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Trail Work

2002 Trail Sign Installation Part 2

Sunday, March 17, 2002

By Keith Eckstein

      St. Patrick's Day dawned chilly and windy, but the forecasted rain seemed a remote threat at best (worst?). Bob Haislett, Terry Hamlyn, Jim Simescu, Valerie Spier, Ed Kostiuk and yours truly assembled at the bottom of Maple Springs at 7:30 a.m. with signs, tools and bodies fueled and ready for the day's efforts.

      Divided between Valerie's GMC Sierra and Bob Haislett's Toyota, we all began the drive up Maple Springs in the early morning light. Bob's truck held all the signs, and we were on our way to the top of the Silverado Motorway to keep a 9:00 a.m. appointment with USFS rangers Jennifer Coleman and Jay Makemson. Jennifer and Jay were bringing the cement, water, gas augur and tools to help us get the signs in the ground. The Silverado Motorway sign was the first on the list.

      The drive along the Main Divide in the early light revealed awesome vistas of Lake Matthews, the I-15 expressway and the city of Corona. Why is the water of Lake Matthews always so deeply blue?

      After arriving at the Main Divide–Silverado Motorway junction, Bob and Terry dropped off the signs and continued on their appointed rounds. Their task today was to attach trail name/number plates to the signs we'd previously installed in January. Shortly thereafter Ken Rands drove up on his motorcycle to join us. Ed, Valerie, Ken, Jim and I had the hole dug and the sign positioned by the time Jennifer and Jay arrived with the water and cement.

      But an amazing thing occurred just prior to the rangers' arrival: four women had hiked up the motorway on their way to Bedford Peak, and the amazing thing was that one of these women had only one leg and was hiking up on crutches! Without the help of a prosthetic leg, she was trucking along like no tomorrow, as if this was just another walk in the park. Seeing things like that makes you think about how lucky you really are to have all your faculties and limbs. I felt sort of ashamed looking back at the times I've bellyached and complained about my "problems." When these four passed us by on their return trip back down to Maple Springs, they paused and we all conversed for a few minutes. We passed on some information about the Warrior's Society, spoke about the risks and rewards of biking in the dirt, and just pleasantly passed the time in general. I asked for a group photo, and when I get the film back from the developers I'll make it available to Chris and he'll get it on the web site.

      The remainder of the volunteers met us at the top of Maple Springs at 10:00 a.m., so we had a three-truck convoy going across the Main Divide with Valerie's GMC and Jennifer and Jay each in a Forest Service truck. Ken went ahead on the motorcycle to let the group at the top of Maple Springs know that we were on our way.

      Once at the Maple Springs–Main Divide junction, we planted signs at the top of Harding and the top of Maple Springs and one on the Main Divide. The gas augur and many enthusiastic and willing hands made it light work and also very quick.

      While we were still at the top of Maple Springs, great entertainment was afforded us as we watched a big white truck with bikes in the bed head up to Santiago Peak, presumably to shuttle the fire road!? We were pretty puzzled by the rationale of shuttling up to coast down a fire road. As we were driving up to Joplin, we encountered the riders coming down and ultimately the white pickup truck following. I can only surmise what went through the minds of these riders as they met Tani (owner of the Path Bike Shop) pedaling up the fire road.

      On to the top of Joplin. Tani decided to forego the proffered ride in the back of a pickup, opting instead to ride the VooDoo single speed. You know what? He arrived at Joplin only a minute or two behind us! Nicely done, Tani. This day was busy for vehicle traffic on the Main Divide, and all during the day we saw folks out and about in their SUVs, Jeeps and even some vans.

      Nearing 12:30 p.m. the weather slowly started to turn dark. After the Joplin sign was firmly planted, the guys on bikes all bailed for home, some down Joplin, others following the shuttlers and going back down the fire road. Ken Rands also headed for home on his motorcycle at this time. That left Valerie, Jim, Ed, Jennifer, Jay and me to plant the sign at the top of Indian Truck Trail.

      After hauling the sign out of its stashed location in the bushes, Ed found a geo marker that had been vandalized and tossed off the side of the road. Valerie produced a length of rope from her truck, and with Ed pushing and Jim, Valerie and Jay pulling, they hauled it up out of the bushes. So we planted that as well. Look for it next time you're up there; it's a bit of history worth noting.

      So with our work completed, we all said our good-byes as Jennifer and Jay headed back to Corona via Indian Truck Trail while we all piled into Valerie's truck and headed back up and over Santiago Peak and down Maple Springs. Being almost completely overcast now, the weather started to get really cold. We all had a great time going down Maple Springs until just about 50 yards shy of where the dirt ends and the pavement begins when the GMC's right front tire bottomed out in a rut and we were struck by the classic Santa Anas pinch flat. I've had this joyful experience on my bike on too many occasions, but never in a truck!

      A minor pain but no biggie — exchange the flat with the spare and we're good to go, right? Well, a serious design flaw in the mechanism that lowers the cable to which the spare tire is attached prevented us from actually getting the spare tire free. So after 20 minutes of f---ing around with it, we decided that it's only three miles back to the gate, so we'll just roll it slowly down hill on the flat tire. The tire didn't start to disintegrate until the last 100 yards or so. I hopped out and picked up more than a handful of rubber pieces, chasing after the truck to the end of Maple Springs.

     Now that we had cellular reception, AAA was called, and while we were waiting for their arrival we planted the last sign of the day at the end of Maple Springs. When the AAA driver arrived, he went through the same machinations that we all had, attempting to lower the spare tire. Finally, with the use of a little brute force, he was able to pry the tire down a bit, which straightened the alignment so that the wrench could engage the cable to lower the spare tire. GMC owners beware! Take your truck to the dealer ASAP (especially if the truck is still under warranty) and get this thing fixed. A simple operation like changing a flat tire should not be an impossible ordeal, as was the case that day with us.

      Gotta say thanks to the USFS, Karla, Jennifer and Jay for their time, materials and labor. Of course thanks to all of you who volunteered, and you know who you are. To donate your Sunday (or part of it) to give something back to the forest that we all enjoy is part of what the Warrior's Society stands for and is about. A special thanks to Valerie, who sacrificed her truck's tire and rim to appease the spirits of the Santa Anas. This sign installation day could not have happened without you and your truck. It is my hope that you'll continue to be a part of the group.

Ya ta hey,

Keith Eckstein

Director of Public Outreach and Advocacy

The Warrior's Society

2002 Trail Signs Installation Part 3

Chris Vargas

Saturday, April 27, 2002

      It was a drizzly morning as we began phase 3 of our trail signs installation program. Despite the dreary conditions we had a great turnout! The project area was in the San Juan/Blue Jay area and required carrying the signs out to the many locations where they were installed.

      Special thanks to Larry Branham and his band of Warriors, who placed four of the signs prior to the work day and picked up the tools from Karla, and to Keith Eckstein, who cooked us an excellent lunch! This project would not have been as successful without the help of Bob Haislett, who fabricated the signs, and the U.S. Forest Service for its support and cooperation.

      Phase 4 of the project, the installation of signs in the San Mateo Wilderness, will be part of our 2002–2003 trail work season. As this newsletter goes to press we will be doing our last Trail Work Event, brushing the Trabuco and Joplin Trails.

      We will be having a volunteer-only ride in the fall to thank all those mountain bikers who volunteered their time to maintaining the trails in the county, state and federal parks. We thank all of you who made our 2001–2002 trail work season a success.

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