New Gravel!

[Josephine]

Trail day was a HUGE success!!! I can't tell you how many people or what all projects were completed - but I can tell you I was assigned to the gravel spreading team! We had at least 2 dump truck loads of gravel and we worked on the hills to solar and sore heel and the parking lot in sore heel.

That being said I have a VERY BIG REQUEST

If you have an automatic drive vehicle, please shift into 1st gear going down the hills and do not break suddenly on the road. First gear should keep you slow enough and if you hit the breaks, you're going to cause large ruts in the gravel. This undoes all the work we have done.

If your car is not heavy enough to put it in first and SLOWLY drive up the hills, please park at one of the pull offs and do not go on the hill. Until the gravel is packed down, we want to minimize the ruts. We've done our best, but until we can create a new parking lot (in the works) we have to work with what we've got.

In a nut shell: please keep your speed SLOW AND STEADY (1st gear) on the hills and do not hit the breaks. If you do, please bring a shovel and fill in the ruts you've created. I can ask this, because I've spent 4 hours today shoveling gravel for you to be able to get your car where you want to go (I promise, it won't take more than 5 mins for you to fill in the ruts you've caused!)

Thanks for your help and support. Your RRGCC donations are hard at work.

And since we need a new parking lot, don't forget to donate at www.rrgcc.org

[Meadows]

Is it possible to hang a sign at the hill temporarily?

[One-Fall]

Looks great! Thank you!!

[Yasmeen]

Is it possible to hang a sign at the hill temporarily?

?

[Crankmas]

Hey Yasmeen, I recalled your mini epic at Oil Crack crag many moons ago last week, I was solo and locked my keys in my truck, fortunately I was in the parking lot at Porters' Marathon and not in the southern nether regions...

[Meadows]

I like it! Maybe we can add an image such as the one below ...

[Savage]

The biggest problem is caused when people leave and do not know how to go up the hill properly. Spinning tires on the way up is definitely the biggest cause of the ruts. AWD vehicles should go slowly up the hill, no need to fly up it like a maniac. 4WD trucks and SUVs need to engage 4WD and not think they will just make it in 2WD. Trucks especically, since they have a light rear end and rear wheel drive. One of my friends liked to pride himeself that he didnt have to use 4WD and instead he just gassed it and spun tires the whole way up. That pisses me off because its horrible for the road, and also for the vehicle.

[clif]

hey Willy, how's that jeep handling these days?

[lena_chita]

Unfortunately, the new gravel on the hill going down to Sore Heel, already looked like series of big hills and valleys on Sunday afternoon. We (meaning, mostly, my friends, I admit... I was packing the car while they did it) evened out the biggest piles/holes before driving out. Is there a way to tamp that gravel down hard, or is this something that only time and many wheel will accomplish?

Driving out on Sunday afternoon, a few minutes later, we helped push out a stuck car on the Motherlode hill. There is no reason whatsoever that this car, while it was a front wheel drive, shouldn't have made it up the hill.
But the idiot floored the gas pedal and then applied the brakes as soon as the car started going. He was burning his clutch and had smoke coming out of all wheels, but he persisted in pressing the pedal to the floor, and then immediately slamming the brakes and repeating it until the car stalled and started sliding backwards... If I hadn't seen it myself, I would have sworn that it was not possible, because people with such low mental capacity shouldn't be capable of reading directions to the crags in the first place. The guys yelled at the driver and told him not to do that as they pushed the car out. But you could practically see the ruts forming under those madly spinning wheels.

As usual, people who read these forums are the ones who need the reminder of how to drive on these hills the least.

[dustonian]

Throwing gravel on top of a rutted road accomplishes little in a high-traffic area. You have to grade the base first, then spread dense grade aggregate on top for it to last, especially with a bunch of idiot climber-drivers around in mommy's car. The hard work and effort is much appreciated regardless.