Oddly enough, I didn't have any plans this past Saturday. I poked around on the forums for a bit, and came across some info for the LaDee Flats trail building work parties. Never having seen the LaDee Flats area before, I tossed some junk in the Jeep, and hit the road to check it out and lend a hand for the day.
LaDee Flats is located off Highway 224, just outside Estacada, Oregon. More specifically, the trail work parties are taking place off the 4610 road, just a few miles from the highway.
Google Maps Link
Forest Service OHV Map
Those Guys Offroad, have been pushing to get Class II trails established in the area for a few years now. Just recently the Forest Service has given them the the green light for turning dirt, and moving forward with actual trail construction. This was the clubs fourth weekend in a row working in the area.
I ran into Jon (Prez of TGOR, and the man behind the project) at the East entrance of the 800 trail. The Forest Service gave them the old road to turn into trail, and in order to keep the locals out Jon and crew built a rough filter at the entrance. Nothing too technical, but you definitely wouldn't drive Mom's Plymouth Voyager across these. Following Jon into the trail.
Looking back at the entrance. It's narrow, and what gets you is once you roll over one mound you lose visibilty of the next. With 100+" wheel base I was teetering on the edge of a few turns. Fun!
We cruised into the trail, and met up with those who had been working all morning. Part of the trail was cut through the forest, which had been previously scouted. Desmond running the mini excavator (a donated piece of equipment). These guys are all wheelers, so when someone finds a rock natural instinct is to put that rock in the middle of the trail.
Jon running the excavator filling in some holes. There's so many aspect to take in for the trail design. The biggest one is which way the water is going to run, and how steep the slope is on the trail. You don't want water pooling up, and you don't want the trail running off the hill side.
After we constructed a small rock obstacle, it was testing time. Sean ran it and we were able to get some feedback on how a rig will do through it.
We continued on down the trail, fixing a few small issues. This particular area will be a tough spot. As you can see when Ryan ran through it, it's pretty off camber, and enter an uphill corner immediately. I think Sean described it as a "locker, fun filled, assault come winter time." We discussed some options to make the trail hold up over time through this section, while not taking away the difficulty.
We ran the trail through, and then back. Oddly enough, they want some miles put on the trail to break it in, and see how it's holding up. I didn't plan on "wheeling" that day, but ended up running the trail a few times.
This is the section at the end of the road leading into the forest section.
Ryan coming through.
Jon continuing to rip up more road, and convert it to trail. This is the time consuming part. The club desperately could use a bulldozer with rippers for tearing up the road.
Overall, it was awesome to see new trails actually being put on the ground. I encourage everyone to lend a hand with the project anyway they can. This project really lies on us the users to complete. Everything from the man hours moving rocks around, to the diesel for the excavator. Toss some funds their way for fuel/trail supplies, or head out there and lend a hand. I believe the plan is to plug away at this every weekend between now and at least Halloween.
Here's a link to Jon's post about the work parties:
http://naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=245738162&postcount=6
Link to the info on the TGOR forum:
http://thoseguysoffroad.com/tgorforum/index.php/topic,1507.0.html
LaDee Flats is located off Highway 224, just outside Estacada, Oregon. More specifically, the trail work parties are taking place off the 4610 road, just a few miles from the highway.
Google Maps Link
Forest Service OHV Map
Those Guys Offroad, have been pushing to get Class II trails established in the area for a few years now. Just recently the Forest Service has given them the the green light for turning dirt, and moving forward with actual trail construction. This was the clubs fourth weekend in a row working in the area.
I ran into Jon (Prez of TGOR, and the man behind the project) at the East entrance of the 800 trail. The Forest Service gave them the old road to turn into trail, and in order to keep the locals out Jon and crew built a rough filter at the entrance. Nothing too technical, but you definitely wouldn't drive Mom's Plymouth Voyager across these. Following Jon into the trail.
Looking back at the entrance. It's narrow, and what gets you is once you roll over one mound you lose visibilty of the next. With 100+" wheel base I was teetering on the edge of a few turns. Fun!
We cruised into the trail, and met up with those who had been working all morning. Part of the trail was cut through the forest, which had been previously scouted. Desmond running the mini excavator (a donated piece of equipment). These guys are all wheelers, so when someone finds a rock natural instinct is to put that rock in the middle of the trail.
Jon running the excavator filling in some holes. There's so many aspect to take in for the trail design. The biggest one is which way the water is going to run, and how steep the slope is on the trail. You don't want water pooling up, and you don't want the trail running off the hill side.
After we constructed a small rock obstacle, it was testing time. Sean ran it and we were able to get some feedback on how a rig will do through it.
We continued on down the trail, fixing a few small issues. This particular area will be a tough spot. As you can see when Ryan ran through it, it's pretty off camber, and enter an uphill corner immediately. I think Sean described it as a "locker, fun filled, assault come winter time." We discussed some options to make the trail hold up over time through this section, while not taking away the difficulty.
We ran the trail through, and then back. Oddly enough, they want some miles put on the trail to break it in, and see how it's holding up. I didn't plan on "wheeling" that day, but ended up running the trail a few times.
This is the section at the end of the road leading into the forest section.
Ryan coming through.
Jon continuing to rip up more road, and convert it to trail. This is the time consuming part. The club desperately could use a bulldozer with rippers for tearing up the road.
Overall, it was awesome to see new trails actually being put on the ground. I encourage everyone to lend a hand with the project anyway they can. This project really lies on us the users to complete. Everything from the man hours moving rocks around, to the diesel for the excavator. Toss some funds their way for fuel/trail supplies, or head out there and lend a hand. I believe the plan is to plug away at this every weekend between now and at least Halloween.
Here's a link to Jon's post about the work parties:
http://naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=245738162&postcount=6
Link to the info on the TGOR forum:
http://thoseguysoffroad.com/tgorforum/index.php/topic,1507.0.html
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