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Post by azdrawdy on Oct 26, 2007 16:59:52 GMT -5
SO and I rode Horn Creek yesterday for the first time in quite a while. Had a blast, but noticed several things that I want to bring up here on the forum... - The trail is still getting ridden quite a bit. Not as much as THAT TRAIL but it is getting tires on it. - The USFS has gone in and done a bit of logging on section 3. Both sides of the trail. They were extremely careful and did not tear up the tread at all. Impressive. They left a couple trees on the sides of the trail, so it is not a complete clearcut. Definitely looks different! They appear to be getting ready to do the same to section 4. - Numerous trees down in sections 1, 2 and 3. Some completely block the trail (we ain't talking riders here people). Also quite a bit of grass overgrowth. We are working with Paul to get a workparty scheduled. There is too much for just the two of us to do! We will need both DRs going plus some chainsawing. - Some very nice signs were put up at the kiosk in the campground. Very informative. - Finally, and this is repetitive, but WEAR YOUR ORANGE. Michael
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Post by azdrawdy on Dec 8, 2007 17:37:41 GMT -5
Ten trees cut out today. Several riders left.
A whole passel of Boy Scout kids hit the trail around 4pm. Nice to see that.
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Post by Chileanrasta on Dec 13, 2007 14:13:03 GMT -5
Is that asshole of a campground host still around?
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Post by Chileanrasta on Dec 13, 2007 14:43:31 GMT -5
Went hiking with the dogs, upon returning to my Jeep, I found a nasty little note telling me he had my tag number and it will be reported. It took everything I had to not go down there and bitch-slap him back under the rock from which he came! I paid the parking fee and everything! Now, I park at the intersection of section 1 and 2. No fees, no headaches........NO PROBLEMS!
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Post by seenvic on Dec 13, 2007 17:22:02 GMT -5
Went hiking with the dogs, upon returning to my Jeep, I found a nasty little note telling me he had my tag number and it will be reported. It took everything I had to not go down there and bitch-slap him back under the rock from which he came! I paid the parking fee and everything! Now, I park at the intersection of section 1 and 2. No fees, no headaches........NO PROBLEMS! Why didn't you simply show the host that you had paid the parking fee?
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Post by chileanrastabilly on Dec 14, 2007 8:02:33 GMT -5
Good point and well taken. After hiking six miles and being tired I really just wanted to get back home and chill. The point I was trying to make is that I'm under the impression that this guy or gal is just waiting to pull out these slips of paper at a moments notice. Is it really his job to be the "fee police" or take care of the campground area? I've heard complaints from numerous people about the campground host and it's just not an isolated incident. I ALWAYS pay and I probably overracted but it got under my skin that day. What are the fees used for anyway? The Drawdy's pretty much singlehandidly take care of the trail work on the Horn Creek trail.~
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Post by azdrawdy on Dec 14, 2007 9:47:56 GMT -5
You may not believe this, but him and his wife are actually a pretty nice couple. We have talked to them numerous times at the trailhead. We have seen and spoken to them at Lowes, Food Lion, and other places. We always make it a point to tell them when we are out cutting or doing other trail maintenance, and when we were roughing it last weekend at HC they knew we were there, and for what reason. Yeah, I know I have busted on them before, and they do look like squatters but they do drive around quite a bit and keep an eye on the occupants (there were eight campsites occupied last weekend). The toilet rolls are also always full As an aside, I saw a gun-toting USFS dude driving through the campsite several times this weekend. He waved at me and the SO, but he was pretty serious looking.
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Post by chileanrastabilly on Dec 14, 2007 13:28:27 GMT -5
He said squatters, hehehe! ;D Michael, I hear what you're saying. I'm sure they are very nice people, it seems that the minute you ride away from your car they are out there with that damn piece of paper! Toilet paper at the restrooms seems good to me, really good! I guess it could be worse, with no one looking after the campground and surrounding areas, it would probably get trashed.
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Post by azdrawdy on Feb 2, 2008 21:04:21 GMT -5
Took the chainsaw out and cleared HC of downed trees today. Looks GREAT after the 49er ride last weekend. Even after the rains this week, we only saw a couple of damp spots.
Came across two hikers just as we loaded up the chainsaw in the back of the vehicle. Nice to see the place getting used!
MD
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Post by EdgeE on Mar 28, 2008 6:44:10 GMT -5
Rode with the night ride group last night, and we had a good ride. There are now 5 trees that block the trail. A new pine across the trail near the begining of section 2 (CW), but its a rider, and another near the end of section 2, where you must get off bike & go under. Another new pine across section 3 about 10" diameter about 16" above the trail, around the new parking area. The other 2 are near the end of section 4, just after you come down off the ridge & approach the stream, and are about 100 yards apart.
All in all we had fun. Saw 3 turkey cross the paved entry road on the way in, and a group of deer cross at about the same spot on the way out, the Trillium are poping out of the ground, and I got to test the new light on the trail. Thank you Jon for organizing these rides. Looking forward to riding Turkey Creek next week (Wednesday works best for me).
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Post by azdrawdy on Mar 29, 2008 15:00:05 GMT -5
Appreciate the heads up EdgeE. Once the frantic activities of the BD08 are behind us, we will get out there and take care of the trees.
Michael
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Post by flyingbison on Apr 25, 2008 13:42:37 GMT -5
Rode HC today (as well as the aborted attempt at Modoc....love the Fridays off...)
The only two issues I noted are the two non-riders in section 4, near the 4.5 mile marker that EdgeE mentioned. Otherwise, found everything else passable.
There is, however some dirt-work thats need doing in section three at the last switchback in the rooty-downhill re-route - there is a MAJOR rut in the middle of the switchback which is probably 1.5 feet deep and turning into a nasty wheel-trap if you hit the wrong line. I think some drainage work to re-route the water is needed to prevent this from getting worse (it is already a lot worse than I remember it being during the 49er).
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Post by seenvic on Apr 25, 2008 15:49:12 GMT -5
Rode HC today (as well as the aborted attempt at Modoc....love the Fridays off...) The only two issues I noted are the two non-riders in section 4, near the 4.5 mile marker that EdgeE mentioned. Otherwise, found everything else passable. There is, however some dirt-work thats need doing in section three at the last switchback in the rooty-downhill re-route - there is a MAJOR rut in the middle of the switchback which is probably 1.5 feet deep and turning into a nasty wheel-trap if you hit the wrong line. I think some drainage work to re-route the water is needed to prevent this from getting worse (it is already a lot worse than I remember it being during the 49er). The carrying capacity of this rut has hit the critical point. It will be fully blown out with the next 2+ inch thunderstorm. It lasted 3-4 years longer than I thought it would last. We need to drive down there w/ some rocks and fill in that rut, divert the water flow and generally do all we can to reduce the amount of water that reaches this rut and then slow down the water when it gets there.
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Post by EdgeE on May 7, 2008 14:41:50 GMT -5
Used a folding hand saw on the first downed tree on section 4 & can now pass by on trail, w/o getting off. Second tree is way to big for any one man, hand saw.
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Post by azdrawdy on May 11, 2008 16:07:42 GMT -5
Trail's now clear of any downed trees.
That big boy in section 4 was a bugger. We had planned on hitting Modoc after HC, but the leaner in section 2 and the "big boy" took longer than I expected. All in all, I believe we cut out a half dozen trees. When we were packing up the car, the winds were getting ridiculous, and I expect we'll be hearing of quite a few more soon!
Michael
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Post by EdgeE on May 13, 2008 7:20:07 GMT -5
Parked at the grave lot and headed CCW. Nice evening ride, approaeched the first anticipated obstacle only to find a clear trail, large logs off to the side, & fresh saw dust on the ground. Nice - Thanks Michael! I rode Sunday night just befor dark & the wind did down a new oak on section 2. No biggy & I was able to untangle & wrestle off trail. So the trail was clear when I left @ dark.
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Post by EdgeE on Aug 25, 2008 9:03:13 GMT -5
Rode yesterday afternoon (8/25), and the trail needs some love. The FS had the beginning of section 2 (cw) logged and the trail switches back and forth between 10 & 15 ft sections of the tail bed and tractor tire tread. Once you leave the logged area and enter the dense forest, the trail has many trees down (more than I can list). I think section 5 may have been the only clear section. I did enjoy the trail even with the added obstacles.
With the amount of trees across the trail, & knowing many riders who love to log ride and many who don't, I wondered what diameter tree is acceptable to leave across the trail?
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Post by jtaylor on Aug 25, 2008 11:54:55 GMT -5
Your question is one gigantic can of worms that I have opened before; see "To cut or not to cut" in the General Question section 9/20/06. Banks and I like lots of trees and some big ones; other people like none. Bartram gets all trees cut; Modoc gets as few as possible. I defer to the trail champion if there is one: Keg=Dale P. FATS=Bill V. Drawdys' have put lots of sweat into Horne Creek. I think Horne Creek is in the middle when it comes to technical ability expectation. First you have to go by the land manager rules. Then it boils down to sawyers' rules- he who has the saw makes the rules. That said, we'll talk about a work day.
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Post by EdgeE on Sept 2, 2008 10:27:58 GMT -5
Hiked with the family & cleared a little more of section 2 on Monday & Jon T worked the trail with his chain saw, I don't know how he made out. I have a few pictures of the logging activity and its impact on the trail, but I have not been able to figure out how to post them
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Post by jtaylor on Sept 2, 2008 11:14:39 GMT -5
The trail is open; I left several riders. The trail could use a DR in many places. If it doesn't get mowed this year, I don't think it will get closed-in like Turkey gets past the whoops. The steep switchback has significant erosion down the middle.
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