PSA on Pinos/McGill from the USFS LPNF Ranger

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by AKAKTM, Jan 28, 2019.


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  1. AKAKTM

    AKAKTM Well-Known Member

    Location:
    SCV
    Name:
    Tony A
    PSA on the Pinos McGill trail - please read. Caroline Quintanilla, the USFS visitor services person responsible for the Pinos area has reached out to us saying they need help with the McGill trail. For the record, Caroline and the USFS has been helpful and welcoming to bikes.

    Caroline has asked for some help from the MTB community as follows:
    1. Stay on the trail and do not cut the trail. Discourage others from cutting the trail.
    2. Help maintain the trail, starting with blocking off areas where the trail corners have been cut or short-cuts made.
    3. MTB riders help educate other riders and encourage them to exercise proper trail etiquette.
    4. Discourage shuttles. The trails are already overcrowded and shuttle riders unnecessarily add to the conflict and congestion--particularly on summer weekends. She reminded us that shuttles aren't approved and the drop off point up top is not a legal trail.

    Again, USFS and the LPNF have been very supportive which is great for us all and Pinos/McGill are beautiful trails that hikers, campers and bikers travel for hours to ride. Please do your part and be a part of helping maintain and even improve the experience there so we don't lose this tremendous trail.

    Courtesy SCV Trail Users
     
    ~JB~, Mikie, Cyclotourist and 14 others like this.
  2. evdog

    evdog iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    San diego
    Name:
    Evan S
    Doesn't surprise me to read this. Seems like a common issue on trails that are easy to shuttle. Hopefully the local advocacy group can get the message out and maybe set up some trail days to block the short cuts. Setting up a bike bell box at top and bottom worked well on Noble Canyon for awhile. Unfortunately SDMBA stopped stocking it.

    But seriously, if they want to reduce overcrowding and trail conflict a great way to do it would be to build some new trails in the area that would lure riders away from Pinos.
     
    Mikie, Danmtchl, Cyclotourist and 7 others like this.
  3. CBone

    CBone iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Antelope Valley
    Name:
    Tucker
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    potential imtb trail work party?
    Serious question. How do you discourage shuttling? It is a bit dangerous to climb on weekends for sure.
    I have to confess that is the only way I have ridden there.
     
    Mikie, Danmtchl, Cyclotourist and 3 others like this.
  4. hill^billy

    hill^billy iMTB Rockstah

    That is the only way! I’ve been sure it would be lost, seems the tipping point is here! I sympathize with the other users. I enjoyed that trail a few years ago by climbing it and then riding down it. I would ride it on the weekday with little to no traffic, may still be like that? I have shuttled it but only 3 or 4 times before it got so popular and everything blown out! Such a shame, but inevitable. Yesterday I road a trail and I was the only one on it. I was thinking to my lonely self that this is unheard of in most parts of So. Calif. This is just the way I like it, me and no extra distractions.
     
    Mikie, Danmtchl, Cyclotourist and 2 others like this.
  5. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Or, make it a pay to enter area (with a Ranger manned kiosk/booth) and have shuttle vehicles prohibited? Never been there so I am just making a blind suggestion.
     
    Faust29, Mikie, Danmtchl and 2 others like this.
  6. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Riders that climb up a trail first, usually are a bit more aware, as they have seen the traffic coming down as they went up. Shuttlers usually don't care. Yes....these statements are a wide generalization of the situation.

    As a shuttler, why would you care how much you trash a trail if you don't have to climb it? All you are doing is going downhill and gravity is on your side.

    I have only ridden Mt. Pinos once.....we started near the top, rode down....turned around and climbed back up.
     
    gunga din, Faust29, Mikie and 6 others like this.
  7. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    I’m in if there’s some trail work! Love, love this trail and will help spread the word to preserve it. Do the work people, no shuttles :thumbsup:
     
    Faust29, Mikie, Danmtchl and 5 others like this.
  8. CBone

    CBone iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Antelope Valley
    Name:
    Tucker
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    New trails would be awesome. I'm not too excited about ridding up an out and back type of trail. Maybe one way trails? A nice loop would be cool.
     
  9. CBone

    CBone iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Antelope Valley
    Name:
    Tucker
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    If I recall correctly, I have ridden Pinos 3 or 4 times. Every time was a Saturday. I remember encountering very few people climbing the trail but I did meet John, a local, who was riding up. I've often wondered if @Mikie knows him. John said "up" was the best direction to ride McGill. :gag:
    I remember thinking that for an excellent trail there were very few riders.
    We were lucky I guess. I only remember one ride where the full face, armored up, storm trouper downhill shuttle crowd was there. I don't know who they were but I think there was a shuttle van or two in the parking lot.
    @Mikie will you chime in here and give us some insight/opinion? @Voodoo Tom ?
     
  10. sir crashalot

    sir crashalot iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    laguna beach
    Name:
    gary fishman
    Current Bike:
    2018 banshee rune
    Have yet to ride Pinos. When I do i will climb, not shuttle.
     
    Danmtchl, Faust29, Mikie and 2 others like this.
  11. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    I’ve done this ride many times, but NEVER on a weekend! Too many bombers, it’s not worth the risk. But a loop would be excellent :thumbsup:
     
    Danmtchl, CBone, Faust29 and 2 others like this.
  12. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Me too, and me two.
     
  13. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    If a trail can be shuttled, it will be exploited, and the effects will be visible to all trail users.
    Effects include skid marks, wall rides, rock removal, and P-lines.
     
    herzalot, AKAKTM, Danmtchl and 5 others like this.
  14. bigringrider101

    bigringrider101 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Winnetka CA
    Name:
    Berni Avila
    Current Bike:
    Jones Space Frame Ti truss for
    It used to be a very popular trail back in the day. Big groups would go and climb up then down. My first time riding it was with South Bay Mountain Bike Club. Same with NRMBC and OTBMBC. This “Shuttlets” are the cause that this trail lost popularity.

    It all started after the “Station Fire” when all the San Gabriel mountains burn and all it’s trails were closed for a long time. We all knew how easy it was to shuttle it. But we also had the belief that you have to earn your down hill. So we would go ride up and down once. Then those with energy left would shuttle it one time. While the others go to Mike’s pizza and wait for the rest.
     
  15. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    McGill is my local trail and it is hammered. I think I have shuttled several times on a day we climbed and dropped it.
    @AKAKTM I tried to sign up a few years ago to be to Los Padres what @kioti is to his National forest and they never even returned my several phone calls. I wanted to be certified to work on McGill.

    Be happy to resurrect that effort if they are interested.
     
  16. CBone

    CBone iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Antelope Valley
    Name:
    Tucker
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    Watch out for the rest of us bombing down;)
     
    Danmtchl, scottay, Faust29 and 2 others like this.
  17. sir crashalot

    sir crashalot iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    laguna beach
    Name:
    gary fishman
    Current Bike:
    2018 banshee rune
    I ride midweek..., its a different world.
     
    herzalot, Danmtchl, scottay and 7 others like this.
  18. CBone

    CBone iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Antelope Valley
    Name:
    Tucker
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    :thumbsup: True
     
    Danmtchl, mountaingirl sara and Mikie like this.
  19. CBone

    CBone iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Antelope Valley
    Name:
    Tucker
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    :thumbsup::thumbsup:
     
    Danmtchl, mountaingirl sara and Mikie like this.
  20. Voodoo Tom

    Voodoo Tom MTB Addict

    Location:
    Castaic
    Name:
    Tom Kokkinakis
    Current Bike:
    Mango one, black one, Ti one
    OK first and foremost let me make it clear that I love McGill but I fear it may be too little too late based on my prior experience with the local ranger dept. Any organized effort that could help shed a positive light on mountain bikers I would gladly be a part of. I was born and raised in the area and never ever once have I seen a ranger anywhere near Pinos and this includes the old days when I was up there dropping giant Jeffrey pines to sell for firewood. This trail sees a lot of use by real mountain bikers, wanna be storm troopers and hikers. It's a fast trail on a bike and has to scare the crap out of hikers. Some maintenance, signage and trail etiquette is really all that's needed for most folks. Personally I prefer to climb then drop the trail. I also like climbing the road and then bombing the trail. I really don't see the shuttle company with it's cash paying customers as the problem as they seem to respect what's available to them. Some of the self shuttling full faced storm troopers are a different story though. Thanks for the heads up Tony, we are lucky to have level headed guys like you representing us and I'd be happy to help.
     
  21. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    I have reached out to numerous people who run trailwork crews in the ANF. I usually work weekends, so I'm available for mid-week work.
    I've never got the call.
    I've been told I need to be " certified " and/or I need a CPR cert.

    If you don't want to join in and bump the numbers for a trailwork day, I don't think you're really wanted.

    Me and Big Mike did more on Strawberry with a hand saw and a couple of fat doobs than I've seen done in months...
     
    Cyclotourist, Mikie, herzalot and 9 others like this.
  22. da big hills

    da big hills iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    pearl harbor
    Name:
    cagey
    Current Bike:
    enduro 29
    That is funny, I only see another rider every other month or so. And then only one. Although I did see 4 on space mtn the other day. I need to ride space more often to see people.
    Happy empty trails
     
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?