Side trail on Flagpole

[RollinThunder85]

A while back I made the run up 33W and then took a left where you depart from 33W to begin the trip to the Flagpole Knob trail. I was on the fire road for a while (well before you reach the T-Intersection) and I want to say even before the concrete bridge. Anyways, I spotted a well worn down trail to my right and for the life of me I could not find it on my map. The trail was wide enough for a Tacoma or maybe even an F150 and you could tell it had been used, yet I did not see a single no trespassing sign nearby. It did not climb any hills (I couldn't see too far down the trail), just went straight into the woods. Does anyone know of any trails along this fireroad that might help me figure out where this trail goes? Thanks.

[RollinThunder85]

I took a look at the map again and it looks like it leads to a Lookout. I take it this is a fire watch tower? Is it legal to drive up to the lookout?

[bilzhorse]

From my experience in GW, if the rangers don't want you on a certain trail/road they will post it or gate it. Or pile a huge amount of dirt at the entrance.

[vripley]

I agree with this assesment, but a recent talk with the rangers told us that we will get tickets for driving on ANY trail that is not mapped... I am not sure how much they will stick to this rule, but it seems a hair hardnosed to me. Some of the main GW trails are hard to discern from side routes...

Also, the ranger mentioned that ALL standing water and mud is not legal to drive in... Again this seems odd, considering that some trails give you no option.

I think they are simply getting tired of having to deal with some of the few outlaws and therefore, punishing all off-roaders.

Then again, my assesment could be completely incorrect.

I hope this gets hashed out in the near future, because it is a nice FREE place to wheel.

-Rip

From my experience in GW, if the rangers don't want you on a certain trail/road they will post it or gate it. Or pile a huge amount of dirt at the entrance.

[RollinThunder85]

I agree with this assesment, but a recent talk with the rangers told us that we will get tickets for driving on ANY trail that is not mapped... I am not sure how much they will stick to this rule, but it seems a hair hardnosed to me. Some of the main GW trails are hard to discern from side routes...

Also, the ranger mentioned that ALL standing water and mud is not legal to drive in... Again this seems odd, considering that some trails give you no option.

I think they are simply getting tired of having to deal with some of the few outlaws and therefore, punishing all off-roaders.

Then again, my assesment could be completely incorrect.

I hope this gets hashed out in the near future, because it is a nice FREE place to wheel.

-Rip

All standing water and mud is not legal to drive in? Half the time the water covers the entire trail, so how can you not drive in it? Even the fire road leading to the ATV staging area near Second Mountain has a huge puddle in the middle of it.

[vripley]

I aree completely! I think they are just setting these rules out there to make it easier for them to hand out tickets if deemed necessary.

I know that they are planning on have the Lee District rangers come up to Dry River for our MudFling weekend. And, they have already made it clear that they plan on giving out tickets to ANY violators, which they will be adamantly looking for.

It seems a bit melodramatic to me, but I have no idea what these guys are having to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

All standing water and mud is not legal to drive in? Half the time the water covers the entire trail, so how can you not drive in it? Even the fire road leading to the ATV staging area near Second Mountain has a huge puddle in the middle of it.

[RollinThunder85]

Are the rangers trying to put a stop to OHVs in the forest? I get the impression that the rangers are trying to curb use of the forest by trucks, atvs, etc. I don't think they'll ever block use of the forest by OHVs, since hunters frequently drive deep into the forest before they hunt. Perhaps they'll just regulate it more frequently during other parts of the year besides deer and turkey season?