Coyote Flats - Respectable Offroading

[4x4Tyrant]

Sat Aug 10th, me the wife and the kid headed up to coyote flats to get out of the bishop heat and have some lunch. As a Bishop local and member of the local offroad club, I get to be apart of alot of meeting with the usfs concerning trails in the eastern sierras. Many locals avoid coyote flats due to the large amount of "overlanders" that come up from LA and Orange County.

What I saw this weekend was appalling. Groups of 5+ camped off the trail in marked restoration habitats, people driving in areas market for no motorized vehicles, and trash in firepits, the lack of respect for the trail and the area is heartbreaking. I ask kindly please respect the area, trails like Coyote flats, Laura Lakes, and Wheeler Crest are all on the chopping block. The local clubs have been fighting tooth and nail to keep them open, but we are losing this battle. Alright rant off.

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[Camaroboi13]

Unfortunately the people you are referring to are probably not on the forums

They sure do like to give us a bad name though.

 

[4x4Tyrant]

Unfortunately the people you are referring to are probably not on the forums

They sure do like to give us a bad name though.

It's definitely possible. But the large group was mostly JL's.

 

[4x4Tyrant]

Some from the group driving in restricted areas.

 

[Camaroboi13]

Not saying you’re wrong by any means, but we plan our trips on the forums and everyone I’ve wheeled with has been extremely diligent about leaving with what they came with.

 

[4x4Tyrant]

Not saying you’re wrong by any means, but we plan our trips on the forums and everyone I’ve wheeled with has been extremely diligent about leaving with what they came with.

I think the Majority are definitely like you, for the amount of traffic Coyote flats sees it would be a wasteland if not. USFS have been pushing for lottery system / reservation system for Coyote Flats with a combo gate at the bottom. I've been against it, but it might be necessary.

 

[BobW]

Terrible shame. Organized jeep drives I've been on were run like Sierra Club trips, great respect for the environment.
Was up on the Flats 25 years ago in my old Cherokee. Got onto private inholding by mistake, rancher was really nice as she realized I just took the wrong fork, even pointed out some things to see.
California is crowded. Hiking trails have permits to control the burden, might indeed be necessary here too.

 

[Blueliner3]

Sat Aug 10th, me the wife and the kid headed up to coyote flats to get out of the bishop heat and have some lunch. As a Bishop local and member of the local offroad club, I get to be apart of alot of meeting with the usfs concerning trails in the eastern sierras. Many locals avoid coyote flats due to the large amount of "overlanders" that come up from LA and Orange County.

What I saw this weekend was appalling. Groups of 5+ camped off the trail in marked restoration habitats, people driving in areas market for no motorized vehicles, and trash in firepits, the lack of respect for the trail and the area is heartbreaking. I ask kindly please respect the area, trails like Coyote flats, Laura Lakes, and Wheeler Crest are all on the chopping block. The local clubs have been fighting tooth and nail to keep them open, but we are losing this battle. Alright rant off.

It shouldn’t be too hard to obey posted signs and clean up after oneself, but apparently it is for some folks.

These areas are getting more visibility via YouTube and other social media, Trail Militia for example posted a group trip a couple weeks ago up to Funnel and Coyote Lakes, which on one hand is great for discovering places of natural beauty, but bad because it invites all types—the conscientious and the careless.

Thank you for drawing attention to the problem, and being a steward for continued access in the Owens Valley. It might be worth messaging some of these “influencers” with a friendly reminder (they usually include ‘leave it better’, but probably need to drive home that we could lose it if not).

I will share your report with our local Cal4Wheel and CORVA rep.

 

[SadRobot]

That's sad to hear. I saw a similar situation out in Joshua Tree in the BLM land south of the park. Tons of trash, bullet casings and old appliances just scattered everywhere. I think I may have counted 2 ovens and a toilet just dumped out in the wilderness.

It also seems like a lot of people like to drive out to the trails and leave their empty beer cans everywhere. I've collected numerous cans out on the trails.

 

[dstevens]

Berdoo Canyon is trashed unfortunately. The shooting range at the bottom attracts a lot of idiots too.

I went up the Coyote Flats some years ago and only saw one other vehicle up there.

 

[Pig-Pen]

Not to defend these people at all but perhaps more obvious signs are needed. I dont think i would notice that “no motor vehicles” sign.

i also dont drive off the obvious path, if thats what they were doing. Plus, usually at least person in the group is following a trail gps app when we go, which would prevent this from happening i would think.

and the trash thing is inexcusable. Even when people leave broken car parts/suspension/fenders/ROOFS etc smh

Id love to blame it on the sxs crowd. What a shame to see a group of JLs. Maybe from “the other forum”. Or FB groups. Here its pretty much all mature adults. I rarely even see one beer on any of these runs.

 

[LazyJL]

One of our past favorite boondocking spots was in the Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine and the site of many Western films and movies
The overlandersand banners trashed the place, causing the BLM to organize several large cleanups and then shut down much of the area to camping and limited the rest of the area to about 50 designated sites.
I was taught as a kid to pack out my trash and to leave a campsite cleaner than it was when arriving, values that do not seem to be passed on to many of the younger generations.

 

[ChoSunJuan]

Some from the group driving in restricted areas.

How does it work in your area? Those vehicles are on a road, but still in a restricted area.

In BC, even if the area is closed to motorized vehicles, as long as you stay on the existing roads, you can still drive there.

 

[4x4Tyrant]

How does it work in your area? Those vehicles are on a road, but still in a restricted area.

In BC, even if the area is closed to motorized vehicles, as long as you stay on the existing roads, you can still drive there.

So the picture of the group, that is an established road that ends where I was parked at a camp site, with a couple signs saying "no motor vehicles" past that point. The group drove around me into the brush and off the road to the small backcountry lake and past the signs. Me and my wife let them know that that area is restricted due to fire recovery and we left so they could park and camp at the site we were having lunch at. It's very apparent that it's not a road.

 

[ChoSunJuan]

So the picture of the group, that is an established road that ends where I was parked at a camp site, with a couple signs saying "no motor vehicles" past that point. The group drove around me into the brush and off the road to the small backcountry lake and past the signs. Me and my wife let them know that that area is restricted due to fire recovery and we left so they could park and camp at the site we were having lunch at. It's very apparent that it's not a road.

Ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

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