Don't wait to get involved till it happens to you.

[dirt dame 559]

Some of you may remember some posts I made throughout the last few years about a place I call Bluegilland. Some of you may even remember going on a dualsport ride or two with me that featured Bluegilland as one of the route destinations. Besides riding motorcycles to the place, I also spent many a happy afternoon fishing for panfish and bass there, either from the shore or in my float tube. If I wasn't catching fish there, I was catching them somewhere else and then importing them to Bluegilland to balance the ecosystem and insure future recreational fishing for myself and the few other people who ventured down there to fish. But it seemed that I was the only one who fished there on a regular basis, as I never saw anyone else fishing when I was out there. On opening day of deer season, the shoreline of the little lake would be dotted with campers all preparing to tag a deer, and so it seemed that the place was indeed more popular with game hunters.

I'm guessing that it wasn't too popular with the general public, because if you don't own a four wheel drive vehicle, it's not a good option. That being said, the location of Bluegilland is on a small isolated patch of national forest land just off of Eagle Peak road. There was no roadsign there, and the trail down was not too obvious. It sort of dropped off the embankment through a hole in the barbed wire fence, and then meandered downhill for less than a mile, ending up at the lake. Up until a couple of years ago, there was a gate that was open on the west side of the water that led back through a beautiful, narrow valley, then up a hill where there was a really great view of the surrounding hills. In 2010, that gate was locked.

I had been going to the lake...okay, I guess it's really just a pond....since an outdoorsman type had told me about it in 2001. The first time I went there, Southern California had been having some dry years and the water was way down in the pond. None the less, there were plenty of foot long largemouth bass to caught. By 2003, the pond completely dried up. On Christmas day of that year, I stood on the cracked, dry mud at the lowest point in the lake bed, staring at bluegill skeletons. I didn't see any bass bones and wondered if the locals had come and rescued the bass. I didn't go back for a while. Then in 2005 we had all that crazy rain. I kept thinking about the pond and wondering if it was full, so finally in 2006, I rode my KLX300 down there. Much to my delight, the pond was full to the brim. Then I wondered if there were any fish in it. The Department of Fish and Game supposedly would stock ponds with fish and minnows to keep some of the mosquito population at bay. In 2008, I took some tackle down tot he pond and made few casts, and caught a few tiny bluegill....but nothing else. Anyway, long story shortened, I added some bass, crappie and channel cats into the mix. And somebody else apparently added some bullheads....so the fishing got more interesting.

Last time I had ridden there was a couple of years ago and the last time I had visited the place to fish was last July. I decided to pack up the Jeepy with some tackle and night crawlers this morning and off I went to see how my favorite little mini vacation gem was faring. The drive out was uneventful for most of the way, but then I spied a barrier up along the road. Years ago, there was a locked forest service gate there, so it did not surprise me to see the gate gone and a barrier in its place. I had hiked partway down that trail in 2001 because there was a pond in the valley at the bottom of the trail, but the road bed was too eroded and steep for my tastes (and knees), so I never made it to the bottom. Still, it was a bit unsettling to see that barrier there.

As I drove on, I was hoping that the water level was good at Bluegilland, and the the trail hadn't sustained any really gnarly erosion from the winter storms....but my heart sank when I got to the corner where the trailhead was....

It wasn't just a closed gate....it was a closed FOREVER road with a permanent barrier across it. Sure, I could park right there and hike down, but I didn't like the idea of leaving my car parked in a place that was near the roadway and yet just out of sight of the roadway, and WAY out of sight from me if I strolled down to the pond. Then there was the stroll back up the hill. I wasn't prepared to lug tackle and a cooler up the hill. In the good old days, I parked right under a shady live oak next to the water....the perfect setup. So what seemed to be in the blink of an eye, my days of motorcycle riding, fishing, planting fish, and just enjoying the pond in general was taken away from me, forever. I was shocked, then saddened, then mad.

So if you are not involved with making your voice heard about land closure issues and you don't want to vote, and vote the people into office who won't be wanting to take our public lands away from us, don't be too upset when you go to enjoy a beautiful small out of the way spot, and find that it has quietly been yanked from your hands FOREVER.

[SteelRain 0]

Wow, that sucks!

I have to ask though, is it possible you have been "poaching" those trails all these years?

[dirt dame 559]

Wow, that sucks!

I have to ask though, is it possible you have been "poaching" those trails all these years?

I don't think so. DFG patrolled it, and I have had a nice chat or two with a DFG officer while fishing down there. It was also never gated or posted, just posted "no camp fires".

[crfxer 87]

Were there any signs saying you couldn't hike the area to the pond? You check with the forest service? Maybe they just don't want you driving too close. None of the places I used to go (like Bluegilland)when I was a kid can I take my kids now. Well, at least not how I used to if you can still go. Place looks like a good mental therapy spot. Good story, good memories. Hope things work out

[dirt dame 559]

Were there any signs saying you couldn't hike the area to the pond? You check with the forest service? Maybe they just don't want you driving too close. None of the places I used to go (like Bluegilland)when I was a kid can I take my kids now. Well, at least not how I used to if you can still go. Place looks like a good mental therapy spot. Good story, good memories. Hope things work out

Well, yes. People can hike down to the pond, but I felt safe driving my Jeep down there by myself. The car was right there under the shade tree where I could keep an eye on it, and when it was time to go, I just hopped in it and drove back up the hill. I'll never be able to drive another bucket of fish down there to release in the pond again, or have a picnic lunch out of the cooler close at hand. I will never have the freedom of choice again to use that area the way that suits me best.

[dstss 27]

That does suck, especially with no explanation. Let us know if you ever find out why it was closed.

[Covered in Dust 162]

Mimi were there any signs saying that the rode was closed? Back in the 70's when I was rock climbing I had a few friends that were in the Sierra Club.

They would go out on weekends and close trails that they wanted closed to traffic. That barrier at Bluegiland doesn't look like something the Forrest Service

would put up. I'd check with whoever is responsible for the land and see if it's a legit closure.

CiD

[SteelRain 0]

That barrier at Bluegiland doesn't look like something the Forrest Service

would put up. I'd check with whoever is responsible for the land and see if it's a legit closure.

That is why I brought up poaching. It looked like something an individual would put up to protect their land.

[dirt dame 559]

That barrier at Bluegiland doesn't look like something the Forrest Service

would put up. I'd check with whoever is responsible for the land and see if it's a legit closure.

CiD

That barrier is EXACTLY like what they put up at Corral Canyon to keep people out of wilderness areas along the main loop. The land is Cleveland National Forest where Bluegilland is.

In the first picture of the barrier that I passed on my way in, that barrier was where there used to be a closed and locked forest service gate. The gate was torn down and the barrier replaced it. In the pictures at the entrance to Bluegilland, there never was a gate, and the barrier was put up. Also the ground was dug up, a trench created and big rocks were deposited next to the barrier to make sure that no vehicle could get over ground next to it.

[Covered in Dust 162]

That barrier at Bluegiland doesn't look like something the Forrest Service

would put up. I'd check with whoever is responsible for the land and see if it's a legit closure.

CiD

That barrier is EXACTLY like what they put up at Corral Canyon to keep people out of wilderness areas along the main loop. The land is Cleveland National Forest where Bluegilland is.

In the first picture of the barrier that I passed on my way in, that barrier was where there used to be a closed and locked forest service gate. The gate was torn down and the barrier replaced it. In the pictures at the entrance to Bluegilland, there never was a gate, and the barrier was put up. Also the ground was dug up, a trench created and big rocks were deposited next to the barrier to make sure that no vehicle could get over ground next to it.

Well it looks like something I would build if I wanted to close a trail, just a couple of pipes welded together. I guess if you wanted to close a trial you would copy how the Forrest Service does it. I would still ask a ranger if and why they closed it.

CiD