AF Canyon, 085, North Fork Road

moabrat said:

I had heard there was a gate closure on the Heber side. I didn't think about trying some of the other trails to get around the closure. I had read about the closure on that side from the Forest Service site. I'm eager to see how that works when it thaws out a bit

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There was a gate closure on the Heber side until things melted out AND they added the new gate below Shaeffer Trail (Forest Lake) to prevent downhill traffic at the washout. They then opened the Heber gate.

Thanks Kurt! Great info

Poking my head in here for the first time in a looooong time. Any updates, Kurt? Or are we still waiting for The System™ to do it's thing?

My wife and I were up there on Saturday, took FIL's Honda Talon up the Alpine loop and through Cummings Parkway to Snake Creek to see if we could at least get to Forest City, but the loop near Sandy Baker pass was all snowed in and I didn't feel like putting my family in danger... I dug around for more info and found this thread. Hopefully something happens... I miss dicking around up there. My kids would sure love to see their dad's old stomping grounds haha

Sadly the system is as slow as ever… it took months for them to reply to a FOIA request for emails about what they’ve discussed for a future solution.

cruiseroutfit said:

Sadly the system is as slow as ever… it took months for them to reply to a FOIA request for emails about what they’ve discussed for a future solution.

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Figures. What can you do? 🤷‍♂️

Hopefully some progress will be made by next season 🫤

I have been super frustrated with the PG ranger station in specific over the last 5 years. I have stopped in multiple times inquiring about how I can volunteer to maintain singletrack. Each time I was directed to Steve Winters who is a MTBer who volunteers and has adopted all the trails south of the 4 way. I made 20 calls to the FS Volunteer coordinator and sent several emails. Never got a reply. So..... I just decided to stop caring about what the FS permits. I started cutting downed trees on legal single track on my own without permission 3 years ago. What are they going to do, give me community service for maintaining public trails without permission? To be clear, I'm doing exactly what the sanctioned volunteers are doing, just without the approval.

FF to this week. I was cutting trees on Mill with my wife and encountered several dirt bikers. My wife asked if I was going to yell at them for riding closed trails. Here is my take. I am not going to. She and I were technically breaking the rules by clearing trails without being saw certified. Forest lake and graveyard flats were adopted and maintained by user groups, RME peeps being a big part of that volunteer effort. A small washout in the road and the FS removes everyone's ability to use those public lands. They could very easily open 85 to motorcycle traffic. It's not a safety hazard, but they don't. Following the rules hoping that you get to use public land is like a battered spouse trying to appease the abuser in an effort to not be abused. It's wasted effort. The good part is the FS is so inept that they probably can't put together a program to put $50 trail cameras up to catch poachers.
FYI, all the singletrack is open except Mill (40/41) which is still a river at the bottom.

glockman said:

FYI, all the singletrack is open except Mill (40/41) which is still a river at the bottom.

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For reals? Thank you baby jesus! I need some mountain therapy

Let’s gooooo!

glockman said:

I have been super frustrated with the PG ranger station in specific over the last 5 years. I have stopped in multiple times inquiring about how I can volunteer to maintain singletrack. Each time I was directed to Steve Winters who is a MTBer who volunteers and has adopted all the trails south of the 4 way. I made 20 calls to the FS Volunteer coordinator and sent several emails. Never got a reply. So..... I just decided to stop caring about what the FS permits. I started cutting downed trees on legal single track on my own without permission 3 years ago. What are they going to do, give me community service for maintaining public trails without permission? To be clear, I'm doing exactly what the sanctioned volunteers are doing, just without the approval…

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Prior to moving from Heber in ‘17, I was clearing 037 each spring without permission. Otherwise, it would be late in the season by the time it was cleared. 🙄 *Helps having the right saw chaps as it makes for zero hassles. 😂

DBDGAF

TRD270 said:

DBDGAF
View attachment 174099

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Guilty. Like Vaughn, I've been clearing trail without permission for a few years. I unofficially own mill now. Being a good sheep has gotten us nowhere.

To be honest, I hope they keep it closed. It has somewhat restored the canyon that I love. I rode over from the Cascade Springs side last week. I "scouted" the area between the gates. The washout is WAY worse now than it was last year. The road between the gates is littered with debris from rock fall and trees. The road above the Forrest Lake gate was already moon dust from side by side traffic. I did see 3 jeeps coming over pole line pass but saw at least 20 side by sides, 15 of which were running their LED flags and totally blocking the road about 3 miles up from the Cascade turn off.

This response from the PG Ranger is exactly what I would expect from my interactions with them. Don't answer why you have utterly failed your job, just deflect with meaningless details about the process.

glockman said:

To be honest, I hope they keep it closed. It has somewhat restored the canyon that I love. I rode over from the Cascade Springs side last week. I "scouted" the area between the gates. The washout is WAY worse now than it was last year. The road between the gates is littered with debris from rock fall and trees. The road above the Forrest Lake gate was already moon dust from side by side traffic. I did see 3 jeeps coming over pole line pass but saw at least 20 side by sides, 15 of which were running their LED flags and totally blocking the road about 3 miles up from the Cascade turn off.

This response from the PG Ranger is exactly what I would expect from my interactions with them. Don't answer why you have utterly failed your job, just deflect with meaningless details about the process.

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Josh and I went over Pole Line a couple weekends ago. It was definitely nice to have less traffic up there.

For those in family rigs (jeeps, Toyotas, etc)… what’s the desired route from the SL valley? I dragged the kiddos up Provo canyon to soldier hollow, cascade springs… planning to go to Forrest Lake.. didn’t make it. They got tired of the drive (4yr olds), dusty road, no shade,…. Is snake creak the better route?
I spent years going up AF canyon, just never from the east side… feel very out of my element.

I went in from Cascade Springs a few weeks ago and out Snake Creek. I liked Snake Creek better. Smoother, shadier, shorter and faster. It's got heavier traffic too. Still lots of dust. I'd wait until it rains to settle the dust.

Thanks for the reply.
I’m putting the doors/top back on too… boys said they wanted them off, but in practice they don’t like it 🤪

It’s been a few years since I’ve been up AF Canyon and to be honest, I was unaware of the closure. My son wanted to go Jeeping with his friends and they got as far as the gate. Oops. Would have changed their plans had I know.
It’s disappointing to read about the Forrest Service’s abnegation of doing the needed repairs in a timely fashion, and how it has worsened over the 1.5 years due to continued neglect. Standard closure tactic for unelected bureaucrats to put up a sign/gate and just wait for the peasants to give up. Then they can just allow Snowbird to take it all over, pave the roads and build multimillion dollar homes and condos.

Feels familiar.

Kevin B. said:

Feels familiar.

Repairs to Imogene Pass not likely until spring

Imogene Pass has remained closed to vehicular traffic since mid-August, when excessive rain caused mudslides and extensive damage to the road.

www.telluridenews.com

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That would seriously suck. How are you supposed to get back to Ouray after Black Bear Pass?