Pirates at Big Bear is Closed !

bad news guys :

http://kbhr933.com/current-news/forest-service-conducts-south-big-bear-fuels-reduction-project/

That singletrack will never be the same, one of my absolute favorites.

 

lame!!!!!

 

FML... That sucks. Hopefully it gets rebuilt into something better!

 

Pirates was always a fun warm up trail to start with. At least we still have fall line and the other trails.

 

I can't believe this crap!!

1. When was the notification period?
2. Where is their environmental impact report?
3. When/where was the meeting that they discussed their plans with the public?
4. Where was the Sierra Club, CBD or any other anti-use organization when the needed it's protection?

Oh, I get it. It's the government so they don't have to do any of that stuff or follow any of the "regular" rules.

This is an outrage!

 

That absolutely SUCKS. Pirates is one of very few friendly fun singletracks up there that intermediate riders can enjoy. Fall-line is bit too tough for my wife, but Pirates always brought on that huge smile. Now it's just Pineknot - and that's not lift served. Bastards.

 

Mixed feelings here, (maybe it is my morphine drip, I'm in the hospital recovering from surgery this afternoon) but if it is a part of a "fuels reduction plan" I guess it is better than having an out of control fire close all of the trails indefinitely. I'll bet next year the trail will be back and better than ever!

 

Oh wow, that sucks!

 

Good thing I was able to enjoy it the day before it closed

 

Well I guess I wont have to take the wife up there this year. Super lame. Here's to holding out hope that it comes back even better. All depends on how far they went from the fire road. Would love to find a map.

 

your post is an outrage.

http://data.ecosystem-management.org/nepaweb/nepa_project_exp.php?project=3859

 

Re-posted with out permission from the author or from Big Bear Grizzly .net

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Trail is pirated for U.S. Forest Service project

Mountain bikers, hikers restricted

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KATHY PORTIE/Big Bear Grizzly
Pirates of the Caribbean

Mountain bikers and hikers have been restricted from entering a trail commonly known as Pirates of the Caribbean during the past week. The U.S. Forest Service is thinning the area as part of its South Big Bear Fuels Reduction project. The project is expected to continue for several weeks.








Posted: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 5:01 am
By KATHY PORTIE Reporter | 0 comments
Mountain bikers pedaling along Forest Service Road 2N10 received a bit of a surprise July 14. Barbed wire stretched across the entrance to a popular single-track trail called Pirates of the Caribbean. Beyond the wire, vehicles and chainsaws were tearing into the landscape.
“Pirates is now a freeway,” said Patrick Follett, a mountain biker whose map is a big seller for those who want to experience the trails surrounding the Valley. “A guy told a rider that the Hot Shot crew was going to be out there all summer. What are they up to?”
San Bernardino National Forest District Forester David Kotlarski confirmed the Forest Service is doing a fuels reduction project along that section of singletrack. The area is temporarily off-limits to hikers and mountain bikers while work is being done. “That’s actually the historic 2N10 road,” Kotlarski said about the trail. “The key there is that there is a huge proportion of dead material that’s fallen from storms. It’s not natural.”
The South Big Bear Fuels Reduction project includes approximately 7.2 miles of temporary road to be constructed using 5.4 miles of existing unclassified roads. The roads will be rehabilitated once the work is completed. “We’ll do whatever the environmental documents say for that area,” Kotlarski said.
The project was first publicized in 2004 and a public meeting was held in December 2006. An environmental assessment was completed and legal notice was published in the Big Bear Grizzly June 9, 2010.
Tom Spiegel, who owns the mountain bike racing promotion company Team Big Bear, said the condition of the trail is temporary. He and Randy Putz of the Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation met with Mountaintop District Ranger Scott Tangenberg earlier in the month to discuss the Pirates project as well as a proposed Skyline Recreation Trail parallel to 2N10.
“It’s a logging situation,” Spiegel said. “They are cutting a fuel break then they’re going to allow people to get the wood, and then they will put Pirates back together.”
Spiegel said Tangenberg is sensitive to the situation for mountain bikers. “He has our best interests at heart,” Spiegel said. “He held off until after we did our last race.”
Follett is worried other singletrack trails will be dug up by the Forest Service. During the summer he works at the Scenic Sky Chair at Snow Summit Ski Resort and said several mountain bikers have been turned away at Pirates. Mountain bikers and hikers have access to the trails south of Big Bear Lake by way of the Sky Chair. “One person has been really rude to (mountain bikers),” Follett said. “From what I understand, you can go up 2N10 and drive up Pirates. Are they going to do this on other trails?”
The Skyline Recreation Trail is a separate issue from what’s going on off 2N10 right now, said Phil Hamilton of the Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation. His organization is working with the Forest Service to develop the Skyline Recreation Trail. And foundation volunteers plan to monitor the fuels reduction project to make sure Pirates of the Caribbean is put back into singletrack shape, he said.
“It’s not that big a deal,” Spiegel said about the condition of Pirates. “I mean, it is if you want to ride it today, but it’s not in the long term. Fifteen years ago if they had told me it would be put back together, I wouldn’t believe them. That’s not the case anymore.”
Contact reporter Kathy Portie at 909-866-3456, ext. 135 or by email at [email protected].

 

Yup, I was up there 2 weeks ago and noticed the trail was considerably wider. Fire road wide. I didn't see any trucks or logging equipment though. The trail was completely blown out from heavy equipment driving over it. The good news is that all that deadfall has been cleared out.

 

Well, I feel better if Tom Speigel says Pirates will be put back together. He's pretty passionate about biking in BB, and one of the key players in the MTB scene up here.

Sure is a shame though, I always thought upper pirates had some of the most scenic old-growth conifers in BB. I would always finish that ride with a smile.

 

crap, was going to take the wife up there this weekend. What other trails besides Pineknott are considered intermediate?

 

Try Grout Bay, also known as Area 51 or Hanna Flats. Probably the best intermediate ride up here. About 8 miles of ST on a loop from Fawnskin. If You have trouble finding it, PM me, I'll show it to You.

 

Well, Kotlarski is an idiot.
“The key there is that there is a huge proportion of dead material that’s fallen from storms. It’s not natural.”

Storms not natural?

 

Fire suppression isn't natural. Normal conditions would have taken care of the deadfall otherwise.

Man, y'all sure are touchy about this. It's not like they're permanently closing the trail, it's just for fuel reduction. You can thank them next time a fire goes through, and it doesn't take a year for the forest to reopen.

Long view, people. Long view.

 

^ ++++1 Tim!

 

What isn't exactly natural is the Bark Beetle infestation. The number of dead, dying and deadfall trees is unprecedented. The reasons behind the Bark Beetle explosion are drought, pollution and global warming. Not entirely natural.