Re-route is approved!

Trail re-route around mud hole at mile 6.2

Workday dates:

September 19, 2009
October 24, 2009

Note: Scheduled workdays will be completed based on access due to water release volume and weather conditions.

We expect this project to take at least 3 or 4 workdays to complete. We will get a start this year and finish up next spring. The good news is that with our grant from BFG we will be able to start some of the perks we know everyone will enjoy including some food after the work is done for the day. One of the unique aspects of working on Fordyce is the difficulty in sometimes just getting to the work area. Mile 6.2 is about as far in from any access point as any place on the trail so we will meet at the work location instead of meeting at the trailhead and driving in together. This way we will have a definite start time on site. Camping there the night before is suggested. Camping after the day's work is recommended so we can all celebrate the hard day's work with a complimentary BBQ.

Please keep in mind to travel with others and plan for an expected water release of 285CFS for the September workday. Water release will be down to minimal for the October 24th workday. We suggest approaching the work area from the Indian Springs trailhead. This way only water crossing #1 will need to be traversed. It is very important that volunteers be sure of the capabilities of their rig and are aware of the proper lines to take while crossing the river so as to avoid the deeper holes that exist. When traveling up trail from Indian Springs enter water crossing #1 and veer left along the line of rocks forming a small step. As you approach the opposite shore you will need to turn to the right around the bushes to the wide area of shoreline and then back left as you exit the water. At this point the right front of most all rigs will dip into the water at the expected water release of 285CFS. On the way out the left front will dip in. If your rig has a low mounted air intake on either side as opposed to the middle there is a possibility of water entering the motor and causing it to hydro-lock. This is why we strongly recommend anyone considering this workday to have previous experience at crossing the river at the expected flow.

As always, be prepared for the worst while traversing the Fordyce trail. Weather can change rapidly and breakdowns are always a possibility. Never plan on just a day trip. Always carry ample food, water, clothing and camping gear in case the unexpected occurs. Your rig should be equipped with a CB tuned to channel 40 for FOF communications. Cell service is available on the Fordyce trail in most locations so a charged up cell phone is a great emergency link.

If you are planning on attending the workday please e-mail me at bret@fordycetrail.org. We need to get a count for food. Remember, there will be a BBQ dinner courtesy of the FOF and BFG as well as numerous other indivdual contributers and of course NAXJA. Because of all the support we have recently received, food will be prepared on the new trail BBQ we were able to purchase. We'll also provide gloves, safety glasses and loppers for the volunteers use. It will be nice not to have to ask our helpers to provide their labor AND use their own tools.

We want to thank everyone in advance for considering this workday. We know it's late in the year, not a lot of notice, and time is at a premium these days.

Thank you,

Bret Preble
President-Friends of Fordyce

Look forward to it, hopefully the river isn't as bad as it sounds.

^you'll be fine, just make sure to pack your scuba gear mr. lowrider:flipoff2:

Looking forward to this trip. It's going to be great creating a new and improved route around the soggy stuff. Cutting some bush, moving a few rocks and free meat.....it's does not get better than this. :smokin:

I'm in for the October 24, 2009 work.

im going to try and make it.:D

I'll know for sure if I can make this comming weekend by Tuesday and will let you know. So are you planning on BBQ'ing at the work site, or back at Cisco? What other tools are required?

We will be camping and BBQing at the reroute site. A large pry bar could be useful.

We will be camping and BBQing at the reroute site. A large pry bar could be useful.


A large pry bar would double the weight of the Sami. The 285 flow has me a little concerned due to the rig weight though.

A large pry bar would double the weight of the Sami. The 285 flow has me a little concerned due to the rig weight though.

That's understandable.

Look forward to it, hopefully the river isn't as bad as it sounds.

i havent been thru at that flow rate but, im in ! rollin with scottz and his lowrider, bringing the runner.

I have a call in to PG&E to see if I can get acurate info for the flow this coming weekend. The graph shows it starting to come down a bit. Hopefully this is a trend and it will be a bit lower for the workday. I at least want to verify it will not go up. I'll post as soon as I get a call back.

Per PG&E Fordyce dam repair supervisor last weekend

Flow rate of 290 cfs until Oct 2nd - then reduced to puddle.

Crossed all rivers with 36's last weekend - highly suggest Eagle lake side to mud hole - committee bypass was DEEP :eek:.

Hey Bret,

WeBilt will have 4 rigs maybe 5 coming to work on the project. We are not sure if we're staying Saturday night but if we do it will be up the trail so don't count us for dinner.

What time are we meeting to start? We are going to camp somewhere on the other side of the first crossing Friday night. Hopefully the nice swimming hole just before you leave the creek if it's open.

JDunn

That is great Jason. Looks like we will have a good sized crew for the 19th. :smokin:

That is great Jason. Looks like we will have a good sized crew for the 19th. :smokin:

Sweet! Do you know what time we are going to start Sat morning? When are you guys heading up?

Sweet! Do you know what time we are going to start Sat morning? When are you guys heading up?

9am is the start time for Saturday.

Bret and I are heading in Friday morning and are going to camp at the reroute.

9am is the start time for Saturday.

Bret and I are heading in Friday morning and are going to camp at the reroute.

nothing like waiting till the heat of the day to sweat it out.



See you guys on the weekend of the 24th of october.

See you guys on the weekend of the 24th of october.

Cool

I have a call in to PG&E to see if I can get acurate info for the flow this coming weekend. The graph shows it starting to come down a bit. Hopefully this is a trend and it will be a bit lower for the workday. I at least want to verify it will not go up. I'll post as soon as I get a call back.

So the reason the flow was going down is that as the head of the lake decreases (which amounts to feet of water above the valve) the pressure decreases and the amount of water coming out goes down. Either tomorrow or the next day PG&E will open the valve up a little to get the flow back up to the design release. I asked if they could delay this action until Monday but was told they have a construction schedule to stick to and have to adjust the flow now. I told them we would be on the trail doing a forest service directed work project but fixing the dam takes precedence. PG&E asked everyone to please be careful. They recommended against crossing the river actually.

The schedule I posted earlier is still pretty acurate as of now. Flow will remain about what it is now until sometime in the beginning of October. We should be good for the October work day.

Just to be clear, the Re-route work is still on.

We just ask everyone to be careful if you plan to meet us at the work site Saturday morning. There is plenty of info here about how and when to cross the river so I'm not going to repeat it again.

It is up to each and everyone of you to personally make the right decision for YOU when it comes to crossing the river.

As of right now the projected flow is 285CFS. It is up to you to check before you go and verify the flow before you cross.

Work starts at 9am Saturday morning the 19th at the work site which is approximately 6 miles in from Indian Springs. This is uptrail from the first water crossing.

We will be on CB channel 40.

Jeff and I will be camping right around the work area Friday night if anyone wants to join us. Just give us a call on the CB when you get close.

FOF sweatshirts will be available at the re-route workday. They are heavyweight pullover hoodies with a front pocket. Small logo on breast and large logo on back. $35.

We'll also have t-shirts and stickers with us.

Bret do you need anymore tools?

I don't want to sound like a puss. I have been thinking about this hard, and I'm going to trust my gut. With that kind of flow and how the rig is set up I'm going to have to pass on this one. I'll be there in October though.

Bret do you need anymore tools?

Tools are handled. Thanks!

I don't want to sound like a puss. I have been thinking about this hard, and I'm going to trust my gut. With that kind of flow and how the rig is set up I'm going to have to pass on this one. I'll be there in October though.

Totally understand Bernie. In fact, this is what I am trying to get everyone to do. Take a look at the conditions and make the right choice.

I have an open seat if you still want to come up. You're more than welcome to ride along with me. We'll be heading into the trail Friday morning.

I'll be there. I'll be coming in Friday night and camping.

With that kind of flow and how the rig is set up I'm going to have to pass on this one. I'll be there in October though.

<>

:p

On the schedule for oct 24th:p

we're going to try coming in friday night with 3 rigs. Which way should we go on the 1st crossing? left, right, middle? I have not been up there this year and seems like it changes every time I'm there. We should be ok, 2 of us have done this over and over and the other guys rig should be ok.

I'll check this thread before I leave tomorrow. Can't wait!

we're going to try coming in friday night with 3 rigs. Which way should we go on the 1st crossing? left, right, middle? I have not been up there this year and seems like it changes every time I'm there. We should be ok, 2 of us have done this over and over and the other guys rig should be ok.

I'll check this thread before I leave tomorrow. Can't wait!




i must be the "other guy" just finished up in the garage, went over the whole rig and its nice and tight, packed the gear, heading out tomorrow after work 5.p.m. ScottZ let me know whats up.

Stay hard left at crossing, then close to falls, hug oppisite bank and out first opening. Crossed twice this month on 35's - slow and easy wins the race. Middle and right are DEEP. I'll be at crossing between 3 and 6 today (Friday). Let me know if you need me to hang around.

Our group of 3 rigs will be going in about 6-630. I can't wait. See ya guys there.

hug oppisite bank and out first opening.

I hope you meant go out the "only" opening on the other side. :( There is a spot where people have been going out through the bushes and we have to blocked it every time we go out. It’s illegal to go that way. People do, so they don't have to drop in the hole right before you pop out the other side. If you can't make the legal route than please do not try and cross.


**If you park at Cisco and want to use the new trail down to Eagle lakes It cost $5. If you tell Flori you are going to work on the trail she might let you use it for free. ;)

I'll see you all up there! I'll be with 42s on u and 3 other rigs.

JDunn

It’s illegal to go that way.

Where did you get this info?

**If you park at Cisco and want to use the new trail down to Eagle lakes It cost $5. If you tell Flori you are going to work on the trail she might let you use it for free. ;) Still for people like me. It's cheaper to pay $5 than an impound fee for going down the freeway. :laughing:

I'll see you all up there! I'll be with 42s on u and 3 other rigs.

JDunn


Sure hope you dont think your safe driving down ELR if you aren't street legal. I have seen a guy on a dual sport patrolling that road NUMEROUS times before

Sure hope you dont think your safe driving down ELR if you aren't street legal. I have seen a guy on a dual sport patrolling that road NUMEROUS times before

Sorry, you are correct Keith. ELR is not ok for green stickers, you must have a street legal vehicle to be on it.

I have fixed my post above.

Thank you

it was cool meeting everyone, see you at the next one.

so how much work did you guy's accomplish?

got alot done. it was great meeting new people. sorry if our camp story time was a little over the top. next time i promiss no poop stories.

josh

got alot done. it was great meeting new people. sorry if our camp story time was a little over the top. next time i promiss no poop stories.

josh


YEA ,,, sorry bout that, well, we got alot done i am pretty sure that we got more done then was expected. great to meet everyone.
you can count on me coming to the next one too. FREE MEAT!!!!!!!!!!!

What a great job from everyone Saturday! We had close to 20 people and the amount trail clearing we got done was amazing. I estimated that we cleared close to 4/5 of the complete reroute. The next phase will require more rock moving and less brush clearing. Bret will be back in town tomorrow with photos and more details.

Thank you for everyones help. :smokin:

Jeff

What a great job from everyone Saturday! We had close to 20 people and the amount trail clearing we got done was amazing. I estimated that we cleared close to 4/5 of the complete reroute. The next phase will require more rock moving and less brush clearing. Bret will be back in town tomorrow with photos and more details.

Thank you for everyones help. :smokin:

Jeff

ANYTIME ! scottz, tunaman, leftypoorboy and I were glad we could help.

^yep. good times, good people. see you in october.

It was a great weekend! Great people and we got a lot of work done.

On the 24th we will stay for dinner and camp with you all. We ended up camping at Fordyce lake Sat night because there was no camping anywhere around committee. It was packed!

WH1 was fun and mare challenging than normal. The grand Cherokee that was with us broke a rear drive line on WH2 so I pulled him most of the way out.

JDunn

WH1 was fun and mare challenging than normal.


I had a to take a few shots at the spot 50' before the top of the hill before I figured it out. Climb the wall on the right, dump it on the driver side and then drive out of it.

ANYTIME ! scottz, tunaman, leftypoorboy and I were glad we could help.


Great! See you guys next month. :smokin:

Working on the pics right now. Just got back about an hour ago.

Thanks to everyone that showed up. Hardest working group of volunteers I've ever seen. We got way more trail cut that expected.

This was the funnest time I've had on the trail in a while. Seems lately it's either been soaking wet or just about work. This trip had a little of everything and the weather was absolutely perfect. Jeff, Kris and I got there Thursday night and headed in first thing Friday morning. We cut the entrance to the trail to get a jump on things for when our help showed up Saturday.

We decided to go watch the action on Winch Hill 1 Friday night. After being entertained for a couple of hours we took our turn. The hill is a bit harder right now than usual. As Jeff and Kris were having their own problems I sheared 3 of 4 studs off my left steering arm. Luckily I carry an inverter, drill and bits as well as easy outs. Got 2 of the studs out and while I didn't have spares (60's don't break right?) Jeff had some grade 8 bolt that made do. I then proceeded to put it totally on it's side on the top of the winch hill (taking it easy on the steering arm) and drove it out.

The next day after the work we had a great time around the camp lantern while enjoying the FREE MEAT and listening to Josh and Jason relate the colorful nature of their lives. If I had that on tape I could make a fortune!! Hugely entertaining.

Sunday morning we broke camp and I limped my broke rig uptrail. Water Crossings 2, 3 and Committee were deep but doable and we all made it no problem. We saw a group that included a stockish looking Jeep and their solution to getting it across was to strap it with the engine off. Worked apparently but I bet the stuff in the Jeep still got wet! If you must go and are unsure about getting across the crossings use your head like these guys did. Everybody ended up safe and sound.

My steering arm let go again on the new committee bypass. Fixed it again and checked out the work on the dam. There is only 44 feet of water in Fordyce right now and they're still draining at a high rate for another couple of weeks.

The committee road is really smooth right now due to grooming to allow the PG&E trucks access to the dam area. When we got back to Cisco Kris discovered I had a flat trailer tire. Threw the spare on and then about 4 miles from my house in Georgetown I blew an intercooler boot off the piping. Limped home where I luckily was able to reinstall the boot. Checked all the other hose clamps to make sure none of the others was going to blow.

I usually don't have any breakage to speak of so this trip was weird. Still tons of fun though.

FOF camp with guardin' knome.
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/IMG_2074_sized.jpg
FREE MEAT!
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/IMG_2103_sized.jpg
Re-route entrance before and after:
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180043.sized.jpg
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180075.sized.jpg

Operations Chief Jeff says "If you ain't peein' you ain't drinking enough!"
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180078.sized.jpg
Even in total wilderness we find trash. But at least it's good for a name. "Bottle Hill."
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180089_001.sized.jpg
Hail Old Man Mountain!
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180091.sized.jpg

I had a to take a few shots at the spot 50' before the top of the hill before I figured it out. Climb the wall on the right, dump it on the driver side and then drive out of it.

That's the line I ended up taking. I first tried the left wall pulling my driver side tire about three feet off the wall. Almost made it but got high centered on the rock so I had to back off.

Rare Sierra Pigmy Black Bear.(Just kidding. There is no such thing. This is a volunteer that attends all the FOF events.)
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180093.sized.jpg
View from the top of Bottle Hill.
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180094.sized.jpg
FOF Bushmen.
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9180097.sized.jpg

Cedar Sluice.
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9190100.sized.jpg
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9190103_sized.jpg
View from Fordyce Dam. The road in the picture is usually under about 40 feet of water!
http://www.insomnia4x4.com/albums/FOFreroute/P9190118.sized.jpg

Water Crossings 2, 3 and Committee were deep but doable and we all made it no problem.

Bret I talked to a really nice PG&E guy (owns a Jeep) on Sunday. He said the lake is almost as low as it can go and still create power. This is not official but I was told as of 10/1 or 10/2 they are going to shut off the water for a week or two to let it fill back up. Which means it will probably be running about 25 cfs. :smokin: I don't think they can let it run dry. :confused:

In your spear time will you check your secret source? I’m headed back up on the second. :D

Thanks JDunn

Just a bit of information. The trail is about 3/4 cut. Both ends are blocked but visible. The trail is not continuous and should not be driven on until we connect the ends and groom a few tough spots. We might finish next workday in October but the easy way to determine if it's legal to drive on the new trail is if you come up to a blockade across the original trail. Unlike the Committee bypass which is in use together with the original trial for a while, when this re-route is done we'll block off the original and the new trail will be the official and only route.

Bret I talked to a really nice PG&E guy (owns a Jeep) on Sunday. He said the lake is almost as low as it can go and still create power. This is not official but I was told as of 10/1 or 10/2 they are going to shut off the water for a week or two to let it fill back up. Which means it will probably be running about 25 cfs. :smokin: I don't think they can let it run dry. :confused:

In your spear time will you check your secret source? I’m headed back up on the second. :D

Thanks JDunn

That's pretty much what I've been told. Sometime around the first week in October they'll reduce the release because it'll be low enough to work on all the areas they need to. When they're done with the work they'll refill Fordyce from Meadow. I didn't get an exact date and in any event I don't think one can depend on the dates that closely. They shoot for a date but it depends on progress of the work and how fast the lake drains.

Bump for the follow up...

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