Post
by Tank » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:20 pm
Ok here's a small update from today.
I called the main ranger station (760-767-5311) and talked to "Ranger Bob". He was very friendly but did not really have any clear info to give me.
He told me that the most likely cause of the new signs and stakes was that the dead end canyon eventually ended up in state wilderness area. He also said that it was most likely a re-closure and not a new closure. He figured that the canyon was supposed to be closed anyway, but the stakes had just been removed and never reinstalled. In his words, "the problem with these kind of canyons is that people in lifted 4x4's, usually with locking axles, tend to push the route farther and farther into the canyon just for a driving challenge".
I asked him if there had been any sort of EIR (Environmental Impact Report) done. He had no idea either way.
The best info I got from him was to call later in the week and talk to the supervising ranger, Paul Reisman. He said Reisman would be able to give us exact info as to why the canyon was closed, and if it was a new closure or a re-closure.
Another thing to watch out for is the brand new ranger they just hired to be assigned to the Fish Creek area. Bob told me the new ranger is a greenhorn and only started this week. New rangers are the worst for enforcing every little code in the rule book.
I think if it is a new closure we have more chance of possibly reversing it than it it was a re-closure.
One question I had for the rest of you. Have you been wheeling in the last few years? Does anyone know if it was ever closed off before? Also was there a closed sign a couple miles into the canyon where the wilderness boundary was?
'81 pickup, longbed bobbed short, 35" Yoko's and tons of other goodies. NEW: 4.7 gear T-case!
