Maple Springs to Motorway (night)

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Faust29 said:
It's a nice route... And the only thing to be aware of is the powder on Main Divide. It's fluffy enough to swallow a wheel in spots on a couple of the downhills... And the water bars on Motorway. There's a big one about 2/3 of the way down that I hit wrong every time.
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Top of Motorway got 2.4' of rain....so I am hoping that the powderpuff section has been washed away.
 
mtnbikej said:
Top of Motorway got 2.4' of rain....so I am hoping that the powderpuff section has been washed away.
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That's one of the reasons why I think tomorrow might be a good ride day. Rain since last weekend to tamp everything down.
 
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BonsaiNut said:
That's one of the reasons why I think tomorrow might be a good ride day. Rain since last weekend to tamp everything down.
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I think there is now a Trail Marker up there.

But yeah, I know what the top of Trabuco looks like.
 
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Faust29 said:
It's a nice route... And the only thing to be aware of is the powder on Main Divide. It's fluffy enough to swallow a wheel in spots on a couple of the downhills... And the water bars on Motorway. There's a big one about 2/3 of the way down that I hit wrong every time.
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I'm assuming more rain there than on the STT, and the rain on the STT exposed lots of little rocks and made small ruts. So I'd expect that on steroids on the Main Divide, but the dust might be transformed into something "interesting.":sneaky:
 
kioti said:
I'm assuming more rain there than on the STT, and the rain on the STT exposed lots of little rocks and made small ruts. So I'd expect that on steroids on the Main Divide, but the dust might be transformed into something "interesting.":sneaky:
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The dust/silt was gone. Those sections were a bit more raw.

It was great.......and the gate was closed at bottom of Motorway.
 
mtnbikej said:
It was great.......and the gate was closed at bottom of Motorway.
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Motorway and Maple Springs are closed. Sounds like they effectively closed last night when the gate was closed, but strangely at the USDA web site they have them listed as being closed since Monday(?) I think you are lucky to have gotten your ride in. I didn't check status before I left this morning, and ended up at the trailhead looking at the closed gate and feeling like an idiot.

Oh well... one more chance to climb Harding :)

I will say this. Sometimes I think we are working at cross-purposes. The conditions on Harding are almost the best I have ever seen - certainly the best I have seen in the last 6 months. Just enough rain to flatten everything down, but not enough to cause any erosion or rockfalls. I think the rangers are being overly conservative by closing Maple Springs for several days every time they get a light rain. I wish they would let bikers and hikers on Maple Springs when it is closed to motorized vehicles. Let's face it; the first 3 miles are paved!

Oh and for what it's worth, they have "North Main Divide" listed as closed, as well.
 
BonsaiNut said:
Motorway and Maple Springs are closed. Sounds like they effectively closed last night when the gate was closed, but strangely at the USDA web site they have them listed as being closed since Monday(?) I think you are lucky to have gotten your ride in. I didn't check status before I left this morning, and ended up at the trailhead looking at the closed gate and feeling like an idiot.

Oh well... one more chance to climb Harding :)

I will say this. Sometimes I think we are working at cross-purposes. The conditions on Harding are almost the best I have ever seen - certainly the best I have seen in the last 6 months. Just enough rain to flatten everything down, but not enough to cause any erosion or rockfalls. I think the rangers are being overly conservative by closing Maple Springs for several days every time they get a light rain. I wish they would let bikers and hikers on Maple Springs when it is closed to motorized vehicles. Let's face it; the first 3 miles are paved!

Oh and for what it's worth, they have "North Main Divide" listed as closed, as well.
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Whe the gate is closed at Maple Springs....only means it is closed to motor vehicles. Bike and foot traffic are still allowed. It has always been that way. Get out there and ride before they reopen it.

The Rangers have a right to be nervous....Remember, Harding has not burned since 2007....so the brush and ground cover has had a chance to tie everything in. Maple Springs is still trying to recover. Plus, based on some of the mud/water flows I have seen going up Maple Springs in the past....can't say it is somewhere I wanna be when it comes down.

Everything was closed....with the condition of some of the roads up there, they didn't want a bunch of yahoo's causing more damage to the roads or getting themselves into trouble. Again, this is how it has always been.
 
mtnbikej said:
Whe the gate is closed at Maple Springs....only means it is closed to motor vehicles. Bike and foot traffic are still allowed. It has always been that way. Get out there and ride before they reopen it.
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I had my bike out of the car and was going to do just that when some loud-mouthed local woman got in my face and told me the trail was closed. When I asked whether it was closed for bikes and hikers she was very insistent (and rude). She also scared away an elderly couple visiting from New Zealand who were just going to go for a short hike.

I tried to check the USDA site, but there was no cell phone coverage. So until I knew better, I decided to err on the side of "good citizen". Next time I will just laugh and cruise off - but I hope I won't return to find dog feces on my car or something worse. She was quite worked up and self-important.
 
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BonsaiNut said:
Motorway and Maple Springs are closed. Sounds like they effectively closed last night when the gate was closed, but strangely at the USDA web site they have them listed as being closed since Monday(?)
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I just went on the Trabuco Ranger District website and it showed them open. Do you have a link to the site you looked at? Also, as @mtnbikej says, Maple Springs is often closed to motor vehicles while open to bike riders and hikers. Is there a sign on the gate that says the Motorway (Silverado Trail) is closed? If not, you only have to go up the road a couple hundred yards to get to the base of the Motorway, and it's not a bad HAB (with much of it rideable).

But if they're both closed, it's probably fear of mudslides in both areas, and also worries of evacuation problems if the canyon floods.
 
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