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PQ unauthorized trail closure PSA
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Author:  bankerboy [ Tue Apr 03, 2018 2:02 pm ]
Post subject:  PQ unauthorized trail closure PSA

Just a flurry of activity lately...

Wanted to share this with everyone so that it is out there. There has been a lot of increased traffic on a couple social trials that were cut a few years back. As of today, several are being closed. Please read the below explanation and observe the closures.

Good Morning,

I have some information to share, many will feel it is not good news. There are several unauthorized trails that are becoming more frequently used and promoted by unofficial channels. The unauthorized trails will be closed by Ranger staff and volunteers in the month of April. One of the trails in question falls within the border of the Del Mar Mesa Preserve and must be closed to not jeopardize the official trails that we all worked so hard to get approved, i.e. Tunnels. The other two do not meet the standards of safety and sustainability and are not part of the Los Peñasquitos Master Trails Plan.

We all must remember, that thought Del Mar Mesa and Los Peñasquitos Canyon are awesome places to recreate, they are in fact Preserves. The land was not developed primarily for its habitat value, recreation is a secondary benefit, so it must be managed carefully. We need to allow some areas within the Preserves to remain people free (that includes people on horseback) so the many animals that live in the Preserves have a refuge.

Below is a map showing the approved trails in yellow/orange/green and the unauthorized trails to be closed in red. If everyone will cooperate with the trail closures it will be a fast process that will not take up too much staff time; so we will be able to use our resources on approved trail improvements.

Gina Washington

Senior Park Ranger

City of San Diego


Image

Author:  bankerboy [ Tue Apr 03, 2018 2:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PQ unauthorized trail closure PSA

The trail that comes off of the middle of the duck pond has always irked me because it was not a good line. Of course Duck Pond left some to be desired in recent years but we are working to change that.

The trail up the canyon above the duck pond has been called Tick and a few other names. That trail was originally cut by a wayward horse rider. It too was adopted by users who found it on digital sites.

The third is the furthest east of on the map and is really easy to find. It is the one with the fence at the top and sign that states "This is not a trail"!

People will come back and state they didn't know or thought it was ok. It is really easy to determine if a trail is legit or not. Check the park maps. if it is not on the map, it is not legal. I will point out the one obvious exception. Duck Pond trail is not on the map for some reason. This kind of dates back to the days of the DMM wars. It inadvertently was left off. I have been pushing the rangers to include it. Now that they have allowed the work, I think it kind of speaks for itself. Two other trails I have been questioned about is Appendix (not PQ) and Darkwood (technically part of Black Mountain).

Here are the links to the official maps

Penasquitos Map

Del Mar Mesa Trails (BTW, you can see the connector between tunnel one and darkwood canyon once the development on Rhodes Crossing is done)

Author:  evdog [ Tue Apr 03, 2018 3:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PQ unauthorized trail closure PSA

bankerboy wrote:
It is really easy to determine if a trail is legit or not. Check the park maps. if it is not on the map, it is not legal.

That's asking a lot of people who are just looking for an excuse.

I wish the city good luck with their closure.

If they just put up a fence and throw down some brush people will be back riding it within days. Some day they will learn that if they really want to close a trail they have to block it with immovable objects and/or deconstruct it to the point it is completely unusable.

Author:  klurejr [ Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PQ unauthorized trail closure PSA

evdog wrote:
bankerboy wrote:
If they just put up a fence and throw down some brush people will be back riding it within days. Some day they will learn that if they really want to close a trail they have to block it with immovable objects and/or deconstruct it to the point it is completely unusable.

Truth.

The guys who clear away the brush and "re-open" trails that get closed are not the types to come read updates on websites or read park maps.

Author:  evdog [ Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PQ unauthorized trail closure PSA

Lets be honest those people just don't give a shit. These are THEIR trails, and land managers can go to hell. No one in San Diego is unaware that Tunnels 3 and 5 are closed. Yet despite being covered in brush and debris a few riders felt so entitled to ride it they pulled all the debris off it. Soon as that happened everyone was back riding it. I put almost as much blame on the City for not doing a good enough job of making it permanently unridable and for not keeping an eye on it to make sure it stayed closed. Putting up a sign or a map, or asking people to stay off these trails on a forum is going to do exactly nothing to keep people off it unless there is a ranger with a cop standing there to ticket riders.

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