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.