Politics : politics@vcmc.info

Sequoia Trail News

December 2019

Snow Closes Most Sequoia Trails

Recent large snow storms dumped up to two feet on Sequoia roads and trails, blanketing most of the area. We urge everyone not to ride on wet or snowy trails to avoid creating trail wrecking ruts. Just a few minutes of tire spinning can create ruts that wreck the trail for years to come. Read more on Stewards Road And Trail Conditions Page

Nightmare Gulch and Red Rocks Canyon Update

A few weeks ago Stewards Executive Director Chris Horgan and Trailblazers President Jeremy Rowell met with Red Rocks Canyon State Park staff to survey Nightmare Gulch route which has been temporarily closed for more than 5 years. Surprisingly park staff would not talk about any specific problems with the route or if they had considered any way to fix them. They would only say that studies had been done which showed there were issues on the route that required a continued closure to motorized use. While hiking the route we could see nothing that indicated any need to close the route to motorized use. You can learn more about this inappropriate closure HERE

Clubs Raise Much Needed Funds

Many thanks to Ventura County Motorcycle Club for recently raising $2000 to help Stewards continue working to keep your Sequoia trails open. Thanks to the clubs who also raised money this year to help Stewards including Piute Trail Riders, Chapparals MC, Bakersfield Trailblazers, N2Dirt, Warped and Noobs,

If you have yet to make your annual donation to Stewards CLICK HERE and do your part to help keep Sequoia trails open. Stewards is primarily funded by donations from members like you.

Thoughts from a Stewards Member

Bravo to the more than one thousand Stewards members who submitted letters to the Forest Service recently urging them to stop restricting motorized and mechanized recreation. We thought this letter raised some very good points.

I have heard rumblings of the PCT proponents push to establish a full one mile corridor with nothing to hinder THEIR experience or detract from it in any way. I would like to have my voice heard as a true multi-use trail advocate. I have been riding bicycles, motorcycles, snowmobiles, boating/rafting and believe it or not hiking and backpacking for over 40 years.

Almost ALL of my life. The past 30 years has seen an ALL OUT assault on recreation that is deemed by some powerful groups to not be in harmony with their view of how someone should enjoy nature. All of the wilderness and wilderness study areas have completely cut out massive areas that can never be enjoyed by anyone that is not on foot or on a horse as it is. Many of these areas already cut out any opportunity for long distance off road singletrack travel by bike or motorcycle as it is.

The country has three long distance routes already established for hiking where people can hike for almost 3000 miles, yet there are very few opportunities to ride more than a few hundred miles on pristine singletrack on any 2 wheeled vehicle (motorized or not). There are very few opportunities for great off road riding (especially in the state of California) and I think there should be no laws passed or plans made that limit or eliminate any of the existing trails utilized by various recreation groups that exist today.

In fact, I think it is high time we start to seriously consider the needs of groups other than hikers/equestrians. They already have by far THE MOST OPTIONS of any groups to not see anyone other than people from their same community while they enjoy their past time.

There are many people in this country and people should be allowed to enjoy their time in nature as they see fit (obviously provided they are not creating more harm to the environment than they do in their everyday lives). We do not all fit into the same group. At this point in time, we should be building more multi-use trails to make up for all of the ones that have been lost to a single non-inclusive group

Mark Owen

Stewards of the Sequoia continue to take action to stop the PCT Land Grab one mile PCT corridor READ MORE

Over the years your donations helped Stewards reopen this trail along with eight others and so much more.

Yet today 84% of Stewards members have let their donations expire. Please make your donation now so we can continue our efforts to keep your trails open. Thanks

With your help Stewards of the Sequoia will continue to keep the Sequoia National Forest A Land Of Many Uses and open to all