Monroe Area DH?

[two1]

I've heard there is some shuttle access Dh in the Monroe area. Does anyone know where or how to go about getting in on some that? And.. is it good DH or not really worth it I am coming from B-Ham.

[seand]

dont ask for dirs on a public forum :)

yes, there are trails in duvall...and yeah they are worth trekking out from b'ham for as you can get many runs in...but be prepared to help fix up the trails...kinda the rule there.

i dont suggest taking a car out there..you CAN, but its not that great for the car :)

[oly]

To get there.... take a right at the tree, then right at the rock, a right at the mud puddle, and right at the sasquatch..... and bring a shovel.

[seand]

To get there.... take a right at the tree, then right at the rock, a right at the mud puddle, and right at the sasquatch..... and bring a shovel.


HA! damn you! those are secret!! :)

[two1]

Thanks, thats all I needed to know.

[Snacks]

right at the sasquatch..... and bring a shovel.

Are you talking about KR :devil:

[buildyourown]

Are you talking about KR :devil:

Hahaha, You said it, not oly!

As for the trails.
truck/4x4 access only, bring a shovel so you can help dig. Bring a real bike as these are real trails. PM somebody for a ride time/day

[PsychO!1]

Bring a real bike as these are real trails.


What does that mean??? Real = DH?

[two1]

I dont know KR, but thanks for the info as I know things of this nature are touchy subjects

[two1]

I was wondering about that too "Real DH". But you know we all have our own ideas of "Real DH"

[two1]

Ahh...... imaginary trails thats a good thing, at least your heads in a happy place!!!

[Gex]

I have a 2wd f150 and would some day like to ride / help build these trails think it could handle the road?

[erikkellison]

What about a Subaru Impreza Outback? Think it can handle the road? I'd be interested in helping and riding if the trail is usable in the wintertime. Is it at a high elevation? I have Sundays off (but not this weekend)...

[buildyourown]

The road isn't horrible but there is one spot where is gets steep and rocky and you need the ground clearance of a truck.
ie, don't bring the beamer

[DBR X6 RIDER]

From my one day riding over there, it's some serious DH w/ some timely jumps and steeps...all of which have "outs". Damned good stuff - and I was there not long after a hard rain. I could only imagine its a killer rip when it's drier out.
Word of advice - take the 1st run or two to get a good look around.

Too bad we didn't have the camera going when I had my glorious wreck off the larger steep near the bottom. I did at least two cartwheels after landing all front wheel and pogoing over the bars. Should have held off until the next run to try that particular line.
Next time.:o:

This is where I got owned...
http://www.ridemonkey.com/mountain-bike-photos/data/500/7830112804_Duvall02.JPG

and this is the typical shuttle to the top...
http://www.ridemonkey.com/mountain-bike-photos/data/500/7830112804_Duvall05.JPG

[Borneo]

Can I dig up the thread about this place from about a year ago? Please? :rolleyes:

I don't know about Pure-DH. Many skilled riders could probably do just fine on a hard tail. As for leaving Bellingham to drive down? Why? When the shore is so close? You're looking at about 2:45 to get to the loooong dirt road access.
I've never ridden the Snake although Mark tried to get me up there for quite a while. But, I can't imagine it being worth giving up to drive down. Low elevation. The way things are going, probably won't have snow at all this year. Well built though. :thumb:

[erikkellison]

The Snake is great, really. It's just that you look for a little variety now and then, but when you live in Bellingham, driving an hour to multiple shore locations is also a viable option. I had no idea this trail was that far into the woods... figured Monroe was only about 45 minutes away. I just rode Platinum for the first time, and I must say that I'll be spending the next few days off there no matter the weather. However, when I move back down south, I'll surely want to find this trail, well, that is, if I ever get tired of the exits :)

[Snacks]

Yippee!

Lets talk about this trail in detail on a public forum and post pictures of it. :rolleyes:

[toughguymagee]

I have not been out to the Duvall trials since the first one was built. (porn trail used to be the name of it) From what I hear, the trails are good and you should ecpect to put a good days work in on the trail before you should expect to ride. I am planning on going over with some Lumberjack and crew after the new year to check things out.

KR always does a great job when building trails. He does not get his nickname for nothing. :)

[buildyourown]

Yippee!

Lets talk about this trail in detail on a public forum and post pictures of it. :rolleyes:

Nobody has said exactly where it is. So lets keep it that way. It's no secret that trails exist in the area.

[Snacks]

He asked were the DH trails so I assumed it was implied.
The Duvall trail is a real DH trail so bring a real DH bike.
Maybe I've been riding too many imaginary trails here at my desk.

It first started out as a post asking about Monroe area trails, now it's moved on to Duval area trails.....

A good amount of people know that these trails are out there...but what about the people/groups that don't know that they are out there or are using this forum to report to the local DNR?

[oly]

My instructions were wrong..... You turn around once you reach the sasquach and head straight home.....

[Snacks]

You guys realize that the main builders in the area....Richard, Mike, Kevin, and Kevin never get on the internet and talk about the trails they are cutting.....

[Borneo]

I was secretly hoping no one would reply and just PM the info. that's the way these isssues should be handled.

The silence only lasted a few hours....

[Langer]

Yippee!

Lets talk about this trail in detail on a public forum and post pictures of it. :rolleyes:

I think we should have some PNW rules that stay sticky and say DONT ASK AND DONT TELL in the public view. If you do your punshment is to get t - bagged by Captain Crunch. :blah:

[Tacoma Lad]

come on ...... talk about being a little to secret about a trail that I guess was only to be built for the few people that are cool in your book. Trail directions should be PM but they should be shared when my trail that I have been working on is done I will tell all. Not because I think it is the best trail ever but so everyone can ienjoy a new trail and if someone (DNR) rips it down then I will build another until they give us land.... so off my soap box and on to my bike(thanks to tyler) to go ride .

[SR]

I think there is a common misconception floating around that because people don't want specifics about trails discussed on the internet, that somehow means they think they are cooler than others or don't ever want anyone to ride said trails. It's not an elitist attitude that drives people to keep trails secret...it's the fact that the people who put in all the long hours and hard labor don't want their trails torn down because "someone" got wind of it on a public internet forum.

[Bikecrasher]

Can anybody name one trail in Washington that was closed down due to "people" talking about it on the internet?

[IMPULSE]

Arlington, the mukilteo Gulch, and others where stunts were just ripped out. Be considerate, unless you built it, don't talk about it on the forums. Some trails aren't built to handle the loads of people that surf these forums. How many of you bring nails and a hammer everywhere you go in case you break something? Let this thread die.............

[Langer]

Can anybody name one trail in Washington that was closed down due to "people" talking about it on the internet?

Are you being sarcastic or are you asking a serious question? :rolleyes:
TAPEWORM is one and that really wasnt a "freeride" area. Pictures of the stunts were posted on a public forum and Puget Power went in a tore them down. I was really pissed because I just got back into biking again and wanted to ride them. Another trail is Montessano. Lets also not forget the play ground we had at St eds.

Most trails are illegal and get closed because the liable owners dont want to get in trouble. If people want to know about certain trails make friends with people that work at a bike shop. Another is to go ride at certain areas where you can meet new people that will show these type of trails. Dont ask and dont tell directions on the net, but if you built it and dont give a sh1t post it up. Then I can put on the list of closed trails. :nuts:

[Skookum]

i'm gonna build a secret trail and it's gonna stay secret. :p

in fact none of you monkies will hear about it on here again. :dancing:

i'm gonna call it Kaiser Soze.

[evilbob]

Hey anybody have directions to Kaiser Soze? :eviltongu :evil:

[Skookum]

Hey anybody have directions to Kaiser Soze? :eviltongu :evil:
i can give you directions but first you have to pull a job for me involving a fat guy and a breifcase full of china white.....

[evilbob]

i can give you directions but first you have to pull a job for me involving a fat guy and a breifcase full of china white.....
:think: :think: ;)

[evilbob]

China White
Ingredients:

* 1/2 oz Vodka
* 1/2 oz Bailey's irish cream
* 1/2 oz white Creme de Cacao

Mixing instructions:

Pour ingredients into shaker filled with ice, shake, strain into shot glass.

Or this.......

China White
- 3/4 oz Cream de Cacao
- 1/4 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
- 1 tsp(s) Cinnamon

Or this..........

1 fluid ounce irish cream
1 fluid ounce coconut rum
1 dash cinnamon
Shaken not stirred, pour into a martini glass with a dash of cinnamon.

Or are you talking tea? (rare)
Or the band?

Or.......shame, shame......... :nono: :nono:

[erikkellison]

I am a bit torn on all of this. On the one hand, it is a real concern that publicity might get a trail torn down. On the other hand, it could be coincidence that posting trail info on the internet generally coincided with the partial desctruction of said trails. There are a lot of hard working people here who are also overly paranoid that publicity will destroy their trail, and I really can't blame them. I agree with the "don't post "illegal" trail info publicly," but telling people not to talk about non-specifics seems a bit over the top. I mean, we're doing trail maintenance tomorrow on Snakeonia, and people have given me crap for posting about it. I mean come on! No directions were given to the trail, or were asked for. So, I totally understand some people seeing it as "the cool kids keeping their trails secret." It's not that, but can easily be seen that way. I think both parties need to compromise a bit. A little publicity won't necessarily hurt a trail, but if it's questionable land, don't post directions online. That doesn't mean you can't talk about other aspects of the trail. I wonder that some people might truly believe that the DNR has hackers on biking websites searching for where the illegal trails are just to tear them out in order to piss the bikers off. Some trails get torn down just because the DNR finds the trail accidentally, and decides that it needs to go for any number of reasons. Some get torn down because land owners see bikers collecting in a certain area, check it out, and tear down what they don't like. Some get torn down by bikers who don't like unsafe stunts. Some get logged. I haven't heard of a trail that got torn down because a landowner/steward found directions on a public forum, and that was the only reason that it got torn down. I think it's more likely that questionable stunts were built on known trails, or new trails were cut on private property w/o consent or discretion (not that I'm condoning discretion with lack of consent). I'm not saying it can't happen, just seems that it seems unlikely that a forum is solely responsible for trail destruction. Have any of you talked to the people that have destroyed the trails, and figured out how they found them and why they tore them down?
People talk about "illegal" trails on here because some of us don't like our local bike shops (who happen to dislike our style of biking anyway), and resort to an online biking community such as RM for learning about the scene. I have met quite a few cool people on here, and stymiing that possibility for others like me by forbidding all conversation about said "illegal" trails only hurts the sport.
PS
Sorry, I just like typing a lot...

[oly]

TAPEWORM is one and that really wasnt a "freeride" area. Pictures of the stunts were posted on a public forum and Puget Power went in a tore them down.


Maybe those guys building all the real high stunts at tape shouldnt have been stealing expensive engineered floor joists (like the one at 27) and other wood from construction sites. Also Its not like thats a secret place by any means. Tape cant be compared to a mountain trail that takes a couple hours to get to. I highly doubt the sole reason Tape went down was from pictures on the internet.

[oly]

ALOT OF WORDS

Well said.

Ive said it before too in the past, the DNR has people called "timber cruisers" on the payroll. Its their job to catalog and inventory the forest so they know what can be logged when. These cruisers generally know most everything thats happening out there..... Personally, I feel everyone risks more driving up a forest or DNR road loaded down with 8 bikes hanging out their truck than talking about it on the net.

[DBR X6 RIDER]

Maybe those guys building all the real high stunts at tape shouldnt have been stealing expensive engineered floor joists (like the one at 27) and other wood from construction sites. Also Its not like thats a secret place by any means. Tape cant be compared to a mountain trail that takes a couple hours to get to. I highly doubt the sole reason Tape went down was from pictures on the internet.
As I recall, Chutes'n'Ladders/Stay On Target/Whatever You Called It was tore down after a kid rode something there beyond his skills, messed himself up and the parents were filing a suit against the land-owners (PSE) - which, in turn, forced them to tear the built stunts down.

Putting a picture up of a remote area, IMO, can't hurt anything unless GPS coordinates (or directions of some kind) were provided. There are no clear markings in the pics I posted that would let somebody go "I know exactly where that is...let's go tear it down".
Giving directions online via a forum is a major :nono: - even PM'ed directions shouldn't be given to somebody you're unfamiliar with. Just because they have a cool avy, etc. it does not mean they are a "bro". It could easily be a trail-nazi posing as one of us to get vital info. Beware who you give directions to - when in doubt, contact another people and ask if such-and-such is "one of us".

[erikkellison]

...even PM'ed directions shouldn't be given to somebody you're unfamiliar with. Just because they have a cool avy, etc. it does not mean they are a "bro". It could easily be a trail-nazi posing as one of us to get vital info. Beware who you give directions to - when in doubt, contact another people and ask if such-and-such is "one of us".
It's paranoia like this that stymies the community. It doesn't allow for the fact that new members who don't know anybody and just want to get into the sport might be looking for info online because they have nowhere else to go. If someone PM's you for directions, if they seem cool, give them directions! Put in whatever qualifiers you like, but don't try to make trail access into an application process. If you do, it only reinforces the view that some people hold that certain trails are only rideable by the "cool kids." If someone doesn't know where a trail is, then how can they know that it's on their land? Any why be concerned if you don't even know that it's on their land. More likely are they to just drive up a fire road and find it themselves. They have all the keys, after all.

[joelsman]

well said erik(a few posts up)

I know the loggers know about the snake, they have given a friend a ride to the top of the trail before. That and they thinned out the trees at the entrance, they couldn't miss the trail doing that. Since they know about the trail and haven't tried to stop us from riding it, or cutting out the 3 ladders, everything else is naturual, they must not care too much as long as it remains low key, building big stunts is not low key. I like natural trail features the best anyways.

so keep talking about the snake trail and posting riding dates, it is cool with me, just don't take anyone there who can't ride the trail, if you don't know, don't take them there first, ride somewhere else.

joel

[joelsman]

by only allowing people you know can ride well enough to ride the trail, you will be helping keep the trail open longer, and to help keep the lawsuits away. that and the trail will need less work, people who can't ride a difficult section usually mess it up when they hike down.

[Snacks]

This is trailhacker. Can't log out of Snacks at home for some reason - goddamn MozillA!!!
My only beef with people exchanging this kind of info via RM or where ever is this - lots of people ride trails but very few work on them. This time of year damage happens very quickly to trails and it means more time for poeple working on trails and less riding.
I'd rather keep any locations I work on low key so I don't have to spend time working on blown out berms or jumps or better yet the "shortcuts" people always seem to make so they can go "faster". If there is a turn in a trail its meant to be there by the people that built the trail. If this interferes with your "flow", go ride a different trail or go build your own!!!! This applies to XC trails as well.
Another thing is the more people find out, the more they want to build things. If its more trail, lets get crackin'. But it seems lately people are infatuated with stunts. Not my bag but but people can do what they like. I just don't want to put a bunch of work into an area to get grief from whomever because the yare pissed about the structures being built.
Trails get found out eventualy and that is the natural progression I prefer, I guess a form of word-of-mouth. As for some new guy in town thats the breaks. I'm not saying don't ever tell this person, but they should start at other local area that people aren't discreet about and work their way in from there.
This is kind of a tired topic. It seems to pop up again every so often. Probably winter time when people have too much time on their hands.

[erikkellison]

...so keep talking about the snake trail and posting riding dates, it is cool with me, just don't take anyone there who can't ride the trail, if you don't know, don't take them there first, ride somewhere else.
joel
For sure, I wouldn't take anyone on the Snake that I didn't think could handle it.