Moto up the Luge

My friend shared with me today that on sat night, just past 7:00pm he began descending the Luge and a ways down heard a dirt bike. Dirt bike proceeded up the Luge past him. Good thing he heard it.

 

The less they are impeded by land managers, the more brazen they continue to be.

A group of six came shredding up Joplin a few months ago when was descending. I don't mind sharing trails, but the machines are beating the sh_ out of the trails, and the riders are dumbing down sections so they can get their bikes through more easily.

 

I've not ridden Joplin.What's the deal with the Joplin access point, is that private land/OC/Nat Forrest?

 

It's completely on USFS land with no access restriction. "Lower Joplin," one of the optional continuations of Joplin, does descend into OCTA (private) land, which might be what you are thinking of.

 

Ugh. So if the motos are going up the Luge, are they going up STT all the way to Old Camp and then up Joplin to get to MD? We kind of know they and the jeeps get access up Cadillac to STT ....access on private property and no gate anymore. I was hoping when Maple Springs opened again last spring the motos would use that (legal) route to get up to MD.

 

When J and I helped the ranger fix the caved in portapotty awhile back, we had a pretty good conversation. He was 100% certain that the OCTA land actually included a small section of STT in either direction from the Cadillac junction.

As far as trail destruction... They are on Motorway as well. Some of the embedded rocks have been ripped out in the upper section. A few of them were basketball size. At first I thought it was some knucklehead removing rocks by hand, never thinking of motos.

A Jeep recently made it up Cadillac and STT all the way past Old Camp. It's no longer a single track... And I see the lights up there every weekend, and some week days.

 

One of our A/C contractors at work has been commuting by Moto from Corona/Elsinore. He's been riding Joplin, STT, and Cadillac. When he talks about it he claims to not know trail names; but what he described is those trails.
I think he does it once a week or every other week or so.
Other during events, I rarely see any USFS staff, let alone a Ranger.
Motos know the chance of getting caught is very small.

 

I can't click "like" on any of these posts. A moto can rip apart a great trail in one pass, especially a trail like Joplin.

 

Believe it, Dave; it's a regular thing. One of the six guys I saw turned his bike around and bailed. Every one of the other guys stopped and let me slip by. Two way traffic on Joplin...WTF.

Some of the cruxes started changing quite a bit a couple of years ago. The rains this year helped bring some of it back to it's normal, rough-hewn self. Somebody brought a chainsaw down there and whacked out the oak tree blockage, but left the upper (newer) fallen tree where motos have carved out a detour. That last Z-turn drop is noticeably impacted.

We've seen motos on Trabuco Creek numerous times, and Upper Joplin. I saw tracks going out Los Pinos Ridge in the last year for the first time. Indications are, the activity is increasing in frequency and range.

 

And here is one place where motos discuss CNF, including singletrack. Pictures of Joplin included.

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/cleveland-national-forest-report.258828/page-588

I'm fine with motos, when they don't poach.

 

thumbs down

 

I assumed up the Luge and on STT would be illegal to motos. Is that not the case?

 

All of the single tracks in the Trabuco District are illegal. Motorized vehicles are restricted to Main Divide, and the few access roads- Maple Springs, Indian Truck Trail and Bedford.

 

Guess they dont think much of us

 

Encountered a dirt bike while descending the Luge and three on the MD a couple of years ago, but nothing recently. AFAICT, they do it with impunity since the likelihood of being caught is slight.

 

I met some motos at the top of the Luge one time. I was pretty pissed at first, and was being short when they tried to talk to me. One of them asked what was up and I told them "Nothing... I just don't like motos riding in off limit areas. It hurts the trails and will just end up to areas being closed to everyone." They were really cool and apologetic... Claimed they didn't know it was off limits etc. They came from Cadillac all the way down STT to the flag pole and were heading back. I lightened up when they said they don't like destroying trials, were using street legal tires and not knobbies, etc. They just like exploring and seeing things, not ripping round trying to go fast, etc.

I don't know if they were lying about knowing or not, but their cool demeanor etc diffused things pretty well. Its a good lesson for some MTBers who end up having run ins with hikers, horses, etc. If you are overly cool, they will leave with a good impression even if they disagree with what you are doing.

 

They know it's not legal to be up there. If it were legal, the place would be packed with riders.

I had the same experience....mentioned to some riders that STT was closed to motorized vehicles....they said thanks, they didn't know that. I ran into Kioti on my way down, and he assured me he has run into the same guys numerous times and they knew what they were doing.

They know they won't get caught....similar to the 2 guys on throttle driven DH ebikes I ran into a few weeks ago.

 

That's a fair assessment. Lack of signage and poor gating/fencing doesn't help either.

I've only seen tire tracks on the Luge, but plenty of dirt bikes on the STT. My conversations with the riders have always been like @DBMX119's and there was no evident damage on the Luge or STT. Sometimes the big tires/weight actually help smooth the trails after storms. I pass along the information that the trails are off-limits and ask that they ride conservatively. So far so good on these 2 trails.

Ironically, my first trail work project was up in @Mikie's neck of the woods, as an Eagle Scout project. Our work was torn up by motos within minutes of its completion! If they did that to the Luge/STT, I'd be royally po'd, but since they haven't I'll commiserate with their lack of local riding opportunities.

Posts on the website link above show they have similar safety problems as us on legal (to everyone) routes like the Main Divide and Trabuco Creek Road. Crazy drivers drifting around corners with unseen, two-way traffic. Life-threatening activity by drivers of 4-wheeled vehicles. And they're trail destroyers, too, as the recent incursion to Old Camp shows. I've also had to clean up their damage on the STT above the Luge, and it's beyond me why the Forest Service and powers-that-be can't come up with a solution to keep them off our trails.

 

was it Shifty and Jmac you ran into?

 

Given the proposed cuts to the already anaemic budget of the FS, expect more of this to happen if there are even fewer rangers (..). More rangers on public land would help a lot and also more money for better signage. It will only get worse until it is so bad , a "private solution" will come around, with FS lands at risk of losing public access. Glimpse into the future.

 

Ironically (to me) my wife and I met a Ranger on the MD just after seeing the dirt bikes (which weren't street legal if that matters). He said that he wouldn't attempt to apprehend them because if they crashed while he was chasing them, the FS could be liable.

 

Wow... So there is absolutely zero deterrent.

 

In defense of the FS, they have been putting up many new pipe barriers. In agreement with you, Steve, it's not even close to effective in reeling in the overall problem.

Physical barriers will be ridden around or torn down, as we see. IMO, a LE trap is the only thing that will change what's happening. News of a bust would permeate their community instantly.

 

So if a guy rides up the luge on a moto, can OC Sheriffs help?
What would the proper procedure be to report, if any illegal moto activity on the lower connector trails like luge, motorway, Joplin, others.

 

Some of these would help if positioned at choke points at the top and bottom of trails so they couldn't be bypassed (and with continuing pipe not barbed wire.)

Some enforcement is really needed in addition. If people keep reporting them (time, location) then rangers will have an idea of when and where to patrol and might actually be able to do something.

 

When my brother was a cop in rural upstate NY, they always had a motorcycle problem... Guys running from the cops. Mostly city guys who came to the lake to party. When the cops finally caught one, they chose to tow it... by dangling it from the back of a tow truck hook, bouncing and scraping off the highway as they went. Word spread...

 

Trabuco District Ranger Darrell Vance:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/cleveland/home/?cid=FSEPRD477258

Thanks, Dusty.

 

Darrell Vance used to be the Forest Archaeologist for the Angeles National Forest. We have had our share of pissing contests, but he's a good person and very intelligent.