Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

The issue is more than just water access.  I understand that the rafters do
not want horses in their picnic area and I respect that and will not go
into their picnic area.  However, closing the trail that parallels the
river is overkill.  It is the prettiest part of the trail, has a breeze and
is just down right nice.  Asking horses not to access the river except in a
few places is ok provided they are safe places (the one spot I went to
didn't seem all that safe but I was told that I went to the wrong opening
at that access site).  I don't mind not riding along that portion of the
trail during the weekend but during the week there is no one there I will
continue to ride along the river.  The sign also says that the closure is
for riparian restoration which is another red herring.  There is nothing
wrong with the riparian area that will not come back with time and
certainly horses are not causing further problems.   I think what bothers
me most is that it was just done as to the best of my knowledge without any
input from the equestrian community on how best to resolve the problem.   I
will say though that equestrians will not endear themselves to BLM if they
continue to cut trail up an and down the hills.  There are some rare plants
out there that could be trampled.  In addition, these "social trails" or
whatever you want to call them cause serious erosion problems.  Cutting
trail is a bigger problem than some may think and does cause hard feelings
with land managers, so if we want to keep our trails we need to think about
how our actions are viewed, and yes I think about that when I ignore the
signs and go along the river trail, however, I do not go into the picnic
areas.  The rafters can live with horse poop on the trail imo.  It is so
hot out there it dries very quickly so flies are not a big problem, at
least that I have seen.
Thanks,
Sheila
916.414.6685

Horses lend us the wings we lack.  Author Unknown


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