Archive for the ‘San Bernardino National Forest’ Category

January 8th, 2012 Winter Trails Day at the Discovery Center

Rachael working it during the Winter Trails Day at the Big Bear Discovery Center. January 7, 2012.

December 8th, 2011 USFS Sign Specifications

Everything you ever wanted to know about signing trails in the National Forest:

• United States Forest Service’s very comprehensive Sign and Poster Guidelines for the Forest Service
• A listing of all the above Guideline sections in PDF format
• Signage section from the USFS Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
• USFS Signposts for Snow Trails
• Forest Service Installation Guide
• IMBA Trail Difficulty Ratings and Signs
• Carsonite brand signage
• US Forest Service National Trail Drawings and Specifications with specific sign and post installation

Also check out the American Trails Resources and Library and Three Elements of Sustainable Trails.

November 20th, 2011 Numbers, Numbers, Who’s Got the Numbers?

I would guess all of you that use the trails in and around Big Bear have wondered what kind of use they actually get.   The Trail Foundation has asked that same question.  And as you all should know we don’t just ask those questions but we try and find and answer.   With the help of Audrey Scranton, one of our Foundation Board member and a retired USFS professional, we were able to acquire the use of a trail counting device.  We decided to install it on the Pedal Path and just see what kind of numbers it generated.  We were amazed.   From 6/24/11 to 7/25/11 – one month – 23,629 passer-bys were counted.   Very interesting data and very useful.  But we began to realize this was very helpful being able to determine what kind of use would be even more helpful.  So The Trails Foundation voted to purchase a motion sensor camera that actually takes pictures of all that passes by its lense.  After some initial experimentation we decided to install both the simple counter and the camera on 2N10 from 9/1/11 to 9/23/11.  Again a big Wow. We counted 1883 “user triggers”  in that period. (A “user trigger” could be a single car or a group of 5 hikers. See the video below.) So what we now have is a rough count and a picture that will enable us to figure out who is using the trails. We have not had a chance to analyze the pictures yet because there are 1883 of them.  Want a job?  If someone had the time and would be willing to help with this analysis it would be very helpful.  All you have to do is step through each frame of the video and log how many of each type of forest user. Eighteen-hundred times. Contact us at info@bigbearvalleytrailsfoundation.org if you are interested.

At this point I am sure some of you are saying,  “that’s kind of neat but so what”.   The USFS and many granting agencies thrive on data.   And when we can show hard numbers of the volume of trail use in Big Bear Valley we think this will be excellent data that USFS can use to support staffing and money requests and when we apply for grants it give us great data to support grants requests.

I also would guess some of you wonder what we do with your money.   The purchase of the motion camera came totally from the Big Bear Trails Foundation budget.   We work hard to use your money in a responsible and helpful way to make big bear valley a non-motorized-friendly community.  Support us when you can.  If you want to see if you are a current member go to our web site and look under Supporters.

November 3rd, 2011 Volunteering at Endure the Bear

Volunteers and volunteering make the Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation an organization with a big heart.  In September, members of the Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation volunteered to run “Advance Base Camp,” an aid station for the Endure the Bear trail run.  From about 6:00 in the morning until nearly 6:00 at night, volunteers tracked, supplied nourishment to, and cheered on runners tackling 15k, 30k, and 50k across the north facing slope of the San Bernardino Mountains above Big Bear Lake.  A heartfelt and enthusiastic thank you goes out to Paul Senft, Susan Piestrup, Lynn and Carla Segrest, Cassie and Rich Benson, Norm Cox, Dottie Saville, Driz, Dawn, and Aaron, Cook for their much appreciated work. A special thanks goes to Miss Maddie Cook who filled all with smiles that, by sharing birthday high-fives and pine tree pom pom cheers with everyone who passed.

- Siri

October 30th, 2011 The Trail Beckoned

I had one of those weekends.  I packed my tent and bike up and I went down to a mountain bike race down the hill.  Bike race was just what I needed, and was on my way home on Highway 330 when I thought about Castle Rock Trail.  I knew I was stopping at the pull out near the trail head and hiking it as soon as I thought about it. I didnt have my hiking shoes, just water shoes from Keen.  Luckily Keen makes an awesome water shoe that you can hike in, because I did and they were perfect.  I got out of my car with orange and water bottle in hand and in a motivated fashion, made my way up Castle Rock Trail.

For those that don’t know the trail, I highly recommend it. For hiking only.  This is not a bike trail or equestrian trail by any means.  It is straight up, and by straight, I mean there are stairs involved, and a hiking stick is encouraged for people who are not too steady on steep stuff.  The trail is 1.5 miles up, and 1.5 miles down, and once you get to the top there are large boulders and rocks, and for those that can scramble up to the top its a breath taking view.  Just take your time, go with a buddy and you should be fine I have hiked the trail many times, and know it like the back of my hand, so I felt comfortable going alone.

I just happened to be wearing my Trails Foundation Shirt that says “The Trail Beckons…” on the front of the shirt, and I got sooo many comments from people.  They really liked the shirt, and it was perfect for the day, because the trail literally did beckon me.

I got to the top, took in the views.  Relaxed.  Ate my orange. And once again was so happy and thankful to live in such an amazing place, where I can hike this trail whenever I want…. or whenever it beckons.

On the way down I had so much fun, doing a little trail running…. in the water shoes mind you… and it was a blast.  It just felt good to get out in the forest, and have a little one on one time with good ol’ Mother Nature!

When the trail beckons… listen… its calling you because it knows you need some forest time