The purpose of this blog is to provide information to those who wish to find an easier source concerning information about Stonyford OHV. That is the very point of the blog: to bring many resources to a certain point. I do wish to market this site to drive traffic and I realized (although not on a large scale) that this blog might drive more traffic to Stonyford.
Now on that note we need to be careful. The more people there are at Stonyford the more likely your chances are of getting into a head on collision with another rider or ATV. Holidays, races, and ideal weather conditions will foster more people arriving to shred Stony.
Since we cannot control how many people go up we can employ a certain strategy for avoiding head on collisions.
1) Be ready to ride as soon as its bright enough to see in the morning. The early you start your day the more likely you wont see anyone while riding. The vast majority of people like family and friends go up, drink the night before, wake up about 9-10 to ride. Leave early in the morning and try to finish riding by 3.
2) Try your best to ride during the week. This is the same trick one uses when going to Tahoe to ski. If you want to avoid the lines go during the week and certainly avoid holidays.
3) Be smart about where you pin it. I know this sounds stupid to mention but a lot of my friends who are VERY fast speed in areas that are just STUPID. If someone where to be coming around a corner at any speed the impact would always produce broken bones. Speed where you know areas well and perhaps even taking breaks in safe parts of the trail to listen for any trace of someone being out on a trail near you.
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Hunters Find Body in Mendo
uuuuuhhhhh...ho lee fuk.
Don't forget that this forest is full of mischief. We have pot farmers from Mexico growing millions of dollars worth of pot up in some parts of these forest. If I remember correctly 4 million dollars worth of pot (the pull up the whole plant including the root with dirt still stuck to them, weigh it and then determines the dollar amount from that weight) was confiscated along Mill Creek but I'm not sure which part.
Mendo's big, understaffed, and underfunded so just take extra care when venturing out alone. Always let people know where you are going and when you should be back. Take a lesson from that true story/movie about that dude that had to cut his arm off because a boulder pinned his arm between a rock and a hard place (neh) and the only way he was able to survive was he had to cut his arm off with a pocket knife. You better believe he was hungry too...just kidding i don't think he ate it.
During the movie, book, actual experience he was consumed with how selfish he was like how he never returned phone calls or told anyone where he was going the day he got his arm stuck, understanding the selfishness of his acts potentially causing hurt to his family if he were to die out in the middle of the desert.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/topics/2889363-181/hunters-find-body-in-mendocino
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Don't forget that this forest is full of mischief. We have pot farmers from Mexico growing millions of dollars worth of pot up in some parts of these forest. If I remember correctly 4 million dollars worth of pot (the pull up the whole plant including the root with dirt still stuck to them, weigh it and then determines the dollar amount from that weight) was confiscated along Mill Creek but I'm not sure which part.
Mendo's big, understaffed, and underfunded so just take extra care when venturing out alone. Always let people know where you are going and when you should be back. Take a lesson from that true story/movie about that dude that had to cut his arm off because a boulder pinned his arm between a rock and a hard place (neh) and the only way he was able to survive was he had to cut his arm off with a pocket knife. You better believe he was hungry too...just kidding i don't think he ate it.
During the movie, book, actual experience he was consumed with how selfish he was like how he never returned phone calls or told anyone where he was going the day he got his arm stuck, understanding the selfishness of his acts potentially causing hurt to his family if he were to die out in the middle of the desert.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/topics/2889363-181/hunters-find-body-in-mendocino
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Riding Season & A Little Story About Weed
WooooooooOooo! OK I know I haven't put up any post for a while but I promise a return to writing material.
Stonyford was amazing this last weekend! By the time I had arrived a lot of the water that was keeping the dust down had vanished. Some spots were solid like in between the trees between M-10 and Lett's ridge basically.
A reminder to all of those who have their cannabis cards. Stonyford is FEDERAL LAND. That means if a ranger (FEDERAL AGENT!) finds pot in your car or on your person be sure to bring the lube too because you are going to get fucked! I'm sure you noticed I didn't mention bringing condoms which is a direct indication of the zero fucks a ranger has to give on any given day or time.
Just be smart about your game. If you're gonna bring cannabis stash that shit away from your car and dont smoke next to families. You can play legal games if they show up and have suspicion but why not just keep it behind a tree?
A game warden stopped to talk to me on my way out when I had stopped on M-10 to talk to my GF. Despite the fact we were obviously fighting he proceeded to mindlessly talk to me anyways about things I didnt care about all the while giving me the vibe that he was a sneaky sneaky piece of bacon.
Ride with caution...burn with caution...o and light fires with caution (4 more years and stony will start to look like a recovering forest...and yes yes it already is calm down)
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Stonyford was amazing this last weekend! By the time I had arrived a lot of the water that was keeping the dust down had vanished. Some spots were solid like in between the trees between M-10 and Lett's ridge basically.
A reminder to all of those who have their cannabis cards. Stonyford is FEDERAL LAND. That means if a ranger (FEDERAL AGENT!) finds pot in your car or on your person be sure to bring the lube too because you are going to get fucked! I'm sure you noticed I didn't mention bringing condoms which is a direct indication of the zero fucks a ranger has to give on any given day or time.
Just be smart about your game. If you're gonna bring cannabis stash that shit away from your car and dont smoke next to families. You can play legal games if they show up and have suspicion but why not just keep it behind a tree?
A game warden stopped to talk to me on my way out when I had stopped on M-10 to talk to my GF. Despite the fact we were obviously fighting he proceeded to mindlessly talk to me anyways about things I didnt care about all the while giving me the vibe that he was a sneaky sneaky piece of bacon.
Ride with caution...burn with caution...o and light fires with caution (4 more years and stony will start to look like a recovering forest...and yes yes it already is calm down)
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
A Little Bit About Hydration: PEDIALYTE
We've heard our whole life that our bodies are made of at least 80% H20. Water is essential for all process that occur in our body especially processing and removing waste and proper cell function. When of the greatest signs of dehydration is a headache or racing heart. The headache occurs from the membrane surrounding your brain shrinking almost like a drying sponge which causes pulling on nerves creating pain. This membrane dehydration occurs because your major organs like your heart and liver draws water away from your brain.
Our diets are also very important to consider in terms of keeping us hydrated. Avoiding dehydrating foods and beverages is crucial to our end of goal of staying hydrated. Acidic foods and beverages cause our bodies to lose water through the process of eliminating the acidic particles. Our bodies want to be alkaline rather than acidic. Alkaline waters are high in minerals like iron, potassium, boron, magnesium and chromium. Click for a List of Basic Minerals and Functional Purpose
Too many minerals in our system can make us sick. These minerals in a concentrated solution creates a high alkaline/ high salinity mixture which can become toxic to us. This occurs when we don't provide ourselves enough water. Simply depriving ourselves of water during normal body use causes our bodies to use the water we have while leaving behind the minerals and salt.
Sweating and high body output creates a different scenario. When we sweat we lose both precious fluids AND minerals (which is why our sweat is salty, those are all the minerals our bodies need, and some toxins, in a high saline mixture called sweat). Sweating calls for replenishment of water AND minerals.
I highly recommend using Pedialyte to replenish after a heavy sweaty ride. Pedialyte will help supplement not only the liquid your body needs (like oil to an engine) but also the minerals your body lost during the sweating process. You need to be careful though. If you are dehydrated from lack of fluid intake and not because of exercise or strenuous body use Pedialyte could possibly exacerbate your dehydrated system. This could possibly occur due to the fact that your mineral to water ratio in your body is off leaving more salty minerals in your body than there is liquid needed which would dilute the solution. The introduction of pedialyte to your body WITHOUT water first would only increase your mineral levels in your body creating an even more toxic/saline state within your body.
To avoid these dehydration scenarios there is a few things you can do to help your body prepare and recover from vigorous riding or work out.
1) Avoid acidic foods. CLICK HERE for a complete list or acidic foods. Alkaline foods are better!
2) Avoid acidic beverages like soda and coffee. Some beverages are also diuretic effects (things that make you pee) Alcohol creates an enzyme that tells your pituitary gland to stop producing a hormone that makes you retain water. That is why you pee so much when you drink. IT MAKES YOU PEE. I forget what the actual number is but its something pretty extreme. 1 Shot of booz can cause you to loose about 7 oz of your bodies water. So basically every time you drink you pee out what you drank and a good portion of your bodies water due to alcohols effect on the pituitary gland and it being a diuretic.
3) You only absorb approx. 8oz of water an hour. That being said chugging a bunch of water doesn't make you hydrated. Constantly putting water in your body to make it available to your body FOR absorption does! Drink small sips over a long period of time for the most efficient way to rehydrate yourself.
STAY HYDRATED!!!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Our diets are also very important to consider in terms of keeping us hydrated. Avoiding dehydrating foods and beverages is crucial to our end of goal of staying hydrated. Acidic foods and beverages cause our bodies to lose water through the process of eliminating the acidic particles. Our bodies want to be alkaline rather than acidic. Alkaline waters are high in minerals like iron, potassium, boron, magnesium and chromium. Click for a List of Basic Minerals and Functional Purpose
Too many minerals in our system can make us sick. These minerals in a concentrated solution creates a high alkaline/ high salinity mixture which can become toxic to us. This occurs when we don't provide ourselves enough water. Simply depriving ourselves of water during normal body use causes our bodies to use the water we have while leaving behind the minerals and salt.
Sweating and high body output creates a different scenario. When we sweat we lose both precious fluids AND minerals (which is why our sweat is salty, those are all the minerals our bodies need, and some toxins, in a high saline mixture called sweat). Sweating calls for replenishment of water AND minerals.
I highly recommend using Pedialyte to replenish after a heavy sweaty ride. Pedialyte will help supplement not only the liquid your body needs (like oil to an engine) but also the minerals your body lost during the sweating process. You need to be careful though. If you are dehydrated from lack of fluid intake and not because of exercise or strenuous body use Pedialyte could possibly exacerbate your dehydrated system. This could possibly occur due to the fact that your mineral to water ratio in your body is off leaving more salty minerals in your body than there is liquid needed which would dilute the solution. The introduction of pedialyte to your body WITHOUT water first would only increase your mineral levels in your body creating an even more toxic/saline state within your body.
To avoid these dehydration scenarios there is a few things you can do to help your body prepare and recover from vigorous riding or work out.
1) Avoid acidic foods. CLICK HERE for a complete list or acidic foods. Alkaline foods are better!
2) Avoid acidic beverages like soda and coffee. Some beverages are also diuretic effects (things that make you pee) Alcohol creates an enzyme that tells your pituitary gland to stop producing a hormone that makes you retain water. That is why you pee so much when you drink. IT MAKES YOU PEE. I forget what the actual number is but its something pretty extreme. 1 Shot of booz can cause you to loose about 7 oz of your bodies water. So basically every time you drink you pee out what you drank and a good portion of your bodies water due to alcohols effect on the pituitary gland and it being a diuretic.
3) You only absorb approx. 8oz of water an hour. That being said chugging a bunch of water doesn't make you hydrated. Constantly putting water in your body to make it available to your body FOR absorption does! Drink small sips over a long period of time for the most efficient way to rehydrate yourself.
STAY HYDRATED!!!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
The Difference Between PUSH and PULL
I've been riding about 15 years now and I am just beginning to discover what it takes to truly start riding with style. Well, at least not like a goon. I had become pretty good at getting up hills, speeding through trails, learning to get the front up, etcetera. However I knew I was missing some crucial fundamentals. Fundamentals like keeping one or two fingers both on the clutch and front break, grabbing the bike with your knees/legs, breathing right and anything in between.
Realizing I was missing out on some many of the basic techniques needed to excel in riding I decided to master holding one finger on the controls (clutch/break) at all times. This might seem normal to most of you but for me, for years, I was using all my hands to hold onto the bike and "white knuckled" everything grabbing the brakes and clutch as needed. During this process I lost a total of three fingers that normally hold onto the bars that are now in charge of controlling the levers. I had to recover in 2 ways from this: 1) I had to get stronger to compensate for now only 7 fingers holding onto the bars 2) I had to get over the mental aspect of feeling like I had less control.
After I tackled my hand positioning I wanted to tackle BODY POSITION. Proper body position is key to allowing the bike to respond to the terrain below you and for efficiently using muscular potential efficiently. Body position slightly varies in terms of the actual physical position of the rider which is dependent on their over all size and length of limbs (arms/legs). Essentially each rider will look to be in the same position when done appropriately. Jeremy McGrath, although probably fat now, has a few tutorial videos on youtube you can check out for free about body position for all types of moto terrain/obstacles. I'm no pro on how to properly position yourself before a corner or where to put yourself on the bike before you enter a whoop section. However, I do know one thing: its always better to be pushed rather than to be pulled. Let me extrapolate my thought here.
If you've ever been boating or water skiing you've most likely have gone behind the boat, doing some aquatic activity that required being pulled or required you holding onto to something for dear life. After a while your arms get TIRED. Your upper chest gets sore too and you eventually call it quits. You can get the same upper body soreness and pain from moto!
Think about it: Assume you are just mobbing around and you give it some gas you are gonna feel (or maybe you used to) it in your arms! You'll feel it there because most people use their arms to hold onto the bike and from the bike just jetting out from underneath them. Most riders or beginning riders only use their feet, well simply because they're there and you need something to help plant yourself on the bike, right? WRONG!!!
Your legs and feet are the most important assets you have in terms of riding and using your energy efficiently. If your body position is good then your head is slightly over the bars, knees slightly bent, back arched like you are doing squats at the gym, and your legs are squeezing the seat/tank for control. This is "attack mode", aka the classic Charging look you see racers pull off like second nature. You will feel that as you accelerate the weight created from acceleration (g-force) is transferred to your legs and instead of the bike PULLING YOU FORWARD WITH YOUR ARMS (exhausting you) you are letting the bike PUSH YOU FORWARD WITH YOUR LEGS! You always want to keep your feet protected and always in mind of passing objects that could crush or even sever your foot/toes. Think of it like this to get the idea in your head. You want your feet angled down so it creates a 45 degree angle with the foot peg. This creates the right angle you need to properly allow the bike to transfer its energy to your feet and legs keeping your weight forward removing the sensation of "being thrown backwards."I want to reiterate this. You never want your feet just HANGING off your bike. My example above was simply an exaggeration.
HERE IS AN EXERCISE TO HELP ILLUSTRATE POINT! Next time you are a passenger in a car i want you to do a couple of things.
1) Ask the driver to accelerate as fast as they can (hopefully it's not a hummer). Do it once leaning forward and once sitting up straight. (the faster the car the more you need to lean forward) The point of the exercise is to find a position that allows your body to resist the feeling of acceleration the most simply by position of body. Which way caused you to use more energy? Which way was easier (hint leaning forward lol)
2) When the car you are in turns I want you to lean into the turn. If you turn right lean right. You'll notice that not only is there less stress on your body but that there is a certain point, like a fulcrum point, that when you lean past you can feel the centrifugal force created in a turn dissipate. This is why super sport racers drag knees, or lean so far over into the turn to thwart the centrifugal force trying to throw him over the other side of the bike.
LET THE BIKE PUSH YOU WITH YOUR LEGS DONT LET IT PULL YOU WITH YOUR AMS!!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Realizing I was missing out on some many of the basic techniques needed to excel in riding I decided to master holding one finger on the controls (clutch/break) at all times. This might seem normal to most of you but for me, for years, I was using all my hands to hold onto the bike and "white knuckled" everything grabbing the brakes and clutch as needed. During this process I lost a total of three fingers that normally hold onto the bars that are now in charge of controlling the levers. I had to recover in 2 ways from this: 1) I had to get stronger to compensate for now only 7 fingers holding onto the bars 2) I had to get over the mental aspect of feeling like I had less control.
After I tackled my hand positioning I wanted to tackle BODY POSITION. Proper body position is key to allowing the bike to respond to the terrain below you and for efficiently using muscular potential efficiently. Body position slightly varies in terms of the actual physical position of the rider which is dependent on their over all size and length of limbs (arms/legs). Essentially each rider will look to be in the same position when done appropriately. Jeremy McGrath, although probably fat now, has a few tutorial videos on youtube you can check out for free about body position for all types of moto terrain/obstacles. I'm no pro on how to properly position yourself before a corner or where to put yourself on the bike before you enter a whoop section. However, I do know one thing: its always better to be pushed rather than to be pulled. Let me extrapolate my thought here.
If you've ever been boating or water skiing you've most likely have gone behind the boat, doing some aquatic activity that required being pulled or required you holding onto to something for dear life. After a while your arms get TIRED. Your upper chest gets sore too and you eventually call it quits. You can get the same upper body soreness and pain from moto!
Think about it: Assume you are just mobbing around and you give it some gas you are gonna feel (or maybe you used to) it in your arms! You'll feel it there because most people use their arms to hold onto the bike and from the bike just jetting out from underneath them. Most riders or beginning riders only use their feet, well simply because they're there and you need something to help plant yourself on the bike, right? WRONG!!!
Your legs and feet are the most important assets you have in terms of riding and using your energy efficiently. If your body position is good then your head is slightly over the bars, knees slightly bent, back arched like you are doing squats at the gym, and your legs are squeezing the seat/tank for control. This is "attack mode", aka the classic Charging look you see racers pull off like second nature. You will feel that as you accelerate the weight created from acceleration (g-force) is transferred to your legs and instead of the bike PULLING YOU FORWARD WITH YOUR ARMS (exhausting you) you are letting the bike PUSH YOU FORWARD WITH YOUR LEGS! You always want to keep your feet protected and always in mind of passing objects that could crush or even sever your foot/toes. Think of it like this to get the idea in your head. You want your feet angled down so it creates a 45 degree angle with the foot peg. This creates the right angle you need to properly allow the bike to transfer its energy to your feet and legs keeping your weight forward removing the sensation of "being thrown backwards."I want to reiterate this. You never want your feet just HANGING off your bike. My example above was simply an exaggeration.
HERE IS AN EXERCISE TO HELP ILLUSTRATE POINT! Next time you are a passenger in a car i want you to do a couple of things.
1) Ask the driver to accelerate as fast as they can (hopefully it's not a hummer). Do it once leaning forward and once sitting up straight. (the faster the car the more you need to lean forward) The point of the exercise is to find a position that allows your body to resist the feeling of acceleration the most simply by position of body. Which way caused you to use more energy? Which way was easier (hint leaning forward lol)
2) When the car you are in turns I want you to lean into the turn. If you turn right lean right. You'll notice that not only is there less stress on your body but that there is a certain point, like a fulcrum point, that when you lean past you can feel the centrifugal force created in a turn dissipate. This is why super sport racers drag knees, or lean so far over into the turn to thwart the centrifugal force trying to throw him over the other side of the bike.
LET THE BIKE PUSH YOU WITH YOUR LEGS DONT LET IT PULL YOU WITH YOUR AMS!!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Hangtown Classic #46 2014!
Prairie City SVRA, California - This years Hangtown Classic was amazing! Charging right out of the gates was KTM Team Riders Ken Rockzen and Ryan Dungey! Watching about Ken Roczen and how he came to the states to per sue his dream of motocross was simply moving. He's a great kid and I cannot wait to watch his success grow into a championship! I hear he's going to Suzuki....wonder why they want him????hehe
Read this article from Lucas Oil! http://www.promotocross.com/mx/event/hangtown-2014/news/ken-roczen-earns-first-career-450mx-victory-martin-sweeps-hangtown
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Read this article from Lucas Oil! http://www.promotocross.com/mx/event/hangtown-2014/news/ken-roczen-earns-first-career-450mx-victory-martin-sweeps-hangtown
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
May Stony Trip! No bike! Just a Jeep!
My Jeep chillin' on 17N10 just above the board camp above Letts Lake! So cool the board camp is this little community of small cabins that are open seasonally to those who own the properties.
Sweet high mountain glade with a vernal pool in the center of it! This glade was HUGE! about the size of three foot ball fields. This is up on 17N10 right before it turns into 17N14. (above Letts on Board Camp Ridge)
This is hard to see but kinda cool. This is a natural spill way for the vernal pool during typical torrential Mendocino rain season. The depression in the foreground fills up and over flows down towards the bottom right hand corner of the picture
the spill way leading down the slope.
This is the spillway finally leading down the slope away from the vernal pool and glade. It looks like the forest service placed a pile of wood and sticks at the bottom of the spillway to slow down any fast moving water to thwart erosion.
this was on the other half of the glade. There was a huge depression in this area but to my superise there was no pooling water...thanks glade
cliche hipster flower field pic
White pine in the background...not sure what the little guys were...prolly small white pine lol
cliche hipster meadow with weird plant pic
i guess if you have the urge to play a sport while camping this would be the most ideal place to do this.
cool pic! this is the entrance to the glade from off 17N10
this is up top by Goat Mountain right before the gate >:(
The USFS dug a huge 8 feet deep hole around the side of the gate preventing you from going to the top where there's a radio tower. lol my dumb ass almost went head first into it not realized the USFS booby trapped it! Tu Che! I guess I wasn't supposed to do that? hehe
I hope we can continue to ride here in the future!!
tree by Mill Valley
This was a dying tree we saw climbing up Snow Mountain by Dixie Glade. WOW if you don't like switch backs Snow Mountain is the hike for you lol it goes straight up!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Mendocino Fire!!
WOA! Craziness... So me and a buddy went up to Stonyford for Memorial Day weekend just with my Jeep, no bikes. Not as torturous as I thought it would be. We left Stonyford Sunday by cutting through to Upper Lake OHV by taking the OHV corridor (17N16) just so I could see where everything lead out to so when I take my bike out I wont need to worry about getting lost and or wasting gas trying to find my way back.
Anyways, along route 17N16, the OHV Corridor, you'll eventually come across the beginning of a road that runs perpendicular to 17N16 called 17N04 aka "Bartlett Springs Road"...this is the road that leads to Crab Tree Hot Springs which is of course closed because a family doesn't want random people enjoying the only hot spring in the area...hey great (dicks). If you take this road, 17N04 (Bartlett Springs Road) you'll eventually meander (and I mean meander) your way down into Indian Valley Reservoir!
Anypoo, apparently when me and my buddy were cruising along forest route 17N16 (the OHV corridor) there was a fire brewing off to our left and it was so young in its life there was no smoke we could see! The fire started along the forest route 17N04, Bartlett Springs Road from what sounds like halfway between the OHV corridor and Indian Valley Resovoir where the road becomes quite desolate and remote. It's crazy to think we almost took that way out because were were nervous about our 1/4 tank of gas getting us out fast enough. We were only deterred by the fact that there is a "road closed" sign at the beginning of 17N04 (due to keeping people away from the trail head of Crab Tree Hot Springs) and by the fact that I read a very disconcerting article about property owners booby trapping gates and "do not trespass" barriers.
One of the booby trap scenarios I read about is property owners putting up gates and digging deep enough holes on either side of the gate to swallow up any defiant OHV'er/Truck/Jeep that decides they want to see what's on the other side. This whole concept made me want to respect the "road closed" sign lol.
It really, really is a shame that the property owners have closed (and I think illegally) that section of 17N04. Had it been open me and my buddy would have cruised down that area potentially alerting authorities before the fire swallowed up 175 acres of our beloved Mendocino National Forest. This is for sure an issue I will be passing on to the USFS Grindstone District.
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Anyways, along route 17N16, the OHV Corridor, you'll eventually come across the beginning of a road that runs perpendicular to 17N16 called 17N04 aka "Bartlett Springs Road"...this is the road that leads to Crab Tree Hot Springs which is of course closed because a family doesn't want random people enjoying the only hot spring in the area...hey great (dicks). If you take this road, 17N04 (Bartlett Springs Road) you'll eventually meander (and I mean meander) your way down into Indian Valley Reservoir!
Anypoo, apparently when me and my buddy were cruising along forest route 17N16 (the OHV corridor) there was a fire brewing off to our left and it was so young in its life there was no smoke we could see! The fire started along the forest route 17N04, Bartlett Springs Road from what sounds like halfway between the OHV corridor and Indian Valley Resovoir where the road becomes quite desolate and remote. It's crazy to think we almost took that way out because were were nervous about our 1/4 tank of gas getting us out fast enough. We were only deterred by the fact that there is a "road closed" sign at the beginning of 17N04 (due to keeping people away from the trail head of Crab Tree Hot Springs) and by the fact that I read a very disconcerting article about property owners booby trapping gates and "do not trespass" barriers.
One of the booby trap scenarios I read about is property owners putting up gates and digging deep enough holes on either side of the gate to swallow up any defiant OHV'er/Truck/Jeep that decides they want to see what's on the other side. This whole concept made me want to respect the "road closed" sign lol.
It really, really is a shame that the property owners have closed (and I think illegally) that section of 17N04. Had it been open me and my buddy would have cruised down that area potentially alerting authorities before the fire swallowed up 175 acres of our beloved Mendocino National Forest. This is for sure an issue I will be passing on to the USFS Grindstone District.
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Broken Leg? Empaled Shoulder/Limb? You Might Want This....
When you're out there riding alone or even with a friend there is no time any one can waste when it comes to getting help to the site of an OHV accident. OHV accidents are involve a little more logistical planning to be able to find, retrieve and evacuate individuals that have hurt themselves one way or another out on trials.
Unless your friend has pro riding credentials, is a gnarly District 36 racer you better hope who ever is riding with you has the skill to not only get back to a place to call for help, but that they are fast enough and in shape to handle the task. I actually witnessed this happening up in Chico above Paradise at an AWESOME quasi private/invite only/gotta know someone dirt bike trail system. Lol and yes they did have some retired A class trail rider with them that was able to blast through a normal two hour ride trail route in less then 30-40 minutes to call for help.
The next best thing for you to have other than a pro rider with you (that hopefully knows their way back) is to have a Satellite locating/SOS device. The best product I have found to be within a reasonable budget is the DeLorme "In Reach" Products! These are two-way satellite communicators that directly connect you to a Search and Rescue (SAR) center transmitting your location to the people who need to know. The inReach SE, which is the one I've had my eye on recently, has tons of cool features. However it does lack the utility that a phone does as it can only send and receive SMS messages.
Family members can track you from home, you can use your other devices to tap into your inReach's signal to use DeLormes Earthmate App which turns any device that can get that app into a full functioning hand help GPS Map.
The website says it all though so go ahead and check it out! There are of course way better options like actually purchasing a satellite phone. These are usually very expensive and start usually above $500.00 bux. Not only that you have to pay for a plan just like you would a phone which can also be a little pricy for something you only use every once in a while. Compared to the inReach plan, inReach is much cheaper at about $9 a month! 108 a year ain't too bad! I also just think its cool my friend doesn't see the point and said i should just get a SatPhone... we will see once I get it!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Unless your friend has pro riding credentials, is a gnarly District 36 racer you better hope who ever is riding with you has the skill to not only get back to a place to call for help, but that they are fast enough and in shape to handle the task. I actually witnessed this happening up in Chico above Paradise at an AWESOME quasi private/invite only/gotta know someone dirt bike trail system. Lol and yes they did have some retired A class trail rider with them that was able to blast through a normal two hour ride trail route in less then 30-40 minutes to call for help.
The next best thing for you to have other than a pro rider with you (that hopefully knows their way back) is to have a Satellite locating/SOS device. The best product I have found to be within a reasonable budget is the DeLorme "In Reach" Products! These are two-way satellite communicators that directly connect you to a Search and Rescue (SAR) center transmitting your location to the people who need to know. The inReach SE, which is the one I've had my eye on recently, has tons of cool features. However it does lack the utility that a phone does as it can only send and receive SMS messages.
Family members can track you from home, you can use your other devices to tap into your inReach's signal to use DeLormes Earthmate App which turns any device that can get that app into a full functioning hand help GPS Map.
The website says it all though so go ahead and check it out! There are of course way better options like actually purchasing a satellite phone. These are usually very expensive and start usually above $500.00 bux. Not only that you have to pay for a plan just like you would a phone which can also be a little pricy for something you only use every once in a while. Compared to the inReach plan, inReach is much cheaper at about $9 a month! 108 a year ain't too bad! I also just think its cool my friend doesn't see the point and said i should just get a SatPhone... we will see once I get it!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Stony OHV for Memorial Day!
Heading up to Stony this weekend! This might end up being a torturing idea but I am not brining my bike up. Me and a buddy are gonna camp at a few locations and check out some spots in the Stony OHV area. Were hoping to hit up Snow Mountain, which in the 15 years I've been going up there have never stopped to visit, I want to attempt to find Blue Slides lake which should be a short hike off a mountain road that veers off M-10 once you start heading towards the Upper Lake OHV area. Basically I'm going to have a lot of great information to contribute to this blog as well as pictures of areas that are hard to find pictures of!
I don't know about you but I love this area so I think putting some cool photos up will prove to find some appreciative viewers! Have a great memorial day weekend! Brap!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
I don't know about you but I love this area so I think putting some cool photos up will prove to find some appreciative viewers! Have a great memorial day weekend! Brap!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Cool Article About Mendocino Forest Roads/Routes
Mendocino NF Road Study
woa cool theres more than enough milage per forest road to stretch across the contiguous US in Mendocino!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
woa cool theres more than enough milage per forest road to stretch across the contiguous US in Mendocino!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
April 25th 2014 Stony Trip
STONYFORD OHV APRIL 26th 27th 2014
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Driving up Lovelady Ridge! in a stock 7.3 fully loaded diesel with 2 bikes in the back lol yes the first part of Trail #1 is black diamond...we were stupid.
Up on top of Lovelady Ridge after the gnar black diamond section
Lookin' west towards Clear Lake a little to the left out of frame is approx where the Upper Lake Stonyford OHV corridor lays. We took it this trip it was bad ass! Its like 12 miles once you leave hook up onto road 17N16 (the OHV corridor route). What a cool system the Mendo trails are...if only they were one way.
Goat Mt. Road coming down Lovelady you can see the entrance to the trail right off the road there. lol never again in a truck.
Idling up Trail #1
Trail 23 on the right Trail 02 on the Left comin' down Trail 1
NATURE!
Little Stony Creek! Due to recent rain (and awesome riding conditions by the way) this creek was moving pretty good. If you wanna check out Lovelady you'll have to cross this. This is us leaving and right on the other side of the creek is Goat Mt. Road.
Trail #26 "Cracker Box" off in the distance creeping up Cracker Box Ridge leading to 4-5th gear access trails!
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Stony Ford OHV route to Upper Lake OHV
Upper Lake OHV
RIDE TO UPPER LAKE OHV FROM STONY FORD!!
Upper Lake OHV recreation area could be considered the "back side" of Stonyford OHV, or visa versa. Upper Lake OHV is patrolled by a different ranger unit then Stonyford so if you plan to ride alone alert both districts.
If you plan to ride from Stonyford to Upper Lake OHV be sure to install an enduro size tank (3ish gallons).
Another option is rather ridiculous but depends simply on the amount of effort you are willing to put in to ride from one OHV areato the other. The option is to stash a tank of gas along a trail the night before assuming you are camping over night. If you decide to stash a gas tank be sure to take careful notice of where it is, make sure its along the correct trail and if you use a GPS device (I recommend the Garmin GPSMAP 60csx) you can mark the area where you leave your gas tank as a "waypoint." You of course need to bring your GPS device with you when you stash your tanks.
WHERE TO START!
I recommend parking up M-5 at the campsites above Mill Creek, Letts Ridge, and Potato Hill. These campsites are Old Mill up M-5, Cedar Creek way up at the top of Goat Mountain, Mill Valley just below Letts Lake adjacent to the "Lilly Pond," or Dixie Glade off of M-10. I personally like Mill Valley and Old Mill. Cedar Creek campground will put you the closest to the trails you need to take in order to arrive at Upper Lake OHV.
The main road you can take is M-10. M-10 will drop you down behind Letts Lake, make a hard right into the mountains and then hooks a complete 180 and heads westbound towards Upper Lake OHV. however I am not sure yet if this portion of M-10 allows off-highway vehicles. If you take M-10 it will bring you across a campground called Bear Creek Campgrounds.
Fear not. Either way, whether its on M-10 or you're taking trails, the 50" wide or less road you'll be taking is called Forest Route 17N16. This path is the one that will take you out to Upper Lake OHV! The first marked trail you will see is trail #34 which drops down to the left of Forest Route 17N16. Trail #34 will take you to the infamous Penny Pines campground!
Currently at this time google maps has incorrectly labeled M-10 and 17N16. They literally switched the names of the two roads. I called the Mendocino National Forest Office and over the phone confirmed that the roads are in fact in correctly labeled on google maps. The correct maps to view are the Mendocino National Forest OHV and Highway Vehicle Use Only Maps. The two links below are the Northern portion and the Southern portion of the Upper Lake OHV Recreational Area.
Upper Lake OHV - North
Upper Lake OHV - South
Upper Lake OHV recreation area could be considered the "back side" of Stonyford OHV, or visa versa. Upper Lake OHV is patrolled by a different ranger unit then Stonyford so if you plan to ride alone alert both districts.
If you plan to ride from Stonyford to Upper Lake OHV be sure to install an enduro size tank (3ish gallons).
Another option is rather ridiculous but depends simply on the amount of effort you are willing to put in to ride from one OHV areato the other. The option is to stash a tank of gas along a trail the night before assuming you are camping over night. If you decide to stash a gas tank be sure to take careful notice of where it is, make sure its along the correct trail and if you use a GPS device (I recommend the Garmin GPSMAP 60csx) you can mark the area where you leave your gas tank as a "waypoint." You of course need to bring your GPS device with you when you stash your tanks.
WHERE TO START!
I recommend parking up M-5 at the campsites above Mill Creek, Letts Ridge, and Potato Hill. These campsites are Old Mill up M-5, Cedar Creek way up at the top of Goat Mountain, Mill Valley just below Letts Lake adjacent to the "Lilly Pond," or Dixie Glade off of M-10. I personally like Mill Valley and Old Mill. Cedar Creek campground will put you the closest to the trails you need to take in order to arrive at Upper Lake OHV.
The main road you can take is M-10. M-10 will drop you down behind Letts Lake, make a hard right into the mountains and then hooks a complete 180 and heads westbound towards Upper Lake OHV. however I am not sure yet if this portion of M-10 allows off-highway vehicles. If you take M-10 it will bring you across a campground called Bear Creek Campgrounds.
Fear not. Either way, whether its on M-10 or you're taking trails, the 50" wide or less road you'll be taking is called Forest Route 17N16. This path is the one that will take you out to Upper Lake OHV! The first marked trail you will see is trail #34 which drops down to the left of Forest Route 17N16. Trail #34 will take you to the infamous Penny Pines campground!
Currently at this time google maps has incorrectly labeled M-10 and 17N16. They literally switched the names of the two roads. I called the Mendocino National Forest Office and over the phone confirmed that the roads are in fact in correctly labeled on google maps. The correct maps to view are the Mendocino National Forest OHV and Highway Vehicle Use Only Maps. The two links below are the Northern portion and the Southern portion of the Upper Lake OHV Recreational Area.
Upper Lake OHV - North
Upper Lake OHV - South
Keep checking back for interesting industry updates as well as information concerning OHV use in the Mendocino National Forest! Thanks for reading! Tell a friend!
Your Trail Riding GPS Solution!
I've done a lot of research but hands down the best hand held GPS device for any type of trail/outdoor user is the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSX.
The new version is high tech with super sensitive GPS receivers allowing for faster acquiring of satellites, rugged protection, memory storage and a new barometric pressure sensor to give you accurate altimeter data.
Dont get lost!
P.S. brand new this guy's a little expensive however you can buy some refurbished ones or find some good deals on ebay/google etcetera.
The new version is high tech with super sensitive GPS receivers allowing for faster acquiring of satellites, rugged protection, memory storage and a new barometric pressure sensor to give you accurate altimeter data.
Dont get lost!
P.S. brand new this guy's a little expensive however you can buy some refurbished ones or find some good deals on ebay/google etcetera.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Know "Wussup" Wit' Yo Forest Breh: [The Mendocino Forrest Business Plan]
This years almost over, but here is the most recent "business plan" for the MNF. It's a pretty interesting read and shows you exactly what goes into running a forest.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5143404.pdf
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5143404.pdf
2014 Hangtown Classic!!
YO! holy shit its already here! don't miss out on Prairie City's Hangtown Motocross Classic! Villopoto is allegedly sitting out this season. People will say that''s that reason J$7 will win it... BUUUU SHIT!! haha good luck to all racers this year! Big ups to to Rockzen and Bubba! Very curious to see how Roczen performs this year!
More info here!
http://www.hangtownmx.com/Tickets.html
More info here!
http://www.hangtownmx.com/Tickets.html
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Stonyford OHV / Upper Lake OHV Corridor 17N16!
Me and my buddy found ourselves all of a sudden about 1/4 mile away from the Stony Ford entrance to the OHV corridor that links Stony Ford to Penny Pines/Upper Lake OHV area. We had taken trail 45 which dumps you out on a trail/road intersection area. We took out the map and noticed that M-10 and road 17N16 was only another 1/4 on trial 45 where it would dump us right where we needed to be to link up to the OHV corridor.
Once trial 45 ended we hooked a gentle left hand turn and about 2 minutes later, there it was: the Upper Lake/ Stony Ford OHV Corridor, Route 17N16!
As soon as we found it I was ecstatic! I felt like we found a secret backside to Stonyford no one else had ever found!
I was able to ride in neutral with the engine off most the way once I was on the OHV Corridor route, 17N16. There were a few slow spots but nothing a quick bump start wouldn't fix. We came across a fork in the road which was an uphill left turn with a road that said Bartlett Springs Road. I'm sure if I looked it up I would find it but this is the road 17N04! This road leads to Crab Tree Springs which is closed off the the public. Actually you could follow this road all the way out to the Indian Valley Resovoir entrance. The sign reads of another historic springs location down this road but Crabtree Hot Springs is on this road as well and is privately owned and closed off to the public. I believe they actually blocked off the whole road which limits the tributary access to Upper Lake from the main "artery" corridor, 17N16.
Passing the access point to 17N04 a few miles down the corridor you eventually will hit the first trail for the Upper Lake area trail #37! This is a fun little Green/Blue rated trail. However at the bottom of this trail before you ascend back up the canyon you just descended you must cross a river and BE CAREFUL! this river looks way shallower then it actually is! lol no joke it will only look like a couple of inches then before you know it your front tire is half submerged.
Once you are up and over and into the tree's you then begin to see access to the rest of the Upper Lake/Penny Pines/Middle Creek Riding Areas.
I highly recommend considering a few things before you make this ride:
1) your fuel capacity. Will you have enough fuel to make it there and back a few wrong turns could leave you sleeping far away from either Stony Ford or Penny Pines depending on where you started. 2) What is the weather like? If you are riding into Upper Lake beware of puddles galore! Not only that the creek crossing might be too intense and some trails could be close due to rain thus ruining your entire trip and experience. 3) People grow pot in this area. Some own the property and some don't. NEITHER like trespassers and stray trail blazers. 4) PLAN and MAP out your trip before you go. Once you have the general access points figured out it shouldn't be too difficult to navigate around. Until you understand how to access both Stony Ford and Upper Lake from both directions either RESEARCH or go there in a jeep/truck to map it out yourself.
IF YOU DO TAKE A TRUCK OR JEEP be very careful of moto riders and stay on 4x4 designated trails ONLY! If you are on a multi OHV use trail make sure you have a spotter help direct you around blind, "wide open" looking turns to help direct traffic that could potentially cater themselves on your front end. NO BUENO!
Thanks! brap.
Heres a great video coming from Upper Lake heading down towards the creek you cross to go up to Stony Ford
at the end of the video you see a creek crossing with a trail directly on the other side. If you were to follow that trail (trail #37) you will head up to 17N16. When you hit the road turn right and you'll be in Stonyford OHV in less than 10 minutes!
Once trial 45 ended we hooked a gentle left hand turn and about 2 minutes later, there it was: the Upper Lake/ Stony Ford OHV Corridor, Route 17N16!
As soon as we found it I was ecstatic! I felt like we found a secret backside to Stonyford no one else had ever found!
I was able to ride in neutral with the engine off most the way once I was on the OHV Corridor route, 17N16. There were a few slow spots but nothing a quick bump start wouldn't fix. We came across a fork in the road which was an uphill left turn with a road that said Bartlett Springs Road. I'm sure if I looked it up I would find it but this is the road 17N04! This road leads to Crab Tree Springs which is closed off the the public. Actually you could follow this road all the way out to the Indian Valley Resovoir entrance. The sign reads of another historic springs location down this road but Crabtree Hot Springs is on this road as well and is privately owned and closed off to the public. I believe they actually blocked off the whole road which limits the tributary access to Upper Lake from the main "artery" corridor, 17N16.
Passing the access point to 17N04 a few miles down the corridor you eventually will hit the first trail for the Upper Lake area trail #37! This is a fun little Green/Blue rated trail. However at the bottom of this trail before you ascend back up the canyon you just descended you must cross a river and BE CAREFUL! this river looks way shallower then it actually is! lol no joke it will only look like a couple of inches then before you know it your front tire is half submerged.
Once you are up and over and into the tree's you then begin to see access to the rest of the Upper Lake/Penny Pines/Middle Creek Riding Areas.
I highly recommend considering a few things before you make this ride:
1) your fuel capacity. Will you have enough fuel to make it there and back a few wrong turns could leave you sleeping far away from either Stony Ford or Penny Pines depending on where you started. 2) What is the weather like? If you are riding into Upper Lake beware of puddles galore! Not only that the creek crossing might be too intense and some trails could be close due to rain thus ruining your entire trip and experience. 3) People grow pot in this area. Some own the property and some don't. NEITHER like trespassers and stray trail blazers. 4) PLAN and MAP out your trip before you go. Once you have the general access points figured out it shouldn't be too difficult to navigate around. Until you understand how to access both Stony Ford and Upper Lake from both directions either RESEARCH or go there in a jeep/truck to map it out yourself.
IF YOU DO TAKE A TRUCK OR JEEP be very careful of moto riders and stay on 4x4 designated trails ONLY! If you are on a multi OHV use trail make sure you have a spotter help direct you around blind, "wide open" looking turns to help direct traffic that could potentially cater themselves on your front end. NO BUENO!
Thanks! brap.
Heres a great video coming from Upper Lake heading down towards the creek you cross to go up to Stony Ford
at the end of the video you see a creek crossing with a trail directly on the other side. If you were to follow that trail (trail #37) you will head up to 17N16. When you hit the road turn right and you'll be in Stonyford OHV in less than 10 minutes!
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