STAY OUT OF THE CREEKS AND RIVERS ... Cruiser Days Attendies (1 Viewer)

[bc4wheeler]

On Saturday afternoon myself and about 50 other campers observes 3 vehicles from the coastal cruisers club and 4WD Association Members trying to cross Skwellepil Creek at the mouth of Chehalis Lake.

This lake is now a pay site run by forestry and has a host present again. Why these guys were trying to cross the river is beyond me, this is a fish bearing river with people fishing every day at its mouth. They all displayed Decals like Costal Cruisers, EBI Cruiser Parts, 4WD Association stickers ect ect... One guy even had his business "The Point Ink" on his truck. How stupid do you guys think people are? You can't expect to come to a public campsite and just drive your trucks through a river without people getting up in arms about it. I don't care what your excuse is... Unless you’re in a life and death situation where you need to cross a body of water STAY OUT.

They then went on to begin to cross the river when the camp host raced down to stop them. When the camp host confronted them they went on about how they are god’s gift to wheeling and that they always clean up after themselves and blah blah blah... First of all you guys should KNOW first and foremost that you STAY OUT OF RIVER, CREEKS, LAKES being the good CLUB members you claim to be and all that...

These guys came up from cruiser days and tried to pull this. Looks bad for everyone. The camp host wrote down they plate numbers and will be filing a report to the ministry she said which basically puts anything and everything the 4WD Association has done 10 steps backwards. Thanks guys.

Pics are posted here for your viewing, if you know these guys enlighten them to what they were doing wrong because in their minds it was perfectly OK to be going across that fish bearing creek. I know fisheries would have something to say on the matter as well as the Clubs they claimed to the host to represent.

Pictures by bc4wheeler - Photobucket

 

[BCR4619]

And your name is?

 

[bc4wheeler]

Not that it matters but my name is George. Figured I would snag this from the Four Wheel Drive Association of BC - News website for these guys as a reminder as well.

Four Wheelers' Code of Ethics

- I will remain on established and designated roads and trails. I will obey gate closures and regulatory or trail-use signs. I will leave gates as I find them
- I will respect and protect the environment and the land, both public and private. I realize that future use depends on my responsible actions
- I will obey all traffic laws and regulations
- I will not vandalize. I will restore or repair damaged trails, signs, camp facilities, water bars or drains on trails in a responsible manner
- I will not litter. I will set an example to other backcountry users by carrying out more than I carry in
- I will maintain the safety of my vehicle and equipment. I will carry recovery gear, an emergency repair kit, basic first aid supplies, survival food and equipment. I will keep firearms in a safe and secure place
- I realize that my equipment, ability, the terrain, weather, and the traffic on the trail should determine my destination objective and travel speed
- I will observe fish, game and trail rules
- I will act responsibly to prevent forest fires
- I will always stop and offer assistance to a fellow four wheeler
- When encountering others, I will be friendly and courteous

 

[sailor]

Since you are monitoring this George, I will admit to being present there on Bad advice, no excuse, but I will under no circumstances admit to even the slightest discourtesy to the park host. Upon her intervention I removed my vehicle to the roadway. Unless you are magically capable of being present both behind your camera zoom lens and within earshot of the conversation that occurs I suggest you limit your observations to facts rather than hearsay. I am not responsible for the deportment of others. If I am to be sanctioned by any of the official bodies you mentioned- so be it. However I caution you to limit your observations to facts and not speculation to avoid impugning others. You may contact me personally if you require any further information.

 

[bc4wheeler]

I spoke to her personally after you guys left, I am sure she has no reason to lie to me as to what you guys said to her and I never said you were not nice to her, and neither did she.

Tell me how you account for your actions knowing full well you shouldn't be in there.

I am not going to argue this point to death since you ALL know you shouldn't be in that sort of situation in the first place. I will let your peers and club leaders have their words with you in hopes that next time you are put in the same situation you will remind yourself that there are people watching and looking out for the well being of our lands. Its not only the 4x4 community that fights to keep public land open and gate free you know so do your part in real life, not just act like you do by being a club advocate and not a follower.

That is all.

 

[sailor]

Good george. You've made your point. Now please disappear.

 

[Scalp]

George: I was not at Chehailis Lake but I am very interested to get all the facts of what happened. Our Coastal Cruiser club has worked very hard to build a good reputation for us and for wheelers in general, in many ways. The 4x4ABC can attest to that as we have helped haul out almost 100 tons of refuse out of the Stave Lake area in the last year, among other things. It is important to us to maintain that reputation and not let any individual members give our club a bad name. I would appreciate if you phoned me and we go over the facts. I will PM you my phone number. Our next club meeting is August 9 and we will certainly be discussing this episode in detail and doing whatever we need to to rectify this situation. Our club is commited to treading lightly and respecting rules of the 4x4ABC and the Toyota Land Cruiser Association. If some members acted out of line we want to know about it and deal with the infraction. If necessary I will personally approach the Camp Host and apologize on behalf of the club. This situation has never occurred before to my knowledge.
Regards,
~Bill Wilkinson

 

[Antarctican]

It was a miscommunication & misunderstanding for the route, and I take responsibility for the slip-up.

I'll be happy to disclose everything and answer to our club president & the 4WDABC.

I'll not be hashing anything out here in public until everyone who needs to know what happened gets the answers.

 

[hybric4x4diesel]

sorry ,iwas referring to differencr area

 

[sailor]

My issue isn't with the crossing. That is fact. It is with the statement that I was discourteous to the camp host. I will not tolerate that as it is entirely untrue.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

This is sad to see.

 

[kim]

Hello George,

I am aware of this situation and am gathering the perspective of the people involved. Once I have the facts of the situation I will be in contact with you and proceed accordingly.

What I can say now is that I know a couple of these people personally and know them to be decent, hardworking, caring folks who carry the principles of tread-lightly seriously. I suspect that what we are dealing with is most likely a misunderstanding and perhaps a poor decision.

Regards,

Kim

 

[neoworm]

Hey how did those new STT's work on the wet rocks?

 

[canucksafari]

I agree Bill. Let's deal with this directly with people we know who actually are identifiable and willing to put their name and adress behind their accusations. "bc4wheeler" / "George" is a totally unknown identity. It is pretty easy to make accusations when you are anonymous. I know the people accused and find the accusations of recklessness and abuse totally out of character. So George, until proven otherwise, you can understand where most of us will be giving the benefit of doubt.

As for the practice of crossing streams and rivers, below is how a BC CO responded to this question on another forum. As you can see, if a driver has reason to believe that it was an existing crossing, it is acceptable to do so in a manner that will cause the least impact. There are literally 10,000s of crossing like this on trails and FSR throughout the province.

Thanks to Westcoaster from bringing this to my attention. The above link is a really good start as the environment may differ, but the principle behind it is the same. River systems create a new dynamic. Fish bearing or not. Just because there are not fish present or no currently spawning, the impact can be the same. General rule...don't drive in rivers, streams, creeks etc. If it is an existing crossing on a road, trail or the like, then do so with responsibility (i.e. not at 80 kph for effect). Realize, that water flows downhill and so does the sediment you create traveling through these systems. The sediment alone can cause harmful damage to fish or fish habitat (again depending on the system you are crossing), never mind about scouring, compaction, or disturbing fish populations. If in doubt, contact your local Fisheries Officer or Ministry Conservation Officer to discuss specific crossing or systems as each is unique. I hope this is of some help. Feel free to contact me if you have more questions or comments. The last link is another string that came about because concerned drivers such as yourself. Thanks for allowing me to comment.
DFO Offices - Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pacific Region | Facilities
COS - Ministry of Environment - Conservation Officer Service - Contacts

 

[Scalp]

I have talked to Sailor and Antartican, but not to the third person involved, who I believe is not a member of Coastal Cruisers. Sailor and Antarctican are sorry that they drove into the lake and caused concern to campers who observed them. On behalf of the Coastal Cruisers, we apologize for upsetting them. If a third person involved had words with the Camp Host, we cannot be responsible for his behavior, although we regret that it might have happened.
This morning Sailor phoned the Fisheries people and reported that he had driven into the lake on the mistaken idea that he had to cross it to get to the CC campsite. Fisheries Officer Steve Jacobi replied that this incident was not a Fisheries offence and was not an illegal act. Fisheries will not pursue this case any further.
However, having said that, we realize it was bad judgement to drive into the lake and should not have been done. At the next CC meeting August 9 we will be discussing trail manners and staying out of creeks, rivers and lakes unless it is a designated crossing.
At Coastal Cruisers we have worked hard to uplift the club reputation and those of wheelers in general. We have done many good works too numerous to mention here. We sincerely hope that this Chehailis incident never happens again and our members continue to show good manners and trail sense in the future.
~Bill Wilkinson

 

[Enigma]

hi geoge,when i drove in,i do have video cam on & do notice that some of the camper driving dodge ram double cab have to cross stream river to camp there too so does this apply to them?

Different river and area John.

 

[Enigma]

For what it's worth, I told Pete he had to cross a river to get to our campsite at the NORTH end of the lake. When we all arrived at the north end at around 7 or so that evening, I was wondering where they had gone, as they had left the Sasquatch some time before us.

 

[wrongway around]

yes john is a little sensitive , he does not like driving in the rain for fear of possible run off entering the river system . that water crossing john is talking about was a plugged drain culvert that the forestry had just simply redone by putting in a over flow deactivation to control excessive road errosion. i am sure that the parties involved ,know the seriousness of there actions , and will learn from there bad judgement so as to not repeat this ,period. oil and water not a good idea anywhere in bc as far as i am concerned ,from washing your car to the embridge pipeline.

 

[neoworm]

I spoke to her personally after you guys left

Why didn't you talk to them? Especially since you were concerned enough to complain about this on a public internet forum.

 

[Enigma]

For what it's worth, what BC4Wheeler/george has done is in all honesty a good thing. Yes I'd be pissed if it was me in a similar circumstances ( I did drive thru a river that same day) but the concept of calling people out on their actions can be a good thing.
Let's use an entirely different example, such as people you may have seen around at one time or another, but do not know personally, and you see them leaving their campsite with a fire burning, garbage strewn around etc etc. Take pictures of them and their rigs, and post them on BC4x4.
Or on Whipsaw, and someone is blasting through a mudhole right beside a sign staying to stay out, you could do the same thing.
This is not intended by me to be pointing fingers at anyone, because I am no angel myself, just a view of the bigger picture and the (let's hope) healthy discussion that can come of it.