It has been an interesting time on the Ridge Route. So far, the monthly trips on the road have been quite productive. Over the weekend of January 18-19, I took a couple of trips up to the Ridge Route. On Saturday, I went by myself and took my motorcycle over the road as far as Reservoir Summit. It felt good to be back up on the Ridge. I used to spend many days up there just getting away from things. The road is quite peaceful and relaxing. Being able to stop anywhere to take photos was also nice. Few roadways of this caliber allow for this sort of privilege. Visibility was also good that day, which made for some nice photography.
Sunday, I took another trip over the road from Castaic to Gorman with a friend. We took his car which, despite some clearance issues, made it over the road with little problem. I hope that, in light of these trips demonstrating the ability for various vehicles to traverse the roadway, that the USFS will open the roadway sooner than later.
I was pleased to see that the road was holding up well, within the gates. I did find a few more culverts that were in need of clearing near the site of the largest 2005 landslide. Those will be dealt with later this year. Outside of the gates, particularly on the northern end between the Liebre Maintenance Station and Sandberg is a real mess to say the least. Some of the sections can be easily dealt with using a broom and a shovel. The parts that are more heavily damaged will be a lot tougher to deal with. Those sections, comprised of the 1920’s asphalt, are disintegrating and are in need of new asphalt to hold things together. We will be talking to the Forest Service on ways to do this.
I love old highways and byways keep up the great work I hope and pray that old road can be open all the way and down from the split of the old 99 and I 5 like was still back in 1922 to now I love old us highways maps picksher and so on
The place you mention where you can see the three Ridge Routes is just south of Swedes Cut. I look forward to the day that a key isn’t needed to access the road and is something we are working on.
fantastic that you are able to enjoy the road again. Yes it is peaceful to drive on the road as a slow pace and just enjoy the beauty of the country. One place i remember is where you are able to look at 99, 5, while standing on the original road. Pretty neat. Used to take mom and dad on the drive to look at wild flowers and just enjoy the quiet and beauty.
Great work, keep up the good pictures and more. I live in Winnemucca NV now, going on 11 years here but lived in CA for years and spent around the Gorman, Tejon, etc. areas ‘back in the day’ and love to see that country. Keep it up!