Clearing Obstacles

[Nonimouse]

Over here, unless you are on private land by invite you don't get the choice of a bypass as 'trespass' and 'wilful damage' come into the mix. Some fools still make bypass's but are just making it worse for others. We now have the situation where if you are 'suspected' of trespass away from a legal route or driving an illegal route (all public routes are a form of highway thus covered by UK law) you can be served with a warning, on the second warning you lose your vehicle. It gets crushed or sold on to pay costs! If you bypass into an ecological area or archeological area and do damage in any form you had bets buy 'soap on a rope' because you are likely to do time, if not then the fine will be huge AND you still lose your vehicle.

So if you don't just run a junker (and remember, our MOT laws are some of the strictest in the world) and you have common sense, you turn back or you winch.

As the father of off road driving (Roger Crathorne) once said "if you can see where you have driven, you should never have driven there".

I look at those pictures and I wonder what 'Tread Lightly' is all about. Over here we simply don't publish stuff like that on the net - we daren't. Over the last 5 years we have lost thousands of miles of legally drivable routes - all thanks to our own inability to get it right. If people feel the need to get stuck then they should do it on private land with no ecological value, away form the private eye. driving trails (or whatever they are called in which ever country) is about getting from a to b, using skill, common sense and care; whilst enjoying the surroundings that the skill/common sense/care have got you and your suitable vehicle to.

As for being ready to winch - top marks to that man. Off road driving is about always being prepared for the worst, then being able to deal with it safely and easily

 

[off-roader]

That does look pretty darned nasty. Too bad. It will take a while for that area to recover. For a long term solution, you need to find a way to allow that water to drain as it fills.

As for driving through it, that's a tough choice based on the pics you've given.

As for the bypass and the tree blocking it, do you mean a fallen tree (can't see one) or one growing in the way? If it's growing in the way, then I suspect that's not supposed to be a bypass.:Wow1:

As for winching to get out, I'm no fan of it when you can get out on your own power but if it's at the expense of damaging the rig (not just small dings) or the surroundings, then I'm all for winching or using a snatch strap.

 

[Stumpalump]

Maintaining a bypass for something like that is as important as maintaining the trail. Making a mud pit bigger is asking for trouble with those environmentalist who want the trail closed.

 

[Desert Dan]

I have no issues using a winch or taking a bypass. Being stuck in axle deep mud for hours isn't fun anymore.

That mudhole looks like a mess and may never revegetate.

 

[computeruser]

From an ecological standpoint, I suspect that the bypass should become the trail and the mud pit should be closed off, replanted, etc. Not that this would satisfy the sorts of trash that likes to bomb through mud pits, obviously, but so what? Let them go find a muddy field or something to play in.

As for the original point, yes, removing deadfall from trail can and does often make sense. And winching through an obstacle is far more mature than beating one's vehicle and the land up.

 

[chet]

Trees that have fallen on a trail or bypass that can't easily be driven over should be removed in my opinion. We see ALOT of wind/dead fall around here. To the point of me packing a chainsaw most times. If a tree is not removed the lazy will attempt to drive around it and widen the trail even more. Not good.

If the mud pit was the original trail then thats what should be used. Go straight through the middle if you get stuck you winch. No bypasses.

 

[Co-opski]

Good topic and conversation. First I am assuming this is on public land in Canada. Each country, state/providence and agency has different policies on ORV travel on their land. If it was on private land it would be a whole different story. So I will be general with my comments as if this was public land.

First Nonimouse had a great post with the perspective from the other side of the pond on the illegal bypass and its trespass status. It sounds very strict. Here it is still trespass if it is leaving the original trail easement. It would be a legal process to vacate the original trail out of the mud pit and locate it onto the bypass to protect the trail. Fines are not as strict most places over here for trespass.

Second is the ecological side of the problem that computeruser points out. The damage from the mud pit will only grow with the loss of vegetation and erosion on the side of the trail, not to mention the sedimentation that is released into rivers and streams.

Third are the environmentalists that could use examples of these trails as ammunition against ORV travel. Not only will they try for closures of the trail for the mud pit but also the braiding of the trail with multiple bypasses cut into the vegetation.

Making and using a bypass and cutting dead fall all depends on management of supervising agency. Here in Alaska on state land this would not be a problem as long as the bypass was made with hand tools and a maximum of 5 feet wide and the vehicle does not “break through the vegetative mat” and is fewer than 10K lbs. Other public lands may have different regulations here for there land. Now for personal safety personally I think do what you need to do to get home. But good decision making is a big part of backcountry travel. Knowing your terrain and when to turn around are just as important as quality gear, ask any mountaineer. Trails like this could have a seasonal closure during the wet season verses a total closure, or making a new legal bypass and restoring/re-vegetating the original trail are two alternatives to a total closure for management reasons. It is only us who can protect our access to ORV recreation. Act responsibly.

 

[frumpy]

Just a point to mention. If the rest of the trail is pretty much a dirt road, why not spend some time and try to repair the damage to the trail (damage being the mud pit). Although not easy, it would prevent it from spreading further and allow the original trail to be passable.

 

[off-roader]

Just a point to mention. If the rest of the trail is pretty much a dirt road, why not spend some time and try to repair the damage to the trail (damage being the mud pit). Although not easy, it would prevent it from spreading further and allow the original trail to be passable.

Agreed. If possible a local club should adopt this trail and maintain it including repairing this section accordingly.

 

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

Here in Idaho, it is very customary for clubs to go out an clear trails of fallen trees from winter storms, in fact it is promoted. Yes, you do eliminate an 'obstacle', but you also eliminate the need for ill-equipped drivers from doing more damage by driving off the trail. Not to say that the creation of a bypass is a bad thing, it appears that in this situation it was warranted. I believe the bypass was established to allow an alternative to doing further damage to the trail and the log across the bypass forced people to go through the mud hole. Clearing the log from the bypass was a good thing.

Ultimately, from an environmental side, it would be cool to see the area restored to eliminate the mud hole and the bypass. I think that the original trail could be salvaged. I have seen a lot of good work by clubs restoring trails, and in this case it would be a matter of working with the local governing authority to go out and channel the water out of the area. It looks like the mud hole is the lowest part of the trail, and a channel could simply be cut to direct water coming down the road to run off to the side. Local land managing agencies use this practice on a regular basis here. With a group of a couple of people, and a weekend, you could restore the original trail to drivable conditions!

Just my 2-cents.

See Attached Photo for drainage channels.

 

[dust devil]

1. Always use the main trail. I would have left the log in the by-pass, and have been known to remove logs from main trails by dragging them into the middle of a by-pass. Anyone who can't negotiate an obstacle needs to turn around at that point. Sooner or later we all do.

2. Whether the mud hole in question is nasty or not is, I suggest, a matter of opinion based on experience and equipment. I have driven through many that were far worse, and have gotten stuck in some of them. Whatever. If you get stuck, you get out either with help from friends or by means of self-recovery. I would suggest that if you are not equipped to self-recover, then your state of preparedness would not be up to the mud hole shown in the photos, and it would be time to turn back. Regardless of your state of preparedness, a by-pass is not needed, and if there is one, it was created by someone who was not prepared but didn't have the brains or courage to simply turn around at that point, so went around.

3. The fact that there is a by-pass already there and that you didn't make it, does not give license to use it. That kind of thinking leads us to trail closures and land misuse.

4. Sorry, the by-pass should not "become the main trail." It is not the environment that made the place a mud hole. The hole was made by constant use during wet periods by vehicular traffic. It is probably asking too much to ask folks not to use soft trails when wet, but having tracked the spot into a mud hole by using the trail when wet, we should not then complain that the hole is too aggressive and that we need to by-pass it. It has been raining in that spot for a billion years -- there has been a mud hole only during recent times. Drive through it or turn back.

 

[wikid]

I have no issues using a winch or taking a bypass. Being stuck in axle deep mud for hours isn't fun anymore.

That mudhole looks like a mess and may never revegetate.

I think this type of statement is dangerous and plays into to groups that want to close all of our trails down.

Come on " may never revegatate"

Even MT St Helens is beginning to show plant life again. It would begin to come back to life if it was not driven on for some time. May be that's an area that needs to be evaluated on whether the trail needs to be re routed permanently. The bypass may be the answer to less impact on the trail . I'm not trying to pick here but why fuel the fire any more than it is.
To the original post, moving the fallen tree is fine. I would never feel ashamed of using my winch. That doesn't take any value away from your man card or woman card to be correct here.

 

[Snagger]

It sounds to me like the ATV and Series drivers are idiots. You can tell the best drivers easily - they're the ones with no damage and little mud on their vehicles; any idiot can thrash around at full throttle and spray mud everywhere while wrecking their vehicle and, worse, the terrain.

 

[Currie]

What is with the guys who want to make something harder than it has to be? If a tree has fallen across the trail, why beat the crap out of your truck, or blaze a new trail instead of just removing the damn log?

Exactly what I was thinking when I read your post.....:drool:

 

[HenryJ]

This "obstacle" was on our way out. Sometimes bypassing or crossing over is not an option.

Road / trail maintenance.