Download
1 / 8
E N D
Volume August 2009 Saturday, May 9th, 2009: Terra Ride to Condie Meadows--Janet HanceyAdd up great weather, excellent footing, beautiful country, good company, and you have the sum total of a fantastic Terra ride to Condie Meadows. After getting Becky Tietze's trailer free from a sand bog, about14 riders mounted and took off, led by trail boss Tony Peshell. We followed a soft sandy road most of the way, passing several ATV's also out for a good time.The views were just breath-taking as we meandered to a small draw, where Tony entertained us with a great story about cattle owners who used to run their stock in that very area. For a couple of cattle seasons, as the men were working the herds, they passed by a strong box laying off the trail in the brush. Being too busy with their cattle work, they didn't stop to check out the box or its contents. It just so happens the box was full of gold from a bank heist some miles away. The robbers drove their Model T Ford as far as they could and dumped the strong box in the brush, intending to pick it up at a later time. We were all asking the same question: "Now wouldn't you be curious enough to stop and take a peek into that box??!! Those cowboys could have put those cattle out to graze forever, while they sipped pina coladas on a beach somewhere!We rode on to a lovely pond and flowing stream from an underground spring. At this picturesque spot, we stopped and had our lunch. Linda brought along her comfy picnic blanket where Bonnie got all of us together for a photo shoot. Barry showed Craig and me where the spring originated. There we found mounds of fresh water cress, which Craig happily gathered for many future sandwiches.We had a great time, and of course we all want to go again!
Lost Ghost Town Ride --Linda Bean A great thank you is owed Stew Paulick, the trail boss for our ghost town ride. We were to meet at the trailhead at 9:00 a.m. Unfortunately, I lost the tread on one of my trailer tires and held the ride up for nearly an hour. Another round of thanks to those who waited for me; it’s good to know there are people you can count on when things go wrong. Stew’s grandson handed out information about Jacob, the ghost town we were going to visit. Our goal was to be there by noon, have lunch then take Dry Canyon back to the trailers, making it a nice loop rather than an out and back trip. The terrain back would be along the foothills close to where we rode to see the elk. The weather was overcast but warm; perfect riding weather! We started at an elevation of around 4,500 feet and climbed to almost 8,100 feet. We had to share the road with many four wheelers , and I believe Janet and Craig had to yield the right-of-way to one rattler on their way back. As we climbed higher, we saw more and more evidence of mining. By the time we entered Jacob, there were mines and piles of dirt everywhere. Mine shafts alongside the road had been fenced off to keep people out. At Jacob, we tied our horses and looked around. Some of us climbed up to the water tank and talked to some people hanging signs in one of the mines as a service project. They were part of a caving group who gain access to the mines by doing such service projects. They said the shaft of that mine goes clear through the mountain to Ophir.
The underground caverns on the Jacob side of the mountain are smaller than those on the Ophir side where they become large enough to hold upwards of 200 people. This caving club held their last Christmas party in one of those large caverns. Our ride down Dry Canyon was lovely. It was a narrow, rock road with steep inclines on both sides. We encountered one vehicle where the road was so narrow we couldn’t pass him safely; he had to back down to where we could move our horses around him before he could go any farther. Stew had us take a picture of he and his grandson in Silver City, a lost ghost town with nothing more than foundations left as evidence it ever existed. Once we started back to the trailers, we let the horses stretch out a bit more as the footing was much better along pole line road. Bonnie continued along that road after the rest of us cut off, as she had ridden her mule (appropriately named “Ghost”) to the trail head. A nice drizzle had settled in and an even more impressive storm engulfed the mountain. The highlight of the ride for our guest, Dan Howard, was finding a shed elk horn. He still hasn’t stopped smiling over that one! Again, thanks, Stew, for taking us on that beautiful ride and for taking the time to research the history of that area. It was a job well done!
Middle Canyon – White Pine --Linda Bean Spring weather has been a major source of frustration for our chapter, forcing the cancellation of many of our rides. When we were forced to cancel our planned overnight ride due to rain, thunder and lightning, Tony Peshell decided it was just too much! We may not have been up for an overnighter in the rain, but a quick ride up White Pine in the Oquirrhs was well within reason. So, Saturday morning, June 27th, five riders hit the trail, knowing they could find themselves in some pretty ugly mud or just enjoy the ride. Fortunately, the trail was fairly nice; a little muddy in places, but mostly either rocky or nice trail protected by the canopy of trees. Shortly after leaving the campground/trailhead, we came to a post pounded in the creek. Tony dismounted and headed into the trees to the left. Janet and I followed on our horses until Tony realized the error of our ways and made us stop. Unfortunately, we were on a narrow path, and in order to turn around, had to do pivots on the hind. I had a little room, but Janet’s horse, newly arrived from Kentucky, had to take a good look at a tough situation and decide just how to handle it. There were a few moments of consternation. However, he rose to the occasion, literally! He rose up on his hind legs, did a beautiful pivot, gently set his front feet down and calmly walked back down the path. What an amazing horse! Gotta love those gaited ponies . . . Tony, having traversed this trail many times, pointed out names carved in the trees along the way. We won’t say which club members we recognized, but none of us were in the crowd. We arrived at a spring and watered the horses. Following a short path up the hill we came upon an old sheepherder’s camp complete with a rusted out stove and shovel. Here we took a photo op, gathered around the old stove. About 30 minutes later we crested the Oquirrh Mountains. The vista was extraordinary, with Salt Lake Valley on one side and Tooele on the other; the sky so clear it felt like we could see forever. Another couple of miles and we were in a meadow just below the microwave tower; we tied our horses and ate.
White Pine, Cont. After lunch we started our descent into the canyon, ending up where Butterfield Canyon and White Pine join up. At this point, we could either ride back down the main road, encountering all sorts of two and four wheeled vehicles or take a trail just south of this road. If we took the trail, we’d have to traverse the section where Janet’s horse had to rear up and pivot to get clear. We opted to avoid traffic and walk our horses down the bad section; it still seemed better than dealing with all the dust and noise associated with motorized traffic. As we approached the drop off, nerves were getting a little high. I know when it came my turn, I sat on my horse, looked down the drop and thought about taking it on. Then I remembered how old I am and how slowly I heal; I stepped off, untied the lead rope and sent Izzy down ahead of me. She was a trooper, and after the initial drop, turned to look at me, making sure I was right behind. We made the rest of the trip without incident. Janet, however, made it down the drop-off just fine, only to fall in the creek at the bottom! There is no justice. There was another highlight to this trip . . . besides good horses, good friends and the view . . . Tony brought his harmonica and played as we rode along. There’s just something about riding through a stand of aspens right out of a Bev Doolittle picture with music floating in the air. For those who missed the ride, sure wish you’d been there, it was really something! 4th of July Fundraiser – Huge Success!!! The morning started off cool, cloudy, and even a little rain fell. Several us were there early, and although we weren’t scheduled to start until noon, people started bringing their kids down at 10 a.m., so we went ahead and got started. A failure with the electrical supply to the picture printer, prevented Mijkan from selling pictures, and we were worried that we’d have a big loss in sales. Didn’t happen! When we finished at 3 pm, we had earned $666, and then a few more people showed up while we were taking the shade and banners down.
United States Department of Agriculture • Forest Service • Office of Safety and Occupational Health • Safety Alert • DISCUSSION: Recent safety inspections revealed that chain saw chaps produced using USFS Specification 6170-4E (April 1997) are still being used. In 2000, USFS Specification 6170-4E was superseded by USFS Specification 6170-4F (Jan 2000). The current specification (6170-4F) provides a higher level of protection or cut resistance of up to 3,200 feet per minute (fpm) chain speed. The chap was also redesigned to give a larger area of coverage for the legs. Under the older specification (6170-4E), the chap provided a protection level up to 2,750 fpm chain speed. The 2,750 fpm chain speed conformed with the then established American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) performance requirement. • In 2004, the ASTM performance requirement was increased to 3,000 fpm. The current USFS Specification 6170-4F exceeds the ASTM performance requirement. However, chain saw operators may not be aware that chain saw chaps constructed using the older specification, 6170-4E, no longer comply with the current industry standard (as promulgated in the current ASTM specification, designated F 1897-04). And, they do not provide the level of protection currently required by the USFS. There have not been any recently reported incidents of saw chain cut-through using the older chaps, but all chain saw operators should be aware of the potential hazard or reduced level of protection of the older chaps and should take action to mitigate this potential hazard. • MITIGATION MEASURES: To reduce risk of injuries due to chain saw cut-through, chain saw operators must inspect their chain saw chaps to ensure adequate protection. Begin removing all chaps from service that are not labeled with USFS Specification 6170-4F or do not meet current ASTM performance requirements • (F 1897-04) as soon as possible. Chaps removed from service will not be donated or transferred to other agencies and must be properly destroyed or made unserviceable. • NO. 2009─01 June 25, 2009 Page 1 of 2 • SUBJECT: United States Forest Service (USFS) chain saw chaps constructed using USFS specification 6170 4E, or prior, do not meet current USFS requirements for chain saw leg protection. • AREA OF CONCERN: Chain Saw Operations • DISTRIBUTION: All Agency Chain Saw Operators and Fire Cache Managers
YOUR AD COULD BE HERE! I Free Ad/Year for each WD- BCHU member AFFORDABLE DOG GROOMING Call: 840-3082, Price per dog. Any size dog, one-on-one Mjkan Burr
West Desert BCHU C/O 4492 Skyline Circle Erda, UT 84074
