Anyone wanna ride this Tuesday 5/26?

[Trevor Purves]

I've got a '03 KTM 300 and I wanted to ride some medium/hard single track at either Georgetown or Elkins Flat if anyone else wants to join!

[CelticDude]

Hey Trevor.  Problem is that the Eldorado National Forest is closed until further notice.  I rode trail 5 at Foresthill yesterday and it was busy.

[Trevor Purves]

14 hours ago, CelticDude said:

Hey Trevor.  Problem is that the Eldorado National Forest is closed until further notice.  I rode trail 5 at Foresthill yesterday and it was busy.

I've been riding Georgetown a lot recently and all the trails seem fine. There's a decent amount of volunteers that keep everything clear and the signs by where I start say everything is open.

[CelticDude]

All the trails in the Eldorado Forest have been closed by the USFS order: 03-20-09 Emergency Trail Area Closure.  Looks like the closure is to remain in effect until May 29th.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/home/?cid=stelprdb5290737

 

[ElDorado650]

Actually it is just Elkins and Gold Note that are closed.  Some other spots as well, but not the entire forest.

That being said, the rest of the forest is just fire roads, not much single track.  In essence the only riding areas are closed unless you have a plate.

[SmokeX]

the Libby’s started it. And it’s ok to buy weed and beer. But can’t ride in the middle of no where where people aren’t. 
 

?

Thump on. 

[CelticDude]

14 hours ago, ElDorado650 said:

Actually it is just Elkins and Gold Note that are closed.  Some other spots as well, but not the entire forest.

That being said, the rest of the forest is just fire roads, not much single track.  In essence the only riding areas are closed unless you have a plate.

No.  It's the Eldorado National Forest which includes Elkins and Georgetown.  Gold Note is in the Amador National Forest which is not affected by this closure.  The Tahoe National Forest which includes Foresthill and Chalk Bluff are still open.  Prairie City and Mammoth Bar are open now as well.  Hopefully everything will be open soon.

[SmokeX]

Your absolutely 100% correct!!

[Kyle_S]

And Stonyford, don't forget Stonyford is open

[ElDorado650]

8 hours ago, CelticDude said:

No.  It's the Eldorado National Forest which includes Elkins and Georgetown.  Gold Note is in the Amador National Forest which is not affected by this closure.  The Tahoe National Forest which includes Foresthill and Chalk Bluff are still open.  Prairie City and Mammoth Bar are open now as well.  Hopefully everything will be open soon.

Not how I read it.  I live on Omo Ranch Road and it takes less than 10 minutes to get to Gold Note from my place.  It is in the Amador Ranger District of the El Dorado National forest (there is no Amador National Forest - just the Amador District in the El Dorado National Forest), though still part of El Dorado County.  Bear River is Amador County.  Once you cross the Mokelumne River, then you are in the Stanislaus National Forest.  The gates were closed to the camp grounds, but the roads are open to plated.

   The Seasonal Road and Trail Closure is not in effect.  Only trails in order 03-20-09 exhibits A thru D.  If it is not shown in that area - it is open.

Edited May 27, 2020 by ElDorado650

[CelticDude]

On 5/26/2020 at 8:04 AM, ElDorado650 said:

Actually it is just Elkins and Gold Note that are closed.  Some other spots as well, but not the entire forest.

That being said, the rest of the forest is just fire roads, not much single track.  In essence the only riding areas are closed unless you have a plate.

I know where you live,  we used to ride together about 15 years ago with Bigbob!  My friend Bruce and I are both retired and he is is touch with all the District Rangers because we do a lot of volunteer trail clearing.  We also do a lot of work laying out the 49'er Enduro and 49'er Family Enduro for the Polkadots.  He was told the campgrounds are currently closed at Gold Note but the trails are open.  What's frustrating for us is that we could be out there clearing trails at Elkins and Georgetown but they won't allow it at this time. 

[ElDorado650]

It is crap we can't clear - but most of Gold note is cleared already by locals.  Hill Billies don't care.

[CelticDude]

3 hours ago, ElDorado650 said:

It is crap we can't clear - but most of Gold note is cleared already by locals.  Hill Billies don't care.

I'm sure of that but Gold Note didn't have many downed trees.  Bruce and I GPS'ed over 60 downed trees on Trail 24 alone back when Elkins opened for one day.  Anyway it looks like PiPi Campground and Gold Note staging was opened on May 22nd. 

[Kyle_S]

Does it look like the emergency closure will be allowed to expire on the 29th? If the west side is clear at Rock Creek maybe I'll do that loop this weekend

[CelticDude]

Yep.  We just heard from the USFS.  Everything will be open but not sure what will be cleared.  They are letting us work on the trails now but it may take a while.  The connector from Mace Mill to Darling Ridge is always a problem so it might be better to start from Darling Ridge.