OHV Trails

I just received this email from the Stanislaus National Forest. It's our opportunity to comment on the proposed "improvements" to the OHV trails. Personally, I am most concerned with the safety issues caused by the OHVers and the damage to Italian Bar Road. I am hoping you will take time to comment. I think it's very important and has a large impact on our lives our here. Please submit your comments to the Forestry Service. Following is the email I received:

Thank you for your previous scoping comments on the Stanislaus National Forest Motorized Travel Management initial proposed action. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is available for public review with a 60-day public comment period expected to start on March 6, 2009. Compact Discs containing the DEIS documents, resource reports, supporting documents and maps are available by request. The DEIS is also available for review at the Forest Supervisor’s Office; 19777 Greenley Road; Sonora, CA 95370; or, online at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/projects/ohv.

Mt. Knight

Road to Mt. Knight is clear and driveable in 2 wheel drive. All the snow is melted. It is muddy and has lots of potholes.

JUPITER TO COLUMBIA

DROVE OUT YESTERDAY AND THE ROAD WAS WELL PACKED WITH ONLT A FEW
POTHOLES THAT ARE EASILY NOTICED. EVEN WITH RAINS NOT MUCH MUD TO
WOORY ABOUT.

Mt. Knight

Hello, Does anyone know how much snow is up on mt. knight road. [ 4no1]. Anonymous

Teri Murrison Comments

I so appreciate you folks out there. Teri Murrison (County Supervisor)

Paolo Maffei Comments

Sandy, I am so glad to see that the neighbors are in such a collaborative mode with Barry and his crews. This year started out easy, but became a real challenge with the snow and now, probably with the heavy rain and potential slides. Please keep me informed. Regards, Paolo(County Supervisor)

Twain Harte to Jupiter

Snow is basically clear, though road is still narrow in spots. There are a few muddy areas, but navigable in 2-wheel with good tires. Pot holes are still atrocious, especially from the dirt to South Fork Bridge.

Jupiter to Columbia

Columbia to Jupiter is clear of snow, very few potholes, and minimal washboard. Only slushy part is between the meadow and the turn for 4no1. Except for right there I was in 2w the entire way. Anonymous

Sandra: We would like to thank the Porter's for their plowing
efforts and would like to offer them ten gallons of diesel fuel to
restock their loss. I would also like to challenge others to do the
same. Anonymous.

Ibar Plowed - From Twain Harte to Beyond Jupiter

The county and some of our locals have done a fantastic job on our roads today. Thanks to all for the grading and road repair. It's amazing how much we can accomplish when we work together.

Jupiter to Columbia

Hi Sandra, I came out the Columbia way yesterday the 17th and it was a nice ride, a great ride compaired to Twain Harte. Just wanted to let you know.

Jupiter to Twain Harte - Road is being plowed

Sandra: 2-18-09 Great news! The county was grading to the bridge this morning. We passed two of them as we came out to work at 6:45 AM.

Plowing Ibar Jupiter to Twain Harte

Just talked to County. They are coming at 4am Wednesday morning and are going to give us the whole day to repair the road. They say that we don't call unless we really need help and they appreciate that and they will give us their best tomorrow.

Jupiter to Twain Harte Plowing

Hi Sandra: (2-17-09) We are certainly in need another county plowing. As of this morning the snow on roadway at an unsafe depth requiring chains and 4wd. Impossible to get emergency services (Fire/Ambulance/Sheriff)thru in these conditions and posses a real safety risk to our area. Also on 2-13-08 and before the Porters plowed we had 11 vehicle stuck uphill from the bridge. It took 4+ hours to remedy and forced us to turn around and go back home. Had an emergency occurred, no vehicles could have made it thru to help.

Grant and Sandy are on their way to town now Tuesday at 8:30am. There is additional 8-10 inches of snow since the plowing. CHAINS AND 4 WHEEL DRIVE ESSENTIAL.
Marsha

Jupiter to Twain Harte Plowing

Bob and Doug Porter were headed to town were heading to town yesterday (Sunday) to plow the road and ran into the county grader. The county graded to the bridge. Bob and Doug Porter did the rest. We all THANK YOU so much for doing this for us.

There are still some pretty bad spots, but it is A LOT better than it was. With all the moisture, the pot holes are pretty bad.

Driving from Jupiter to Columbia

One disadvantage of driving from Jupiter to Columbia on Italian Bar Road is there is virtually no phone service. So if you have car troubles or get stuck, you might have a long walk. So, just be careful.

Twain Harte to Jupiter 8PM

Apparently after yesterday's fiascoes on the road trying to get in and out, enough people spoke up and we got snow plows out here! It seems they have plowed at least one side all the way to Rose Creek.

Mt. Knight at 8PM

Road to Mt. Knight has 2 feet of snow. Stay away, if you can.

South Fork at 8AM

Plows are headed down South Ford towards the bridge.

Columbia Area 10AM

Roads are clear.

Jupiter to Columbia

We didn't come out this weekend but a neighbor called yesterday and said they got about 7 inches of snow early in the day. I called them last evening and all they had was rain. I've yet to chain up my Toyota in the 5 years we've had our place. Last year there was snow all the way to town, but still no problem. We have had trees down. That's been our only major problem. I had to use a small chainsaw so had to go around your side where snow was 3 times as deep. If it's real bad on that side it would be better from our side.

Traffic is now moving on South Fork ....

Traffic jam on South Fork between the bridge and pavement ... 4 or 5 vehicles trying to go out and 4 or 5 vehicles trying to come in!!!! David says at least everyone is in a good humor!

Jupiter to Twain Harte at 5:30 PM

Grant just drove to town. Snow 8 to 12 inches on the road. 4 wheel drive or chains recommended. Drive slow. Pavement is plowed on South Fork.

Mt. Knight Roads as of 3pm

Roads are in fair condition to Mt. Knight.

Twain Harte to Jupiter Road Conditions

Grant returned from Twain Harte at 1:30PM today. It's snowing lightly. From Confidence intersection to the dirt on South Fork, the pavement hasn't been plowed. Road from end of pavement to Jupiter has multiple ruts down to the dirt. Most of the corners have two lanes for passing. Recommend 4 wheel drive or 2 wheel with chains. Dear Creek is very rutted and muddy.

David left for work Sunday evening around 9 pm ... needed chains by the time he got to South Fork Bridge .. took them off at the Soulsbyville Junction.

Our gravel roads...

Some thoughts on gravel roads, road care, and ongoing maintenance...

1 - Don't drive in the same ruts that everybody else has driven in, instead move your tires onto the high spots to the left or right of the ruts. Lots of benefits:

* helps spread the wear on the road out
* prevents rutting
* makes the ride smoother
* keeps road maintenance requirements down
* lack of ruts helps keep rain water runoff damage to a minimum

2 - Always carry a shovel with you during the winter. Be ready to get out of the car to clear a plugged up culvert. Rainwater runoff causes the most road damage, and is the costliest to repair from both a materials and labor standpoint. Taking 5 minutes to dig a small ditch perpendicular to the roadway to help with runoff can keep a road in good shape during the rainy season.

2a - taking 5 minutes every now and again to rake the buildup of gravel along the road back into the the main road path really helps keep the road covered.

3 - Always carry a well tuned chainsaw and know how to safely use it. Trees fall and block roads, being blocked in without escape is dangerous year-round. Stranded in winter cold, or trying to get out during the summer fire season are critical times to be able to keep roads clear in front of you.

4 - Don't spin your tires going uphill!! - you'll shoot all the gravel out into the bushes and expose the dirt roadbed. Once the dirt is exposed the water can gain a foothold and begin to erode the roadway. Low and slow going uphill helps prevent that washboarding that we all love so much too.

Reality check - the county or the forest service *are not* going to fix these gravel roads we use, it's up to us to keep them in decent shape. Drag a pickup load of road base out once or twice a year and fill in the holes - or spend a few minutes pulling the roadbase out of the berms along I-bar and shoveling it into your truck and take that out to problem areas.

2/8/2009 - about 10:00 pm

Snowing hard. 2-wheel drive required chains.
Twain Harte hadn't been plowed yet at all. Snow down to Soulsbyville.