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Saving the Deer Valley Trail of Northern California Saving the Deer Valley Trail of Northern California
Modern jeepers and many four-wheeling volunteers stepped up to help save the famous California trail, Deer Valley, located in the high Sierra Nevada mountains... Saving the Deer Valley Trail of Northern California

Modern jeepers and many four-wheeling volunteers stepped up to help save the famous California trail, Deer Valley, located in the high Sierra Nevada mountains weaving its way through a non-Wilderness corridor of the Mokelumne Wilderness (Eldorado and Stanislaus National Forests).   Closed by court order several years ago, the trail is being repaired by volunteers and is now open again to four-wheeling.

Dating back to the 1850’s with Snowshoe Thompson carrying mail across the mountains, and the Mormon Emigrants migrating west, the Deer Valley trail has a long and distinguished history of use.  The author, Del, representing the BlueRibbon Coalition /Sharetrails and a member of the California 4Wheel Drive Association, want to make sure this access and history stays alive for all of us, forever!

Thanks to the Motherlode Rockcrawlers 4Wheel Drive Club, working with the South County Trail Riders 4WD Club, three weekends of rock hauling, puddle filling work has made the difference!

The Yosemite Toad is an endangered species of true toad that lives in the area and requires protection.  The four-wheeling volunteers filled mud puddles that potentially could damage the habitat of the toad, and re-routed a section of trail that was too close to toad habitat.  All in all, the toad is now happier and the four-wheelers are back on the trail.

MLRC Deer Valley Project Trail Work and Repair Sign In Table.  Volunteer work hours were tracked by the USFS to help ensure future OHV grants.

 

MLRC Founder Ron DeLaney holds the Incident Action Plan for the trail repair project.  Ron was also the “tractor man” loading the jeep trailers.

 

Sam the “Toad Wrangler” as we called him explained to the volunteers how we protect and enhance the habitat of the Yosemite Toad, an endangered species.

 

Ron the “Tractor Man” loading buckets full of rocks provided by the USFS to help repair the trail.

 

 

Modern Jeeper (author, Del) getting in a load of rocks with a 6 mile (round trip) haul over the Deer Valley Trail.

 

Rock hauling and dumping trailers provided by the Rubicon Trail Foundation, built by Varozza 4×4 Outfitters. 

 

To avoid the Yosemite Toad habitat along the creek, the Deer Valley Trail was re-routed by the volunteers, closing off the old section of trail.

 

MLRC Deer Valley Project Trail Work and Repair with happy jeepers pulling trailers full of rocks!

 

The project was very successful and proves once again how four-wheeling volunteers CAN and DO make a difference!

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Del Albright Ambassador

Internationally published author; WorldWide ModernJeeper Abassador and 2014 Inductee of the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Del has been involved in the Jeeping Lifestyle for longer then most of us can count. His educational and mentorship programs have helped developed warfighters in the ongoing battle to keep Public Lands Open to the Public.

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