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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 12:51 pm 
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Not sure of others on the board but Hurkey Creek up in Idyllwild was pretty much my favorite "local destination" day trip in SoCal before it was closed due to a fire in 2013. I read about some riders heading back up there recently on MTBR. Yesterday, we went up there and expected it to be a "scouting" trip to try and piece together a loop. It turns out that 90% of the original trails & loop we took didn't seem to even get touched by the fire.

For those aware of the area, the ride up & out to May Valley (fire) road was untouched by the fire and was in great condition (other than some over-grown bushes along the fast DH section). We then rode up May Valley Rd to Snakeskin an d could see where it *appears* the fire crossed the road at one or two places. There used to be a couple of singletrack routes that veered off May Valley Rd that we used to take but couldn't find them so we stayed on the MV Rd. Going down Snakeskin was great, twister than I recalled and a little sandy or over-grown in spots, but a 9 out of 10 overall and plenty of sections to haul the mail.

Once we popped out on to the bottom, we scouted out the Hombres sections and the guy that scouted Dos Hombres said it looked a lil' over-grown to bother with. I made the call to go thru on Tres Hombres. We had to do some minor bush-whacking and it was sandy in spots but worth going it overall. I wished we would have tried Dos Hombres as it's way more fun with all the techy rock features. After that, we headed down Missing Link which had 3-4 downed trees (2 you had to climb over and 2 you rode around) and this had the most visible fire damage. The rest of the way down was pure perfection with 'Rage thru the Sage' and 'Tunnel of Love'. I can't wait to go back now!! It's only going to get better as more riders get out there.

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 1:21 pm 
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Thanks for the update. Been wondering.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 10:13 am 
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FYI....Hurkey is open, about as much as Spring/Oak and Fanita were open while the Marines were ticketing... That is, much of Hurkey is still under Forest service closure order from the Mountain Fire. You will probably get away with it, but the USFS may also decide to start handing out $5000 fines if traffic picks up too much and people start trying to reopen trails that nature has taken over.

Link: San Bernardino National Forest - Home
Map: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd481929.pdf

I'd suggest people ride the HUB trails or Simpson park instead. Both equally fun but not under scrutiny or closure order.

You may of course choose to use this info or not, but the USFS is just starting off a trail planning process for Hurkey, and it will not help us to get trails officially opened if people send a bunch of traffic up there with riders trying to reopen trails.

Map of the network being considered: http://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic.download.akamai.com/11558/www/nepa/24565_FSPLT3_1421879.pdf


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:47 am 
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I was under the same impression evdog and went up there last weekend. This is totally different than Spring Canyon because all the closed areas in Hurkey Creek are HEAVILY signed. Basically all the fun stuff that used to exist to the left side of May Valley Rd as you ride up are closed and signed as such. Not that it matters because the trails have grown over anyway, especially the old tried and true Exfoliator which was of course closed before the fire anyway.

This isn't military property either so comparing the two is silly IMO. This is public land and after 30+ years in law enforcement, I can attest to enforcement procedures and what is actually enforceable are completely different. They have clearly put in many man hours and a plenty of money to install 50+ quality signs on the areas they want to remain closed. No rational person could come to the conclusion that the trails w/o signage are not open to ride.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 1:46 pm 
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I wasn't comparing it directly to military land, just pointing out that people in Socal will ride trails without hesitation as if they are open as long as no one is in their face writing a ticket or confiscating their bike. But that doesn't mean the trails are legally open to ride, and in the long run doing so can work against us in terms of access. Word I've got from locals is steer clear of Hurkey til the trail plan is done. Whether you do or not is up to you. Regardless, the Forest service still has the area mapped as part of a closure order which is contrary to what people are saying that it is "wide open".


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 4:07 pm 
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This FB post in June by Brendan at Hub Cyclery implies some trails are open now. I suggest calling either the Hub or the Forest Service to confirm if you want to ride there. Or just stop in at the Hub. Cool shop, nice folks, and their maps are nice. They deserve a few bucks for putting them together.

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:19 am 
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There are at least (2) people on MTBR that claim they have specifically talked to the Ranger staff and have been told the areas they going are okay to ride...Trust me, you've never seen more "closed" signs in your life. It's very clear where it's okay vs not okay to ride.

I wish they would sign The Hub trails with some signage so I wouldn't get lost every single time I go out there. I've been on some great trails out there but I don't think I'e ever found them a second time.

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 5:58 am 
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From MTBR/Socal:

Quote:
Status (personal observations)
(10/11/2016):
Keen Camp Climb - OPEN, good condition
Johnson Meadow - OPEN, good condition
May Valley Fire Road(NW) - OPEN - heavy erosion
Bonita Vista Fire Road(E) - OPEN - good condition
Meadow Trail - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown
Sunset Trail - CLOSED, elimination planned
Mirkwood Trail - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall
Coldwater Trail - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, erosion, tree fall
Lower Southridge - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, erosion, tree fall
Snakeskin - Accessible, good condition
Cahuilla Cutoff - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, erosion
Tres Hombres:
Uno - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall, erosion
Dos - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall, erosion
Tres - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall, erosion
Spine Trail - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall
Lazy Bones - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall
Coffee Pot - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall
Grindstone - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall
Exfoliator - CLOSED, burn zone, overgrown, erosion, (recent traffic)
Missing Link - Accessible, burn zone, overgrown, tree fall
Hurkey Climb(aka: Hell Hill) - CLOSED permanently, erosion, boulders added
Coyote Fire Run - CLOSED, major erosion, (recent traffic)
Rage thru the Sage - Accessible, burn zone, overgrown, sandy
Tunnel of Love - Accessible, erosion
Demoralizer - open, good condition

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:37 pm 
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k2rider wrote:
I wish they would sign The Hub trails with some signage so I wouldn't get lost every single time I go out there. I've been on some great trails out there but I don't think I'e ever found them a second time.


There are spots where trail signage are welcome and appropriate but there are and should still be spots (especially unsanctioned popular spots like the Hub System) that should remain raw and unsigned. Part of the fun is knowing a trail system intimately. Getting lost in early exploration days is just a bonus. Just my two cents.

NoW!
There are always exceptions to this....:)
Tasteful and classy
Image
Informative and efficient Joey-filter sign
Image

oh and directional signs on purposely built directional trails so nobody buzzkills your Zen after a long climb
Image

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