Suspicious acting guys at Uwharrie today

snappy said:
Sad thing is they'd prob turn into more trail trash because the people we are trying to reach don't care.
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Well...worst case scenario is, we would then have to pick them up.

Best case scanario....it might help the cause a little.

I wouldnt let that(litter) stop us from trying.
 
man, i started reading this thread and clicked on to the second page so i could make a smart ass comment (surprise) and then i read what Dylan posted.

that was a good thought and i wont ruin being stupid.

ateast posting wheelers etiquette at places, inside the john, at the outpost, hell, make bumper stickers with each rule...i rock a few on my tailgate.
 
Well the good news is that a lot of folks seem to be excited about walking a few of the older trails - Old URE Trail Maps thread.

The bad news is that if we don't clean up our act a lot, you will be walking ankle deep in horse shit on Daniel & Rocky Mtn loop with your kids telling them about the good times you had wheeling those trails.

<><Fish
 
I was talking with Ranger Walker and Specialist Savery about this very issue Tuesday. I'm thinking a big banner/billboard at the Hunt Camp entrance and Mullinix Road entrance. I'll be talking with them again next week, see what they say.
 
I think the flyer's are a great idea! We might even be able to talk the Terry into putting a coupon on the flyer's for X-amount of a hotdog, chips and drink, or maybe even something from the outpost. The info on each flyer and the direct benefit could be getting the word out and educating a few of them. Sure beats what I WANT to do when I see them off the trails and so forth. I still think piano wire and/or a big stick might get the idea through their heads too.
We could include not only etiquette, but also info on local clubs and so on. Possibility's are endless.

And if you think about it, most probably don't have a clue as to how they should act if they are not a part of a club or board or something..


I am all for this
 
I agree. The flyers are a good idea, as are the proposed banners.

Any proactivity shown by the responsible wheelers here, towards other wheelers, trying to stem bad trail behavior, can only serve to reach out to others and try and encourage good representative examples of our hobby.

And, bonus....it will show those outside our hobby that we are making positive attempts to preserve the trails, the forest, and the mindset of being positive users of the system.

Can certainly be a great step towards keeping the trails open for the future, before there is open talk of limiting that.
 
The tread lightly rules are great, but theres alot of stuff on there, that we dont need on these fliers. We need to make ours a little less PR and easier to read quickly. Too much literature and they will be tossed.lol We need to stick to the K.I.S.S. rule, and frankly, we need to sound kinda harsh. (IMO) As if we are fed up, and we are NOT going to take it anymore. Our fliers need to be more aggressive, and even mention that folks are self patrolling on this very day, and will turn you in for violations. It's time to get aggressive with our approach...I think.




I'd like to see this actually happen.
1.But how?
2.Who will compose the flyers?
3. Who will pay for them?
4. Who will print them?

I'll help pass them out....and clean them up, if need be.

Lets get these 4 questions answered and we'll be cookin' with gas.
 
The suspicious looking guys with clipboards last Saturday were............ Volenteers doing nothing but Trail Inventory. It is nothing to be excited about. I called the Forest Service this morning and was told this is normal and just part of keeping the trails trouble free for US.
So if you happen to see them again, be nice and courteus they on our side. I think JC will back me up on this. I called today about another subject and thought I would inquire about this also.
 
That's good news.

I just hope that the TU, or some other movement, doesn't put URE in its sights anytime soon, now that they have been bolstered by their success at Tellico.

They will come....we can be sure of that.

But.....I still think a proactive approach to maintaining our own image in a good way, as forest user can only help our cause in the long run.

In other words....starting our defense before a defense is truly needed.
 
Guys, did you ever wonder why I didn't pass out flyers and place flyers under wipers of tow rigs sitting in the parking lots?

I was asked NOT to do that because of the trash reason. I'm not shooting anybody down but if 10% of those flyers ACCIDENTLY wound up on the trails,well you can see what they mean. I'm not on the trails anymore BUT to all and ANYBODY, individual or group, club or whatever asks me for a TRASHBAG get's it for Free. The F S offered to provide me with the bags, I said NO just this past Friday when I was there reapplying for my permits.

This is my way of saying thanks to the F S and to all involved. And I 'm not plugging myself if it sounds that way.

So come and get the bags please.
 
Well....if someone were to come accross a mountain of trash(the fliers) wouldnt it be better that they found these fliers, instead of beer and pepsi cans and candy bar wrappers?

I think the fear that they will end up as litter, should be outweighed by the fact that
we are being proactive.

In fact....on the days these are handed out, I'm sure we will make sure we scan the trails, picking them up, if they are tossed.

I need a better reason NOT to want to do this, than the litter argument.
 
In regards to the litter with the flyers, what if we made them into stickers? People love stickers. If we make the design cool enough then they'll be visible by a LOT of people.

I'd chip in some coin to help with costs and I'm sure others would too. Could even do a fundraiser type thingy-ma-bob.
 
You know what would be interesting, is put the trial etiquette/rules on the backside of the season pass. It maybe a little more money to try and print and then adhesive the back but if someone puts those stickers on theri windshield, the rules will be looking htem in the face everytime they kind of glance at where the sticker is. Kind of force the rules on them.
 
My idea is to have several good apple wheelers, out there in force, face to face, being visable to all, handing these things out.

I wouldnt really want a ''rules'' sticker on my rig, but thats just me..others might want them.

As far as printing on the back side of a season pass...thats cool to, BUT, it kinda defeats the face to face, visably being proactive aspect. Not to mention the gov'ment red tape and time it will take to get it to happen.

Seems like the fliers is something we could do sooner than later, on our own, as wheelers.
 
I don't like the idea of fliers for the reason already stated. They will become trash on the trails, guaranteed!

Also, IMO, you are going to run into some personality clashes with the face to face contact. Somtimes that might work for the good but more often than not I think it will cause problems.

I REALLY like the idea of rules coming with the stickers somehow! Not all are stuck on windshields so on the back might not work but I think that's a good avenue to persue!
 
Also, we could talk to the groups that sponsor the trails and the forest service about putting up some signs underneath the brown trail sponsor signs. Even something as simple as "Tread Lightly" along the bottom would go a long way.
 
Many of the various trail maintaining clubs supporting the Appalachian Trail now employee "trail runners"...seasonal employees to continuously travel the trails, assisting hikers, training in proper low-impact camping, and serving as official/unofficial "eyes" to report any problems to the authorities.

Soo....how much money would it cost to fund a couple of "trail runners" for what, 30 weekends a year? That would be "evangelists" for the right way to wheel? And not afraid of telling somebody (and/or calling the authorities?). Maybe work thru the USFS directly, and fund a couple of folks that would actually be their employees, and under their authority (and have full authority)...

We have brainstormed/dreamed here about raising money to buy land as a group....this would just cost pennies compared to that, and might help keep UNF open.
 
kaiser715 said:
Many of the various trail maintaining clubs supporting the Appalachian Trail now employee "trail runners"...seasonal employees to continuously travel the trails, assisting hikers, training in proper low-impact camping, and serving as official/unofficial "eyes" to report any problems to the authorities.

Soo....how much money would it cost to fund a couple of "trail runners" for what, 30 weekends a year? That would be "evangelists" for the right way to wheel? And not afraid of telling somebody (and/or calling the authorities?). Maybe work thru the USFS directly, and fund a couple of folks that would actually be their employees, and under their authority (and have full authority)...

We have brainstormed/dreamed here about raising money to buy land as a group....this would just cost pennies compared to that, and might help keep UNF open.
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That has been talked about before IIRC. I was always told to photograph said violaters and turn it in to the Rangers. If we all cary cameras, and I'm sure most of us have something in their phone if not in their jeep, and try to actually catch the ones going off trail and breaking sighnage and fencing we can start to get through to these people. Also, they use to offer camping for trail work weekends. Do they still do that? If 2 or 3 rigs take one weekend a month and start being proactive about stopping this maybe we can make a dent in it. Or am I way off base? :beer:
 
Hey guys, look at the score of people you have already hit. Over a THOUSAND has looked at this thread already, and this is a spinoff from another subject entirely. Don't forget the power of a thread on this forum! You could start a thread NAKED MODELS AT URE and have 5,000 hits on it and just say "Please don't litter at URE!"
 
Yeah, but again, MOST folks on this sight are probably not the ones causing problems.

It's more than likely, the folks that just go every so often, and are not affiliated with this site or any clubs for that matter.

How about getting some etiquette tips printed on a cheap keychain or something like that. Maybe folks wont use it on their keys, but I doubt they would toss them on the trails.

I dont know the best answer, but we need to do some kind of ''out of the box'' thinking, and direct approach. The greenies aint skeered to protest, so why should we be scared to be pro active?

If handled correctly, with the right attitude, I think face to face is the right way to go.
Not meaning, go out and be a vidilante when we see someone doing wrong, but meaning...before they hit the trails, or at the Outpost...we/someone offers up a nice ''Hello, my name is so and so and were here today promoting responsible wheeling etc...We would like to give you some useful tips that will help keep our trails open for years to come'' All with a big ole' smile.

I'm not scared to do that. In fact....if someone figures out medium for our etiquette rules to be printed on...I will do it myself.
 
Free air up and air down at the main trailheads off the road. It gives most everyone a reason to stop, even if it's just to ask why, and it gives the representative running the compressor enough time to chit chat.
 
Key chains are a good idea. Get a couple hot chicks passing them out and you won't get any objections from the "problem crowd" out there.
 
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