[pct-l] CAMERA ENCOUNTER WITH 3 MB'S ON SECTION D

[Edward Anderson]

SIGNS.  Considering that the sign prohibiting bikes was prominently located only about three feet from the PCT, I would be difficult for all four (my pictures reveal that there were actually four, not three) bikers not to have seen it. Of course, from my experience, and that of others who have also posted on this list, "innocence" is a common response. Other, less polite, bikers will simply blast past you either saying F--K you or nothing at all. These four could not have ridden past since Ray and I were effectively blocking the trail with our animals. We would not yield.
 
Something else that I would like to add is the need for SIGNS.  That is one subject that I discussed with the Ranger at Angeles National Forest. Why don't they add signs to the existing posts that are placed at all TH's and also at road crossings? The signs would state that the fines will apply to those who illegally use the PCT with wheeled vehicles? The same approach would also discourage those who make illegal fires. Why not? If we want to protect the PCT we should be more proactive. I think that if they know that there is a possibility of their having to pay a fine, most would obey the law. The Forest Service is underfunded - the fines might help. Again, why not?  I wonder what other posters on this list think of that approach.
 
MendoRider-Hiker
 

________________________________
 From: Ryan Hull <rynos1234 at gmail.com>
To: pct-l <pct-l at backcountry.net> 
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2012 9:32 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] CAMERA ENCOUNTER WITH 3 MB'S ON SECTION D
  
As I requested in a post a few weeks ago, please try not to talk about
others in absolutes like "they could not have helped seeing [the sign] and
ignored it."  This summer I was doing something I should not have been
(floating a river on inner tubes where they weren't allowed) after passing
by 3 or 4 clearly marked signs and truly not seeing them, and got hit with
an $80 fine out of the deal.  If anyone at the launch point had pointed out
that what we were doing wasn't allowed, we'd not have put in.  It's as
simple as that.

People make mistakes, and I can imagine if they were riding reasonably fast
they may have done the exact same thing I did.  Or maybe they did
intentionally ignore the sign.  We cannot know their intentions.

-Ryan


On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 7:41 AM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Last May I helped Back Country Horseman Ray Drasher during a one-day
> project to clear some fallen trees that were blocking the PCT on Section D.
> We are trail-maintenance volunteers. We had ridden south from Vincent Gap
> and as far south as about three or four miles below Guffy Camp. During our
> return north, near Blue Ridge, we encountered three Mountain Bikers going
> south. They were riding at perhaps 15 mph.  Since we were blocking the
> trail with our three animals (Ray was trailing his mule packed with the
> chain saws and what would be needed for the trail clearing project.)  My
> first reaction was to inform them that they were on the PCT - and that it
> is illegal to ride MB'S on it. Their Reply was that they did not know
> either that they were on the PCT or that it was illegal for them to use it
> (innocent). They wanted us to let them by. Of course we would not yield. I
> told them that they must turn around and exit the PCT.  By then I had
> started
>  taking PICTURES of them as we talked.  They decided to turn back. It
> turned out that we were only about 300' from where they had left a dirt
> road. They had passed a PCT post that was clearly marked including the
> familiar symbol of a bicycle with the red diagonal slash through it. The
> three of them could not have helped from having seen it and
> had simply ignored it.  During my PCT ride up from Cajon Pass in 2008, I
> recall seeing lots of wheel tracks on the PCT. The ascent from Cajon Pass
> is about 5000' - MBers must love to "fly" down that with a second vehicle
> parked at the bottom. I don't know that those three intended to do that -
> but some must.
>
> The message that I want to contribute to this list is that, if you can,
> take PHOTOGRAPHS of violators, to document their illegal use of the PCT,
> most violators will be intimidated and will usually leave the trail. (I
> know, not necessarily.) The best photographic documentation would be
> pictures taken at a well-marked PCT TH, showing their vehicle with bike
> rack and shots of them either starting up the PCT or returning from it and
> then reloading the bikes. Since this would include both the license plate
> of their vehicle as well an their face identification, it could be turned
> over to the nearest Ranger Station.  Are their fines for illegal use of the
> PCT? If fines exist, they should be posted at TH access locations. That
> would certainly discourage most illegal use.
>
> Since I cannot attach pictures of the incident described above on the
> pct-l, I could send them off-list to anyone who would like to see them.
>
> Sincerely,
> MendoRider-Hiker
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