RE: Mitchell Canyon Closure to Horses on Weekends

[Nancy DuPont <Htrails@Earthlink.net>]

Jan, This is the action I took in response to your inquiry:  

I talked to Jose Rivera and Susan Schwartz and gave them our concerns,
actually read Susan the letter from Ann.  She said the camp hosts are new
and should have kept the gate unchained. Also she will address the statement
that the camp hosts said we were no longer allowed to use the tie racks on
weekends.  This is not true. The camp hosts will be informed of this error.
Actually, what they WERE trying to alleviate is the hikers cars were
blocking the horse rigs so that the rigs could not get out. As you know, we
complained that the hikers and bikers parked along the road so they never
paid park fees. Now that the park responded by putting no parking signs on
the road, everyone has to pay to get in.  They crowd the lot. Both top and
bottom.  The riders have been given the overflow lot. There are picnic
tables and water troughs up there to accommodate us.  However, the gates
should remain open.  We can leave by the gate on the road.  We must come in
through the pay gate. 

Drive in and either make a sharp left or drive in and turn around in the lot
and come back out.  Other gate remains open and just drive out and go down
road.  

Riders can always use the tie racks (like come down, tie up, eat lunch) But
the parking is above when it is crowded. 
Speaking of the crowded parks, Wait until they put in the new Crystal Ranch
development! It is practically in our backyard. It makes you sick.  It goes
to the base of Black POint.  More bicycles! 

As for the bicycles....

They told me these are Rogue riders and Rogue trails they ride in crash and
burn riding gear and brag about going over the handlebars.  They need parks
to ride in that are groomed for them. Unfortunately, they are making their
own parks. Or making the parks their own! lime ridge the hills to the right
on Ygnacio Valley Road has motorcycles and bicycles.  They are building
trails for themselves.  

Susan called the Walnut Creek Open Space who own the new park and said: "You
need to know what is going on in Lime ridge Open Space- the motocross are
making jumps and obstacles." The response was: You better not make an issue
out of it, at least they are staying in Lime Ridge, (not officially) or they
will be doing it on Mt. Diablo!" Maybe they should make it an official
motocross area and keep them out of Mt. Diablo Park.  

Carl, one of the rangers on Mt. Diablo is staking out in Back Creek to see
if he can catch some of the bicylists but they are short handed, down three
rangers and can't get around to all the trails.

About 15% of the bicyclists are the trouble makers.  The rest seem to try to
abide by the law. The clubs help discipline their own --

We cannot do anything about the out of control bicycles and with the
addition of more homes, more development we are not going to have much nature.



At 11:15 AM 1/3/00 -0800, you wrote:
>
>Hi, Nancy:
>
>I am sending you part of a message I received from Ann Saggio, who bought
>Sussman from you, I believe or Cory.  This is what happened to her at
>Mitchell Canyon parking lot - close to horses on weekends and holidays!!!!
>
>With my experience over the past weekend, I think I'm going to become
>more active in keeping our trails open to horses, Jan.  I trailered over
>to Mitchell Canyon (Clayton) with a friend for New Year's Day---and
>found the trailer lot "closed to horse trailers on weekends and
>holidays".  They had an overflow lot for horse trailers ---that to get
>into and out of, you had to drive up to the main parking area, U-turn
>your rig, then come back out the entrance road.  The gate marked with
>the Exit sign was chained and padlocked shut.  There was another rig
>there, with a woman who comes from SF to ride there every week.  She
>said this started about a month ago.  And she was also told by the
>ranger we were no longer allowed to tie our horses at the tie racks ---
>by the (non-weekend) trailer parking area since "hikers had complained".
>I rode with Alison on my side of the mountain yesterday for a little
>over 3 hours.  I saw more people on bikes than I've ever seen;  and I
>saw bikes and hikers on trails where I've never seen them before.
>Almost as if someone wrote an article in the paper about the trails out
>of Walnut Creek into Mt Diablo.  Alison and I were coming home on a
>single track that cuts around a steep hill, and for the first time ever,
>there were both hikers and 4 bikes coming at us.  It was a steep drop
>off---thank god we were both on sane and seasoned horses!  When I told
>the biker that bikes weren't allowed on single tracks, he just told me
>there were 3 more bikes behind him on the trail---and he kept on going.
>We proceeded cautiously (lots of blind turns) till we heard them, then
>yelled out "horses".  Alison told them again about no bikes on single
>tracks; she pointed out that if our horses weren't used to bikes, we'd
>be down the hill...   They were friendly, but didn't really care, and
>proceeded on.  
>Bottom line, "my hills" which were never as populated as the Oakland
>hills, are getting overrun with yuppies.  I'm getting really worried
>about trails getting closed to horses. 
>
>Ann Saggio
>
>Jan Jeffers
>
>
>
>
Nancy DuPont, Executive Director
Heritage Trails
1350 Castle Rock Road
Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Our Mission: To preserve and protect trails and answer the question, "Where
are you going to ride your horses, and where are you going to keep them."
Telephone (925)937-7661 FAX (925) 943-7431


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