August 2010 Club Meeting

[Tinman]

Please join us for the August 2010 4X 4Him Christian Wheelers Club Meeting

 

Date:	Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Time:	Leaving the "Staging Area" at 10:00am
Place:	See Attached Map
	We will be meeting at the "Staging Area" on the attached map
	and heading up to the Star Lakes trail as a group.
Plan:	Trail Maintenance, fellowship, club business

We will be doing some maintenance on Star Lakes OHV Route as this is one of our Adopt-A-Trails. Only club members will be able to work on the trails because of US Forest Service volunteer agreement rules. Anyone is welcome to attend for the wheeling and meeting, you may just have to watch some of us work. There will be some people camping the whole weekend, and working on our other Adopt-A-Trail (Iron Lakes).  If anyone is interested, PM Tinman for details.

     Bring your own Food, Drinks, Chairs, and anything else you may need!    

Please post up here if you are going to attend, and how many people you are bringing.


We hope to see you all there!

[monyman]

I plan on being there, but Chriss has a prior commitment.

[DaveM]

GREAT Map Wade, I would Assume the "Staging Area" will also be the tentative camp for those of us camping.

It's not  "on the water" but close enough to take advanrtage of.

Also, for those who would like "pit" toilets, Fresno Dome camp is right down the street to camp at for a minimal cost.

[Tinman]

We are planning on camping there.

for those of us camping.

Does this mean that you are coming up to camp?

[DaveM]

We are planning on camping there.

Does this mean that you are coming up to camp?

For SURE (at least me) ! Probably the whole gang, our 2 year old is a BIG handful so we will see what happens, For RHRU he will be staying with his "Auntie"

[RockBottom]

We 3 will camp.  (Why bother unpacking from RockHopper?) 

Bringing:  chainsaw, straps, shackles, chain, shovel, etc... (Sounds like props from some b-grade horror flick) 

Tinman needs to call Linda Mc and Ray for work crew sign-up sheets 

[DaveM]

I'll be driving right by there office the next 2 days, so I'll try to connect with her also. I think I'll be there next week also, we are doing a water source heat pump for PG&E at the Wishon Power Plant.

[Red Man's jeep]

wade do you think my dodge will make it up through the trail no jeep just my 3/4 ton truck .

[cruiserfj45]

Were planing on making it.

[Tinman]

wade do you think my dodge will make it up through the trail no jeep just my 3/4 ton truck .

Both of these trails are very tight in places.  I have watched a full sized rig rip it's bumper off before.  You could sustain damage to the body of your vehicle.

[DaveM]

wade do you think my dodge will make it up through the trail no jeep just my 3/4 ton truck .

I have a full size Dodge and on my first run while it was stock I got my first DENT there.  I wouldn't advise it, mine is a Ram Charger so it has a fairly short wheel base and turns VERY sharp.

[X210]

We will be there, is there a place to park the truck and trailer or should I just drive the Jeep up?

[DaveM]

There's alot of room where we're camping, provided no one else is there, there are actually 2 pretty big areas next to each other.

[cruiserfj45]

Looks like I will be up there solo.

[DaveM]

Looks like I will be up there solo.

Bad for you, good for me, My oldest Daughter Jess and her half sister Meagan (who's never been wheelin) are coming up for the day so I was gonna have to bring both rigs, and I really didn't want to take the Cruiser.
So, what I'm sayin is can they catch a ride?

[cruiserfj45]

Bad for you, good for me, My oldest Daughter Jess and her half sister Meagan (who's never been wheelin) are coming up for the day so I was gonna have to bring both rigs, and I really didn't want to take the Cruiser.
So, what I'm sayin is can they catch a ride?

No problem.  I have plenty of room.

[DaveM]

Okay, just got home from up there (did some after church fishin).

It is 1.3 miles past FRESNO DOME CAMPGROUND, not to be confused with Fresno Dome Trail.
There is a  "Hairpin turn" and the camp/meeting spot is a LEFT turn right as you take the hairpin turn. There is also a sign for Star Lakes right there, so if you blow by the sign, you went TOO farr.

If you forget your map/ directions it's fairly easy, take Hwy 41, just past Bass lake turn off is Road 632 , Sky Ranch, and there are signs for "Sky Ranch Resturaunt" (Good food but a little pricey) It becomes Forrest route 10, follow the signs to Fresno Dome.

It's about a 30 min drive from Hwy 41.

Confused yet.........

[Tinman]

Come on guys here is your chance.  This is a meeting in the mountains.  Chime in if you are planning on coming.

I got an email from Linda M. of the Bass Lake Ranger District today that informed us that the problem meadow on the Hogem Lake loop of the Star Lakes trail has been rerouted to the original trail.  This takes the traffic out of the meadow, which was getting destroyed.  She was wondering if we could help with re-mediating the damage to the meadow.  This would involve moving materials to fill ruts and holes, placing signs, blocking access to the meadow, etc.  This is a very important project, the meadow is a black mark on this trail.  I think this would be a huge opportunity, and we should redirect our trail efforts in this direction.  Maybe even both days, if needed.

As of now, the volunteer agreement limitation is still in affect.  Any club members wishing to participate will be covered by the club agreement.  If you are not a club member, I will be talking with Linda to find out if we can get some volunteer agreements for this project.

I will see if I can get some pictures of the meadow posted.  I will also update about work crew requirements.

[BirdDog]

Sorry Wade I will be on a work trip on Dusy so I wont be able to make this one.

Has Marlin spoke to you about Toys For Fun wanting to help our club on this run ? If not , try to call him.

[JerryRig]

I am planning on being there.  But I have to be in clovis by 4:00 pm. I will come up early

[RockBottom]

These were the best photos we had of the area.  Unfortunately, they do not show the big ruts dug in the middle of the meadow.  We need lots of folks with shovels! 

[Crash Gordon]

I'll be there. Was up at Fresno Dome for the first time not too long ago, so somewhat familiar with the area. Will be bringing a guest. A good buddy of mine. Well mannered, and a good guy. He's always wanted to see what it is like to wheel. Secondly, he's not quite a Christian yet, but maybe this will help plant the seed. But like I said, he's a cool guy though.

In conclusion: 2 of us.

[Tinman]

I spoke with Linda at the USFS and she said we could add non-members to our volunteer agreement on a daily basis if they were helping with a specific project of this sort.  So if you are wanting to help on this trip, and aren't a member, please feel free to join in.

We will be moving some dirt to help mitigate the damage done to the meadow.  So bring your gloves, shovels, iron tooth rakes and such.  We will also need to move trees to block access to the meadow, so some winches would be nice.

[Red Man's jeep]

well i might be there in the jeep it well be working by then?

[Kodiak Commando]

We should be there.  Depends on my parents at the moment.

[DaveM]

We should be there.  Depends on my parents at the moment.

Well, you'll be right down the street........

It will be good to see you all, what's it been, like a year........Hope you make it!

[BJeepers]

The Bryants will be there. How long will it take to get to the staging area from fresno?

[Tinman]

The Bryants will be there. How long will it take to get to the staging area from fresno?

I've never made the run straight through.  The trip is usually broken up by meeting people in Oakhurst and then heading up the hill.  Give yourself 45mins to 1 hour to get to Oakhurst, in case there is an "issue" on the road.  Give yourself another 30mins to 45mins to get to the staging area.

Google maps said it would take 1.5 hours to get there.

[DaveM]

1.5 hours would be about right, depending on where in Fresno.
We live 20 miles north of Valley Childrens (county line) off 41, and it takes us an hour to get up there.

[Kodiak Commando]

Think of it as the same time as to get to the green gate at bald mountain.   

[monyman]

I'm planning to be there and stay over night, but Chriss has a prior commitment so it'll be just me.

[Crash Gordon]

well i might be there in the jeep it well be working by then?

Need help to get it ready? Call me. Or worst case, you can hop in my Dak to get up there. Of course, you'll need a ride once we are up there for the 4 wheelin' part quite possibly.  

P.S. - I was talking to a co-worker at work that said it's a pretty easy trail and said my Dakota shouldn't have any, if few, issues (for sure w/ a back route he talked about). Can anyone conform this? I'm willing to do a little with my Dakota, like I did at Bald but nothing too serious. I acknowledge it's 2wd but maybe lowering my tire pressue would help too.

[Tinman]

I was talking to a co-worker at work that said it's a pretty easy trail and said my Dakota shouldn't have any, if few, issues (for sure w/ a back route he talked about). Can anyone conform this? I'm willing to do a little with my Dakota, like I did at Bald but nothing too serious. I acknowledge it's 2wd but maybe lowering my tire pressue would help too.

Your truck should make it to the meadow where we are doing the work project.  If you wanted to do the rest of the trail, I would say you would have some trouble.  It has a couple of spots that are worse than the easy side of Bald.

[JerryRig]

I may have to work tomorrow to complete a job, so I can get paid. Am hoping still to make it to the run/meeting. Hope to see you all tomorrow.

[Bronco75]

Well,  we were hoping to make this meeting & camping event but it is not looking too good at the moment.
Unless something changes we will not be at the meeting...
Have fun!

[Crash Gordon]

Update I'm actually gonna have my brother come along. Canceled plans with my friend.

Your truck should make it to the meadow where we are doing the work project.  If you wanted to do the rest of the trail, I would say you would have some trouble.  It has a couple of spots that are worse than the easy side of Bald.

Thanks for the info, I will likely do that but just to the meadow.

[X210]

 Sorry doesn't look like we are going to make it. I was called in this at 3:30 this morning on a break down.
It's 6:45 now and doesn't like like I will be done any time soon. Hope to see you all soon!! Have Fun!!

[SMIL911]

Ok...for those of us that didnt make it, how did everything go??

 



Susan 

[Welshdragon79]

Ok...for those of us that didnt make it, how did everything go??

 



Susan 

I second the motion 

[Cherokee Blue]

I second the motion 

THIRD!

[Tinman]

OK, here ya go.

On a more important note I would really like to thank the people that showed up to help.  DaveM, BJeepers, Monyman, Crash Gordon, Craftsman & Bevin, we got some good trail maintenance done.

[DaveM]

Here's just a few, not much of the maint. part, but I KNOW someone has more.

The one of my truck, I am actually pulling a log and my dog is "supervising"

[Tinman]

OK, since DaveM is a spoilsport on my photo joke, here are the real ones:

[Welshdragon79]

Awwww man! What happened to that meadow?!?!? 
That's Greenie ammo if I ever saw it.

[Tinman]

Awwww man! What happened to that meadow?!?!? 
That's Greenie ammo if I ever saw it.

Yeah, we need to get a big work crew in there, or it's going to take forever to get it fixed.  We are working on some ideas on how to re-route the trail.

[cruiserfj45]

Third row middle picture.  Is that the current routing of the trail to the right of the meadow?  What do we need to do to repair the meadow?  I'm no expert but I think it just takes time?

[DaveM]

Third row middle picture.  Is that the current routing of the trail to the right of the meadow?  What do we need to do to repair the meadow?  I'm no expert but I think it just takes time?

No, there is NOT supposed to be a route in the Meadow at ALL. Un-fortunatly, it has been there for years, in fact, my first trip with my Dodge was at that location, but I didn't know any better. I knew you were not supposed to go through meadows, but that is where the trail goes.

The problem is, the entrance end of the meadow is PRIVATE property, so the Forrest service can't block it off. The property line is about 1/4 of the way in on the meadow, so how do you do that? Put a steel fence, kinda like they did on Bald at the creek? That would look terrible and probably not legal. There has been gates at the entrance to the private property but they get run over, cut open, ect. We did re-open a by-pass route just above the private property line, but that's not gonna stop any one.

The Forrest service is working on bringing in sand to fill the ruts, but due to the late season rain, it is still pretty damp as you can see in the pictures. Hope fully it will get done this year, but that still doesn't stop the traffic.   

[jeepcj]

The pics look great.  Well except for the poor meadow!  We hate when we see stuff like that!  Michael said that it's too bad pictures of the rigs don't exist cause then you could turn them in!

[DaveM]

The pics look great.  Well except for the poor meadow!  We hate when we see stuff like that!  Michael said that it's too bad pictures of the rigs don't exist cause then you could turn them in!

  ......That's it, hidden cameras on motion detectors, kinda like the ones at traffic lights........keep dreamin.

[cruiserfj45]

They make motion detection cameras for hunting.  Not to expensive either.

[DaveM]

They make motion detection cameras for hunting.  Not to expensive either.

Yup, but they get REAL expensive when the Government buys them.......

[Clifford91]

Maybe if we buy them and DONATE them to a government cause 

[Tinman]

In order to be admissible in a court of law, they would have to meet MIL SPEC, be monitored by a third party, have undergone 10 years of repeatability studies, have a governing body to oversee the use of them, be manufactured by an approved source, that just happens to be a really big political campaign contributor, have specially trained government employees place them, have differently trained government employees retrieve the data, with a second individual on site to verify proper handling of such sensitive data, another specially trained employee to process the data, a federal warrant issued against the offenders so that the next time they violate the law then it might be admissible in court, if and only if the proper paperwork was filed and filled out properly.

I could go on, but I am getting frustrated that my sarcasm is not far from the truth.