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Guys, I just want to share a mini clip about our latest trip to Big Bear. Holcomb Creek July 2009. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGof13dVUHc
Holcomb Creek – July 26, 2009.
One of the biggest threats to Southern California are the wild fires. When that happens in our public lands, the US National Forest authorities automatically closed the area to general public to allow nature to recover itself from the damage. That required at least a couple of years. Then, the experts get in and study the area for potential risk and solve the problems before opening the trails again.
Being part of the Adopt-a-trail program, our club has constant communications with the rangers, and we were invited to do run for a “closed” trail, Holcomb Creek, doing our regular voluntary work plus looking for widow makers.
The widow makers are dead trees (huge pines trees) that are closed to the trail, sometimes hanging there from other stronger trees. You recognized them because they are not following a vertical line; they have no green at all, just burnt branches. The re-opening for the beautiful trail, rated as black diamond, is expected in summer 2010. During this summer, those dead trees must be removed from the burnt area. But is not as simple as just cut them and leave it there. If they just cut them down and left them it becomes a fire hazard as they would be adding more fuel to a fire if there is another fire in the future there.
They have two options here, based on how many trees are we talking about. They are doing a census and making a plan. The worst scenario is taking a bull dozer that will convert the trail into a fire road, to allow the log trucks to pick them up. The desire situation, the one that we want to happens, is to remove the logs using a helicopter, so the trail will keep as it is, as a great black diamond trail. Removing the trees by helicopter has less impact on the forest and preserves the existing trail.
Less than twenty rigs showed up, two Land Cruisers, one Nissan mini truck and all others, well, Jeeps of course. If I rated the trail by how many times my rear bumper hits a rock, this one will be very close to Rubicon.
We had a water crossing that covers almost half of my tires, that is unusual in Southern California trails. I felt home doing that! The rock gardens is something hard to describe, if you are leading a group, you better know what are you doing and where you going, cause everyone else will follow you, well, the big boys draw their own unimaginable lines.
We had a blast working as a voluntary crew, with so many people involved it was really easy, considering that the trail was closed; well trash was not an issue at all. Few beer cans and removing some balloons trapped at the trees was the biggest concern.
Roberto L. Miranda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGof13dVUHc
Holcomb Creek – July 26, 2009.
One of the biggest threats to Southern California are the wild fires. When that happens in our public lands, the US National Forest authorities automatically closed the area to general public to allow nature to recover itself from the damage. That required at least a couple of years. Then, the experts get in and study the area for potential risk and solve the problems before opening the trails again.
Being part of the Adopt-a-trail program, our club has constant communications with the rangers, and we were invited to do run for a “closed” trail, Holcomb Creek, doing our regular voluntary work plus looking for widow makers.
The widow makers are dead trees (huge pines trees) that are closed to the trail, sometimes hanging there from other stronger trees. You recognized them because they are not following a vertical line; they have no green at all, just burnt branches. The re-opening for the beautiful trail, rated as black diamond, is expected in summer 2010. During this summer, those dead trees must be removed from the burnt area. But is not as simple as just cut them and leave it there. If they just cut them down and left them it becomes a fire hazard as they would be adding more fuel to a fire if there is another fire in the future there.
They have two options here, based on how many trees are we talking about. They are doing a census and making a plan. The worst scenario is taking a bull dozer that will convert the trail into a fire road, to allow the log trucks to pick them up. The desire situation, the one that we want to happens, is to remove the logs using a helicopter, so the trail will keep as it is, as a great black diamond trail. Removing the trees by helicopter has less impact on the forest and preserves the existing trail.
Less than twenty rigs showed up, two Land Cruisers, one Nissan mini truck and all others, well, Jeeps of course. If I rated the trail by how many times my rear bumper hits a rock, this one will be very close to Rubicon.
We had a water crossing that covers almost half of my tires, that is unusual in Southern California trails. I felt home doing that! The rock gardens is something hard to describe, if you are leading a group, you better know what are you doing and where you going, cause everyone else will follow you, well, the big boys draw their own unimaginable lines.
We had a blast working as a voluntary crew, with so many people involved it was really easy, considering that the trail was closed; well trash was not an issue at all. Few beer cans and removing some balloons trapped at the trees was the biggest concern.
Roberto L. Miranda
