Big Bear, CA July 14th

Controlled Burn!!!

What an oxymoron and a bunch of pyro-morons behind it. The fire is 8 miles southwest of BB, south of Keller Peak, where they "expect" to stop it. Our ride is 10-15 miles north, except for Deep Creek, which is about 6 miles northwest. However, Green Valley and several other housing areas are south of Deep Creek. I expect they will stop it (plenty of resources and little wind) around the peak; the highway will aslo provide a fireblock, if they need it.

Here's a link for the area: http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.asp?S=15&T=2&X=77&Y=591&Z=11&W=2

My Bros-in Law, local riders and I will be "pre-running" and making safe the routes this weekend. The Malcom Smith trail will be an optional route and needs some "hazard-removal" (ankle-busting rocks and dead tree limbs poised to skewer) I'll get the distances nailed and figure out the mutiple loop from mutiple staging areas and multiple difficulty levels. I'll post a new map with the various routes next week or so.

No word from the BB Trail Riders Club, so as of now, stickered bikes out of the Wedge Ranch will be at risk. Unfortunately, John Bull is isolated by street legal only roads and will not be on the route out of Big Pine. On the bright side for the hardcore, David (ol ATK guy) swears the Malcolm Smith trail had a "double diamond" rating from the low side entrance. It is "sticker good" and offers as much, probably more (going uphill) challenge than John Bull.

Hi all,

Pre-Ride:

John Bull (3N10) had been subjected to a lot of jeep travel. The lines were very different, however, it was easier than the last time we rode it. Still tough enough to send my bike and I down into a boulder pit, when I tried to change lines at the last second. :confused: Still call this a diamond-plus.

The Malcom Smith trail (1W17) really surprised us. We had ridden it uphill from the Deep Creek entrance and wanted to check it out "downhill" from Big Pine. We thought it would be easier. You know how some trails just have different characters, depending on which way you go? This one's a "Hyde/Hyde" personality, both ways.

Less than a mile out of Big Pine on 1W17 is a tough hill climb, we really hadn't noticed going the other way. It's not too bad after the hill climb, mostly downhill, with some steep rock laden trails and very tight "talcum-powdered" switchbacks. On the posted maps, the contour lines reveal the trail follows the ridge line, instead of meandering through canyons, like most of the other trails. Getting off the trail in some areas is very scary.

Hoped downhill would be a diamond-minus, but Dale and I agreed it's diamond-plus both ways. Apparently, enough riders and quads had been through to bust or dislodge the branches and rocks that were particularly hazardous.

I've been struggling with "difficulty assessment" because I just don't know how well everyone rides and we sure don't want anyone getting over their head or hurt. But, one idea we had was that those that want to try 1W17 can find out early by trying the hillclimb. If it's a "no-go", you can turn around and take 3N16 to meet the rest of us at Crab Flats. Dale and I thought that if the hillclimb can be made, you should make the rest of 1W17.

I did Holcomb Creek and Deep Creek with my bros-in-law the day before and it's pretty much the same. Still rate it a diamond-minus.

I got the Forestry "scale of difficulty" ratings as follows:
circle-easiest
square-for experienced riders only
diamond-strongly recommended for advanced riders ONLY

I plan to post an edited version of the earlier posted map with multiple routes this week, along with directions to Big Pine and the Wedge Ranch. I'll also have paper copies before the ride.

Current route plans:

Staging from Wedge Ranch (street legal): Short hiway ride to 3N16 to 3N02 to 3N10 to 3N16 to Big Pine. Alternate easier route stays on 3N16 to Big Pine. Depart at 10:00 am, unless the Wedge Ranch "stagers" want to leave earlier. Anyone wanting some maintenance help needs to let me know and plan for an earlier arrival (8:00 to be safe). Should arrive Big Pine and join the rest of our group by 11:00 am. Entire round-trip route looks like 80 miles.

Staging from Big Pine (sticker): 1W17 to 3N34 (1/2 mile west of Crab Flats). Alternate easier route is 3N16 to the junction of 1W17/3N34. We join up again and all take 3N34 down to Deep Creek, our turn-around point. Round trip looks like 30 miles.

Returning from Deep Creek (all riders): 3N34 to 1W17 (uphill hardcore). Alternate easier route is 3N34 to 3N16. We join up at Big Pine again and take inventory. The Wedge Ranch "stagers" group and return to the ranch via 3N16.

For Wedge Ranch "stagers" who are pushing 80 mile range, please idenitfy yourself/gas type and I request Big Pine stagers to bring a little "top-off" gas for us. Thanks in advance.

Sorry for the long post, but with so many riders and route considerations, I'm trying to nail the relevant details. More to come and looking forward.

p.s. there's a 180 mile enduro sponsored by the Big Bear Trail Riders in August. I ran into the club Prez, who was mapping routes. This year, he's decided to make it real tough including the harder trails in our ride. Anyone who completes will receive a plaque. He doesn't expect that many to finish and there may be few hundred riders this year. I'll start a new post later.:cool:

brett, traditionally a combination of street/non-street legal bikes participate. While the club advises local authorities, there's no guarantee that non-street legal bikes are "safe". I know from experience that the local Sheriffs and CHP have "looked the other way". I expect there will be a lot of stickered bikes on this enduro. Check out http://home.socal.rr.com/bbtr/ for updates.

Sticker Update

I mentioned before that I had a voice mail (which I saved) from the local Forestry, advicing that red sticker is OK for the this area. I wanted to confirm this, so I e-mailed the D-36 Leg. Action Officer. Here's the reply:

Jim

What has happened is that there is a reluctance to try and enforce the Red
Sticker seasons due to the inability of DMV to sort everybody out correctly.
Probably more people have gotten Green Stickers than the Red Stickers they
were supposed to be issued. Due to this arbitrary system, courts are
reluctant to prosecute someone for doing something an identical bike, save
for the color of the sticker, is allowed to do. Because of this, most
agencies are letting everybody ride anytime. Without teeth behind the
rule, it is unlikely that anyone will be cited, even if the agency prefers
to try and enforce the rule.

Some day, DMV will probably get their act together so that the VIN numbers
will be computer sorted for Red/Green determination. Until then, thank
goodness for poorly run bureaucracies.

Bill Dart

Given the voice mail and this e-mail, I'm confident (but, always skeptical
:think ) that "reds" are safe for the ride. I'll post back if I receive more info.

Map should be done next week. Sgr has agreed to host a link for the map I'm working on. Thanks!