Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation

Winter Trails Day at the Discovery Center

master_admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:19:32 +0000

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

Why Big Bear Is Cool #6: Holiday Traffic Jams

Driz — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:33:07 +0000

The holidays always bring various levels of pain and pleasure. Seeing your daughter ride her new bike for the first time: pleasure. Watching your brother in-law wince as he tries to drink a little spiked eggnog: pleasure. Driving into a tourist town at any moment between December 20th and January 2nd: pain. A whole heck of a lot of it. However, some times the pain is necessary…

We live on the outskirts of town and can usually avoid the craziness of the supermarkets, the boulevard, and the village if we plan ahead. However, when the family comes to our house, and our town, for the holidays, eventually we want to show them something cool (especially when they are from Colorado…).

The first day after Christmas was relatively easy: escape the cold. We jettisoned down to Lucerne Valley and wandered over to Johnson Valley OHV area. It took 5 minutes of hard pedaling, but we quickly got off the beaten path and went on a fantastic mountain bike ride on a wild ridgeline with crystal blue skies and empty trails. If you haven’t explored the desert north of Big Bear, give it a try; it’s a short hop away and is one of the big draws of this area.

Second day after Christmas was a little bit harder: hike the Pine Knot Trail. It seemed like a great idea until we started driving through town. Snow plus visitors from the Los Angeles area equals first time sledders…everywhere. And if you think you’ve seen it all, head over to the Aspen Glen Picnic area right after Christmas.

As our battle hardened group of 4 adults, 2 children, 3 dogs, snowshoes, poles, gaiters and goretex pushed its way through the parking area, we counted 78 cars, 216 adults, 347 children, 47 small dogs yipping, 22 broken sleds and 6 stuck cars. This is, of course, only a (just slightly overstated for comedic effect) estimate. We have but one solid, completely hard and verifiable statistical fact to offer: the number of other people seen once we started hiking up the actual Pine Knot Trail.

Zero. We had the forest to ourselves. Not another soul. All the way up Pine Knot to Grandview Point and back. This is why Big Bear is cool.

Tourists are an absolute necessity and a true gift to our local economy. The folks that endlessly complain about them need a swift and harsh reality check; without visitors to our valley we have nothing. Fortunately, days like this show that we can eat our holiday cookies and burn them off too. Want crowds? Stay within 100 yards of a paved road and you can sled all you want. Want solitude, beauty, nature and serenity? Start walking into the woods. It really doesn’t take much to get the heck out of Dodge and into your own absolutely incredible backyard. And our relatives from Colorado? If only they could find a job in Big Bear, they would be here in an instant. Really.

Authors Note: We actually did get out of a Dodge at the trailhead. How else are you going to fit everyone in unless you have a really big truck?

USFS Sign Specifications

Randy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:23:52 +0000

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.

Numbers, Numbers, Who’s Got the Numbers?

Phil — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:40:11 +0000

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.

Through The Rain, Through The Mud… We Kept On Riding

Angela — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:46:05 +0000

So I had this amazing idea (or so I thought) that myself, Peter, Colin and Driz should form a team and go race at the 12 hours of Temecula mountain bike race at Vail Lake Resort in Southern California. Everyone agreed and was as crazy as I so we made plans to race, and to wear our trails foundation jerseys in the process! Well Colin dropped out because he was in a wedding, a valid excuse, so in stepped Dawn, Driz’s awesome wife, and we had our team.

For those that dont know what kind of race a 12 hour bike race is like, you can do it solo, in a duo team or a four person team. Team members take laps, one at a time, and pass the baton onto the next person. We were a four person team – 2 men, 2 women!

Fast forward to a week before the race… we were all registered… then we see the weather forecast… rain, and alot of it…. Well we were still in. I showed up at the race venue the night before, set up camp and rain started at 4:00am the day of the race. It rained until 15 minutes before the race started, and as you would guess it, I was volunteered by my teammates to take the first lap. I took off in a pack of people up thick muddy trails. Everyone was able to take their first lap on course with no rain. I take off on my second lap and a mile into the 10.2 mile lap it starts to rain. 60 degree weather and dropping, its raining… well I start riding harder, and the mud starts flying. Soon my glasses are so covered in mud I put them in my back pocket, and keep on riding. On a few down hill sections the mud is thick and slimy so going down the trail is like being on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

I came back in splattered in mud, smiling my muddy smile, and passed the baton to Driz who took off in the rain, and came back even more muddy and wet than I. Peter was next up, and also rode in the rain, and came back drenched, cold and mud everywhere. Well Miss Dawn didnt have to take a 2nd lap, because the race coordinator decided to call the race early due to unsafe conditions, and by unsafe I mean where Driz was having to walk his bike up a steep hill, and it was so muddy, he slipped and fell on his rear.

We packed up, grabbed a bite to eat and headed home, but the day was great overall, we passed out a few brochures and some people were really interested in helping with trail maintenance. We already have plans for the next one, and if you want to join us, let us know!

Volunteering at Endure the Bear

Randy — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:09:16 +0000

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

The Trail Beckoned

Angela — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:09:55 +0000

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

Pacific Crest Trail Maintenance Fun

Angela — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:22:37 +0000

The Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation cleared a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail this past Sunday, October 23rd. The area of the PCT was south of Hanna Flat Campground, in a beautiful area with views of Holcomb Valley and the Butler 2 Fire. A large portion of the trail had buckthorn growing onto it, so crews attacked and pushed the buckthorn back.

Peter did a wonderful job organizing the effort, and Siri, the USFS Certified Sawyer cleared some down trees. Tiger and Parker the dogs even joined the fun, getting nice and muddy in some of the streams. A big thanks to volunteers from the Trails Foundation and High Trails Outdoor Science School for all of the support, good energy, and smiling faces.

Chutes That Stink

Driz — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:07:35 +0000

At the last Trails Foundation board meeting, we got into a healthy debate about opening and closing trails. Right now we’re pushing hard to develop the Skyline Trail, and US Forest Service district supervisor Scott Tangenberg is doing a fantastic job talking with us and helping to support this project. Scott though, like all of us, has to report to someone up the ladder. And, reading between the lines, what those people up high are saying goes something like this…”You all want to build a new trail? Fine. But first, we have to address all of the illegal trails that are already on the mountain. Until we do that…”.

What illegal trails? Some of the very well known and used trails near Snow Summit are, indeed, technically illegal. Towne Trail. Plantation Trail. Trick or Treal. Fern. Pirates. All…illegal. These are good trails, you say, and should be part of the trail system. The Forest Service does realize this, and they are actually working to make some of these aforementioned trails 100% legal, on the books, and supported by the government. However, these trails are just a small part of the illegal trails that the Forest Service is really worried about. And their worries become our problems.

It just might come down to a choice: if we want to build new trails like Skyline, we might have to destroy some illegal trails. Kind of like a trade with the Forest Service. The Trails Foundation board members bantered back and forth about the moral rights and wrongs of building, using, supporting, and destroying illegal trails. Heck, our mission is to build trails…not destroy them. However, we do have an obligation to be a leader in the community and support the right way to do things. And the right way is definitely not illegal trails. Oh my.

To put a face on this illegal trail issue, we spent a couple of Wednesdays checking out a section in which the Forest Service has expressed concern: five downhill mountain bike trails that all end on Towne Trail.

Number of Illegal Trails: 5
Average Distance of Trail: 3/10 mile
Average Elevation Gail/Loss of Trail: 400 feet
Average Trail User: Mountain Biker

This is just the bottom section of these trails; there are a couple connectors that link up to these 5 trails from above near 2N10. After riding these trails on a bike, and then hiking them all on foot, I personally formed two opinions:

1. These are stuffed next to each other. The length of the Towne Trail that all of these illegal trail connect with is no longer than the length of the Snow Summit parking lot. That’s a lot of trails in a small area. Which would be ok if the trails were really good. However…

2. These trails stink. Granted, I am not a hardcore downhill mountain biker. But, I’ve a really good feeling that the true downhill afficionados out there would not look kindly upon these trails. They are loose dirt chutes that run straight downhill. Straight. Downhill. You can’t help but slide the entire way down. Every trail building rule in the book has been thrown out or ignored. Not all is completely bad; there were a couple small sections on the “Axe” trail and the “Creek” trail that were fantastic and a blast to ride and hike. The vast majority, though, are just…not fun.

The above comments are, as noted earlier, just opinions. We would love to hear from local community members who have ridden or hiked these trails. Are they good? Bad? Worth keeping? Throw them out? Should the Trails Foundation be involved in destroying trails? Should we have to trade destroying bad trails for building new, good ones? And who should decide if a trail is “good”?

Driz Cook

Big Bear Trails Videos

Randy — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:05:45 +0000

Below are some excellent Big Bear area trails videos created by Driz Cook: