[EBasil]

Hey, there's "no good riding there" and it's really only for beginners, so why go to PQ in the first place? One thing for sure, it stays REALLY MUDDY after a rain, since it's low onto the water table (and is a freakin floodplain/creekbed) and has mostly clay soils.

Let's get the word out to our user groups: "Closed means Closed and a Little Patience Won't Hurt".

On Saturday, we saw evidence of two trail-runners, four-five bikes and 6-8 horses that had been on Cobblestone Trail *since the rains*, and which had to go right by the "Park Closed" sign posted at the top of the trail on the Del Mar Mesa.

We were on foot, inspecting some "emergency trail repairs" installed Tuesday night, in response to the big rains the week before and in anticipation of the big rains that arrived later last week. As MTC and SDMBA members know, Cobblestone trail(s) have been the focus of a lot of effort in trail-sharing and in many hours of volunteer trail maintenance labor since this time last year. Actually, over 300 hours of work since this time, last year!

The good news is that the "emergency measures" held up and performed very well to divert water off the trail and reduce the rutting this trail can be known for. The bad news is that several of the berms and drains we repaired on Tuesday were badly damaged on Friday or Saturday by equestrian trail users that entered the closed Preserve and post-holed not only the trail but also destroyed repairs made to water diversion berms by stomping them into muddy holes. They also rode up/down the "whoop-de-do" section in the "no horses portion" of Lower Cobbles and inflicted serious damage to the soft slopes there.

Although the trail-runners and bikes left some footprints and some tire marks in the mud, they weren't heavy enough to damage the water berms that had been constructed of rocks and mud. It was still a bummer to see that they'd been there (and to the rider with distinctively-treaded Geax tires...you suck) of course: is riding through soft mud really fun, or just stupid?

To make matters worse on Saturday, after we repaired some of the equestrian-inflicted damage to the trail, we encountered a group of four horseback riders coming down Cobblestone Trail. They acknowledged having ridden right past the "Park Closed" sign, and claimed they had a right to ride on the trails because "it's been horse country for 200 years". When reminded that the park is closed and that this applies to all users, equally, their ride leader took his horse directly up a slope *off trail* and then led his group of four back into the Preserve, down a trail just to the south of Cobblestone (directly into an area closed to horses). These four horses and their riders are stabled off the Del Mar Mesa, judging from how fresh they were and the absence of any trailers up near the trailhead.

Much of the repairs we'd made on Saturday had to be redone after the equestrians rode over them, and this same group presumably left the Preserve by riding right up and over the repairs we'd made, for the second time, on their way out.

By the time this incident occured, Ranger Brown was off-duty, so there was no response possible, other than to seek to spread the word to our cyclist AND equestrian friends: stay off muddy trails!

When it gets right down to it: it's better than this damage was inflicted by horsemen, and it's no excuse to go ride our bikes out there -- it's obvious who/what caused this damage. Let's let the Rangers see who the [bad citizens are, and aren't.

 

[MikeD]

Where are all these trails? I've ridden there two or three times, parking off Sorrento Valley Rd...and all I see is a fireroad, with "no bikes" signs on the offshoots that look like promising singletrack. I can see, from the waterfall area and elsewhere, trails on the other side of the creek bed, but the only ways over there all say no bikes! And this was like 3 weeks ago...and I'd been expecting the signs to be gone since I heard the area had been opened to bikes.

So, uh, where are the trails? I'm an idiot...and I won't ride on them in the wet.

MSD

 

[EBasil]

Mike, from where you are parking, the signeage and stream crossings haven't been resolved yet. There are a couple of crossings you ride by with those No Bike signs that are on the Very Short List for redesignation, according to the Rangers. Those trails you see across the creek, to the north, are OPEN to you, and the second crossing, marked "Sycamore Crossing" is useable and rideable, now (the other side of it is marked open, if you were riding from the north side to the south side).

A mile east of the waterfall is "Carson Crossing", open to bikes and giving easy access to the canyon floor and also to "telephone pole", the SDGE access road many use to ascend to the mesa. Unfortunately, the top of that trail is now obstructed by construction work.

As for where the trails are, I'll tell you after it dries out. But it's only super-beginner, putt-putt, lame-o trails. Seriously, the rumors that Mike King used to train on the mesa trails above, or that the Cantina shop cut some trail on the mesa for an outlaw race...gotta be junk. Straight on now, the stuff in the Canyon itself IS just mellow trail, although Bridges Trail has to be one of the best SS trails in my book...short but fun. Up on top, there's plenty to ride, but it all comes under the bulldozer's blade in the next few months.

Cobblestone is an ascent/descent that winds up down near the waterfalls, or going away to the north up the arroyo you can see from the south side, and connects to the mesa.

 

[HarryCallahan]

Hey, EBasil,

As a former San Diegan, with family down there, I'm also wondering where these trails are. I've done some riding the last few times I was down there. I'm now up in the mountains outside Santa Cruz. I'd love to talk trails and backcountry. I might have some thoughts to share with you on the horse situation as well.

PM me if you don't want to post details to this thread.

Thanks!

 

[Orvan]

Hey this is where I first recorded my first bike crash...climbing up one of the climbs on clipless and just out of the blue...stalled...and then bam!! Is there still water at the "waterfall?"

 

[MikeD]

There was water before the rain...I imagine it's a little deeper now.

 

[EBasil]

As a former San Diegan, with family down there, I'm also wondering where these trails are. I've done some riding the last few times I was down there. I'm now up in the mountains outside Santa Cruz. I'd love to talk trails and backcountry. I might have some thoughts to share with you on the horse situation as well.

Well, I think it boils down to this:

[censored by Sierra Club San Diego]


None of the riding is as sweet as what I've seen in the hills around Santa Cruz, and the Los Pen locals are fond of pointing out "There's No Good Riding Here", so that's the story I'm sticking with. It's true that PQ is a great "beginner place" and the rides that challenge more advanced riders are about to go under the blade. The creek runs year round, including the Falls/Cascades that Orven mentioned, and the Main Trail on the South side is a great place to take family, kids and beginner riders to give them a taste of mild hills and open country. It's definitely not a place to train for racing or whatnot, as it's used by a LOT of hikers, runners, kids on bikes and equestrians from the rental stables on Black Mtn. road.

When the time comes that you're back down here in Diego, post a note and we'll hook you up with a ride group, like the SDTrailriders ***** Loop off the west end (22mi or so, including stuff that makes me cry), my crew off the east end (22mi or 16mi) or a family ride (4-6mi) on some Sunday afternoon. Since it's so low onto the water table and full of clay, the whole place gets shut down after rains and can stay that way for a long time (east county runoff can flood the canyon floor).

 

[HarryCallahan]

Thanks. I thought your original post said "PQ" and so I thought you were talking about some other place. 30 years ago, my dad, who worked for a developer, was run off Del Mar Mesa at gunpoint by a reclusive resident.

I used to hike out Pen Can about 25 years ago with my dogs. One of them had this annoying habit of finding big green juicy cow flops to roll in, which I'm told is typical labrador behavior. And I rode into the canyon from the stables at the other end a couple of times. It's not so remote anymore, but I'm glad its still open space.

 

[EBasil]

Sorry. Yeah, "PQ" or Los Pen...interchangeable in my lexicon.

No more cattle in there, since 1986 or so, btw. Right about then, the cattle license expired and the ranchers up top changed tactics with developer reps like your Dad. By the late '80's they LOVED developers...and began to cash in big. Another round of cash-in took place in the late 90's and now the bulldozers are poised, yet again.

 

[EBasil]

Special Thanks to anyone that talked up the idea about staying off of
muddy trails, particularly Cobblestone, in Los Penasquitos after our
recent rains! Let's keep that up and remind our user groups after
each significant rainstorm.

Saturday, some friends and I inspected a number of the trails on the
north side of the creek, to see how the handled the rain following
such a long dry stretch with increased trail use. It was good to
see a minimum of trail-damage from use while it was muddy and not too
many places with major damage from the heavy storms. Perhaps best of
all, the volunteer-work on Cobblestone Trail seems to have both
shouldered the water load and to have dried into nice, hardened
features that should do us well all winter (as long as we don't mash
them down when muddy) to slow and divert water off the trail.

We were expecting to find destruction, damage and a long list of work to do, and instead we found a trail that looks pretty darn great, considering the massive water load it has to handle. If you were one of the volunteers that worked in January or May, go check it out and be proud of what your sweat hath wrought.

 

[HarryCallahan]

I was down at the east end of Penasquitos Canyon yesterday, for a walk with my family. Beautiful place. It was nice and dry walking in to the ranch house. But it was sure muddy in spots over towards the creek, and I saw a bridge / boardwalk that had been floated off its posts and was off in the weeds.