Thought this might be of interest to Tolgate riders.

[Osborne Performance]

I'VE HAD ENOUGH !! I'M BLOWING OFF STEAM......

Personal editorial, comments, and views of my own....NOT related to Tollgate Trail Finders Snowmobile club
IT'S ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS OF SNOWMOBILE SEASON, BUT I'VE HEARD ABOUT 5 YEARS
WORTH OF COMPLAINTS. PROPERTY OWNERS ARE FED UP WITH HALF-WIT IDIOTS RUNNING
AMOK ALL OVER PRIVATE PROPERTY, WITH NO RESPECT FOR ANYONE OR ANYTHING.
GROOMER DRIVERS ARE FED UP WITH NO-BRAIN IDIOTS ON 150 HORSEPOWER SNOWMOBILES
AND 3" PADDLE TRACKS -- TRASHING THE GROOMED TRAILS FASTER THAN THEY CAN BE
REPAIRED. THERE ARE 500 SNOWMOBILES EVERY WEEKEND, TRASHING OUR TRAILS AND
TRASHING OUR PROPERTY.... AND 20 PERCENT OF THEM DON'T HAVE THE INTELLIGENCE OF
A SIX YEAR OLD CHILD. 90% OF THEM DON'T BELONG TO ANY SNOWMOBILE ASSOCIATION OR
CLUB. THEY DON'T SUPPORT SNOWMOBILE SAFETY, FORESTRY CONSERVATION, LOCAL
ECONOMY, NOR ANYTHING ELSE THAT HELPS TO KEEP THE FOREST OPEN AND SAFE FOR
SNOWMOBILE RIDING. THIS SORT OF THING HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS, BUT THIS YEAR
IT SEEMS TO BE EVEN WORSE. AND I, FOR ONE, AM COMPLETELY FED UP WITH IT. PROPERTY
OWNERS, SNOWMOBILE CLUB MEMBERS, AND ANYONE WITH TWO OUNCES OF SENSE NEED
TO TAKE ACTION. WE NEED SOME REASONABLE IDEAS. WHO'S GOT THOUGHTS ON IT? SHOULD
WE CLOSE THE TRAILS TO ANYONE WITHOUT A $20 TRAIL PERMIT? SHOULD WE GET PRIVATE
PROPERTY OWNERS TO CLOSE SNOWMOBILE TRAILS TO EVERYONE? WE COULD CLUB ALL THE
IDIOTS IN THE HEAD WITH A BASEBALL BAT....THOUGH I DOUBT THAT WOULD SLOW THEM DOWN.
WHAT CAN WE DO? WHO'S GOT SOME NEW THOUGHTS ON THE PROBLEM? I REALLY WOULD
LIKE TO SEE SOME KIND OF ACTION TAKEN WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO. SEND YOUR IDEAS
TO ME, COMPLAIN TO THE SHERIFF DEPUTIES, GRUMBLE TO YOUR CLUB PRESIDENT, OR COME
TO THE SNOWMOBILE CLUB MEETING NEXT WEEKEND. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND SOME KIND

OF ACTION TO TAKE. WE NEED TO WORK ON THIS NOW. IF NOT FOR THIS YEAR, THEN FOR NEXT
YEAR. WE NEED TO CORRECT THESE PROBLEMS BEFORE WE GET LOCKED OUT OF EVERYWHERE,
AND FIND OURSELVES WITH NOWHERE TO RIDE. AND IF YOU AGREE WITH ME -- EMAIL ME YOUR
NAME, SO I CAN ADD IT TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.

I MUST, HOWEVER, COMMEND AND THANK THE MANY SNOWMOBILERS THAT MAKE THE EXTRA EFFORT --- FOLKS THAT STOP AND PICK UP THE TRASH, FOLKS THAT RE-ERECT THE SIGNS THAT KNOTHEADS KNOCK OVER, FOLKS THAT RIDE SAFE AND SANELY, AND TRY TO EDUCATE THE DUMMIES. FOLKS LIKE HAMANNS, CHAPMANS, WARDS, ROSE'S, WOODS, WEBER'S, SIMMONS, BAIRDS, PERKINS, CARTERS, AND ON AND ON....TOO MANY TO MENTION. THANKS, GUYS, FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE. YOUR EFFORTS ARE APPRECIATED !

WALLY QUAST -- TAMARACK INN B&B, JOHN MYERS, GORDON BYRNES & GROOMER DRIVERS, DAN MILES - VANCOUVER WA., ROBERT PERKINS,JAY & AMY HAMANN,THE BOLLMANS,JEFF NELSON,LARRY MCCAULEY,BRIAN YOUNG,KEN QUAST,BRIAN STADELMAN,BRANDON CHRISTENSEN,JIM FRANKLIN,WAYNE RICHARDS,SAM & KIM OSTRONIK,GENE & JUDY GUSE,BECKWITH'S (?),JERRY & NOREEN JOHNSON,ROD & JILL PALMER,LEE MELCHIOR,DAVE & DEBORAH MURRAY,MARK JENKINS,STEVE & DEB JONAS, CAM RICHEY,REED SHUMWAY,CHRIS & SHERRI VAN HORNE,ROLAND AND SUSAN WARD,

 

[Sled]

People are going to do what people do! Nobody is going to change that! Live with it and stop the whining!!!!

 

[Osborne Performance]

Just so everyone knows I DID NOT write this I took it off the Tamarack Inn's Website.

 

[WattsMasonry]

Tollgate

I ride at Tollgate and have rode in tollgate since the early 80's so whats the problem with 500 people being there and using the trail they buy park permits and licenses for there sleds and have every rigth to ride there and the grouchy @$$'s with the private property that are whining about people going off the trail are tree huggers and have been complaining since the early 80's and will continue to complain till they go out and ride off the trail one day them sleves and they will see why it is fun. I for one think if you run everyone off the mountain that the store and the Chalet and the Tamarrack Inn will go out of buisness so deal with it. I am not going to change my ways and never will quit boondocking nor will the 100's of people I ride with from all over the place. DEAL WITH IT YOU OLD FUDDY DUDDY's or move to the west side with the rest of the tree huggers!

 

[obile]

i agree with watts. should be a border setup about 2 miles from the west coast line and all the greeners left on that side. and leave the rest of the human race alone.i thought my license on 2 sleds helped to pay for the grooming? huh now he wants to charge 20 for a trail pass? i dont think so!as for not being a member of a club? well i was till the time i needed help with my sons broken femur and walked into the member full clubhouse and asked for help and was told where the rescue sled was and put it back when your done. not a one of the 15 to 20 people inside offered to help. luckily 2 people saw me digging the rescue sled out of the shed that the groomer had plowed in ,asked what was going on and dropped what they were doing and helped us out. so no i dont nor will i ever be a part of that club again. and if anyone knows where i can pick up one of those 3 inch paddle tracks let me know cause id sure like to try one.. stop the belly akin if its posted i dont trespass. if there is such a problem let the sheriff take care of it. sorry for the rant but i talked with a few others about this post and they felt the same way done!

 

[powhound800r]

Sounds like Washington State could give a damn.

 

[ttyR2]

Tollgate is pretty much the only place I ride at this point. Yeah...the whooped-out trail between Morningcreek and Woodland sucks, but that's a very high traffic area and it will probably never be kept smooth as glass. No matter how careful people are, well-used trails will be rough. Public funds go to maintaining it, so I don't really see how the folks who maintain it should be complaining. They're welcome to hand the duties off to someone else.

I too wasn't impressed with the Trailfinders. When I offered to help with clearing trees after the big wind storm we had a bit ago, the reception was a decidedly "meh" deal so I said forget it.

As far as riding on private property, stay off of it. What would you do if someone drove a truck across your front yard? Probably be mad as hell. You could let it go, but would you? Same goes for property owners at Tollgate. If they choose to be strict about it, that's their choice. Don't like it? Go buy the place yourself and let everyone run sleds over it. There needs to be respect on both sides of the fence.

And HELL NO to the idea of the two mile zone over on the west coast. Ever ride quad's at Florence? It'd seriously suck to loose the right to ride there!

 

[reed4rmk]

I don't think you guys get the picture. I am one of the land owners that the trail goes through and debate whether or not to keep it open each year. My neighbor on one side of the highway is facing a $1,000,000.00 lawsuit because some bonehead rode off trail on his property and hit a cable..speculation is that there was beer involved. I keep the trail open because I like snowmobiling and the local club works with me. What pisses me off is having to pick up beer cans and other junk each year, new trees that I have planted get their tops cut off by boondockers, fences get cut etc, etc. That doesn't even come close to the threat of a lawsuit from some idiot that shouldn't be on a sled in the first place. Don't even bother calling me a tree hugger as that property has been in the family for close to 100 years, that makes most of you others newbies. We also raise and harvest trees. There are plenty of places to go off trail and boondock to your hearts content. Like that posting from the Tamarack Inn, respect it or lose it. To you guys and gals who ride and use the trail resposibly...thanks.

 

[Trex72]

No one is allowed on private land !

Unless you where invited so respect my property and i will respect yours !

 

[Osborne Performance]

i have the opinion stay off the guys property . he has been good enough to let us cross do not abuse it . what make me hot in this deal is i am one of the 150 horse power sleds that is supposed to be messing up the trails . I do not think being a club member makes a diffrence in how every one rides a sled what i am also tired of is finding garbage just clean up after your selves.

 

[xcrash911]

Interesting that that rant is no longer on his website! I agree with staying off of the private property but his little rant was totally out of line. As far as the trail grooming goes, I have never seen it as bad as it is this year and yes I am a dues paying member of the TTF although maybe not for long. He is not the first one this year that I have heard firsthand b****ing about mountain sleds on the mountain.

 

[fuddy-duddy]

Tollgate

I'm really disappointed in the response to the rant above. The
guy obviously cares about snowmobiling, and is trying to help
by drawing attention to current problems. Out of 10 responses,
only 5 are even remotely understanding. Watts is the one in a
hundred that gives snowmobiling a bad name. Obile has issues
that need to be resolved, but even he understands "don't trespass"
and "stay on the trail" signs. Reed4rmk understands, only too
well, what's going on up there. I agree with the ranter... you need
to control the few screwballs that are ruining it for everyone. You
don't need to close the trails or ban snowmobiles from areas...
you only need to educate the few bad snowmobilers as to the good
manners and etiquette that most snowmobilers take for granted.
Yes, I've been to Tollgate, and been riding there since the 70's.
And there's a lot more traffic there than 30 years ago !! But it's
still a great spot to ride.

 

[eorider]

i to im very disappointed in some of the disrespect by our fellow riders. I have not been riding up there since the 70's or 80's like some of you but i have put my fair share of miles on up there the last 6 or 7 years. i ride every weekend up there and stay at the family cabin since its only a 30 minute drive up the mountain for me.im very upset at the disrespect some people have for other peoples property. its not YOUR property, stay off of it if it says so.I know where the private property is up there and there is no reason to go track up the snow in front of someones cabin. ride the extra "1" mile to get off of private ground then you can tear it up as much as you want. by the way the snow is better the farther out you get anyway. thats just my 2 cents

 

[WattsMasonry]

Private Property

Ok here it is I do respect private property as a matter of fact I use to help some of those guys post there signs on the trail between the lake and the store have helped alot of guys look for there sleds when they have been stolen and have also helped those drunk idiots get out of bad situations like being down the gulley at the bottom of the BFH. Alll I am trying to say is by posting a 20 dollar trail fee its not going to help people already pay dues to the TTF for trail maintenance and our license pays for it and so does the snow park permits where would this 20 dollars go I bet not towards the trails if its some private land owner charging it. I am concerned about the lack of respect for private property I have kids that ride just right around the cabin on little 120 and guys just ride right past them and cut them off and it does upset me but by running everybody out of tollgate its not going to solve the problem. The TTF needs to become more involved with its comunitty alot of members have left because when there is a problem they don't help if there is an accident they don't help if somone gets lost no help. I would gladly spend all night looking for somone I did not even know to make sure they get down off the mountain safely. So please don't miss understand my previous statement I just wanted to vent to and maybe some of the stuff I said was wrong but I do not want to see somone try to shut down tollgate.

 

[rmk972]

Me and my family have a cabin on the lower mountain. We respect private property and hope everyone else does so we can have the access in the future. For those of you who may or may not agree with TTF. Please get involved and voice your opinion. The TTF provides a ton of effort for snowmobilers and it is all by volunteer. Support TTF and show up at the meetings and fundraisers so our groomers can keep up the trails. We are blessed with a great place to ride and great people to ride with. Let's keep it that way.

 

[ttyR2]

Not meaning to diss TTF, but when I offered to help clear brush after the big wind storm this winter, I was effectively snubbed by a couple of members who I contacted via phone. I have been less than pleased at TTF's efforts to include people in an enviting way. Because of that, I'm happy to let my sno-park permits and licensing fees pay for trail maintenance instead of volunteering with TTF.

Clubs should invite everyone to participate and join, but I have heard mediocure comments from a number of different people (former and possibly future members) in regards to TTF.