Does our "Adventure Pass" $$ go to trail maintenance? After seeing the horrible conditions of the San Juan trail (ruts 2-3 ft deep), and the ruts and wash outs at El Moro, do any groups (or the PArks themselves) do trail repair or maintenance on those trails, or other local trails that are thrashed? I find it amazing that the park GRADES! their roads at El Moro. They don't need it! and it just makes the erosion issue worse, rips up and loosens th bedrock, and makes the trails into powdery dust bowls prime for erosion and runoff. They shoud spend the $$ on fixing the erosion issues on the singletrack, in my mind, not on fully accessible fire roads that are mostly all bedrock. anyhoo....
San Juan is a challenge on a bike with a low bottom bracket. I would not even call them ruts on San Juan they are way past that. Dean
I like to call it rut surfing. How long can you ride in the rut before the rut starts to look a bit too questionable and make you do something stupid like panic and attempt to get out and/or bail/wipe out?
I always try to stay on the top of a finger as the ruts on both side get deeper and deeper, when I see the end coming I try and find a convient rock or block to cross onto the next big finger. It is fun guessing which one to follow. On the steep I drop the rear into the rut and slam the front wheel back and forth across the rut as I do the demonic drop. Happy Trails
I'm afraid I must disagree with your love of these horrible ruts. never mind the erosion they cause. SoCal trails are about the most rutted out trails I have seen. I see on my fix it ticcket that $$ is supposed to go partly to trail upkeep but I don't see any evidence of that. just crappy trail conditions.
Hate ruts. Its hard enough riding single track at speed, when it comes down to 4 to 5 inches worth of trail, I'm out of my comfort zone. But I bomb down anyway Fear is my mistress. She scares me, but I keep coming back to her.
Would you rather have an unspoiled wilderness area with challenging (maybe some ruts) singletrack and/or fireroads, or, sanitized artificially widened/graded engineered, "sustainable" trails, complete with speed limit signs, directional controls, pay to park trailheads, bubble wrapped cactus patches... (ok maybe an exaggeration) Not that one is good and the alternative is evil, but I mostly prefer trails that are left to naturally evolve as they will. Sometimes overuse or underuse will result in some undesirable conditions, sometimes groups of individuals will "stewardly" maintain a section of trail (IMBA or some trail maintenance days organized here on STR and other sources), but expecting "someone to be in charge of" trail maintenance can lead to all kinds of unintended consequence (like flat grading a fireroad that is finally developing some character!).
oh you dirty, nasty ruts how i love you!! I used to like riding down mathis, till a bulldozer came in and flattened it down.....BOOOOORING!!
