Since there seems to be an issue with trail maintenance, is there not some way to organize an event where signs could be planned showing the actual route, and routes that should not be taken? Pretty much every trail in Moab has signs in place that show the do's and don'ts ( as well as leaving certain places open for interpretation).
And as far as the rigs that should or should not be running the trail... Why are bypasses so harmful? IF properly maintained they would provide more people the chance to get out in the wilderness. Who are we to say they should be out enjoying the things that we can because their vehicles are differently built? Again, IF these parts of the trails that make it easier for them are properly maintained so as to keep the tree huggers happy. I'm ASSuming that's Jinx's issues with the trail already? He's afraid that it could be shut down? Just a few thoughts.
DO = Stay on the trail no matter how hard it is.
DON'T = Drive around obstacles or take existing bypass’s if you can't make it.
Even more then it just being completely shut down, I'm afraid of it becoming too easy and then legit people being dumbed as extreme wheelers driving "off trail" for wheeling on the original hard stuff... The biggest issue out there would be if endangered species or fragile vegetation came into play... then no one would have any say and within hours all of 5mile pass would be shut down. (thankfully this is desert terrain with no impact)
Trail signs are great trail initiatives and work well too, but things get damaged and stolen so that's usually a lost cause after a few weeks or months (search both topics on here and you will see lots of hits). I have spent hours and hours researching the area and creating maps and still feel like it’s a big mystery out there… but in ways you just have to get over the hurdles and stay within the rules BLM has set for the mass’s (private and public).
Some planned trail maintenance projects (again many threads on this too) is just like picking up after someone else's mess... would you go over to someone else's house and leave empty beer cans everywhere, leave the kitchen dirty with dishes or leave the grill in shambles if you were the guest chef? Not that anyone specific wants to regulate who recreates in nature out there, but even at amusement park’s they have signs that say "you must be this tall to ride this ride" no different for off-roading the basic guidelines (and trail rating system) are there for a reason (trail wear impact, safety, enjoyment factor, environmental… just to name a few).
I know that whatever groups help discover and created the original trail (and I've talked with a few) planned it originally to NOT be passable without min 35's and two lockers... that was a great start, but now some people don't even know the obstacles because they are over grown with grass and weeds cause everyone goes around them. Or rather the bypass's look more predominate than the actual trail does now. It’s no mystery that the decently hard trail's draw the mass's cause it challenges you and we all know that the abundance of easier trails get written off and not used as much by the appropriate audience (heck that why I moved to UT and started acquiring multiple vehicles cause you get a diverse set of trails).
Just some more positive food for thought.
