"chime In"may 1st Capitol forest Opener

[ridemor]

as this is one of if not my favorite place to ride i was just wondering what others may be thinking about the opener being a month later & lasting thru the end of Nov.had a wet April last couple of years.cant wait for it to open every year but imo a good move.?--- from wadnr website--- (Winter Trail Closure Season Goes Region-Wide) Starting with the 2009 recreational season, the Pacific Cascade Region will have region wide closure dates from December 1 through April 30.This will help in DNR’s efforts to limit resource damage in the wet winter months, and aid in maintaining the trail systems.

The closure will apply to all ORV trails, as well as on other specific trail systems based on necessity as determined by the DNR recreational managers.The closure duration will not be increasing rather it is an adjustment of one month to allow for the ground to harden for the busy use season.

[Ryanthegreat1]

YAY! Now the quad tards won't have as many mudholes to turn trails into complete CRAP.

Quad riders piss me off.

"Durrr lets drink some beers and then go get our big bastard 4 wheel drive quads stuck then we will throw our trash all over the trail and run over all the motorcycles"

How about DNR banning all quads from the trail systems. Not very often do you find motorcycles out intentionally destroying the trails. Most of those idiots take it to the MX track.

[team claw]

I'm all for it.

That early April quad poker run out of middle waddle hasn't done the trails any favors the last few years.

I am NOT in favor of keeping it open until the end of November though. November is as much or wetter than April and usually with more violent storms. Keep that closure to the end of October as it is now.

[ridemor]

In a perfect world i to would rather ride on trails that haven't been chewed up & littered on.unfortunately we are in the same sinking ship as the quad riders as far as guys like sen.ADAM ? KLINE are concerned.I wish there were more primitive trails at capitol as there are in Tahuya.

[Ryanthegreat1]

I'm all for it.

That early April quad poker run out of middle waddle hasn't done the trails any favors the last few years.

I am NOT in favor of keeping it open until the end of November though. November is as much or wetter than April and usually with more violent storms. Keep that closure to the end of October as it is now.

+1 to this. Who had the bright idea to run big quads on a poker run right at the start of the season while the ground is still super soft?

Must have been that jack ass that likes to hear himself talk at the riders meeting. I don't even think he rides, just parades around saying "hey look at me I am so cool I talk like a girl." Dude reminds me of Chris Griffen from Family Guy.

I attended that ride last year (year before last?) at the back of the pack of bikes. The trails were so nice. After arriving back to the starting point I was going to do the long loop a second time but made it to the other side of Waddle Creek RD and the trails were so bad from the quads I said forget it.

Then there was the sitting around waiting a good 4 hours for the rest of the quad tards to get back.

I got to hear all the great stories from those quad riders. How they were stopped in the woods where they drank the 6 pack that was in the cooler. Or how they rutted out the trails so badly that only the 800lbs hunting quads with 4 wheel drive and 27" agricultural tires were making it through. I really loved the part about the big quads getting to push the stuck quads in front of them through the new mud holes.?

Since that running of the quads the trails used have been total crap.

Sucks that we have to be put into the same group as the quad riders.

[team claw]

I wish there were more primitive trails at capitol as there are in Tahuya.

There could be but permits, red tape beuracracy and DNR won't let it happen. Capitol forest could take on a whole new meaning if we could create a system of bike-only trails.....give the existing crap, er, trails to the quads.

Lot's of potential for trails to suit all skill levels.

[trailmeisterjoe]

i did not ride capitol at all last year because of the disaster the kwads have been allowed to make of the so called trails ( more like bulldozed mud roads). i am never for limiting access or closing seasons though so what do you do?

Joe

[8675309]

i too used to ride capitol alot, but only once last year because those trails are so f'ed

[Chuck.]

I had a twelve year hiatus from riding and went back to Capital last summer, was that ever a wake up call. I'm absolutely awe struck at the bad conditions of the trails. Now don't get me wrong I like challenging trails but these were just plain torn up and overused, with no signs of maintenance. Perhaps the quad riders like slow physically challenging trails but my druthers is a bit more ground speed.

On all of my recent input to DNR I've stressed more singletrack and the safety hazards of quads.

As a previous poster said; if Capital had more single track it could be a nice riding area.

May 1st is a Friday. Is there an organized ride on May 1st?

[Ride]

A agree, capitol is hammered crap. I would love to see 50 plus miles of single track and let the quads have the rest.

[8675309]

A agree, capitol is hammered crap. I would love to see 50 plus miles of single track and let the quads have the rest.

does it look anything like "this" trail after you and jake got done with it??

[Ride]

does it look anything like "this" trail after you and jake got done with it?

That's still sweet single track ?

[Mud Ducks]

We need Capitol open sooner and left open later if at all possible. Granted the soil there is hard to manage in the wet season, but it sure is the simple answer for the local DNR to just shut the forest down for the whole season and let all of the added wear move to the Tahuya for the major portion of the riding season.

I'm told that the delay to open in May versus April is the result of a bunch of people correctly complaining about there being a two day event every opening weekend and the damage that was being done. They were pushing to delay any events until at least May, and instead the local DNR chose to keep the whole forest shut for another month.

Their decision years ago to close for the winter has contributed to the over crowding and much faster wear of the trails in the Tahuya. We now see single track stuff that we and a few other clubs work so hard to get permission to build or reastablish after logging and spend 100s of club hours putting in getting wore out in just two to three seasons. Just look at Conner trail, it is only three seasons old!

The only hope is that more people get involved with the decision making and help the right choices get made. The only real solution is the hardest one, more land. I don't want to turn this into a DNR ragging post, their task is a tough one. Our local DNR for the Tahuya have been great working with us groups that use it, and more groups need to work with their local DNR to come up with acceptable solutions.

[Ryanthegreat1]

So you are saying I need to contact the local DNR and politely ask them for some single track that is designated for motorcycle (2 wheels) ONLY?

I would really like to do trail maintenance out at Capitol but I am so discouraged by the fact that the first time it gets wet out there the quads will destroy all of the time and effort put in.

I do however haul home a backpack full of trash every time I go out there.

As for the staying closed an extra month I am ALL for that. Those people that complained about the season opener event are 100% right about the trails getting hammered on those 2 days by the quads.

[JoeMcLaughlin]

We need Capitol open sooner and left open later if at all possible.

No way I could agree with that. Capitol Forest gets hammered in the spring from that poker run. Moving the opening back a month is a good move for CF trails. Thank you very much for efforts you put into the trails:)

So you are saying I need to contact the local DNR and politely ask them for some single track that is designated for motorcycle (2 wheels) ONLY?

YES YES YES Contact every DNR person you can find and ask for singletrack trails. It may not sound like it but they do listen to us.

Joe.........

[JoeMcLaughlin]

Jones Creek has been on that Schedule for a while and it does work. Careful about asking for it to close a month early,, you may get just that. If you leave it the way it is and you get a nasty November DNR can close it early. We have had open weekend during the closure in the past but the last two years we have had none. The open weekends worked real well. Sadly, an open weekend would be short notice depending on the weather.

Joe..........

[Mud Ducks]

Yes, the local DNR is where you have to go to get permission to build trails. The local clubs are good guys to work with also. In the Tahuya we are not allowed to add any more miles of trails, but we work with them to replace trails after logging, move trails that are worn out or reclaim sections that we have lost in the past due to logging or road closures.

It is discouraging to do that work and have it trashed by quads , and it never seemed to make sense to have a huge event the 1st weekend the forest opens up. Good luck.

[dkenck]

While I've always supported clubs rights to hold events in Capitol Forest, I have always felt that having a Poker Run with heavy quad traffic in April did more harm than good and that moving the poker run to later in the season would be a good idea.

Having put in trail hours at Capitol the past 3 years I think this is good for the forest and as JCTRA members point out the May - Nov time frame works well for Jones Creek.

So all in all I support this move.

later

danny

[JoeMcLaughlin]

I am no expert when it comes to Capitol Forest. I have not spent the time there that I have at Jones Creek. I do not know if the move one month back is a perfect fit at CF. The soil or should I say Clay is very different there. I do know I am very happy to hear that the Spring Fling PR will not be in April. I respect the club and the efforts they put forth but a PR in April is trashing CF and I have never supported it. Last year was my last week long trip I will be taking to CF due to the damage, it's just not worth it. For 2009 I think I will hit Tahuya for two weeks rather than one.

Many thanks to the folks that put in the work to maintain the singletrack at Tahuya. I know I enjoy a pristine singletrack trail and there are some nice ones in Tahuya. My quad riding friends (many who put in a lot of trail work) do not understand what I am talking about when I try to explain what it is like to ride a prime singletrack that looks the same each year even though it gets plenty of use. Tahuya has those trails. If quad users are getting at the singltrack and messing them up then it is time to bring that up to DNR and get a work party together to block quad access. That is resource damage, #2 on the priority list for DNR. Only safety come first. I feel the pain of singletrack lost to quads, all trails at Jones Creek were singletrack at one time. I am not about to jump on the quad bashing band wagon, they have just as much right to use the land as everyone else but they need to stick to the quad trails. Fight for that singletrack, DNR will listen. If you feel they are not post up here and rally the troops, together we will make them listen. If the problem is explained to them, a solution is proposed, and users are willing to get the job done how can they say no? After all, it is resource damage.

Joe.........

[Ryanthegreat1]

After all, it is resource damage.

Joe.........

What a great angle to attack this from!