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!
Showing posts with label 4 Upper Lake OHV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4 Upper Lake OHV. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
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!
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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