Illegal Round Mountain Activity

Word is that some trouble has brewed on Round Mountain. One resident reports:

"There are now 2 fire areas at Coyote Lookout- one very recent, both ugly. Fires, firearms trash and paint ball trash have recently appeared on Moonlight (across from Coyote Parking).

The road sign at Hudson & Rock Creek is missing- making emergency response more difficult in the neighborhood. There have been several BLM "Day Use / No Fires" signs vandalized this summer.

The Round Mountain Planning area is a Day Use Only and a No Fire area. Motor bikes and other motor vehicles are required to remain on roads."

I've asked BONC members to keep an eye out and report any such activities. One member suggested carrying a camera to document the damage and take pictures of violators if possible. I believe that the BLM has a new enforcement officer for this area:

SCHERTELL, Jody
Ranger (Grass Valley)
(916) 985-4474

Where Can I Ride?

As president of BONC, I get this question a lot. The good news is that there are many answers on the award-winning BONC trail guide page. It has lots of links to external resources and Google Earth (KML) files that describe excellent area rides.

Got a suggestion for a map for this page? Have a KML file you would like to share? Just let me know and it is as good as posted.

Forest Update

Zachi provides this very interesting update from Forest City:

"This weekend is the last weekend of the month. For the rest of the summer, we will be having our gatherings and rides on the last weekend of the month.

Although people may continue to meet for projects and rides on other weekends, our goal is to plan a weekend a month that everyone can hangout together and share goodtimes and progress on their various interests.

July has been a busy month. Here are is a review of some of the projects."

"This month we also finished rough flagging in the new Ridge Runner Trail and the Jersey Trail. This will be a dynamic new downhill or uphill climb from FC to the top of the ridge. It features new curving trail layout that is less linear in nature and some fun features you can find on your own.

We also did quite a bit of scouting this month. We found a connector to the lower Truckee Ditch which creates a route from Miller Ranch all the way to the Goodyears Bar Overlook. This is a critical connector to the bullards bar trail system. The final 3 miles of the Plum Valley Ditch were scouted. This is also a critical connector to Bullards Bar. When opened this will make the trail 10 miles long! And the old Downieville Trail was tracked entering FC from NC and departing toward Downieville.

Lastly we have the Sandusky Bridge. A huge project that is almost done. This stone bridge boasts a 20 foot arched span and a trail deck that warps through the area like a gliding hawk.
This weekend we hope to top out the bridge with the curbing and finish the approach.

SO, Lots to celebrate. Please consider bringing up some friends for some fun riding and camping. We will be up from Thursday – Sunday. Generally there is a BBQ Saturday night and a ride Sunday."

Bullard's Bonanza - 8/2

BONC is going to mix it up a bit for our next trail day at Bullard's. We'll have a shorter volunteer session (9AM - noon), with some killer riding afterwards. BONC will provide free beer and snacks. Join us on Saturday, August 2nd at Bullard's Bar. Meet at 9AM @ the USFS Yuba River Ranger Station at the corner of Highway 49 and Marysville Road. Map.

We will work to improve BONC-adopted trails in the area. Please bring gloves, long pants and shirts, water and insect repellent. See you there!

Bridge Building in Forest City

Zachi and company continue to put in many hours of skilled work into the new bridge at Forest City. From Zachi:

"We had a fantastic last weekend.  Lots got done.   The new Jersey Ravine Trail has gotten flagged in.  And excellent work on the bridge.   Here are a few photos!  Please come up and play.  Water is almost stopped at the creek.  This is the last few weekends to bang this out!"

"Dates upcoming…  Last weekend of every month, ride and projects.  Aug 16th, 30 mile ride event and BBQ with artshow in town and music."

"Thanks to all that came up, 14 in all.  Look forward to finishing this up."

Pioneer Trail Closure

According to the USFS, the Pioneer Trail will be closed due to brush mastication work on Wednesday (7/9) between Skillman campground and the Equestrian Staging Area.

Consider using the Hallelujah Trail as an alternate route. The contractor is aware of the trail and the Hallelujah Trail will be buffered (protected).

New Trailwork Reporting Tool

BONC has a new tool for tracking trailwork hours. Using Google Docs, I've created an online form whereby BONCers can report donated hours on an honor system.

Please use this to report ANY trailwork you donated, even if it happened mid-ride. This tool will allow BONC to:

• Award our volunteers (think swag)
• Plan future trailwork
• Apply for grants
• Use aggregate trailwork statistics for advocacy

Note that information entered in this form is only accessible by members of the BONC steering committee.

Protect Singletrack on California State Lands

From IMBA:

"Urge California Decision Makers to Adopt Bike-Friendly Land Protection Measures

The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources recently passed a bill -- authored by Assembly member Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus -- that directs the state to assess the suitability of numerous state lands in Northern California for Wilderness designations.

Bicyclists value natural landscapes and access to trails that bring us closer to nature. Because our activity is a quiet, low-impact and human-powered use that is compatible with wild settings, we believe many of these Northern California areas should not be protected with Wilderness designations, which would effectively prohibit bike access.

IMBA California Policy Advisor Tom Ward has testified in front of the committee and many members expressed their support for mountain biking — but they still passed the bill out of committee. Unless they hear from the mountain bike community, the bill will keep moving and suggest massive closures at three important parks.

There are many ways to protect these important places without banning the existing use of mountain bicycling. Cyclists need to rally and make sure their assembly member hears from our constituency.

Take Action!

IMBA's simple online comment form takes seconds to complete! Tell the governor and your state senator and representative you support land protection that allows bicycling to continue.

A quick phone call can be even more effective. Click here to find contact information for your elected officials.

Please also forward this alert to all mountain bikers, bike shops and industry employees you know.

Additional Information

Assembly Bill (AB) 2923 passed from committee with a 6-2 vote and awaits further review in the Assembly Appropriations Committee

Sponsored by the California Wilderness Coalition, the bill directs the Resources Agency and the State Lands Commission to assess whether selected state lands merit wilderness designation.

Mountain biking is an existing use in several of these areas, including Robert Louis Stevenson State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park.

Mountain bikers also have a long-standing proposal to create shared-use trails in Austin Creek Redwoods State Park.

Because Wilderness designations would prohibit bike access in these parks, we urge that these areas should be protected through other means.

IMBA California’s Tom Ward is meeting with key Senate staffers and will keep the pressure up to ensure that mountain bike access is protected."

Deer Creek Trail Approved

Last week, the Nevada City Council threw its support behind the Deer Creek Trail project. According to the Union:

The council also approved a resolution of support for the Deer Creek Tribute Trail, an 8-mile trail that will follow sides of Deer Creek. The trail would begin in downtown Nevada City and about 6.5 miles of it would be on existing trails and unimproved roads, according to a staff report. The Friends of Deer Creek have received a $912,000 grant for the project. The Planning Commission previously approved the request on a 5-0 vote."

In a strange twist, the council decided to change designation of the trail from "multi-use" to "local use". Ostensibly, this was done to emphasize local control over the trail and the future ability of the city to change restrictions on trail usage. Or it could be to make sure that everyone knows that it is for locals, not some durned flatlanders. In any case, it is weird.

Building the Forest City Bridge

A whole bunch of folks showed up in Forest City to build the new stone arched bridge. Zachi Anderson just sent out a bunch of great pictures from the event.

Zachi writes:

"This week we will be preparing the false works. This is the arched form that the bridge is built on. We will do this in town at Tom’s house. We will bring these this weekend to install them and then make the big push for the last span on the July 4th weekend. Please contact me if you want to play..."

Mike and Dave at Bullard's

Mike Haire is at it again with his highly motivated trailwork efforts. On Sunday, he spent hours trimming back brush on Bullard's Bar trails. Dave Larson stopped by to help out too. See the before (top) and after (below) pictures.

Many thanks guys! You deserve large quantities of Mountain Dew.

So much more needs to be done at Bullard's. Mike would love it if you could join him for additional brushing work on Sunday, June 15. The trail along Marysville Rd between 7 ball and Rebel Ridge needs help too.

Pioneer Update - Volunteers Needed

Fellow trail advocate and BONCer Jane Ragan recently sent a note to me about conditions of the Pioneer Trail near Bowman Lake Road. According to Jane, this section is now brushed out and should remain clear for the season. Thank you for your hard work Jane! She has put in many hours on this trail and at Forest City, Burlington Ridge and elsewhere.

However, two blowdowns persist on this section and await a chainsaw. Also, the section above (east of) Lang's Crossing remains thick with brush. Any volunteers care to help out?

Trail Blazing in Forest City

Word is that plenty of trail building is going down in Forest City. My covert inside sources (Jon Fisher and Zachi Anderson) tell me that work has begun on the arched bridge and Zachi has his new excavator fired up. The bridge approach and the buttress is dug. Jon was able to grade out 1/4 mile of new trail with his new tractor as well.

These guys are absolutely kicking but in F-Town. I can't wait to ride these trails and features.

Help Protect Missouri Bar and Humbug Trails

SPI hopes to log an area near the South Yuba River. Regardless of your feelings about such things, trails in the vicinity need to be preserved. Too many times in my nine years in Nevada County, I have seen commercial logging outfits totally trash trails and walk away from the carnage. Please consider submitting the following sample letter (or something like it):

California Department of Forestry/Calfire
Resource Management
6105 Airport Road
Redding, CA 96002
fax 530-224-4841

reddingpubliccomment@fire.ca.gov

RE: Buck Timber Harvest Plan, THP # 2-07-092-NEV(3)

To whom it may concern,

As an avid trail user, I know that the Missouri Bar and Humbug trails are important historic paths that are used extensively by our community. They provide access to beautiful public lands that area residents enjoy throughout the year. I am concerned that if implemented, the aforementioned timber harvest plan could significantly damage these trails. Therefore I ask that the CDF act carefully when considering approval of any such operation. Specifically:

• The plan needs to ensure that any operation associated with the plan leaves the trails untouched. It is not acceptable to damage culturally significant trails and attempt remediation afterwards. These trails need to be preserved in their exact state, regardless of the cost and inconvenience to the logging plan proponent.
• The plan needs to address precisely how it will pro-actively avoid any impact to area trails (including the South Yuba Trail) that could be caused by nearby logging operations, runoff, etc.

The area in question is not an obscure, remote hillside, but instead a natural endowment cherished by the community. Residents access this beloved area via these trails and it is the CDF's responsibility to safeguard these priceless cultural resources.

Truly,
YOUR NAME GOES HERE

Ride and Hike - National Trails Day

Ride and hike with your fellow trail users and celebrate Nevada County trails! As part of the local National Trails Day celebration, the Nevada County Land Trust is leading a bunch of trail events on Saturday, June 7th.

BONC will lead two rides (advanced and beginner) on Saturday, June 7th. Meet at 10AM at Rood Center to carpool to the trailhead. Afterwards, riders will enjoy BONC-provided snacks and drinks. No need to register, just show up and ride.

Burlington Ridge Trails Open

From Joe Chavez of the USFS:

"FYI - The helicopter is done logging. Therefore, the Burlington Trail
Closure has been terminated as of today! Enjoy! Joe"

CANCELLED: Bullard's Trailwork - 6/10

This event is now CANCELED. We will try and reschedule as soon as possible. If you know someone who wanted to attend, but does not read email regularly, please let them know.

Sorry for the late notice. The USFS just informed me. Long story.

Less Rash

If you find less poison oak on the South Yuba Trail in the next week or so, please thank Mike Haire, Dave Hughes, Tom-of-Sacramento, Rich Strohl and George Maire.

They are trimming the nasty stuff away for the rest of us, partly in preparation for the Big Brothers Big Sisters ride. My skin thanks you.

New Trail to Hirschman Pond

From Bill Haire:

"On Saturday, May 17, I will need the help of ten or so volunteers to
brush out the trail to Hirschman Pond from Cement Hill Road, across
from the County Government Center (Rood Center). We will be preparing a path from the planned trailhead to the pond along the trail route."

Want to help out? Call Bill Haire at the Land Trust: 530.272.5994

Individual Trail Work

This year, I've seen a great trend happening on local trails: individuals or small groups of volunteers doing trail work independently. These folks are not waiting for someone else to schedule a big group trail event, but instead forge ahead with smaller projects on a more frequent basis. Of course, this needs to be done with land manager permission, but it represents a great means of accomplishing more on the local trails we all love and use.

The latest example involve the finest efforts of Dave Hughes, Mike Haire and Tom-of-Sacramento (sorry Tom, but I don't know your last name). On Saturday, these three heroes headed down the Missouri Bar and South Yuba trails. They improved sections, trimmed back overgrowth and took out some downed trees that had forced trail users off trail. These guys put in EIGHT HOURS of work! Please thank them the next time you see them around town.

As you may know, for years I've encouraged trail users to carry smaller tools during rides/hikes. A few minutes trimming and sawing here and there collectively makes a big difference. For example, I've taken out lots of overgrowth on Osborne Hill near my house over the winter during hikes with my dogs. My tools of choice are hand clippers, a folding saw and these incredibly light, powerful loppers that fit in my Camelbak.

Then again, if you dig the camaraderie, fun and free beer offered by group trail work days, there is a Bullard's Bar trail event on Saturday, May 10th.