[knobbyknees]

Word from CDF is that there is a "slip out" between Mt. Bache road and Soquel Forest, where Highland Way is trying to make its way down hill into Soquel Creek, at mile post 3.28. The road was closed again today.

So any weekend rides in Soquel Forest will probably have to come up through Corralitos on Eureka Canyon Road, or up through Nisene Marks.

Patty

 

[smw]

Word from CDF is that there is a "slip out" between Mt. Bache road and Soquel Forest, where Highland Way is trying to make its way down hill into Soquel Creek, at mile post 3.28. The road was closed again today.

So any weekend rides in Soquel Forest will probably have to come up through Corralitos on Eureka Canyon Road, or up through Nisene Marks.

Patty

Thanks for the info Patty, any more word? Is the road sliding more, or was it just deemed unsafe?

Sean

 

[knobbyknees]

slides from above and slip outs below...

Daryl wrote on 4/24:

The slide is just on the south side of the slip out section. The county was working on clearing one lane today, and felt by the end of the day it would be passable. They don't know how long it will remain open though. There is a lot of water coming off the mountain turning the hillside into mud that is oozing and flowing down the hillside as they attempt to clear it. A couple of trees came down on the slide as they were working to clear the road. This could be a problem spot for sometime with road closures happening periodically until things have a chance to dry out.

There is another slip out on Eureka Canyon Road a mile or so south of Buzzard Lagoon that may also create problems for heavier trucks and engines.

and Aaron wrote:

I too discovered the road closure at 5:00 tthis evening, on my way out for a loop. I thought: oh well, I'll just ride from here- but I soon discovered the muck across the road is knee-high with no way around that I could see. I sure wonder what happened way up that mountain to cause all that new water to keep gushing down there. all that water looks to me like its going to cause the whole road to go. I saw this water coming down on Thurs. eve. also, and it looked then like it had just started. this is a big time problem area.

These reports are from Monday.

Patty

 

[Reposado Man]

The fireroad at Nisene is also "technically" closed due to a slide south of the bottom of the incline.. But it is passable by hike-a-bike...

 

[knobbyknees]

Road Really Closed!!

Here's the latest on the Highland Way situation:

"Hey, I wish I had better news to report, but the situation does not look good. I live 7 miles south of the slide on Eureka Canyon road, and I often use Highland Way as a short cut to the Bay Area. Today, there was a sign posted at the beginning of Eureka Canyon Road, in Corralitos, stating that the road was closed 10 miles ahead. On Monday, when I investigated the slide the road crews seemed hopeful of opening at least one lane. I was a bit surprised to see the sign, and I was wondering if they were just trying to discourage through traffic. I decided to check it out for myself this evening, and I was very disappointed in what I saw. The slide is much worse. It is bigger and deeper than what I saw on Monday. It is very unstable. I only stuck around to look at it for a short time as I heard branches crackling, and saw mud and boulders 2 foot in diameter flowing down the hillside. The instinct of self preservation took over and I bolted. The road bed appears intact, so lets hope things dry out quickly and the road crews are able to clean it up. Do not try and "hike a bike" this slide! It needs lots of time to dry out before even considering it.

Meanwhile, don't be a stranger to the Demo. It will only add about 45 minutes to an hour to get there from the Bay Area by going through Corralitos. Since you may not becoming as often, look at it as an incentive to do a loop or two or more than you usual.

I hope to see you at Demo soon!

Daryl "​

Patty

 

[smw]

Hi Patty,

Any updates on the road to Demo? Hopefully all this heat will help, and they can clear it up.

Sean

 

[knobbyknees]

Word is that the road is still officially closed. Apparently, some people are hiking across the mud, but there are still rocks and other debris falling from above, so it's not at all recommended until the slide is more stabilized. I'll let you know if things change.

Patty

 

[Skyline35]

San Jose Mercury "Roadshow" column, Wed, May 17, 2006

There is a question&answer in today's Roadshow column, San Jose Mercury News regarding Highland Way:

Q My path to Highway 17 is via a road called Highland Way. It was recently closed because of a combined slipout and mudslide, and is closed indefinitely. Do you have any idea whether it'll open this year?

Max U.
Corralitos

A Not this year, but keep your fingers crossed. Repairs could run well over $750,000 and the county is seeking help from FEMA. If there is no FEMA aid, it could take years to get this road repaired. Even if FEMA comes through, it may be one to two years before repairs can be completed. Santa Cruz County was hit with about $15 million in storm damage this year and it could take two to five years to dig out of this one.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14599224.htm

 

[Fast Eddy]

It would be a good time to polish up ridge trail and put it back the way it used to be before disc brakes became popular. It used to be sooo smooth.

 

[smw]

It would be a good time to polish up ridge trail and put it back the way it used to be before disc brakes became popular. It used to be sooo smooth.

Yeah, right now it is extremely bumpy, lotsa rocks.

Sean

 

[knobbyknees]

huh?

Yeah, right now it is extremely bumpy, lotsa rocks.

Sean

You want us to do what to Ridge Trail?

I don't get it.

Patty

 

[geoffss]

Fycking Old Man Winter!!!

I love Demo, but the high possibility that my car will be broken into at the slide while I am gone is not such a great prospect. I guess I am gonna have to start getting hella tough and start in Soquel, that only adds a couple hours transit and riding time to an already long ride. :madman:

Rumpfy, Its better than riding up and down Kennedy:winker:

 

[Uncle Bri]

Don't listen to them. Leave the rocks. You've been doing great work.

smw, if you want smooth trails, don't go to the Demo.

UB.

 

[Hungarian_FR]

Locals Open Highland Road

I received an email Tuesday from a buddy that said some locals got together and reopened Highland Road. Haven't been through there myself, so maybe someone can give us an eyewitness report.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Don't listen to them. Leave the rocks. You've been doing great work.

smw, if you want smooth trails, don't go to the Demo.

I agree. Great work. I like rocks just fine. I'm talking about braking bumps. If you don't know what I'm talking about ride a rigid bike there. I don't want to sanitize anything, but I think it would be nice to run a trail machine down some parts of Ridge Tr. to take out some of the chop.

Does no one else remember it from before? I'm talking about '95 or so.

 

[smw]

Don't listen to them. Leave the rocks. You've been doing great work.

smw, if you want smooth trails, don't go to the Demo.

UB.

Im one of the few that has been riding Demo. Anyway it was a shot at sarcasm in relation to the sanitizing at ST. The trails at Demo are primo right now, its a shame so few are riding there. On a side note, the Summit store put in some killer buffet style food bars, give it a try after a ride.

sean

ps- the work at Demo has been great as seen by the condition of the trails

 

[Portola Vince]

I parked

I received an email Tuesday from a buddy that said some locals got together and reopened Highland Road. Haven't been through there myself, so maybe someone can give us an eyewitness report.

at a friends house on Call of the Wild drive last Thursday. I rode from there and did the loop (Highland to Buzzard to Ridge to Braille to Hihn's Mill to Highland). The slide is still there. It is massive, but it's fairly easy to walk over and only takes a couple minutes. If the locals opened it up they moved tons of dirt and trees in an incredible short period of time. They weren't working on it Thursday. My bet is it is still closed.
Of course back in the early nineties the experts used to ride there from L.G. So that leaves a lot of choices for parking between where it's closed and the L.G. park and ride. My loop took three hours, a little less than half of which was in the dirt.

 

[Uncle Bri]

Oh. I didn't catch it. sorry. You kinda have to hit me over the head with stuff like that.

And yeah FE, I do remember the days before braking bumps. It was a whole different story back then.

UB.

 

[smw]

Oh. I didn't catch it. sorry. You kinda have to hit me over the head with stuff like that.

And yeah FE, I do remember the days before braking bumps. It was a whole different story back then.

UB.

Some of those braking bumps have become more like stairs, it'd be nice if they were gone, atleast when Im riding the SS. Lately I have favored the squishy bike at Demo, seems to smoothe the trail out just fine. The last time (a few weeks back) I rode the SS there it beat the tar out of me. I miss the road though, the ride from Nisene is nice, but I cant do 2 loops in Demo when I ride from Aptos.:nono:

Sean

 

[knobs]

Breaking bumps

I agree. Great work. I like rocks just fine. I'm talking about braking bumps. If you don't know what I'm talking about ride a rigid bike there. I don't want to sanitize anything, but I think it would be nice to run a trail machine down some parts of Ridge Tr. to take out some of the chop.

Does no one else remember it from before? I'm talking about '95 or so.

I distinctly recall a few bumps on ridge back then. I was riding rigid there during that time frame. Especially after Tractor, there were some with 41.5 inch intervals, just about the average wheelbase of the average bike, like a succession of 6-9 inch drops, one after the other.

Ridge feels faster to me now than ever, but maybe it's the squish.