Still too many [mod edit] people with quads, 4x4s?

[4X4]

Originally Posted by troutman

1) On the prairie the yahoos won't be tearing up sensitive areas. The noise won't disturb people, plants and wildlife.

2) What is the big deal about driving around in mud? Explain it to me. I think people can explain why skateboarding, softball, hunting and x-country skiing is fun. Is it about the machines? How does mud enhance the driving experience? Is it a challenge?

3) I've never seen a softball diamond in K-Country. Have you? I've seen golf courses, and I'm not crazy about that.

1) I didn't know the prairies were any less sensitive or valuable. But driving around on the prairie would be as boring as driving your porche across Saskatchewan instead of through a windy mountain pass.

2) It's just.....fun. I just enjoy it. It's a series of mini challenges. Can you make it through the next pit? Can you tackle that hill? It's like a video game but enjoyed outside. You get dirty. You explore. You find places that most people never find.

3) Golf courses are an even better example. Thanks. I'll start using that in my arguments (even though I'm an avid golfer).

[Boblobla]

I just get frustrated because generally this is only in the news for 2 days a year, the Tuesday and Wednesday after May long...

I like your suggestions 4x4. I camp in waiporous 3 or 4 times a year for the last 5 or 6 years and like you said, other than the trails the land is not being driven on. I love the area and I don't go there to 4x4. It is far enough away from the city that, other than the one weekend, you don't get the normal highschool rampant mental ######ation.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by troutman

1) On the prairie the yahoos won't be tearing up sensitive areas. The noise won't disturb people, plants and wildlife.

2) What is the big deal about driving around in mud? Explain it to me. I think people can explain why skateboarding, softball, hunting and x-country skiing is fun. Is it about the machines? How does mud enhance the driving experience? Is it a challenge?

3) I've never seen a softball diamond in K-Country. Have you? I've seen golf courses, and I'm not crazy about that.

The enjoyment of driving through mud has a lot to do with the thrill of getting dirty. Some people love it, some people are indifferent to it, some people hate it.

I've 4X4'd a number of times at Waiporous, McLean Creek, Indian Graves, etc and I can see both sides. I've seen people out with thier families just looking to camp and enjoy time together and I've also seen drunken idiots tear apart trees to create a 15 foot tall fire to ultimate fight each other around and drive their quads through.

The concept of it's only a few that give a bad name to the group is kinda BS when it comes to the places mentioned. Overtime there has been less and less families and responsible people and more and more idiots. McLean creek has a connotation with visitors as that kind of 'fun' and it attracts more of them and repels the responsible people away, especially as more sensitive areas such as Waiporous get closed for the weekend. That all being said this is a million times more resonsible for the environment to concentrate all those people in one place to avoid free-for-all destruction if all of them spread out and decided to camp/4x4 in random pieces of remote wilderness. Yeah McLean creek gets trashed, but many other places are spared the wrath because of it.

[troutman]

Thanks, I understand better now. I guess I'm okay with it, and I'd like to see 4X4's suggestions implemented.

What worries me, is these vehicles are creeping in to more pristine areas. I hesitate to mention where I see it happening.

[FireFly]

I'm so glad I'm blessed to have a family that owns excellent 4x4ing land. The best part is that WE decide who gets in and who doesn't and so we control the destruction or lack thereof. When it's the property of someone you know, you tend to take better care of it. Also, there's never so many people on the land it isn't controlled.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

Yeah McLean creek gets trashed, but many other places are spared the wrath because of it.

Never even thought about that. Great point. But it still sucks that I have to rub shoulders with morons to enjoy one of my hobbies.

The party area is just pathetic. Literally full of 17,18,19,20, y/o's just getting drunk and fighting each other. But I was that age once, too. And the need to get out of town for a weekend after a long winter is appealing to people of all ages. Like Cowboy said, if does save other areas from mass destruction.

It's just so unfortunate that Mclean Creek is synonomous with drunken idiocy. The area me and Ford were talking about before is night and day different than the party area. Our area is 95% quadders and 4x4s and dirtbikes with a sprinkle of friends and family just there to hang out.
Rarely any problems save the odd dummy that has a couple too many and decides to ride his machine into a tree.

On the other hand, the party area is just that: a massive party in the bush. It's like going to a kiddie bar with dollar drinks compared to an evening lounge. But they're lumped the same. Nobody confuses The Met with The Back Alley.

I guess I'm being a hypocrite though, I'm lumping all the people in the party area the same. Which also isn't fair. There were alot of responsible people in there as well that stayed and helped to clean up other peoples' garbage.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by 4X4

There were at least a thousand people in there. Again, if Husky Oil and/or preservation officers wanted us to stay out, it's pretty easy to put up a sign and a gate.

Not to be a dick, but there was a sign, and a gate, and a lock, THAT GOT CUT OFF 6 TIMES.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Not to be a dick, but there was a sign, and a gate, and a lock, THAT GOT CUT OFF 6 TIMES.

There are two entrances about 100 feet apart. The one that was locked was the road. The one that was unlocked is the 4x4 gauntlet. This is code for: not a party area, 4x4s only.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Not from the article I read.
From what I read, there were a lot of people 4x4ing on private land.

Just because you need a 4x4 to get into some place doesn't mean you are allowed to go into that place.

Either way, the point is that there are a bunch of jerks who are ruining it for everyone, and there's a chance they're gonna have to do something drastic like banning booze, or 4x4ing all together.

Is it fair? Not at all.
Is it necessary? It might be, if the people involved in the sport can't police themselves and get rid of the bad apples.

I think you've made some pretty good suggestions, but limiting access to 4x4's doesn't really solve the problem.

It keeps people who are legitimately there to camp and have a good time out, and it does nothing to stop the jerks who also have 4x4s.

It's a bad situation, and some people are gonna get screwed (Likely you), but if morons keep screwing around like this, then there are going to be some harsh consequences.