Hello from the Bay Area

[slomatt]

Location: Bay Area, CA
Current Rig: 2000 Toyota 4Runner Sport, 5spd, e-locker
Past Rigs: 1996 ZJ, 1996 D1 300tdi

Greetings, a friend is an OB member and I finally got around to joining, it is good to see the growing community of overlanders. I started offroading about 16 years ago in a friend's Nissan Xterra and quickly got hooked.

I'm not really sure how to define my overlanding background, I'd say I'm pretty experienced but there is always more to learn.

Friends and I have driven many of the major trails in the Sierra Nevadas including the Rubicon and parts of Dusy (got snowed out). We've also taken longer trips to the San Juan Mountains, Moab, Oregon, Utah, and explored those areas. Some of my favorite trails are Ophir Pass in Colorado, Deer Valley in California, and Elephant Hill in Utah.

I'm active in trying to keep California trails open and have been pushing the Eldorado National Forest to open the rest of the trails closed by the "42 trails" lawsuit. Things are moving forward slowly, unfortunately many access roads were washed out by the heavy winter which is a major setback.

My wife and I have a daughter who is almost 2, so our overland opportunities have been limited during the last couple of years. We are looking forward to taking her on her first camping trip this summer.


And now for some pictures....

 

[Roger352]

Hello and welcome from the uk

 

[Levidale]

Welcome from West Texas!

 

[BCBrian]

Welcome to OB. Nice pictures!

I have wanted to run Deer Valley for many years as I consider Blue Lakes and Hope Valley my sacred ground. I have been camping up there for many decades and have wheeled trails and hiked in the area several times as well.

I read about the work being done to 'pave' the meadow section with rocks. Any idea if they have reopened Deer Valley yet?
With the winter we had, I'm sure the trails are still pretty wet and there may even be some snow in places.

Hit me up if you plan to head up there!

 

[Moriarty]

Welcome from Redding, CA.

 

[slomatt]

Welcome to OB. Nice pictures!

I have wanted to run Deer Valley for many years as I consider Blue Lakes and Hope Valley my sacred ground. I have been camping up there for many decades and have wheeled trails and hiked in the area several times as well.

I read about the work being done to 'pave' the meadow section with rocks. Any idea if they have reopened Deer Valley yet?
With the winter we had, I'm sure the trails are still pretty wet and there may even be some snow in places.

Hit me up if you plan to head up there!

Thanks!

After many years of review a final decision to re-open the trail was signed by the forest supervisor in December 2016. I won't go into all the details here, but it was closed in late 2011 as part of the "42 trails" lawsuit.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=45439&exp=overview

As part of the decision the seasonal opening of the trail is based on the date of snow melt at a specific measuring point. Currently it looks like it might open sometime in August, and be open until it closes for the winter. You can follow the day-by-day tracking of the snow gauge at the following link:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/land-use-issues/1055643-deer-valley-strawberry-closed-23.html

They are doing trail work to harden the two river crossings and to re-route a section of trail, but opening is not contingent on these changes.

Some friends and I are planning to run the trail sometime in September. This is one of my favorite trails in the Sierras and it will be interesting to see how it has changed over the ~6 years it has been closed. My hope is that the "big tire" groups don't go through and tear it up too much after it opens. After being closed for so long it is really important that we all tread lightly, especially around the meadows.

- Matt

 

[The GrooGrux King]

Welcome to OB Matt!