I hope everyone in the west got the opportunity to get out and enjoy the incredible weather we've been having. I went dirt bike riding out near Red Mountain, CA. We came across a fellow from the SCA at the southern boundary of the Golden Valley Wilderness area. They have been building lots (and I mean LOTS) of fences to keep vehicles out. In fact, it seems like they are trying to keep EVERYONE out, as the new signs say "Private Property", along with a long list of the activities that are prohibited in the area. We spoke to one fellow who didn't seem very happy at all that we stopped to chat. He seem annoyed that these guys on OHVs were there, so he didn't offer much information as to who owns this "Private Property" that has been Wilderness since 1994. We had a very brief conversation, then he told us to have a nice day and walked off.

So I did some research and found out what they have been doing out there for myself.

http://www.thesca.org/goldenvalley/group-home

Ok, so they are fencing the area because nothing else works. Maybe the fellow was afraid to say as much to these two guys on motorcycles in Marine Corps field jackets out of fear that we would take it out on him. I guess I could have mentioned that I have worked with the SCA in the past, but I doubt he would have understood. People don't get so intimidated when you roll up in a friendly little dune buggy. Heck, I figured a couple of bikes out of the seventies couldn't have been TOO bad, but an evil OHV is an evil OHV. Sometimes you just have to laugh!



Lee

Oh yea....it was heavenly! We spent wednesday night by a campfire watching the full moon rise over the SBNF. My place is looking really awesome and the trees really grew during my absence last year. That picture reminds me of an old 90 I had back in the day. Thats choice Lee! I also know where thers an old manx sitting between two boulders where my good friend has let it sit. We had the conversation about fixin it up one more time. Theres even a rolled bug with a good motor sittin not 50' away. It's not unusual to find a section of private property in the desert surrounded by public lands and it's usually section # 36, set aside for schoools during the homestead era. I did hear alot of other riders going up the USFS road getting out and about. There were even some defiant idiots riding in an area where there are no legal trails. Unfortunatly Lee, some folks cant see the difference between those of us who receate legally, and those who dont. Ya cant really blame the SCA dude. One can only bust a sweat fixin ruts and fences for so long before one gets a little unfriendly to strangers. In my opinion, the problem is twofold. There are some folks who just dont care riding wherever they please and then there's the dangers involved to federal law enforcement agents who sometimes attempt to catch these idiots. Fixing the damage is very labor intensive and costs $$$, something we're all short of these days. Anyway, maybe we can share some time this spring. My desert oasis is only a couple of hours away from where u live. I'm right off of 3N14/ Fawnskin road. If yer ever going to be up this way, give me a holler. Send a PM for the number Text messaging works the best when I'm not in town. Maybe we can talk about something besides land use issues around a campfire

The Trail 90 belongs to a friend of mine. It's a 1979 model, and he's essentially the original owner, as his parents bought it from the dealer when it was brand new. He bought it from his mom when she moved over to Hawaii. You can kind of see his other bike in the pic. It's a 1971 Yamaha 175, and that's the one I borrow. It's a neat old bike, but the classic two stroke sound might be what shook our little friend up.

I'm VERY interested in seeing that old Manx and Bug! Are they on public or private land? Please PM me with the details if you wish!

"Lee, some folks cant see the difference between those of us who receate legally, and those who dont."

I know. Perception has a lot to do with it. Human nature is all or nothing in some areas. It's the same with guns. Some folks can't see the difference between a law abiding person who keeps a gun or two for defense, target shooting, or hunting and a maniac who goes and shoots up a school. Everyone gets lumped into the same category.

"Ya cant really blame the SCA dude. One can only bust a sweat fixin ruts and fences for so long before one gets a little unfriendly to strangers."

Well, he wasn't justified in being cold toward us because we were legally riding currently registered bikes on a legally marked road AND we were very pleasant towards him. Guilt by association, I guess. Besides, we are all strangers out there. It is PUBLIC land. We ALL own it. The funny thing is the problem with having to build fences and roadblocks was CREATED by Senator Feinstein when she declared the area Wilderness back in 1994. Before then, the area was used for motorcycle recreation and even racing. No road blocks or fences were needed. Before that, there was mining in the area (that's where the roads originally came from). When the area was open, people used the roads that were there. Not a whole lot of trail proliferation occured. Once, closed, considerable effort and money is needed in order to keep people from using the roads that have been there for more than 100 years. This is happening all over the desert - Congress designates more and more Wilderness, and more and more effort is needed in order to maintain the boundaries. The obvious solution is to have more officers on patrol, but there's no money for that. Instead, they have the college stufents put fences, barricades, and signs all over our public land, convinced they are doing the right thing.

In doing some research on the Golden Valley Wilderness, if they had simply provided a motorized corridor that allows access through the Wilderness, the intrusion into the closed areas would be reduced practically to nothing. Such is the case in the Grass Valley Wilderness to the southeast. The problem with the motorized corridor is it "reduces the quality of the Wilderness experience". All or nothing.

It's only going to get worse for the kids. There are tons of new Wilderness proposals out there right now, and they always get what they want. The Golden Valley Wilderness will be expanded into the old cattle alotment at Blackwater Well, and the entire swath of land will become one huge contiguous Wilderness area. Better order those fencing materials now.

"Maybe we can talk about something besides land use issues around a campfire."

That would be awesome. We will meet up this spring for sure. You're right, the campfire is no place for land use issues. I want to hear about your travels instead!

Lee

I'm healing up for the winter, then I'm gonna hit the trail for a while. I always wanted to have a little place to be that costs nothin just in case something happened. Well........ it happend! Im gonna enjoy the wildlands of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming..... I remember fishing the Big Horns. And, there's plenty of wildlands left from what I could see up in central nevada and over in arizona too. It's been awhile since i've been up through the mogillon rim into new mexico . That inconsiderate rudemannored stuckup citykid playin outdoorsman you ran across aint worth the waste of time! I'm plannin on enjoying what ive got rest of this life. Did I ever mention the travels of my youth? That ol kittymanx is at a friends and it looks like its been sitting there about a decade or so.

"I'm healing up for the winter, then I'm gonna hit the trail for a while."

That's exactly what I wanted to hear!

"Im gonna enjoy the wildlands of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming..... I remember fishing the Big Horns."

Sounds like a dream vacation to me. Forget Europe, there's more to see in this country than anyone can in one lifetime!

" That inconsiderate rudemannored stuckup citykid playin outdoorsman you ran across aint worth the waste of time!"

It's hard to say what his story is, but no doubt he's got one. I guess I was unfair by comparing him to all the other people I have run across while out back of beyond (sorry Desert Wanderer, I like your term so much I have to steal it from time to time!). I have talked to BLM Rangers, Wilderness Specialists, Ranchers, Four Wheelers, and Dirt Bikers, and every one of them has shown me the utmost courtesy, which I have always returned. This kid may have had a run-in prior to our stopping by. You never know. I have done volunteer work with the SCA before, and they treated me very well. Maybe you have to prove something before they will accept you, I don't know.

"I'm plannin on enjoying what ive got rest of this life."

That's a great plan, and I intend to do the same. Sorry for going overboard in my earlier post, but I hadn't had my morning coffee yet!

"Did I ever mention the travels of my youth?"

That's exactly the type of thing I would love to hear around the campfire!

"That ol kittymanx is at a friends and it looks like its been sitting there about a decade or so."

Man, I would sure love to see that! I have always wondered if I would come across an old vehicle somewhere out there, abandoned and forgotten long ago. Naturally, such a thing would only be encountered while on foot, well off the beaten path. Or on private property, which would explain why it's still there. If you guys were to fix it up (which I think you should), it would be like the story of the Kee Bird.

Lee

The comment about expansion of wilderness designation towards Blackwater Well caught my eye. I use the vehicle corridor in the Grass Valley Wilderness quite often, and find its presence to be a good balance between access and preservation. I can drive out there in one day, overnight in the truck right next to the corridor (the 30 foot rule?) and head out on an early morning hike, usually to the far side of the hills just to the east of the corridor. Once over near the southern edge of China Lake I've always experienced quiet and solitude, never hearing all the riding going on down on Cuddeback Dry Lake.

As far as student workers go, I'm all for lining them up and smacking the snotty attitudes right out of their heads with a shovel. I speak from recent experience as I had returned to university to earn a BA in support of a major life and career change. The closed-mindedness and condescending views towards contemporary American culture, and the roots of that culture, among my younger classmates was truly astounding. I mean, I thought school was a place to learn things, not get brainwashed! But what the hell does one old geezer know?

Didn't China Lake put up some big observation facility right there just northwest of Blacwater Well a few years ago?

Desertroad

I say have them SCA folks work on a hotshot crew for the summer. That will give em something to do when it's too hot to rehab MC damage in wilderness areas. In fact, let them MC idiots who make the mess workalong side of them SCA people cleaning it up and then spend the summer cuttin fireline for $9 an hour. Of course, there's plenty of them MREs to dine on for dinner when they get hungry. Wash it down with a healthy slug of lukewarm water from a canteen........mmmmmmm