Santiago Oaks long time ago

konakc

konakc

iMTB Rockstah
Does anyone remember the history of Santiago Oaks trails? When the 3 B's were straight up and not fire road switchbacked? When the "trails' that led down to the ravine (bottom of cactus/coachwhip/bumble bee) were just goat trails/off menu fun? When there was only one chutes, no climbing chutes?
Does anyone know who, when and why the changes made? (Thank you for whoever responsible for the improvements!)
 
Bellfree contractors have some of the oaks projects on their site, as @doublewide said there were a lot of changes after the 2007 fire (for the better).

https://bellfreecontractors.wordpre...oaks-park-chutes-and-chutes-ridgeline-trails/

Oaks and the hills next to it were our playground as kids. We actually ventured more in the hills above Serrano that are now all homes since we could shoot our BB guns and paintball guns up there without much bother.

Before and after (arrow points to the area I am talking about). You can see old Bs in the second pic.

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doublewide said:
I believe they all changed after the fire of 2007....
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Yup, they began “fixing” the park after the 2007 Santiago Fire. They kinda turned a blind eye or really didn’t know if all the trails out there til all the brush was gone.

they realized that the trails were not sustainable as is. So they began the process of “fixing” the trails with an average grade of 10%.

Most of the unknown the the park trails were eventually put into inventory, after they rerouted them for sustainability.
 
Maybe not sustainable (although they lasted a long time that way), but a lot more fun (for me) than after emasculation. What was a reasonable challenge turned into a road ride (although, admittedly, still some fun trails out there, and after 20 or so years the trails caught up with me so they're challenging again).
 
My first time riding chutes was a walk..
My first time actually riding chutes was a feeling of accomplishment...
Now chutes has become just another trail...
Chutes.. car wreck... Even rattlesnake .. r all very different trails now.. for good or bad..
 
konakc said:
My first time riding chutes was a walk..
My first time actually riding chutes was a feeling of accomplishment...
Now chutes has become just another trail...
Chutes.. car wreck... Even rattlesnake .. r all very different trails now.. for good or bad..
Click to expand...
Rattlesnake and Car Wreck have gotten a lot chunkier over the years - but they've also gotten a lot wider. What used to be a two foot drop on Car Wreck (the one that mistreated @Mikie) is now 4' - but most people take the p-line around it. That said, Car Wreck has fewer p-lines than Rattlesnake.

I haven't ridden chutes in a couple of years, so can't comment about whether it's tougher or easier than in the past. The bikes we ride are certainly more capable now.
 
herzalot said:
Rattlesnake and Car Wreck have gotten a lot chunkier over the years - but they've also gotten a lot wider. What used to be a two foot drop on Car Wreck (the one that mistreated @Mikie) is now 4' - but most people take the p-line around it. That said, Car Wreck has fewer p-lines than Rattlesnake.

I haven't ridden chutes in a couple of years, so can't comment about whether it's tougher or easier than in the past. The bikes we ride are certainly more capable now.
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Haven't been down rattlesnake in maybe ten years. That and BVD were my favorite trails growing-up. I couldn't even find BVD the last time I rode Laguna.
 
My folks lived in A.H. for a long time and that is where I got my mtb start
I used to push my beach cruiser up the hills back in the Irvine property (windy ridge, brush canyon) to ride back down
Then I bought a Jamis Dakota in 86 and game on - I used to explore the back country (pre toll road) and ride around oaks all the time
I have not ridden oaks for over 20 years
Not by choice, just by chance
I’ve heard good things and I am familiar with Hans’ trail building skills
I hope to make it up there one of these days to sample
 
I've been riding Oaks for probably 15 years now. It's my main spot now being 10 minutes from my house. A little quirky bit of full circle since it was the first ride I did solo after buying a mountain bike in '05. It wasn't nearly as organized as it is now. The B's were freakin' brutal for new riders. I remember just questioning my motives climbing that route probably the first dozen times. I think the thing that gave me the most sads was when they semi-recently bulldozed the entirety of Barham. I just loved that whole top section. The speed, all the little features, booters, drops, rocks, sneaky lines while just bombing. So much fun. I shed a tear when I showed up one day and it looked like a dirt freeway.
 
All this is before my time. However, I would be interested to know how Chutes has changed as it is one of my favorite downhills in Oaks (Yucca being my favorite). Was it easier or harder back in the day?

konakc said:
Barham slowly coming back...
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Coming back from the the bulldozer of a couple of years ago, right? At least we can catch air again over the big rock (that is the fastest line BTW).
 
Obsidian said:
All this is before my time. However, I would be interested to know how Chutes has changed as it is one of my favorite downhills in Oaks (Yucca being my favorite). Was it easier or harder back in the day?



Coming back from the the bulldozer of a couple of years ago, right? At least we can catch air again over the big rock (that is the fastest line BTW).
Click to expand...

Definitely harder. Chunkier, way less maintenance. Way more erosion, rocks, etc. Same with Goat. We used to shuttle on DH bikes.
 
Obsidian said:
All this is before my time. However, I would be interested to know how Chutes has changed as it is one of my favorite downhills in Oaks (Yucca being my favorite). Was it easier or harder back in the day?

Coming back from the the bulldozer of a couple of years ago, right? At least we can catch air again over the big rock (that is the fastest line BTW).
Click to expand...
The drop in off the ridge has gotten harder, otherwise it’s easier now. Though I’d have to ride it on a gravel bike with rim brakes to be sure...
 
Obsidian said:
All this is before my time. However, I would be interested to know how Chutes has changed as it is one of my favorite downhills in Oaks (Yucca being my favorite). Was it easier or harder back in the day?



Coming back from the the bulldozer of a couple of years ago, right? At least we can catch air again over the big rock (that is the fastest line BTW).
Click to expand...
Yup..bull dozer took out my favorite sections but it's eroding back to us...
 
I have been riding oaks, irvine and peters since the mid 90's when I used to live in anaheim hills. We used to ride from my house and access the weir loop to santiago oaks then over to peters. I remember dropping down chutes during a heavy El Nino year only to see a lake covering the entire basin from the damn to irvine park. I had to HAB back up the old chutes route.

I thought the brothers from Ganahl lumber had something to do with the work after the fire. Urban mtb myth perhaps?
 
beartooth said:
I have been riding oaks, irvine and peters since the mid 90's when I used to live in anaheim hills. We used to ride from my house and access the weir loop to santiago oaks then over to peters. I remember dropping down chutes during a heavy El Nino year only to see a lake covering the entire basin from the damn to irvine park. I had to HAB back up the old chutes route.

I thought the brothers from Ganahl lumber had something to do with the work after the fire. Urban mtb myth perhaps?
Click to expand...
Pretty sure I saw their equipment being used on various parts of some trails while they were being modified, and when Coachwhip was built.
 
beartooth said:
I have been riding oaks, irvine and peters since the mid 90's when I used to live in anaheim hills. We used to ride from my house and access the weir loop to santiago oaks then over to peters. I remember dropping down chutes during a heavy El Nino year only to see a lake covering the entire basin from the damn to irvine park. I had to HAB back up the old chutes route.

I thought the brothers from Ganahl lumber had something to do with the work after the fire. Urban mtb myth perhaps?
Click to expand...

Financial supporters from what I hear.
 
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