Tuesday ride 9-16 Little Cottonwood canyon trail

[catch22]

Thanks Catch. Appreciate your understanding (and I wasnt trying to be a jerk...)

We are really hoping to get some of that stuff authorized, but are dealing with the latest Wilderness proposal from SOC. Thus, it is delicate.

Glad you guys had fun riding it and thanks for the understanding. If you want to help, write to Congressman Matheson and tell him that you are a taxpayer, mountain biker, etc. and that while you may (or may not) support Wilderness, you disagree with the all-encompassing, over broad approach that SOC takes. Parts of the newest proposal would all but eliminate potential or future mountain bike access on existing trails in some of the canyons around here, even if the USFS authorized them. Once the Wilderness designation is in place, we are screwed.

No problem at all, I'd much rather get a heads up on something like that than leave it out there if it could potentially cause problems, especially given that you do as much for MTB access around here as anyone else I'm familiar with. Hopefully somehow the whole SOC thing comes to a good conclusion but as it is the whole thing seems like a crock o' shite to me. Pretty sad what's become of the Wilderness Act.

[bbennett]

I guess I'm out of the loop on the latest SOC bullsh!t, but am I getting this right? Are they actually trying to limit mountain bike access? When is it going to be enough? How about we just fence off the mountains and only let in card carrying members of the SOC group. I can't believe that people actually support this organization. It just goes to show that anyone can be taken seriously if they're constantly threatening and pursuing legal action. I'm really curious how much of my tax dollars are being used to appease their frivolous cause. This is pathetic.

[catch22]

I guess I'm out of the loop on the latest SOC bullsh!t, but am I getting this right? Are they actually trying to limit mountain bike access? When is it going to be enough? How about we just fence off the mountains and only let in card carrying members of the SOC group. I can't believe that people actually support this organization. It just goes to show that anyone can be taken seriously if they're constantly threatening and pursuing legal action. I'm really curious how much of my tax dollars are being used to appease their frivolous cause. This is pathetic.

From what my understanding of the situation is, they are concerned that Snowbird may someday want to expand and I think they also pretty strongly oppose heli-skiing in the Wasatch. Their simple solution is to take a huge parcel of land in BCC and LCC and designate it all as Wilderness with almost complete disregard for current user groups and existing travel routes. The one attempt they've made at conceeding something to MTBers is a corridor around Mill D and lots of riders seem to look at this as a victory. I can't get my mind around this though, how is keeping one existing route open in exchange for giving up all other routes and any potential for creating a new trail in the future a good compromise for MTBers? Hopefully something more reasonable is worked out for all involved but right now the whole situation is a mess. The only good news I can think of is that SOCs proposal is so over the top and all encompassing that I can't see it ever being approved. FWIW I don't think Snowbird needs to expand either, just think there are better ways to to keep them in check.

[cackalak hando]

Are there any other 6-7 mile trails like this LCC trail around the Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek area? Just rode Pipeline last weekend, and it was okay. City Creek is cool, too.

[drboudreaux]

If you are bent about the proposal, write to Congressman Matheson. The more people that we get writing letters, the better. His contact information is as follows:

1323 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone - (202) 225-3011
Fax - (202) 225-5638

or

240 East Morris Avenue #235
South Salt Lake, UT 84115
Phone - (801) 486-1236
Fax - (801) 486-1417

You can also email him at the following website:
https://forms.house.gov/matheson/contact_sec.shtml

From what I understand, Matheson is the congressman used by SOC to introduce their proposals to Congress. The more feedback he gets, the better. Take the time that it takes to reply to this post to send him an email.

FWIW, I have contacted his office and am in the process of scheduling a meeting with him to address the Wilderness Act, the Wilderness designation, and its overbreadth. Given the bailout crap, it may be a while before I get to see him, but I'll keep you posted.

And for the record, the only reason that SOC has so much clout is because they are composed of a lot of people who write lots of letters and actively lobby for their views. Congressman arent necessarily sympathetic to certain issues, they are sympathetic to getting votes and staying elected. Let him know how his constituency feels on these issues.

doc

[catch22]

Are there any other 6-7 mile trails like this LCC trail around the Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek area? Just rode Pipeline last weekend, and it was okay. City Creek is cool, too.

Big Water trail at the top of Millcreek Canyon is pretty similar in distance and elevation gain. Not as rocky as LCC but really flowy. It can be really busy depending on when you ride it, definitely better to hit early or late in the day, there's a few blind corners where you really have to watch your speed on the way back down. It's also only open to bikes on even numbered days so plan accordingly. Also, the branch off of Big Water to Great Western about halfway up is really fun too, climbs all the way up to the Crest trail. It's a nice route if you want something a little longer than Big Water and it's usually less busy.

Check out utahmountainbiking.com for more ride ideas, it's a really good resource for ride descriptions, maps, directions, etc.

[TreeHugger]

Are there any other 6-7 mile trails like this LCC trail around the Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek area? Just rode Pipeline last weekend, and it was okay. City Creek is cool, too.

Big Water trail at the top of Millcreek Canyon is pretty similar in distance and elevation gain. Not as rocky as LCC but really flowy. It can be really busy depending on when you ride it, definitely better to hit early or late in the day, there's a few blind corners where you really have to watch your speed on the way back down. It's also only open to bikes on even numbered days so plan accordingly. Also, the branch off of Big Water to Great Western about halfway up is really fun too, climbs all the way up to the Crest trail. It's a nice route if you want something a little longer than Big Water and it's usually less busy.

Check out utahmountainbiking.com for more ride ideas, it's a really good resource for ride descriptions, maps, directions, etc.

Solitude is good, too. About as long.

[PunchKing]

You can also do Dog lake from the Big Cottonwood side as an out and back. The climb is a lung burner but is doable. I would recommend not doing it in the snow though.

[catch22]

If you are bent about the proposal, write to Congressman Matheson. The more people that we get writing letters, the better. His contact information is as follows:

Thanks for the contact info links, sent an email and letter this morning. The doc may not want to push it too hard on here so I'll throw this out there for him-consider joining WAFTA (www.waftautah.com) and IMBA (www.imba.com) since they are the groups fighting trail access battles on our behalf. I've been really surprised how much WAFTA has accomplished locally since they started up a few years back. Certainly money well spent to support an organized presence that stands up to groups that would glady close off our public lands to MTB use and works with land managers to create new riding opportunities.