Trail News - November '96
Tim Twietmeyer is coming to the November 13th Meeting
Whenever anyone does a write-up about Tim Twietmeyer they say
he seems like just a regular guy. Of course, he can't be. He has
finished the Western States 100 Mile Run 15 times and won it
four times, including this year. Still he seems normal because
he struggles like the rest of us to meet family, work and
community commitments and still get a run in. He doesn't take
his success or even being able to run for granted. Tim truly
loves the trails and spends time encouraging other trail users,
no matter how fast or far they go. We asked him to come to our
meeting to share some of his knowledge of the trails. He ran
the WS 100 when it went through Todd Valley and hopes to someday
write a book on the history of the run. Tim has recently been
elected to the Western States Run Board of Directors and will be
playing a more active role in local trail activities. Please
take this opportunity to spend the evening with him. We're
meeting at 6 PM at the Courthouse Cafe.
Foresthill Road Cleanup
We have adopted two miles of Foresthill Rd starting at the
Elementary School and going towards Baker Ranch. We've
committed to cleaning our section at least four times per year.
Our first session will be at 9 AM on Sunday, Nov 17th. The
County is supplying us with garbage bags and safety vests.
They're going to put up one of those "Road Adopted" signs for
us. The trail along Foresthill Rd. is one of the most regularly
used pathways and is highly visible in the community. We have a
long list of trail projects, but many members felt cleaning
Foresthill Rd is good investment of our energies and will
improve the view. Compared to some of the other trail work,
this shouldn't be too strenuous. Get your gloves out and share
the satisfaction of getting something done.
More New Signs
We are installing new signs at White Oak Flat and the middle of
the McKeon-Ponderosa Loop. We are also installing a sign for
the California St. Section of the Western States Trail where it
crosses Mosquito Ridge Rd.
Community Plan Surveys are In
If you'd like to be among the first to find out if the community
supports preserving trails, the Community Plan Team needs help
putting the survey responses into a computer database. Some
students at the Middle School have built a database for the
responses and we need about 30 people to enter the data on
November 9th, starting at 9 AM. It will be very easy to enter
the data and no computer expertise is required. Wharton's is
providing lunch. Please call Sherri Osborn at 367-3928 if
you're willing to help out.
Election Day
This election will have an impact on us. Please Vote! While the
FTA is not endorsing anyone in particular, at the October
meeting Stephanie mentioned the Mother Lode Chapter of the
Sierra Club has made some endorsements and the other attendees
asked that the recommendations be printed in the newsletter so
they wouldn't have to write them down, so here they are:
| Office Running For | Endorsement | Running Against |
| US Representative, 4th District | Katie Hirning | John T. Doolittle |
| Placer County Water Agency, Division 5 | T. Otis Wollan |
| Placer County WaterAgency, Division 3 | Lowell Jarvis |
| Placer County Water Agency, Division 4 | Gretchen Crespillo-McDowell |
Legal Permission to Use Peachstone Loop Trail Given
Peggy Wilson has given us a letter granting the Foresthill
Trails Alliance and general members of the community permission
to use a portion of her property as a recreational trail. The
Peachstone Loop trail starts at the bottom of Oakwood Lane in
Todd Valley, branches off to the right and crosses Peachstone
Creek and comes out on Nugget Dr. goes through an 80 acre parcel
which belongs to Mrs. Wilson. The Peachstone Loop is mostly
used by runners and walkers who live in Todd Valley. It's about
5 miles around from the top of Atwood Rd and back. Not many
horse riders use it since so much of the loop is pavement and
there is no place to park a horse trailer. The trail to the
creek is a good place to take kids. It's less than a mile from
the bottom of Oakwood to the creek and very steep right by the
creek. The trail crosses the creek where two branches of the
creek come together flowing over huge moss-covered boulders in a
semi-waterfall. That is one of the prettiest spots anywhere.
This trail was blocked just before it joins Nugget Dr. last
spring. At that time we researched who owned the property and
contacted Mrs. Wilson. She said she had not blocked the trail
and agreed to let us clear the blockage. She also asked us what
the legal options were for allowing use of the trail that would
protect her from liability. After talking about dedications,
easements and permission to use letters, she decided to give us
the permission to use. This permission is revocable at any
time. This is the first time a property owner has actually
given us legal permission to use a trail through their property
and we are very grateful. We hope it will be the first of many
such agreements. Placer County and Robert Schuster, who is a
lawyer and a member of the FTA, have created sample forms to
use to create easements, dedications or grant permission to use
property for trails. These forms are available on our web site
at http://foothill.net/fta under the
Political/Legal link or
call Sherri Osborn, 367-3928, to get a copy mailed to you.
American River Confluence Parkway (ARC Park)
Ca State Parks and Recreation and PARC held a two-day cleanup in
October of the Confluence area which is now being referred to as
the ARC Park and includes from just below Clementine on the
North Fork and Murderers Bar on the Middle Fork to Oregon Bar
below the former dam site. Volunteers gathered lots of trash,
much of it in the area below the Foresthill Bridge where it
appears people have been throwing it from the bridge. In place
of the trash they planted Ca poppy seeds. PARC has also received
two grants that will be used to improve the ARC Park. $10,000
from the Conservation Alliance, a nationwide association of
major outdoor retailers, which will be used to update and
reprint the American River Guidebook and to help create a new
design and management plan for the ARC Park. They also received
$500 from the California Trails and Greenways Foundation to
begin work on trails and access improvements. Other groups,
including the FTA, are being invited to participate in both the
planning and trail projects. Stay tuned for the next trail work
day.
FTA Christmas Party - Friday, December 13th
Mark it on your calendar now. We're having the party at the
newly remodeled Forest House. 1996 Tevis Winner, Erin
McChesney, who won both the Tevis Cup for first place and the
Haggin Cup for her horse being in the best condition at the
finish will be our guest speaker. Copies of all our maps will
be available. The Youth will be decorating live Christmas trees
for the raffle again, and we are expanding the raffle with other
prizes and gift certificates. Any contribution to the raffle
prizes you'd like to make would be most welcome. Invite your
trail loving friends and let's make this a fun evening.