Kagel Ravine Work Party Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006

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SHGA Communications
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Kagel Ravine Work Party Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006

Post by SHGA Communications »

There will be a work party Saturday, Oct. 28, to forestall the potential destruction of the Kagel Road by winter storms.

Because of the critical nature of the Kagel erosion issue the participation of all Hang 2 and 3 pilots is requested, with help from advanced pilots greatly encouraged. (H2 and H3 have no other local launch if Kagel closes).

The work consists of the construction of rolling dips to divert rain flow from Kagel ravine, an accumulation point of the watershed. A road washout there would be a long-term catastrophe for SHGA.

Meetings are under way with the Forest Service. The use of mechanized equipment is being explored. This is likely a pick and shovel and sandbag operation.

Please save the date. Project manager is Joseph Vandertol, working with Larry Chamblee for the Board.

Background of project here: http://shga.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=341
Last edited by SHGA Communications on Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
SHGA Communications
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Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:20 am
Location: Hang Gliding Capital of the World

Post by SHGA Communications »

Kagel Road Repair Committee
Work Party Saturday, Oct. 28


SHGA H2 and H3 pilots have been given the lead on this work party and all are expected to attend. Advanced pilots will be on hand if not engaged in new site development.

Time and equipment TBA. Generally the schedule is a morning of hard work side by side with new friends, followed by an afternoon of flying over land you now "own".

H2 ratings:
Sikora, Julianne (welcome aboard!)
Austin, Tom
Banov, Rayko
Benson, Jesse
Binder, Allen
Brown, Eric
Bruckner, John (Anthony)
Collins, Brian
Cooley, Derek
Craig, Jeffrey
Dykstra, Patrick
Escobar, Fernando
Farber, Russ
Gemme, Corey
Gyetvay, Douglas
Havermeyer, Frank
Idy, Dan
Kail, Martin (Marty)
Khare, Monish
Leone, John
Martens, Doug
Matsunaga, Hiroyuki (Hiro)
Paramo, Alvardo
Peden, Eric
Rider, Jason
Rodriguez, Alex
Rowe, Robert
Schwartz, David
Shahab, Kambiz
Silberman, Malury
Simmonds, David
Sorce, Tom
Sunshine, Dan
Lee, Tieh Yuan (Joe)
Torkaman, Arshid
Wolters, Chris
Yun, Sean
Yanai, Nobuaki (Nobu) (unrated)
Muramatsu, Norichika (Nori) (unrated)

H3 ratings:
Banas, Don
Cheng, Peter
Cook, John
Diem, George
Freemantle, Kate
Gonzalez, Reynaldo
Johnson, Dennis
Lamper, Michael
Orland, Scott
Rahnamai, Kourosh
Shaffer, Tom
Shaw, Richard
Smith, Glenn (Smitty)
Trimble, Curt
Vandertol, Joseph
Wagner, Freddy
Wagner, Jaromir (Max)
Wesler, Gary
Williams, Christian
SHGA Communications
Posts: 106
Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:20 am
Location: Hang Gliding Capital of the World

Post by SHGA Communications »

The work party and the Dahlsten Cup are now slated for the same day, Saturday, Oct. 28. Work in the morning and flying contests and chili into the early evening.

On Friday, Oct. 29, the Work Party/Forest Service team meet with the district ranger to discuss our agenda for erosion control the next day, along with grading plans, installation of anti-dumping signage, and the opening or re-opening of additional launch sites.

Start times and recommended work tools to come.
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Joseph
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Road Work Trash Pick up Party this Saturday 10/28.

Post by Joseph »

This work party will happen along side the Dahlsten Cup, if that happens...? North winds don't affect road work also.

Date: Saturday October 28, 2006

Event: Fun filled Kagel road work and trash pick up extravaganza!

Meeting Location: Kagel L/Z

Meeting Time: 09:00 AM be sharp!

What to bring: Gloves, water, hat, implements of mass excavation, a strong will to triumph over mother nature and age

What we need in
Advance: Sandbags! A plan is being put in place to get sandbags. My understanding is that most cities designate a few fire stations to distribute in limited numbers free sand bags. If you have access to any sand bags please bring them to the LZ before Saturday.

What we need
on the day
: People – THIS IS A MANDITORY EVENT FOR H2s/H3s
Transporation. We have one truck that can take up 4 people and gliders, we need at least one other truck that can carry 4 people plus equipment.

Hand tools such as pick axes, shovels, etc.

If you are bringing a truck and/or equipment please post back into this thread.

What we will do: My understanding is that the club has volunteered to do trash clean up work to assist the Forest Service. The Forest Service is providing a truck in which to dump the debree. This is something that the club does on a regular basis to maintain our good relations with the forest service and keep the road clear during our use of it.

We will also do the road work where it is being threatened by erosion. We will:

1. Build a small rolling dip
2. Place sandbags to deter erosion
3. Clear big mac drain on south side as needed
4. Block big mac drain on north side as needed
5. Drop cement blocks in ravine if able

Thanks to everyone in advance from Father Kagel, god of all flying at Kagel who will be really pissed if we can't get up the hill anymore.
Last edited by Joseph on Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
SHGA Communications
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Post by SHGA Communications »

Dumping Clean-Up Tradition

Larry Chamblee adds:

Saturday's work party has dual purposes. Joseph is spearheading the road repair at the Ravine, but equally important is the cleanup of the trash that has been dumped on the flat area 1/4 mile up the Kagel Road, and the construction debris that has been dumped further up the road.

From the perspective of the Forest Service, the road cleanup is the more important aspect of Saturday's work party. They are furnishing us a truck and probably some Forest Service workers to help with this nasty job. But our willingness as a Forest recreational user to pitch in and clean up other people's litter really goes far to put us in good stead with them. We had a turnout of more than 30 club members at last January's cleanup, and produced a great result.

The Forest Service will have the truck and workers on the Kagel road at 0930 Saturday, so we need to have workers leave the LZ no later than 0900, or meet us up there at 0930.

I have room for four gliders on my truck, and will give free rides up the hill to four workers. I'm heading up from the LZ at 0900, and we'll have to be loaded up by that time.
SHGA Communications
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Post by SHGA Communications »

The Windsports vehicle will depart the LZ Saturday morning at 9 a.m. sharp. Be there 8:45 for loading. Call for reservations.
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Joseph
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Many Thanks to Everyone!

Post by Joseph »

I wanted to say a quick thank you for all the work put in on Saturday. Working with such a large group, I think we had over 40 people made the task much easier.

I also got a small taste of the energy put into these type of things working with Larry Chamblee. We all owe everyone on the board for the volunteer time they put in every week to make sure that we can continue to fly from Kagel safely and as easily as possible.

Thanks also to Christian who got the news out to everyone with his eBlasts. And Joe Greblo for organizing the pilots under his wing.

Somehow, I was named the organizer of this event, but it really all came together because of others hard work.

Thank you all again.
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Christian
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UPDATE Feb. 14, 2007.

Post by Christian »

UPDATE, Feb. 14, 2007: We havent had all that much rain this winter so far, but the Kagel Ravine work is holding up well. With a few lessons.

--Our pick and shovel "rolling dips" were pretty much obliterated by one light Forest Service grading recently, just before the rain (although the T-bones we buried in the road appear undisturbed). It takes heavy equipment to make an effective rolling dip. Plus, the run-off chutes we created were instantly filled by the normal action of a grading blade.
It is nice to see that the operator recognized our attempt at making dips and honored them. He just made them bigger.

--The berms we built of railroad ties and sandbags on the ridge above the ravine are in excellent shape. They clearly are effective in channeling water where we want it to go, toward the south saddle and the big macs there.

--The concrete T-bones we placed as barriers to discourage use of a four-wheel-drive track that threatened erosion are still there. They seem to influence off-roaders in less harmful directions.

--The Kagel Ravine Big Macs, galvanized water collection installations that carry runoff away in in chutes that extends a hundred yards, are in good shape at the moment. We need to keep the openings clear of debris, and keep an eye on erosion around the entry points which we can fix with sandbags.

--The dirt bike fellows have worked hard to improve their track lower down the mountain. They were up there yesterday (Tuesday), with shovels. It may make sense to talk to them and see if they are organized enough to want to join us in policing the Kagel track. They now have something to lose, too.

--It's a little muddy on the mountain at the moment (just a little). It appears that persons (morons) in four-wheel vehicles are drawn to mud, and enjoy ripping it up and frolicking in the mire. This is counterproductive to berms, contouring and road maintenance. WE can reason with them, report them or track them down and kill them, depending on convenience.

All in all, Kagel Ravine appears in good shape at the moment, and we can take some credit. We can keep our eyes open and catch any watercourse problems for the rest of the rainy season.
Last edited by Christian on Wed Feb 14, 2007 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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stebbins
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Post by stebbins »

That all sounds great except:

The Forest Service is concerned about the off-roaders/dirt bikers and does not want them there. I think it would be a mistake to ask them to "join us in policing the Kagel track" without discussing that with the Forest Service first. We could really shoot ourselves in the foot by doing so.

The FS even asked us to take aerial photos of the area so they could see how much "damage" has been done. We did this. (Greblo, via Mosquito, I believe.)

I'm glad to see that club members are watching the road for damage. Good job, all! I wish I could be out more often to see and use the road myself.
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
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Christian
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Post by Christian »

Don;t worry, I didnt invite them to dinner. Still, any guidance our SHGA FS committee wants to pass on would be useful for us members in dealing with the dirt bikers. If they're smart they'll organize and make a pitch for their track as the best way to confine off-road to one area. I admit I was into dirt bikes a long time, and Kagel is sort of paradise. I don;t think they;re going to go away anytime soon.
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WingNutz
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Ravine

Post by WingNutz »

I used to ride dirt bikes too, but in a gravel quarry, never in National Forest.

The Forest Service has set aside areas especially for off road vehicles, to keep the noise, the dust, the air pollution and the damage localized where it won't affect other users of the Forest. The Forest Service spends its limited resources to do this, when they might be spending money promoting hang gliding, as they have done at Hat Creek, near Lassen National Park. That's what we're trying to accomplish.


I don't think we ever want to be in bed with off roaders.
We make a big point of the fact that we tread very lightly on the public lands we are permitted to use. I'm against trying to get those guys involved in our projects with the Forest Service.

I take the point that the dirt bikers may not go away, but if the Forest Service had the enforcement resources, they would start handing out citations and kick them out. That may still happen, and I hope it does.
In an age when our addiction to petroleum has us killing our National Guard in Iraq, I'm more and more opposed to oil consumption-based recreation.

Can somebody please tell us what arrangements have been made with the Forest Service for "heavy equipment?" I'm really interested to know what's happening with the Forest Service.

Thanks to all for your efforts for the Club.
Soar With Prudent Passion

Larry Chamblee
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