Blackstar water diversion

On my Motorway Loop this AM I noticed waterbars that just are built wrong and are damaging the road. I would like to believe that someone thinks they are helping but the work seems to deliberate…by someone who understands road construct. The work has been done with a shovel and directing water to areas of the road that are fill dirt and easily eroded. One incident of blocking the entrance to culverts with rocks so the water can’t get off the road. That did not get my attention as much as the dams in the uphill ditch that directs the water across the road to an unstable area 10 feet before the culvert. Already 4 foot sections of the road have been lost to erosion. If anyone knows who is doing that we need to help them understand trail/road construction. I have a keen eye for this type of problems from working in the Mendocino Coastal Forest where the rains are intense.

Hopefully someone can forward the pictures to the right people to fix the problems before they get worse. Right now it would be easily corrected with a couple hours of hand work. If someone would give me the permission and gate key I would do it or help those that have permission and access. What is very disturbing is that there are many different truck tires out there since the rain and whoever is paroling is too lazy to get out of their truck and spend some shovel time to save the road.

Please try to re-vain from blaming our resident canyon dweller you may be right but no one knows for sure. Again helicopters out there! want are they doing? every time I ride weekday out the they are there. Today two of they where out there during my whole ride...weird.

By the way getting nice and green and purdy out there.

Dean

 

Yes, I noticed the same thing a couple weeks ago when we did a ride to the Motorway. I forwarded the pictures to the FS and to Chris so we can get it fixed. Here are some shots I took.

 

I have noticed the CHP seem to be patroling by air much more lately. I have seen helicopters the last two Motorway runs and twice now on Old Camp. A month ago it was just about dark and the CHP chopper followed me down the Luge. It was nice having an audience.

 

I noticed the same problem spots on my last Blackstar ride and commented to MtnKitty that the next heavy rain could easily create a couple of big gaps the road, like the washout we had near the top last year.

Thanks, Steppie and Gene, for being proactive abut this. If there's a need for volunteers to help with repairs, let us know.

 

Definitely noticed a lot of ruts and big gaps that could get worse.

I'm off for the next week and a half, and could easily find time on weekends to help you guys out if need be. I like riding BS and would like to see it in good condition.

 

I have the time just not the permission to do work out there. Also have Bob Trailer to haul tools up the hill.

Dean

 

Wow. I'm impressed. You guys both got virtually the same shot!

Dean...


Gene...


:beer:

Edit: If you guys get permission, I would be more than willing to help dig for a couple hours...

 

That may make sense as it appears they are praticing touch downs in the open areas and buzzing the ridgelines.

So I am not paranoid they follow you guys to.

Dean

 

A few weeks ago on our Black Star night ride they followed us for most of the climb. Just beyond hidden ranch Elisheva saw them doing touch downs. They had turned off all lights and was using infra-red and landing and taking off.

Funny part was it was a busy night at Black Star with lots of bikers and I wonder what we looked like on their radar.

No Dean, you are not alone.

 

Were they black helicopters??

 

I think that someone is deliberating destroying the road. If there's no road then Art Tuttle won't be bothered with "trespassers."

 

Well, it would be a major PITA hauling the tools in from the corona side.

 

Yesh, but I think this particular road is like a Wiki entry... far too many folks editing to allow Art his way


Did you know that searching Google for "Art Tuttle Blackstar" returns: 3,400 English pages?

and "Art Tuttle black star" returns about 54,800?

Now, not all are dealing with our very own beloved Art but heck it does make for interesting reading over a beer or two :beer:

 

It was really dark, could have been black, looked like military.

Art gets too much credit, nobody is that good.

 

The helicopters look like old Army choppers. They are Army Green with White bottoms with a red stripe. I can never make out any numbers or lettering on them. It does not seem like there is any.

Pic is touch downs on Pleasant Peak near the towers.

Dean

 

Were the cattle sucked dry of blood?

 

Nope, but the bunnies were

 

Blackstar needs the kind of roadwork that has been done on Maple Springs, Harding and the Main Divide. It involves grading the road with both insloping to keep vehicles from sliding off in muddy conditions, with outsloping and grade reversals to dump the water off the outside edge.

Take a look at the roadwork on Maple Springs and you'll see what was done. Once you're on the dirt, there is almost constant water management. The outsloped areas are generally bermed to catch sliding vehicles, but notches are cut periodically to drain water. Water is occasionally allowed to flow along the uphill side of the road, but is then passed under the road via culverts. Side canyon water is also caught and directed under the road through culverts.

Trails are built differently than roads because preventing vehicles from sliding off the outside edge is not a factor. They are also generally built and maintained by hand and without mechanical features such as culverts and metal drainage, so they are typically outsloped to allow water to flow from the uphill slope, across the tread and on down the hill. Care is taken to prevent water from running down the trail itself for any length of time.

An obvious exception to this is the Luge, which has evolved from a graded dirt road to a trough-like singletrack. Riding down a trough is so much fun its worth the extra upkeep to preserve this feature.

IMO, the waterbars and trenches that have been put in place on Blackstar appear to be designed to cause inconvenience or harm to mountain bikers, and eventual failure of the road.

Jim aka kioti

 

Jim your analysis is spot on. My opinion is that they will never crown Blackstar like the other roads you mentioned because it really is not designated for motorized use as Rickey pointed out. Maybe the solution is just to let it fall into disrepair and eventually degrade into singletrack...that will never happen either. Most likely road has problems so they would close it to all use.

Dean

 

Hopefully its more of a budget problem. The extensive work on Maple Springs, Harding and the North Main Divide might have been possible because of funds available as a result of the Santiago Fire.

Blackstar would seem to have importance for recreational, historical and fire access reasons. Of particular interest are Blackstar Falls and the Native American site at (the former) Hidden Ranch. It's unfortunate that certain locals are allowed to scare away a segment of the general public, since it's a beautiful valley that should be available for the enjoyment of all.

I wouldn't mind seeing the road allowed to degrade into singletrack, but I think it provides quick access for fire response to that part of the Main Divide from the Silverado Station. If for no other reason than that, I hope it is maintained and preserved.

Jim