I think its become too rough for pilots out at Kitzmiller, its much better for quads and bikes with kids or no kids, so what do you guys think about relocating the ECJ to some place else maybe even actually get some pilots out there.

I think we could do Pottsville by either hide away camping by the 901 or hit the Tevorton spot mikd has been to, from the sounds of it Tevorton sounds like the hot lick. It really be nice to get some real runs in and have a spot to play. There is a ride camp up near Pottsville RAC land, we could camp and ride out of, i just need to hook up with a couple old friends and get the low down.

What do you guys think and when?

I would vote for a PA spot. The MD ride gets costly for fuel and the time for traveling can sometimes be a killer. IMO the new spot needs to be legal. I can ride at home illegally.

What is the deal with the raucsh trail rider, tower city, (something along that name) group? I think they are an exit of two south of the 901 exit. They have camping etc. Unless reading anthracite will grant permission for a weekend of camping.

the hot lick would be the reading spot with camping on land that butts up to it, it shouldn't be too hard. or just camp somewhere unless they kick us out, and i have spots where that's unlikely. this can evolve until the date of our choosing

raush creek is better but not by much they are basically the same area they just split it to maximise profits. Not sure how much Raush creek is but tower city is too much $$$, $400. to join, $50. per day to ride but only if you have a sponsering member, too many rules and not great riding, it used to be good before it became a pay spot, but now its toast, they cut all the trees down, trails a rutted and beaten, 5 mph rule in a lot of spots and no place to go. We will actually ride right near there but will stay off their stuff

Sounds good to me..I there a lake or swimming hole near?? New spot closer to home means I can spent more money on Beer..Maybe we will save MD. for the summer jam..

I am all for a 2.5 hour ride versus a 5.5 hour ride. However, in order to compete with the Wolfs Den, I echo Mark's and Richies comments; 1) needs to be "legal" or as legal as we can get, 2) needs to be reasonably priced, 3) needs to be near a clean (i.e. swimmable/fishable) lake or river, 4) needs to be relatively unmolested, 5) needs to be safe/secure from those up to no good (theives, vandals, a$$holes, etc).

I'm willing to give it a go for the spring trip and I like the idea of the mid-summer run out to MD.

Pnut

i had no intent of stopping or changing wolfs den but maybe that's a good idea, the weather is always a bit worse in Western Maryland maybe spring in PA, summer in West MD would work better

Let's keep this year's Spring (April 15-17) ECJ Ride in MD. If a killer PA spot becomes available between now and then we can decide if we want to change venues. We can always book a pre-ECJ ride in PA sometime in Mid-March.

I would be able to travel a few hours this year to ride with other Pilots. I just can't do the last minute thing.

I've had good luck with Trevorton for anyone that's interested in the place. Our last ride this past fall we camped out for the weekend, there were rv's and toyhaulers, as well as us "tenters". The terrain is varried and the trails are plenty wide for the pilots. Several large lakes within a 10 minute ride from where we camped although I have no idea how good they are for fishing. It's a fun low-key place to ride.
mike

Mike - sounds cool, can you provide more details? Like; is it an "official" ATV park? Pricing? Do they allow Pilots/Odys (most don't)? Large trail system? ect...

tevorton is RAC land too, so with the $125. permit that you can only get from the company in person in Pottsville M-F 8:30 to 3:30.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV0IYiwCmcA

Tevorton would probably be better for a group camp thing. Unless the new camp spot is cool with me bringing 20 close friends.


I also have another place we could do that has a MX track and a bunch of woods, its call Rocket Raceway (Three Springs, PA) and it has everything but a lake/river set up. I sure i could get Mark to let us hold a ride there, probably be like $50-100 for the weekend.

I'm down with that - can we set up a mid-march thing?

Like Hare stated above, you can get the permit for 125 and be completely legal. this is what I do as I bring my kids out there and don't want any issues. I buy the permits but I admitt that I have never found anyone to show it to?? this is not an organized ride park, just thousands of acres of existing trails, sand washes, coal slag hills, logging roads, etc. I always bring a GPS, it's that big of a place. if your tow rig has decent ground clearance you can even camp at one of the lakes, there are some cool spots. we chose to stay across the street from the "flats" parking area last time as there are fewer campers and less noise due to the more "challenging" entrance, low range is a good idea. did see one fifth wheel toyhauler down by us but he had a lifted diesel Dodge to get it in and out, pretty much a requirement if you're gonna try to "wheel" with a trailer that size. I'll link a sat pic of the ride area from google. if you googlemap Trevorton PA you can match up it up to the map in my pic and zoom in to see different riding areas. the white line was Saturdays 40-50 mile ride and the red line was Sunday's 'rally raid" type run. it was a good time.
Mike

Wow - looks great. I'm pumped to check it out....

way cool! I think it be smart to pre run this on motorcycles prior to heading up there for the first time with a large crowd, we can pick our exact camp spot and give exact directions.

I like the idea of being a little away from the action but it needs to be big motorhome friendly too.

Are there stores around there? most importantly fuel, liquor and ice?

I love it when a plan comes together.

If you search for trevorton with google satelite(or your favorite 3d imaging system) and then zoom out a little bit ,it looks like some crazy terrain!It looks like a glacier went through there about two years ago.

I gotta get a friggin bike!

Zoom in with google earth then trace out the trails you think you see, upload the file to your GPS use it to guide you when you ride.

Hare - Let's pick a weekend in March (5th, 12th or 19th) to head out to pick up permits and then continue to trevorton to explore on bikes...

Here are the RA rules...

Permits give you permission to be on Reading Anthracite Company's properties, excluding those area where there is active mining or any other working facilities or any posted properties from sunrise to sunset. Permission is granted for recreational activities, excluding any overnight camping, dumping, swimming or any organized events such as races or parties. Permit holders may not have any type of fire on Reading Anthracite Company property. The use of alcohol and drugs on Reading Anthracite Company property is strictly prohibited.

March is going to be a hard month but we will secure a date.

as for the rules if we were around pottsville i would worry but the rules don't apply out there too much yet

Count me in on your plans, and Hare send me a date when you want to bike recon the area.

I think those rules are for legal protection. there are motorhomes with huge campfires right at the entrance to the flats in plain view of a main road. doesn't mean it's "allowed" but it is normal or commonplace on just about any weekend during the year. the majority of the trails are plenty wide enough for buggy's, won't need to use a bike for scouting unless of course you just want to. bring a GPS, I can't stress this enough it's a large area. While I have been there many times I do not feel that I "know" my way around. I can find many of the cool spots, crator lake, sand wash, caol hill, whaleback, etc but it takes me a while usually with a few wrong turns. as far as stores for beer/gas/food, no problem it's only about 3 miles to the town of Trevorton from the parking area. one cool spot is "coal hill" it's man made and so high that you can see the entire town from the top of it. search on youtube for coal hill and you'll find some unreal video's of people attempting to climb some of the hills.

So the deal is check out this spot if it works for us ECJ there????Or are we keeping MD for the 4/15/11 weekend? I am down for anything..A change will do us good.. What Passes are $125..

the "passes" are for the rac property, it's hundreds of thousands of acres of riding. I think Tamaqua alone is 47k acres! Since I found this area I really don't go too many other places, no need to. I've ridin Tamaqua, StClair, and Trevorton so far.
Mike

watch that linked video! the camera does no justice to the hills! you get that "nutz in your throat" feeling when you think about trying to ride them, trust me it's that crazy! I've done some of the smaller ones in the rzr and they seem HUGE once you commit to them! the guy's that make it have a lot $$ tied up in machines specifically set up for that environment. great fun to watch after trail ridng for a few hours. Coal hill is about 10 minutes from where we camp so it's a great end of day before beer/bbq thing to just hang out and watch the "crazy's".
Mike