode out on Telegraph to 4 Corners, did Raptor down to the Ranger Station and then back up South Ridge connecting to Telegraph and finished down Telegraph. I was surprised at the shape the park is in... like it didn't rain there! If it weren't for those dumb cows clopping around, the trails would be in awesome shape. The only evidence of rain I saw was the connector from South Ridge to Telegraph. There we ran into some small mudslides and rutty, wash out sections. Again if it weren't for the cows running around int he mud, the trail would have been in better shape. Anxious to find out how North Ridge and Sycamore faired. I am assuming the rogue cows have been there as well.

It's amazing how the rain destroyed so much of the mid to southern parks and this north OC park got little or nothing!

 

After checking the web site and seeing no posted closer I decided to head out. I parked by the Sapphire entrance and saw a ton of cars so I figured the park was open. So I suited up and headed to the gate just to find it closed. But since I didn't see any park closed sign (just operating hours) I headed in. The ground was hard packed and solid with minimal erosion and there were people every where.

 

I'll post a RR in a few hours w/ photos from my ride this AM. Began at my house (Vesuvius Dr.), and rode up the back way through Carbon Canyon Park, up North Ridge>Sycamore>Telegraph>Four Corners>Bonivian Delight Trail>South Ridge>Damier>Telegraph>Home.

Short Version: It's super fun!

 

I rode today Northridge> Sycamore> 4 Corners> Raptor> Telegraph. As Biknpam said, most of the damage is from the cows. Other than that, trails looked great. Sorry, no pics.

 

So I asked a ranger about riding down Sidewinder and he said they were done removing the tower and it wasn't signed at the bottom so he didn't have an issue with it. Aj and I started about 7am on SUnday morning from the Sapphire gate. It was my 1st ride on my new 2010 Specialized XC Expert I picked up on clearance at Incycle Chino.

Looking at Sidewinder from the top.


A little ugly at the turn. Nothing one guy and a shovel couldn't fix.

Instead of going all the way down, we turned right, rode thru the creekbed, and climbed the hill to Upper Aliso. There were a few ruts along the way to the ranch.
2011
This is my 1st full-suspension bike and I'm diggin it so far. Next week I want to ride Scully Ridge to the golf course and see how it faired.

 

Nice bike, Punk Sanders! I just got the same bike as yours from Incycle Pasadena. Same color, too! It is also my first FS. Only did Turnbull and Fully Loop on it, and loving it so far!

 

Went up on Telegraph to four corners this past Saturday. Conditions are pretty darn good. Thank god theres no more sand. There's a hand full of water crossings that are easily manageable. Early on in the ride theres a large crevice that has been washed out by the rain. There's an orange cone and a warning sign marking its location along the road. Also you'll fine one fallen tree thats blocking the road, but there is a path around it. A small section of the road a few miles in (about 1/2 way to four corners) is pretty torn up it seems from a vehicle getting stuck in the mud. There's also a small jump someone built from a section of the hill side that slid onto the road. It's much easier to hit the jump on the way back down hill

Here are some pictures I took on the way back of the water crossings and other things I mentioned above.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59169800@N03/map/

 

Nice pics. My buddy AJ and I were out there on Saturday too. That tore up section is a real flow killer.

View from Gillman Peak.

 

Nice photo! Looks like a coastal park pic almost, very nice.

Steve

 

Chino Hills - North Ridge Closure

As I was leaving Chino Hills this morning I stopped to talk with the Ranegr at the bottom of Northridge & Telegraph. I asked about Northridge and the park ranger said that they plan to close it permanetly by the end of next week(3/27/11). He said that because of the erosion problem every couple of years, the state is not going to maintain it. Pretty crappy way to end a good day.

Not sure about the rest of you, but I am tired of hearing about trail closures and nothing opening in return.

Time to start contacting people to see what can be done.

btw- Nice to meet Proraptor & SteveC up at 4 corners.

 

Damn, that's one of my favorite hills to run. Guess I better get one more in quickly.

 

Dude! That sucks bad. Northridge is a favorite of mine.

 

So much for my regular training loop.

 

sorry to here this.

 

I agree, anyone know who to contact?

 

My most educated guess is that it costs the state money to fix/maintain this erosion problem, and the state parks budget is getting hit hard.

what can be done?

Contact your state representatives- barrage them- and tell them you want to see more money put into the parks system.

 

Nice To meet you fat boy one......i saw that sign too and then I saw some riders go around the sign and start climbing it lol

 

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This totally blows. R.I.P. Northridge.