I agree 100 percent but I also think it has a little bit do with people messing around, destroying trees, doing donuts off the trail, blazing new trails etc. This along with the trash situation continues to be problem at least were I go
I haven't been to Sawmill in maybe 6 months but the last time I was up there I didn't see any of this going on, we found some random little bits of trash and cleaned that up but nothing substantial that one or two vehicles couldnt manage to dispose of. Maybe it just happened within the last couple of months but I too have been going to Sawmill for years and I have never seen what you are talking about (to that magnitude, which worries me). From what you are saying it sounds to me that this is the work of "average joe douchebag" not us, responsible wheelers. Pretty much anyone can get out there (last time I camped at Sawmill there was a freakin' Ford Focus out there, just so you know that while the road out might be rough, a Focus still made it out there) so it doesn't surprise me that this is happening. But taking it out on the responsible people is just silly. Greenhorn, CA is also mostly closed now due to people that steal cars, abandon their waste, and cook meth in the woods. Despite our efforts to keep the place clean, its everyone OTHER than the wheelers doing the damage, yet WE are paying for it. Closing the trails that only we can access is not going to stop the destruction, because there are a million places these people can take their crap, and our favorite trails happen to be the best location because of the remoteness of the entire area.
The point is, WE are not the problem. Its everyone else that is. If I came across someone dumping their
out at Sawmill I would be pissed and I would not hesitate to confront them (as I have in the past at not just Sawmill but many other surrounding areas and others). The thing is, it is these scumbags that get our trails closed. Average Joe idiot citizen doesn't distinguish between a tweaker with a four wheel drive (or ford focus for that matter) and a nature loving, 4 wheeling enthusiast who works hard to keep trails clean and open. Hell, we hauled out 3.5 burnt cars, and 75+ cubic yards of trash from Greenhorn and the local media gave all the credit to the "South Yuba Citizens League" who barely sets a single foot in the area, yet alone organize a massive clean up like we did. It took 4 months of angry letters and phone calls to get the paper to print a correction giving US credit, and even then it was just a minor note on the back page. Sometimes I have taken out so much trash from various areas in Nevada county that I sometimes have a hard time fitting all my stuff back in the truck by the time we are ready to leave. Punishing me for all the hard work I have done up there over the years isnt going to stop Tweaker Joe from dumping his meth biproducts, old washing machines and junk garbage out there. Like someone else said, its just going to make this kind of behavior more prevalent because these people will know the area is going to be even less likey to have any kind of enforcement.
I don't doubt your claims of major piles of garbage but the people that don't give a
are not WHEELERS. They are everyone else that has access to the areas. Next time you head to Sawmill even if for a day run to do some trash clean up, please send me a message. My friends and I have been camping there for a long time and would be more than willing to come do some clean up or some skull cracking in regards to this matter. We love that area and will not let it be lost because of some scumbags who want to ruin our recreation as well as that of thousands of others. Thanks for the heads up on the trash situation because that really pisses me off. I love that area and I do not want to see it get ruined, or lost, because of this kind of bull crap.
