Website: http://www.gettinoff4x4.com . We meet monthly, every 2nd Tuesday in the patio area at Antonella’s Ristorante, 1701 Park Avenue, San Jose , CA 95126 (408) 279-4922. Park on Naglee Ave or in the parking lot across from the restaurant. Meeting minutes are distributed a few days after each club meeting.
7:00 PM – BUFFET DINNER: Salad, Pasta, Pizza, Bread & Soft drinks($10). Attendees are encouraged to enjoy the buffet dinner or order from the menu to help Antonella’s recover the cost of using the patio area.
7:30 PM – Meeting starts NOTE: the actual meeting start is 7:30 PM (not 8PM from the yahoo groups automatic reminder email).
WELCOME and BOARD REPORTS
President – Terry: Welcomed members & guests.
Vice President – Brian: no announcements.
Treasurer – Don: A few still need to pay dues. T-Shirts have been ordered and are in stock now. Contact Don by email or at the next meeting. New members get a shirt & decal included with initial membership.
Secretary – Paul: no announcements.
Members Attending – Aaron, Brian, Chris 4R, Chris JK, Dimas, Don, Eric, Gary, Jon, Lyle, Marco, Matt, Michael, Paul E, Paul H, Rahul, Randy, Roger, Ron, Steve, Terry, Tom K, Tom W.
Brand New Members this month –
Guests Attending – Andy 85 4-Runner, welcome!
(If I missed you or anyone else who attended please let me know.)
CLUB NEWS, ONGOING ACTIONS & IDEAS
1) Club web page is fixed ! Eric looked into problem with editing & solved issue.
2) Some of our Yahoo groups recipients are not getting emails from the server (Chris W for example); and meeting start time to be fixed..
3) Fire Permits are needed for any fire or stove used outside of improved campgrounds in National Forest or BLM areas, when allowed.Brian suggests http://www.preventwildfireca.org/Campfire-Permit/ .
VEHICLE PAINS & PROJECTS, STUFF FOR SALE
1) Chris 4R: Smog issues. (ed.: a new cat could help; prices have dropped).
2) Marco: Installed body lift & new fenders
3) Eric: Tranny leak/water pump leak, part of recall that dealer attempted to fix, took 2 times.
4) Terry: ’02 SC300 acquired.
5) Randy: D35 axles for sale cheap.
6) Chris JK: Body lean and wobble fixed (ed: check for too much toe-in)
RECENT RUNS & ‘CHANCES TO LOCK AXLES’
1) August 14,15,16 BBQ Run: Bear Valley Loop Trail. A few arrived Thursday to reserve campsites, and by Friday evening nearly everyone had arrived. That evening most of the group drove up Sardine Peak for a gorgeous view and to appreciate the fantastic restoration of the Sardine Peak Fire Lookout. It can be rented this year for free from Tahoe Nat’l Forest. On Sat morning we ran most but not the last few miles the 20-mile Bear Valley Loop trail, avoiding most of the manzanita, but ended up with little brush rash anyway. It’s a moderately difficult route overall, with a few bypasses at the steep spots. The 2nd winch hill caught a few rigs who needed the winch, mostly for traction but also to keep rigs on all fours. Other than the few winch-ups, a tricky rock garden or two, & Matt’s steering box leak (later fixed) the run went without a hitch. A young deer running nearly slammed into my front fender, as I only crawling along up a hill.
The BBQ went very well with plenty of great food to eat. On the Door prizes, the folding chair & slingshot were traded the most. A Big thanks to every one for helping at the BBQ set up, cooking & clean up. Tim (Paul H’s buddy) and I were the last to leave the campground, and then one of the bow-hunters camped nearby had to ‘shake our hands’ for cleaning the campsites up so well. So kudos to everyone!
On Sunday we had a bonus run to Snake Lake. Tim & I ran just part of the trail, since it took some time to get to the trailhead using the Gold Lake lakeshore route on the south side. Yes it is a PITA because there are lots of stock pickups tip-toeing over the rocks & boulders along the way. But it is a beautiful place to camp, right along the Gold Lake shore. We saw some great views along the way up to Snake Lake. We arrived at Snake Lake Loop about 12:30 pm and made it to Little Deer Lake, only about 1/4 of the loop. Other than winch hill 2 at Bear Valley Loop, Snake Lake trail is rougher, with more steep climbs and ‘proper rock-crawling’ compared to Bear Valley Loop. At 2 PM we headed back, and located the short cut routes back to the Gold Lake highway, that Tim from Diablo Valley 4-Wheelers described. It’s much faster but has several L & R turns. We got home about 8 PM. http://4x4trailmaps.com/4x4Trails.php?Trail_ID=47 .
I will have photos of both runs soon, with a description of how to reach Snake Lake route using the fast way (hint: use Sardine Road, a left turn off of Gold Lake Highway, about 1 mile before Gold Lake. Do no use the bumpy route to the OHV campground).
2) Andy (new guest) Ran Rubicon with JK Club in late July.
UPCOMING RUNS
1) Aug 20-21-22 – Run the Rubicon with Chris W. (contact Chris W. directly)
2) Sept. 8 – Club Meeting
3) Sept 12 -13 – Deer Valley & Twin Peaks trails. We’ll run DV trail on Saturday. Hwy 4 Protocol (per the Adopt-A-Trail run) . You can stay Sat night at Terry’s new place in South Tahoe off Hwy 89. 33″+ tires & 1 locker recommended. A ‘side’ run will be the Twin Peaks route near Sawmill Pond possibly on Sunday morning. Details at the next meeting.
4) Sept 26-27 – Barrett Lake Trail is Open !! See http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/news-events/?cid=STELPRD3847114. This will be an overnight run. Optionally camp at Wrights Lake Friday night, On Saturday run Barrett Lake one way and camp there Sat night. Run the trail back out Sunday morning.
5) October 17 or 24 – Sourgrass Adopt-A-Trail run.
6) November 25-29 – Death Valley / Panamint or somewhere else in the desert run (Calico Hills & area?).
7) December – Toys for Tots & Christmas dinner.
***Summer season: It is possible certain National Forests may “close” OHV mid-to-late summer due to fire hazard***.
8:30 PM – Meeting adjourned.
If there are any corrections, clarifications or updates, please chime-in. If you are an active member your name should be on this list:
Aaron, Alicia, Brad, Brian, Chris W, Chris ?, Dimas, Don, Eric, Gary, Genna, Jon, Joe, Lyle, Marco, Mario, Matt, Michael, Paul E, Paul H, Rahul, Randy, Roger, Ron, Steve, Terry, Tom K, Tom W.
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SAVING OUR TRAILS
Updates and New info in BOLD type. If you have new information feel free to send out an update. Though some are several months old, they are still active projects waiting for an outcome or completion.
Recent Actions
*:-w waiting Here’s the latest on our cherished yet closed Eldorado trails, direct from Jeff Blewett, Cal4 Wheel’s Natural Resource Consultant for No. Calif.. Cal4 appears overly optimistic , while ENF has just published its own status.
Deer/Clover Valley- Cal4: “late summer” ENF: “Fall 2016 or Summer 2016”
Pardoe’s/Squaw Ridge(‘Squaw’ renamed ‘Hungaleti Ridge Trail’) Cal4: “by the FS it is open”; ENF “mitigation work starts Fall 2016 or Summer 2016.
Strawberry Ridge- Cal4: “Summer 2016”; ENF “Summer 2017”
*:D big grin Barrett Lake- Cal4: OPEN !! – Finally…See http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/news-events/?cid=STELPRD3847114
ENF’s overall route status is at : http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/home/?cid=fsbdev7_019037
Finally a June 2015 update on the 42 Routes initially closed is at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3843438.pdf
Many lessor-known routes are re-opened, but the best remain closed. Some of the route status in this update appear to be in conflict with Cal4’s assessments:
There are apparently no “public” links from the ENF Home webpage to the 42 Route Project web page, but it’s at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/home/?cid=stelprdb5362046
*:-h waveSome of you are familiar with the Carnegie State Vehicle Recreation Area near Livermore. It has been controversial from a “greenie/enviro” perspective. There have been attempts in the past to close it, but the riding public, CORVA, local Carnegie groups, and the Calif Dept of Parks-OHV Div have persisted and kept it open. A few years ago a new 4×4 obstacle course was created. Right now, they plan to open up a new area, adding about 3000 acres, with dozens of miles of new trails for motorcycles and 4x4s added to the existing 900 acres. There was a city council meeting in Livermore to take and advisory (non-binding) vote on wheather the city of Livermore supports the Carnegie expansion or not. I sent my comments days earlier to the entire Livermore City coucil (however Livermore residents carry much more “sway”). Three voted against the expansion and only 2 voted in favor. CORVA created an entire web page for the Carnagie/Tesla SVRA expansion, which is chalk full of great resources and information: http://www.corva.org/Carnegie-SVRA-Expansion . BRC’s Don Amador has a blog too: http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2015/05/code-red-carnegie-action-alert-update.html . Dan A, Cal4 & CORVA also asked us also to contact the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to vote in favor of the expansion and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement contracted out by the Calif Dept of Park, OHV Divsion. I did. The county supervisors voted 100% against the DEIS and expansion of Carnegie SVRA on an advisory vote. It’s hard to know if this will be litigated, but it is moving that direction. In part these negative votes by Liver more & Alameda Couty, were promulgated by the East Bay Regional Park District, who set up a false public expectation that this land could be acquired by them and converted to another regional (non-motorized) park. EPRPD has 120,000 park acres in Alameda & Contra Costa Cos, whereas motorized parks are now only 900 acres, to be 3900 acres we hope. The SVRA owns the land, purchased by money from the OHV Trust fund, which comes from a tiny fraction of gasoline taxes and green/yellow sticker fees.
*~X( at wits’ endKnow your Anti-Access Organizations, a sampler:
1. CSNC is the group that sued Eldorado National Forest and successfully convinced a judge to force ENF to close and/or repair trails. One of CSNC’s primary goals is to limit OHV. Website http://www.sierranevadaconservation.org/achievements/. While we generally have no issue repairing or re-routing routes around what have recently been identified as ‘sensitive’ areas, there was no need to close the entire lengths of all 42 routes for 2, 3 years or more. Many have re-opened, but many still remain closed to public access until only small sections are repaired.
2. CBD is one of the most notorious and powerful anti-access organizations. They often tend to lump motorized recreation access in with all forms of habitat interference, even though 99% of OHV use causes very little or virtually zero affect on animal habitat & popluation. Sample: “… cumulative threats from our changing climate, predation, drought, disease, and off-road recreation; and other threats all support an endangered listing….” re: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/Gunnison_sage_grouse/pdfs/Gunnison_sage_grouse_NOI.pdf and http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/off-road_vehicles/index.html. It’s very interesting they almost never mention other causes of habitat interferences such as: hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, camping, hunting, wildfires, highways, fences, etc. But apparently off-road recreation is “equal” with climate change, predation, drought & disease! CBD are also well known for launching a plethora of lawsuits, using the “Sue & Settle” tactic, thus taking millions of taxpayer dollars from the Forest Service & BLM to pay their attorneys: http://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=301242 and http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/staff/
3. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) http://www.peer.org/campaigns/public-lands/off-road-wreckreation/news-releases.html and http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/2013/01/07/court-orders-tighter-off-road-plan-for-stanislaus-forest/
Older Actions
Moab: (for details see previous Saving Our Trails) and https://www.sharetrails.org/alerts/2015/03/23/national-call-to-action-help-save-moabs-trails & http://www.cal4wheel.com/access-issues/22-other-states-access-issues/610-moab-trails-need-your-letter-of-support
Plumas National Forest lawsuit. (for details see previous Saving Our Trails and go to Corva.org) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jN3Xdy0CKM&feature=youtu.be and http://www.corva.org/FS.Lawsuit
Deer Valley Route closures from Jan to July 31 due to Yosemite Toad (see previous Saving Our Trails and latest Eldorado 42 Routes closure news above) http://cal4wheel.com/access-issues/northern-california-access-issues/541-forest-service-proposing-seasonal-closure-on-deer-valley-trail & http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/land-use-issues/1909145-forest-service-proposing-seasonal-closure-deer-valley-trail-yosemite-toad.html
Oceano Dunes “air pollution” (for details see previous Saving Our Trails) and: http://cal4wheel.com/access-issues/central-california-access-issues/595-urgent-comments-needed-on-oceano-svra and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Oceano-Dunes/141393079248971 .
Amazon.com has a charity program where they contribute a 0.5% of your purchases to a charity of your choice. One of the charities is Blue Ribbon Coalition, a 501(c)(3) organization. It costs you virtually zero $. So how do you sign up? 1) Sign-in to your Amazon account. 2) On another tab/window, Go to http://www.sharetrails.org/content/support-brc-while-shopping-online to read how it works. 3) Click on http://smile.amazon.com/, and you will see info and a short list of charities. For BRC, type in “BlueRibbon Coalition” exactly as shown here, in the search box. The result should be “Blueribbon Coalition Inc” and “Categories: Natural Resource Conservation and Protection” and “Location: Pocatello, ID”. (Be careful–there are dozens of other ‘Blue Ribbon xxxx’ charities out there, be sure you have the right one.) 4) Click OK to sign-up, and BRC will receive 0.5% of your purchase amounts at no cost to you. To automatically donate, shop only at the “Smile” web address: at https://smile.amazon.com/ (if you use Amazon’s normal web address, no donations are made). You can change charities or cancel anytime.
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There are dozens of other, mostly irrational public land & road closures in the works by the enviro-left/elite, so we encourage everyone to check Blue Ribbon Coalition, Cal4wheel, Corva.org, and Pirate4x4 websites for the latest access news, and contact land managers and government officials and tell them public land is for everyone.