Whiting Trail Conditions

Went for a quick ride today and saw you guys working before you reopened sleepy hollow. Cattle pond and cactus were nice. Borrego on the other hand is a sandy mess. Mother nature sure did a number on it.

 

Sorry you couldn't ride Sleepy Hollow today, but we had lots of the trail chopped up and tools laying everywhere. Glad you got to check out Borrego and enjoy Cattle Pond and Cactus. Did it feel like old times climbing Mustard again?

 

Current Whiting Trail Conditions(Merged/Last update: 12-26-11)

Percentage wise, how of borrego is rideable vs HAB? Thinking about checking it out myself not sure it's worth driving that far yet!

 

Borrego had a few short HABs and a little mud although there are some pretty long sand sections and I suspect we could ride them because the sand was pretty wet, when it dries its going to be some slow going but more importantly Mustard was a *mess* yesterday, the mud was so bad that we had to push our bikes and caked so bad the back wheel wouldn't turn. I suspect it has dried some today, but I would give it another day.

and before I get "why did you ride in the mud" lecture...it was not intentional I looked, drove over made sure the park was open, first time back all winter, somehow I expected mustard to be OK damn was I wrong and we were on our way to STT so we pushed through and rode the road on the way back after the Luge instead of going back through Whiting.

I would ride STT today, it was in great shape.

 

I was surprised the park was open after the overnight rain, and Mustard CAN be a muddy mess. I've pushed and carried my bike up it, too. Hopefully it's drier today, but as a friend of mine always reminded me, "No way to know unless you go."

Fortunately, conditions were perfect for trailwork. The Ranger drove his truck down Santiago Ranch Road yesterday with no problem, so I think that half of the park has less clay and dries out more quickly.

 

Yup we rode over there late yesterday afternoon......I already knew about Borrego, saw the pictures.....but I kinda expected Mustard to be in better condition. There was waaaayyyyyyy more mud than I thought there would be.......and it was still pretty sloppy mud.....everything was ridable, but the bottom was pretty bad.

 

The original plan with the lower part of Mustard was to build up the road bed with riprap and get it higher than the stream bed. But that hasn't happened yet and the Rangers decided to go ahead and open everything up. I'd rather have the access and deal with the HAB's, but I do hope they continue with the repairs.

 

Rode Whiting Beach about an hour ago. After seeing the pic's I was honestly expecting worse. That beach sand on Borrego near the beginning was the only time I really had to get off the bike. Between the picnic tables and red rock trail was pretty bad but again no HAB here. I thought that Mustard was smooth sailing after red rock trail.

Awesome work on Sleepy Hollow by the way. I usually skip it and go to Sage Scrub but I wanted to check out the changes. I noticed 5-6 guys working the trail by Serrano/Line Shack this morning. Thanks again for the hard work!

 

Thanks for the update; sounds like Mustard's drying out. Glad you liked the reworked Sleepy Hollow.. our goal was to eliminate the usual rutting and brake bumps on the fall-line sections and also give it more flow-- make it a fun trail instead of an abandoned road.

The work crew in there today was prepping for the Rwanda ride on EdisonViejo and Live Oak.

 

First of all a big THANKS to Kioti and all those who pitched in to get Borrego open. I rode it this morning, it was as bad as I epxected. Wow the rains really changed the landscape so to pseak. It seemed as if half the trail had to be re-routed.

I think however that another few weeks of drying out is needed, to really allow Borrego to recover some more. I felt bad making tracks in so many places that were so soft/wet still.

PS - Once beyond the creek crossing at the bottom, Mustard was pretty decent, with just one 10-20 foot HAB uphill mud section, in the first 1/4 of the climb.

 

No worries on Sleepy hollow. I appreciate all the work and Mustard always feels like Mustard..lol Whats the plan for the big sandy wash at beginning of Borrego? I was looking around and it doesn't look like anything can be really done.

 

There have been various plans floating around for dealing with the sandy areas on Borrego, but we're going to look into moving the trail to higher ground in the worst spots. Otherwise it'll just continue to be a problem every winter and a slog every summer.

 

Although I would have much more loved to be riding yesterday, it was fun to take a section of trail under Jim's (Kioti) vision and turn it into reality. It really does flow now! As Jim says... "Now, get out and ride it..."

 

Thanks, O Wise One. By the way, you kicked ass out there.. must be those 'good jeans.'

I spent a little more time fine-tuning it today, and was happy to hear elated riders whooping and hollering and generally enjoying the new turns. :lol: Saw Proraptor out there and was glad I wasn't on a road bike. Even saw a girl descend it on a city bike with a handlebar basket. I said thats a first for me, and she hollered, "That's how I roll!" :lol:

Julie (Revalimage) stopped by and visited for a bit; then asked if we couldn't install a moto-style jump. :-k I'll have to work on that one.

 

^^

jim- just don't make it a ladera ridge-style hump!

i was on bike patrol at el moro this afternoon, just wanted to report that it's all open. kinda.

i asked the ranger before we started what was open and he told me "everything." but there is still a sign at the end of the rattlesnake fireroad that says it's closed. it is waaay overgrown with mutant mustard. and even redtail ridge leading in to rattlesnake is 1/2 track much of the way. i'll try to get some clarification tomorrow.

also, big thanks to robin and SHARE for the work on missing link. it's even faster and flowier now!

 

I say lets not overstep our privilege. Remember, it's not only for bikes users and it's also a 2 way trail.

 

No craziness here.. just fast and flowy. And (I think) she was joking about building a jump to clear those dead branches. Seriously though, we could use some more rain to finish shaping the trail.. anybody up for a rain dance?

 

I know Jim, but everyone needs to remember, the rangers do read the message boards too.

As far as more rain, I'll do an anti rain dance like I did for the VQ/CC. I'm going camping and riding this Friday.

 

^^

Heard and understood. I don't do any work without Ranger approval. I was just trying to convey the excitement I saw riders expressing while rolling a short section of trail built with them in mind.

One of the design challenges in Whiting is that these trails are multi-use and two way. And they're going to have hikers, cyclists and equestrians on them. Lots of hikers out yesterday, and lots of riders 'climbing' Sleepy Hollow. One guy said he liked the changes so much he was climbing back up to ride it a second time.

 

I was one of the guys hooting yesterday afternoon as I rode by. I yelled thanks! I really like it and I agree it's a fun new section and not just a washed out access road. Great job!
Borrego is HAB for me in the beginning sandwash and I haven't cleared that steep, muddy up after one of the creek crossings. I'm working on it!