by Mike Stoller

Over this past summer I have witnessed a few practices that some of us have been performing on our state’s trails. To be more precise, I am talking about the few people that think it is ok to modify the trail to suite their needs. Earlier this year I went on a trail that is remote and not used much. I was with a group of about 10 rigs.  Our group came to a location on the trail where there is a steep downgrade and up creek crossing, and then a loose rocky hill climb on the far side of the creek. 

We could see a group of rigs working their way down the hill.  In fact, one person from their group walked down to us and asked if we could wait until they made it down. The person also stated that they were taking their time because they were moving a lot of rocks out of the trail. This did not really register with me until later when I truly saw what he meant. When they got down near the creek crossing I could see what they were doing.  There were four or five guys gathering around boulders and moving them off the trail. I don’t believe in starting confrontations on the trail, but inside I was on fire.

The prior weekend two other rigs and myself had pre-run the trail to evaluate it for our group run. We decided at that time that the creek crossing and hill climb would be difficult and challenging. Now after climbing the hill on second weekend (after it had been altered) I felt I should have left my four wheel drive vehicle at home and brought my two wheel drive pick up truck.

Why do some people feel compelled to “road build” before they even attempt to go through a section of trail? I feel the fun of running trails is the challenge you face. Moving rocks is not fun, it’s work! It’s one thing to attempt an obstacle only to find yourself stuck and having to strategically place some rocks or “build a bridge” to make it through. I think that this practice is acceptable and we have all had to do it at one time or another. Just remember to dismantle your bridge and put the rocks back.  Removing the rocks leaves the challenge in place for the next guy coming up the trail.

Now on the other extreme we have a few that feel making the trail more difficult is ok too. These are usually the guys that have built such extreme rigs that they can’t find any challenges on the average trail and should probably move to Johnson Valley or Moab. Their practices involve everything from putting boulders in the middle of the trail, to making off-shoots of the trail to find a more difficult route. The second practice only gives the tree huggers the ammunition they need to close our trails down. I am talking about creating unnecessary off-shoots or switch backs. Sections of some trails look like a Los Angeles freeway exchange. The extreme guys are not the only ones guilty of this practice.  The same guys that are into road building are also the ones searching for an easy route, even if it means driving over vegetation or crossing a meadow, and destroying what was previously untouched terrain.

Regardless of what your motives are, the trail should be left to one route.  The route that was usually laid out before any of us were born was by horse and wagon. The trail should not be permanently altered in anyway, unless under the guidance of the Forest Service. A prudent off-roading practice I learned a long time ago in our forestlands is zero impact. Zero impact means that when I leave, no one should be able to tell I was there.  This is what I believe and practice on the trail.  Stay only on designated trails and encourage others to do the same.

We can all help with organizing volunteer work parties to repair and block off switchbacks and educating trail users on acceptable trail use practices. In some cases, such as the Bassi Falls Trail (a trail in terrible condition), the Forest Service may want to explore a trail route out. Right now the trail has only one way in, then you have to turn around and come back the same way out. (Note: Bassi Falls Trail has been permanently closed since this story was written.) This forces the creation of switchbacks just to allow two-way traffic, and doubles the traffic flow and trail deterioration on any one section of trail. Having a route out of a trail instead of a dead-end, and maybe designated traffic direction control, would lessen the impact on some of our more heavily traveled trails.