Sutter 300 Single Track Trail Tractor
*Article Compiled by QWR and Tahoe NF Staff
The
weather was perfect October 28-30, 2014 for the re-energized annual public land
OHV manager’s Ranger Ride event coordinated by Don Amador of Quiet Warrior
Racing and the Blue Ribbon Coalition. The event was hosted by the Tahoe
National Forest at the American River Ranger District’s Sugar Pine OHV
area. Approximately 40 OHV managers,
instructors, volunteers, and support staff from California-based public land management
agencies (Forest Service including Region 5, BLM, CA Parks OHMVR Division)
gathered to discuss OHV management, view demonstrations, take motorcycle/ATV
training certification courses and exchange OHV management
strategies/challenges/successes.
Demonstrations included: the Sutter 300 single-track trail dozer road to
trail conversion; Magnum Buster boulder breaking tool; wet weather soil
management monitoring instruction by soil scientist Roger Poff; OHV sound
testing demonstration, and; restoration projects review.
Tahoe NF Trail Lead Explains Magnum Buster
to Agency Staff and Volunteers
The
Magnum Buster boulder breaking tool demonstration showed OHV trail managers how
large boulders/rock can be broken down to manageable sizes or removed through
use of the Magnum Buster, which does not require a certified blaster to use. The rock breaking technology uses water as a
means to transfer a shock wave from the Magnum Buster’s initiation cartridge to
the black powder cartridge placed in a hole drilled into the boulder/rock. The Yuba River Trail Crew drilled a 1 5/8”
hole in a 4’ diameter boulder with a gas powered rock drill, about 36” deep,
filled the hole with water, placed the 30 grain cartridge in the hole and set
the Magnum buster on top of the hole. The
group was moved back to a safe distance and watched as the 100 foot long chord
was pulled to set off the series of concussions. With a loud BOOM the boulder broke into about
5 pieces that could be handled by an individual.
Demo Rock Fractured Into Many Segments
OHV
managers saw the benefit of being able to break down large rock without needing to
call in a certified blaster. The Magnum
Buster goes for about $5,000, and a gas powered rock drill will cost about the
same.
Paul Hart Teaching DirtBike School Class
The
Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s DirtBike School is a great way to teach
new riders and experience rider’s the required skill’s to safely ride an
Off-Highway Motorcycle. Paul Hart, a certified DirtBike School
coach and Trails manager for the Yuba River Ranger District on the Tahoe
National Forest, taught this one-day hands-on training session to agency
students from the Forest Service and the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle
Recreation Division (OHMVRD). Students learned basic riding skills, trail
ethics, and environmental responsibility. A total of 14 students completed the
training. The students riding experience varied from 1hr to 30+
years. All of the students learned that safety is the most important
thing while riding an Off-Highway Motorcycle!
After
graduation from the course, students took part in easy and moderate trail rides
lead by local volunteers and agency staff. This allowed the students to
improve and practice the skills taught during the DirtBike School. Some of the
advanced riders that completed the Dirtbike
School went on an expert trail ride.
QWR believes that post-class mentored trail rides where new riders get
extra seat time to further hone their skills is a vital aspect of the training
program.
Sarah Ridenour Teaching ASI ATV Class
Sarah
Ridenour, the OHV Program Manager for the Grindstone Ranger District at
Stonyford on the Mendocino National Forest, a certified ATV Safety Institute (ASI) ATV instructor, taught the ATV
class. Students learned basic riding
skills, trail ethics, and environmental responsibility. Agency instructors are an important element in
the training or recertification process for government staff that ride ATVs. According
to ASI, the ATV Instructor Preparation (IP) Courses are 4 days in length, with
each day lasting approximately 8 hours. The sites will provide the ATV for you
to use during the 4 days; however, instructor candidates will need to provide their
own riding gear: DOT approved helmet with either a face shield or riding
goggles, full-fingered gloves, over the ankle boots, long sleeved shirt and
long, sturdy pants. The fee to attend is $830 per person, which includes the
cost of tuition and course materials.
Pre-Demo 10 ft. Wide "Motorcycle Only" Road
Tony Dipino
from the Sutter Equipment Company demonstrated their new Sutter 300 mini dozer that
has a 24 inch wide blade by implementing a road to single-track trail
conversion laid out by the district trail manager. The OHV managers watched the machine make
quick work of the project and helped with the conversion by placing woody
debris into the abandoned portions of the old route to keep motorcycles on the
now more narrowly defined trail.
Post-Demo Road Put to Bed and Replaced
with New Motorcycle Trail
This
demonstration seemed to pique the interest of many of the OHV managers who
spoke of having address frequent complaints from motorcyclists about
maintaining motorcycle trails with a 4 foot wide trail dozer and making the
trails “too wide.”
As many
of you know, OHV traffic on trails under wet conditions can damage treads and
drainage structures. Determining when to open or close OHV trails has been a
challenge for trail managers. Some have used seasonal closures; others have
used rainfall. Both of these approaches have limitations.
Roger Poff Gives Research Update
Roger
Poff gave an update on his field studies that involve measuring soil strength
and soil moisture, and correlating these measurements with observed levels of
trail damage. This information is used to predict the risk of trail damage at
different levels of soil strength and soil moisture. This prediction of risk
can then be used to develop threshold values to determine when to open or close
trails.
Poff
believes this method will not be a “magic bullet” to solve all the issues
related to opening and closing trails under wet conditions. However, it will be
an important tool in the trail manager’s toolbox for managing trails under wet conditions. Stay tuned for related updates on this
project.
Students Practice the SAE J-1287 Sound Test
QWR’s
Don Amador gave a 20 inch SAE J-1287 sound test introduction to agency staff to
better acquaint them with the procedure.
A sample “enduro tech station” was set up and staff practiced looking up
rpm data for each bike as well as checking for spark arrestors and
registration. The goal of the class was
to give students some realistic field practice in preparation for them taking
the certified sound testing class taught by Chris Real at DPS Technical, Inc.
Tahoe NF Staff Explains Proposed Restoration Project
The
workshop included a tour of several proposed OHV restoration projects. The CA OHMVRD funds restoration projects that
QWR believes are an important part of a holistic approach to managed OHV
recreation.
A big
note of thanks goes out to all of our agency and volunteer partners, including
trail guides from AMA District 36 and Racers Under the Son, who helped make this event a huge
success. This workshop proves there is
no substitute for “getting out in the field.”
