Sonora, CA — Stanislaus National Forest got help from a 4×4 Club cleaning up to make the forest experience better for everyone. Mud Sweat & Gears 4×4 Club, a Cal4Wheel based off-road club out of Sonora, recently removed trash, a boat, and five vehicles over a few months time.
As a 4×4 club, the group frequently explores the vast network of forest roads that crisscross Tuolumne and Calaveras County. Unfortunately, they state they have observed a growing problem of individuals misusing the roads for illicit trash disposal. They shares, “Every time we go out, we consistently discover new trash piles, in addition to revisiting familiar ones that have been present for years. Although the forest service oversees this land, it is ultimately a public resource. It is OUR collective land, OUR shared backyard. Nobody desires to witness trash and filth scattered throughout our backyard.”
The Mud Sweat & Gears Club named the project “Don’t Trash the Stan” and it began in April, with the help of the Solid Waste division of Tuolumne County Public Works. Club officer Cody Kryznel organized several agencies, companies and five to seven club members for each of the projects. The first project took two days with the group going into various areas with utility trailers and hauling out trash from 20 known dump sites throughout the Mi Wuk district of the Stanislaus National Forest. The estimate was approximately 35 cubic yards of trash was removed, as well as a 16-foot boat.
The group got authorization from the CHP who ran vehicle vin numbers for six vehicles the group was hoping to recover. One came back as stolen and had to be left alone for the investigation to proceed. The other five that were hauled out had clear titles.
The first vehicle removed was a 1999 Ford Taurus by the American Fire Lookout Tower. The vehicle had no wheels, and no studs on the hubs to mount wheels, and was one of the trickiest to recover. It took two winches to turn it around and an old square body hood as a sled to assist in dragging it two miles to where it was winched onto a flatbed trailer. It was delivered to R&S Metals.
The second vehicle was a 2002 Grand Cherokee sitting upside down for at least 6 months down the Old Buchanan Mine Trail. The week
prior to the recovery, a few club members flipped it over and got it running briefly. The recovery was expected to take all day, due to the location, down a severely rutted and steep 4WD Trail, but due to what was described as “an outstanding crew” it was out by lunch time. Two other factors also helped in the recovery; a key that was found that unlocked the steering column, allowing it to be steered out and Rob at RKP Marine & Auto who was thanked for loaning a set of wheels.
Abandoned vehicle three was described as easy, and a “little ranger” that had been sitting out for at least a year.
Unlike the Jeep from the weekend prior, this one was sitting on flat and level ground about 1/4 mile from Italian Bar Rd, so no 4WD was necessary. They used some old wheels and tires donated from a club member to act as rollers for the rear, and put a dolly up front. It was out of the woods and down to Sonora by lunch time.
The truck, heavily stripped and vandalized over its two-year stay on Grant Ridge, was towed with the front wheels on the ground due to a missing rear axle. Due to the steering linkages being disconnected, both front wheels moved independently and that had to be fixed with the use of several ratchet straps. With a strap on each steering knuckle forced into a straight ahead position it was able to be towed roughly 9 miles to the drop off location. Dylan White was thanked for donating a wheel the truck only had one. O’Reilly Auto Parts in Soulsbyville was also thanked for donating lug nuts for the wheels.
The front wheels were put on the rear, it was winched into position with the front end on the dolly, and towed out about a mile or two to the drop off location for a tow truck.
