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Southern California Trails
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Black Star Canyon - #BlackStarCanyon
Socal - Orange County - Orange NickNames: #BlackStarCanyon
Take Santiago Cyn Rd. east from Orange and turn onto Silverado Cyn. Rd. Make an immediate left onto Black Star Cyn. Rd. Go about 1 mile and park on the side of the road near the gate. Thomas Guide page 832
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- Trail UpdateAnother Nice Hike-Myself, brother, nephew and my husbands friend who brought along his labrador went hiking over the summer on a Saturday about 8:00am. We each had a packpack with a half gallon of water which was just enough. We went along the same shaded path except this time we decided to go up the switchbacks for a more intense workout.
The only crappy part was a white or silver car kept driving up and down the road really fast...it was full of teenage looking boys and they kept yelling at us as they drove by- "make sure you keep that dog on that leash!!!!!" It was kinda immature but we just waved and kept going.
By the way kudos to the bike riders who go up that switchback, it's intense! Once we got to the top we ate our lunch and enjoyed the beautiful view then headed back home. To our suprise there were quite a few taranchulas (sp?)on the main road up to the switchbacks. =)
This time as we approached the switchbacks, there was an older man with a white beard doing some kind of construction work on the left where all of the cylinders are. We said "hello" as we passed and he said something about my friends dog and said " THIS IS MY PROPERY AND I HAVE TO KEEP MY DOG ON A DANG LEASH AND IT AINT RIGHT, SO YOU ALL HAVE TO KEEP YOUR DOG ON A LEASH TOO." =/
(Mind you the sweet dog we had with us was on a leash the whole time)
On the right theres a property with a cute outdoor area- firepit, minature golf course and a stream. And there were a bunch of teenage boys there swinging from a rope over the stream.....I figured it was the ones yelling at us about the dog.
Your probably going to encounter to locals so just ignore them and mind your business. =)
quailgirl a 29 year old from Yorba LindaPosted:02/24/2011
- Trail UpdateGreat Hike-Got to the gate around 4pm on Sat. We walked the blacktop until it ended and turned to dirt. We hung a right and headed up the trail. The only people we saw were couples hiking. It was about 100 degrees so bring water. The shade from the trees made it good. It was beautiful. The only thing that caught my attention was the barbed wire covered electric fence that covers each side of the trail for the first half mile in....weird. and an open clearing with a square brick well in the middle surrounded by the fence?? Hmm whatever so we kept going and jogged for a bit. We passed 2 little bridges with dried streams. By the looks of our map we were only a few hundred feet from the bus. We turned around and totally enjoyed the hike back. I saw no bad people or anything and I don't believe in ghosts. We brought 2 9mm in our backpacks and a hunting knife and machete ONLY in case we were attacked by mountain lion...or dumb people. I'm not worried about art or bill. I think we might bring them a gift card for food and make peace so that he knows us and gets used to us being there. And go during the day people gzzz!! Hanging out in any woods at night is creepy. Please leave only a carbon footprint and respect this area. Gonna try to hike to the falls next time! Bless.
quailgirl a 27 year old from yorba lindaPosted:08/30/2009
- Trail UpdateCold Ride To Beaks(sp?)-Rode Sunday 3-15-09 and it was cold, clear, and beautiful. Air was very clean and lots of people riding to the big white ball. Now is a good time to do it before it gets hot.
xs11 a Old Enough year old Weekend WarriorPosted:03/17/2009
- Trail Update좃까-씨발, 여기 절라 제미없어.
Posted:05/15/2007
- Trail Updateanyone know if the coal mine is filled in or is there still remnants of it?
Posted:05/13/2007
- Trail UpdateBlackstar Bill-Lived on Stans property before he owned it, back then a guy named Jones had the cabin and 40 acres, and another Guy named Krugger had the 40 acres further up the canyon, Blackstar Bill was a squatter on the Krugger property, Blackstar Bill was forced off and Stan bought both properties, now he ownes the cabin and 80 acres
Posted:05/11/2007
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Bill-where did he live?
Posted:05/11/2007
- Trail UpdateYes-that is the Tuttle property, behind the private property sign, Art stays in one of those trailers.The land to the right with the golf course is Stan's
Posted:05/10/2007
- Trail UpdateTuttle To The Left?-you mean amongst all those old and rusting trailers and trucks behind the private property sign? its looks uninhabitable in there
Posted:05/09/2007
- Trail UpdateThats Not Tuttle-Tuttle drives a Ford 150 and lives to the left as your going up Black Star RD , Stan lives to the right just before you start up the switch backs, and drives a Dodge Ram 4x4, single cab
Posted:05/09/2007
- Trail UpdateHmmm-according to wikipedia black star canyon was home to a satanic cult in the 1980's. wonder how legit that is.
Posted:05/06/2007
- Trail UpdateMight Not Be The Bus-I sent a link to the picture of the bus to my buddy who had climbed down to look at the bus in the ravine and he didn't think it was the same bus either. We were going to take the picture of the bus that is on-line with us the next time we went and determine for sure if it was or wasn't.
I was just talking to my brother who has hiked black star canyon several times and he says that Tuttle has always seemed like a nice guy to him. Amazing how many people have met this guy.
Hidden Ranch is now owned by a kind of conservancy group:
http://www.conservationbankingusa.com/
Apparently they have bought the land with the idea of selling portions of it as wild space to developers who use the wild space to offset the requirements for wild space on their properties.Posted:04/17/2007
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Canyon Sites !-hey! has anyone in here ever been to the old indian village, the old coal mine, or the hidden waterfall? i know its all on private property but im pretty sure someone has ventured out.
Posted:04/16/2007
- Trail UpdateYa The Bus...-yes thats the picture i was talking about. but i dont know if you noticed the bus in the ditch has tires on it, that one in the pic does not. must be a different one. cant imagine why 2 buses would be in black star tho....
yes tuttle lives in the house with the golf course. look out for the peacocks running amok! i have yet to see a white ford f-150, just the dodge ram with the new front end regular cab. headin out there on thursday for a hike. hopefully no run ins
Posted:04/16/2007
- Trail UpdateBus Picture-This might be the site that has the picture of the bus:
http://blackstarcanyon.blogspot.com/
Here's a link to a story about Beek's place that somebody might be interested in
http://home.earthlink.net/~nordstromlandscapes/id19.html
As to the mixup on the pickup brand, I talked to my buddy and he was sure it was a Ford. I'm sure now that I saw Tuttle based on the description from his arrest record earlier in this thread.
I don't know where Tuttle lives. Does he live in the large house with the small miniature golf layout in front of it?
davefocPosted:04/15/2007
- Trail UpdateThe Bus-i believe the bus used to on road, but has since been turned over and thrown into the canyon bottom. there is a picture of it somewhere on the web but i can't find it right now
Posted:04/15/2007
- Trail UpdateTuttle?-i was hiking black star canyon today. i hike it every so often and i sometimes see a man in a white DODGE RAM single cab drive through the trail to the house right before the trail starts climbing. i always assume this is tuttle, although i never get a good look at the driver. so i assume you saw tuttle, just got the mixup on the make and model of the truck. i think he has a daughter, we saw a young woman with black hair walking around the house during the hike.
the road is a public easement, and you can hike on it, but you cannot go off the trail. stay on the trail and you won't have any problems with tuttle.
Posted:04/15/2007
- Trail UpdateMet The Old Coot, Maybe?-We had a nice ride up black star canyon this Easter Sunday. Stopped on the way down and looked around Hidden Ranch. Curious, a capped off old well, some clearly non-native plants, various other signs that people had lived there, but almost nothing remains of the housing. What was Hidden Ranch?
We developed a theory that it had been some sort of church campground with trailers and that it had been abandoned after a school bus bringing kids down went off the cliff. So we decided to check the old overturned school bus that is off the road a little bit below hidden ranch.
While my buddy was down investigating the bus an old guy comes by in a newish white Ford pickup and starts yelling at my buddy that this land is his and that he has to get off the land immediately. He tells me the road is a private road and permission is granted to use it subject to people following the rules. Then he asks how would we like it if people went climbing on our private property. My reaction, was that if I owned an old overturned school bus lying at the bottom of a ravine I wouldn't be all that unhappy if people wanted to look at it, but ok. I asked him if he'd mind answering a question and he said he wouldn't answer any questions.
So that was the end of our encounter with the old guy of black star canyon. By coincidence we met a guy near beeks that had had a similar encounter. But was it the Art Tuttle referred to in the prior posts? This guy looked to be about 60 with a long, scraggly brown and gray beard. He was of average height and build. There was a passenger in the truck. He looked to be about 14 years old.
I found this picture on the internet of hidden ranch in 1966:
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/affiliates/images/csta/kt6v19p65d/webfullsize/11479331.jpg
Looks like our theory about trailers wasn't right and the tie-in to the school bus was probably bogus also. Anybody know the story of why there's a school bus off the road?
davefoc a 57 year old Weekend Warrior riding a kona cinder cone from fullertonPosted:04/08/2007
- Trail UpdateTh Godfather-heatedcrystal@hotmail.com is e-mail
Posted:08/21/2006
- Trail UpdateHey-i have been to black star and there is more than meets the eye. There is a story that is behind this place and it is in histor books. please write me to get the info. late
Posted:08/21/2006
- Trail UpdateHaha-man blackstar is overated all these highschool kids were talking bout it one day so me and a few friends went up there at like 11:00p.m we went into the road where it says blackstar rv park and then after u drive down a while the road splits into two one where it ends in a dead end and the other that says no trespasing..we drove up there and at the end there's a house...but before the house there's another split in the dirt road that goes up even higher into the mountain but the gate was closed so i parked the car and we started hiking up the mountain. when we got up there we saw like little trailer homes and then i guess someone had dogs up there and they weren't tied to a fence or anything. We got chased all the way back down and we left.
Pissed off that we didn't get to see any of the ghosts or whatever we went up there again but this time we instead of going into the blackstar rv park we just went straight on silverado...there's liek a church that's half underground and a little town right next to the road...then we saw a green shed where it said no entering and the windows were all painted over. one of my friends tried to break the door open but he said the whole thing smelled like piss and dead stuff so we left. there's like caves to the left of the shed too dunno if i'm gonna adventure into there though haha
Posted:07/12/2006
- Trail UpdateART's An ASS-Look, the fact is Art Tuttle has been harrassing people for years who are doing absolutely nothing to bother him. He was abusing his right to protect his property by threatening and lying to anyone who had a legal right to be on that fireroad. He lied about what property was his, he lied about who he was, he made threats, he purposely drove too fast or too close to riders with his truck risking a fatal accident. He is an idiot and a moron and he got what he deserved! Would you like it if everyone threatened you and lied about where you could and could'nt go?
mintzebra a 36 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a XC904, Bullit, Blur from Orange CountyPosted:04/30/2006
- Trail UpdateArt Has Only Been Arrested Once-Art has only been arrested once and that was completly un just it was her word against his. She lied
Posted:04/26/2006
- Trail UpdateWTF...-In reference to post #171; What the hell did you just say? Is that English? I really hope your post is a joke and that you don't speak like what you attempted to write.
Posted:04/11/2006
- Trail UpdateBlack Star-I just got from there.. we made are way up there with me and some buddies.. Mexican & Togans and one puerto rican guy... we were going up hill we had passed santiago rode by the freeways wen 2 can pass the car we were in and the suberban my other buddies were in.. they were going reall fat about more than 65mph
and wen we looked inside it was an old white ladie and we though how could an old ladie (like in her 70^)
be driving that fast so late... well we kept going untill hit made the left to black star... after we pulled in we go off the car and some of us had to go.. while every one was doing there thing .. my friend fabian was still in his suberban... so i snock up on him and planted my hands and the side of my face on his window .. hahaha it scared the shit out of him... every one laughed .. as we got back in the cars we drove off and kept going towards black star... we arrived at the entrance *black star rv park* we were gonna go in untill the guys in the suberban turned around and started to leave once we saw them we were gone too.. w puled up next to each other.. and at that moment a fukin Cop scares the SHit out of us... and i start to yell in side the car lol... then we race off, but the guys in the suberban stay were like WTF? they tak to the cop he was white and scary looking.. kinda creepy to be alone by them selves epecially in black star, well we started to head out and we were goingabout average speed of 25-35 mph and the cop pulls us over sayin we were going too slow when do u get pulled over for going too slow??? but how did the cop get from all the way by the gate to were we got to irvine lake?? how did he just reaper.. out of noe where.. then after he said every thing looked good he took off very fast once we saw him going down the cannoyn we followed but didnt see him or his truck.. so that freaked us out really bad... and i might of not gone in where it said private property but that shit was scary enough ... and alough the cop stoped us ... how did he know where we were at? b4 he stoped us and after?? pretty scary dont u think? ..well we look forward to go back again hopefully next time we dont get pulled over and something more scary and xciteing happens! peace out ppl.. Ranch M.O.B.
Rancho a 17 year old RacerPosted:04/11/2006
- Trail UpdateTruth?-How about updating your blog with explanations of Art's multiple felony arrests and why he feels a need to pull guns on people who are doing nothing illegal.
EJPosted:04/08/2006
- Trail UpdateI Put Down The Wrong Url-the Url for the previous message was wrong the real one is Blackstarcanyon.blogspot.com
davysanPosted:04/05/2006
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Truth-this is a blog that tells the truth about Black Star and Arthur Tuttle from the point of view of his friend and his son.
Davysan a 17 year old Downhiller riding a GT from Santa Ana URL: Black Star blogPosted:04/05/2006
- Trail UpdateOK the bus on the side was from a field trip along time ago. the bus turned over. BUT the weird thing is everyone in the bus died. ANd all the bodies were found outside
blue_dude949Posted:03/25/2006
- Trail Updateword up
Posted:03/22/2006
- Trail UpdateJill-The cops will go where there is a problem in Blackstar. Even though it's a rural area there has been so much trouble over the years they will be there usually in a few minutes. Don't fool yourself. There was a few problems with some gang banger types a while back, but I haven't heard of them being back.Anybody that travels along Blackstar is being watched. It's a fairly safe fireroad though.There are a alot more fireroads that I would consider much worse.
If you stay on the fireroad you are not trespassing, if you go off it, somebody will call the police. You will not get far on private property. Respect other peoples property as you'd like them to respect yours.It's far more fun to bike it, then to hike it.
Pain Freak
Posted:03/08/2006
- Trail UpdateBStar-Hello, I've always driven up to Blackstar with some friends (I live in Orange), but always been too scared to go hiking. The one time we got out of the car at night, there were two cars full of young Latino guys. It was dark and they asked us if we were white. We said "sort of", and they started to get out of the car and come towards us. We ran the f*** out of there.
Anyways, I would really like to visit Blackstar and see the good sites. I don't know which rumors are true and which are false. Bus? Church? Fires? Art Tuttle? Normally we take Blackstar road, all the way down, past the turnoff for the trailer park, to the gate. Where should we go from here to see the good sites? Is all of this legal? I have seen cops up there a lot, and I'm not really sure what areas we're allowed to go on, and which are private property. I would ideally like to avoid confrontation with the police, but honestly I doubt they're going to hike into the wilderness to arrest some kids, so it's not THAT important. Anyways, thanks for helping me.
Jill
a 18 year old Cross-Country RiderPosted:03/08/2006
- Trail UpdateHidden Ranch-Just got an e-mail from a local resident of the Canyon. Some wildlife conservancy bought Hidden Ranch and is working towards destroying all traces of the ranch. (A.K.A. returning the land to its natural state). If it were not for the need for the fire road I am sure that they would ban all mountain biking too
teotwaki@yahoo.com a 52 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Speciaized Enduro from huntington beachPosted:01/31/2006
- Trail UpdateLion Cub On The Road-Went up to Beek's this afternoon. Descended about 3 o'clock-ish. As I was descending on the stretch prior to where the the ranch used to be I saw a cub haulin butt down the road ahead of me. Then it jumped into the bushes. I kept my speed up in case Mom was around.
I had a pretty good look at it and it was not a lynx, feral house cat or similar. Great ride and good temps.
teotwaki@yahoo.com a 52 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Specialized Enduro from Huntington BeachPosted:01/29/2006
- Trail UpdateHair Pin-i took this trail awhile back and it got to be pretty overgrown about a mile in so i turned back.Just for clarification,the turn is the one right when the climb starts?Just after you pass that nice house on youre right on the way up?This is in respose to post #137
boonespale a 34 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a iron horse from Fullerton,CaPosted:01/29/2006
- Trail UpdateThe Star-Saw no sign of mountain lions either,but damn this road is in great shape.I hit 34 mph on the sraight away just after hidden ranch (which has been bulldozed)any info as to why?
boonespale a 34 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Iron Horse G-spot,and Iron horse mk III team from Fullerton,caPosted:01/09/2006
- Trail UpdateDon't Skd On The Motorway-Good hardpack all of the way up and even most of the way across Divide Road to the Motorway. I didn't see any scary mountain lion tracks. The Silverado Motorway was in realy good condition and will stay that way if it doesn't get any skidiots on it.
Notorious MTB a 42 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a rigid 2:1 singlespeed Posted:11/18/2005
- Trail UpdateUhhmmm, Ride With Caution...-But just wanted to let everyone know I was out hiking, checking out Blackstar trail conditions for future bike riding on Saturday 9-17-05 and found mountain lion tracks. One set of big tracks, one set of small tracks so probably a mother and cub. (I grew up with a Dad who often took me hunting in very remote areas so I'm very used to this kind of stuff. And for the record I never shot anything--whoops sorry I missed it Dad! :))
This was at the end of the straight part of the road right before what I think is some call the "hair pin turn" and there is a fireroad off to the left closed off by a gate. Facing the gate off to the left are lots of green trees/plants. Tracks were pretty much nearby the gate. Lots of mule deer tracks around there too (favorite food of mountain lions). All these tracks were very fresh looking. Not good.
I think this fireroad is the same one somebody else posted (15 year old from OC I think) wondering where this went to. Not that I would know or anything... :) ... but looks like it might wind around and lead off back further into the canyon more toward the Irvine Lake direction side maybe (judging by my map), runs along a very pretty creek for a bit. In my opinion it is very dangerous back there, too much thick brush and steep banks that are higher than the trail, perfect Mountain lion hunting habitat and you wouldn't be able to see it coming until it's too late...considering a mountain lion can leap 30 to 40 feet on flat ground in one just one leap and about 15 feet or so straight up, trails such as this are not very safe especially since both lion and deer track are already near by. I would stay on the paved road.
Sorry don't mean to alarm anyone but awareness and knowledge is power!
Ride safe!
Sistercin a 43 year old Weekend Warrior riding a embarrassing from CAPosted:09/23/2005
- Trail UpdateNice Day At Black Star-Rode it Tuesday morning at 7:30 and had a very nice time. There was a guy with a white pickup that we saw 2x and he was very considerate; pulled over to let us by and again when we were on our way out. All communications were friendly and the ride was great - not too hot at that time of the morning.
Trail is in good shape on the first half (base to Hidden Ranch) and fair shape on the 2nd half towards Beeks.
Didn't get eaten by a mountain lion, so all in all a great day.Posted:08/26/2005
- Trail UpdateSide Trail-Does anyone know where the single track trail goes that heads off the fire road by the sharp hair pin turn? i think it might go to the falls but not sure.
Matt a 15 year old Racer from OCPosted:08/14/2005
- Trail UpdateTrail Updates-Way too much emphasis is being made about one person out at Blackstar.
Blackstar is a great ride up and down; and a great starter for some phenomenal loops through the Santa Ana's; and it's completely open to the public. Just stay off the private properties on either side of the fire road and you are riding perfectly legally.
Just get out and enjoy this trail and don't worry about Art or anyone who tries telling you different.
JamR a 50 year old Posted:08/12/2005
- Trail UpdateArt-Doesnt Art own land out there?
a Racer riding a Fisher Tasajra from Orange CountyPosted:08/12/2005
- Trail UpdateArt-Art Tuttle is a SQUATTER! With the exception on medevil England, squatters have no rights. He should pay for his existence like the rest of us.
Joeschmo a 35 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Gary Fisher Big Sur from OrangePosted:08/11/2005
- Trail UpdateArt-Sounds like Art has some reason to be pissed, and I'm sure there are a fair amount of morons using that area (as evidenced by the mass of broken bottles graffiti up at Beeks Place).
But there's a right way and a wrong way to deal with these situations. There are a lot of legal and proper avenues to take in dealing with these situations.
Also, when you choose to live in semi-remote areas; you make a conscious decision to put yourself at an elevated risk of the types of actions he has experienced at the hands of some idiots.
When I had my cabin in a remote area, I knew for certain that a few times per year it would be broken into and someone would be camping there without my permission. I accepted it and dealt with the trespassing as part of the inevitable until I decided it was no longer worth my effort. But it was solely my choice and my decision how much inconvenience I was willing to put up with.
It does not take a genius to figure out that if you have an idiot who wants to drive out to somewhere to pop-off a few rounds from his new toy; he isn't going to drive through Coto De Caza to shoot out some windows. He's heading out to a remote area to look for some targets.
Periodically I lose windows to golf balls, but I don't harass the golfers or the golf course. Art just needs to deal with his "Choice" of residence and the risks of living there in a legal fashion. Approaching bikers riding on Blackstar is not acceptable in any form unless the bikers are on his property, or on a non-public trail behind his property.
In defense of Art however, I will say that there are enough bikers who stray from the public road and use the back trails that probably give him the impression that bikers are a problem group. But he needs to deal with those individual riders if he finds them on the closed trails; and should not hassle "anyone" who is using the "Legal" public fire road.
I don’t know if I’ve ever met Art back there; but so far all of the locals I’ve encountered have been pretty courteous. Most of the morons I’ve personally encountered out there have been people driving up to Beeks or Main Divide to party and doing stupid destructive things because they’re obviously bored, and have no appreciation for the area.
JamR a 49 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a a few bikes from Capo Posted:04/19/2005
- Trail UpdateWell, I'm betting that neither of us were there and don't know the whole story.
Posted:04/19/2005
- Trail UpdateI never said you did, did I? So I supposed the woman Art pulled a gun on recently was up to no good and that's why the cops threw Art in jail.
EJ a 42 year oldPosted:04/18/2005
- Trail UpdateI never said that, did I?
Posted:04/18/2005
- Trail UpdateSorry to hear that nutcase is out of jail. Does he think mountain bikers are shooting out his windows and breaking into his house?
EJ a 42 year oldPosted:04/18/2005
- Trail UpdateArt Tuttle-Well, I have met Art three times in the last couple of weeks and all I can say is I think I would be pissed too if I were him. For every one of us that rides out there and respects the rights of the people who live in Blackstar there are others that act like morons and cause damage to other peoples property. Art has had his place broken into multiple times, had his windows shot out and had many of his things stolen. If you are out their riding and acting like normal people he won't bother you. If you see Art maybe take the time to say hi. He's not that bad.
CPATCRASH a 47 year old from TustinPosted:04/18/2005
- Trail UpdateBlackstar/Motorway Loop-Parked at the junction of Blackstar/Silverado. Blackstar to Main Divide is dried up now, and fast. Main Divide to Motorway is also in similar condition, just one puddle to be found. Motorway seemed a bit more sketchy than usual, loose conditions and tons of death cookies. Really fun descent, be careful of a few trail erosions here and there (easy to ride around). The creek at the bottom has receded, easy to cross hopping on rocks. Not one person encountered the whole ride until hitting the road back to the car.
Ezyrider2 riding a spot from da beachPosted:04/15/2005
- Trail UpdateBlack Star To Beeks Place-Great day to ride! Perfect temperature, slight breeze, no bugs . . . I can't figure out why more people aren't riding!!! The road was almost completely dry.
Ride rating: Novice
Truck Trail=100%
a 42 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Specialized Stump from FullertonPosted:03/26/2005
- Trail UpdateTrail Conditions-Two of us rode up the trail today and a dozer was used to repair all of the sections where slides had come down over the last few rains. The trail was in really good condition and after passing the residents with shotguns, haunted church, two child sacrificing cults and an old bus loaded with bodies at 2 miles we had a great ride to Beek's place on a well maintained trail. I don't think there is a way to see the Black Star falls without trespassing.
Ride rating: Advanced
Ride distance: 17 miles Elevation change: 2500?
Dirt Road=100%
a 39 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Specialized M2 Stumpjumper from costa mesaPosted:03/03/2005
- Trail UpdateGreat Run-I've never done a run here before, but thought I'd explore. It was very pretty and lots of water was leaking from the mountains. I could even see two waterfalls simply from the fire road, falling off of precipices that have probably been dry for years!
I ran from the gate up to Beeks place. It took 58 minutes up and 54 minutes down. I'm glad I felt good or it wouldn't have been such a nice run.
Is there a way to get to a view of Black Star Falls from the fireroad? I could tell the spot where the Falls must be, by where those banded cliffs suddenly appear not far below Hidden Ranch. -thanksPosted:02/26/2005
- Trail UpdateTrail's In Great Shape-Rode Blackstar/Motorway this am, and both trails are in great shape.
one short section of rocks near the bottom of motorway that was a little tricky this morning with the rain; numb fingers and rim breaks that don't work well with water.
But all in all a great ride.
Did hear some gun shots behind me down by Hidden Ranch once I reached Beeks Place.
JamR a 49 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a A few bikes from CapoPosted:02/06/2005
- Trail Update.-is art back now ?
Posted:02/06/2005
- Trail UpdateMaybe it was a homecoming party for Art Tuttle?
a Cross-Country RiderPosted:02/05/2005
- Trail UpdateI Saw-i saw fires in the distance and like a type of gang or cult with people just standing around the fire about 100 yards into the distance and was freaked so i turned back.
Posted:02/05/2005
- Trail UpdateThe old bus is within the 1st 2 miles past the gate. It's in the ravine on the left next to a big tree while the mountain face will be on your right.
Truck Trail=100%Posted:01/22/2005
- Trail Update"QUESTIONs!!!"-Ok, so, I'v read a lot of shit on this page, and havn't found what i'm looking for. If you turn on Silverado Canyon Road, and go about maybe 3-4 miles, you'll see a house on the left side of the road that looks as if it's been burned down. It's all brown, and it's clearly an old farm. It's been said that it's was Charle's Manson's house, or someone related to him. Although i don't believe it, i'm extremely curious as to who lived there, and what the farm's history is. It's interestingly creepy, and i want to know more.
My girlfriends and I went there this weekend, and went inside. We found nooses' (spelling?), and bones, and other weird shit!!!
Anyways, please write back to me, and let me know if you know anything. I'm dieing to know about it!!!
lauren a 19 year old Die-hard EnthusiastPosted:01/18/2005
- Trail UpdateNew Years Day Blackstar-Well it was muddy from recent rains and received a good
beating from push extra pounds of mud on the tires and bike.
Also got a good case of Chain Suck in the small ring. Went
with 3 other riders. On the way back down I ripped through
one puddle and went ass-over the handle bars when my
front end went in and stopped and the rest of me did not! The
water was cold and deep and I have a renewed appreciation
of mud of wich I had forgotten since my "Dirt Clod War" days
as a kid. The other guys laughed and I had to also - it was a
hell of a lot of fun!
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 18 Elevation change:
Dirt Road=y%
Kwikfile a Weekend WarriorPosted:01/01/2005
- Trail UpdateNeed Info-hi, i dont live to far from black star... garden grove if you know were that is but my sister and a couple of friends went up there saying that they saw fires up in the distance...also how do you get to the old bus? thank you.
Posted:01/01/2005
- Trail UpdateTake Blackstar to Tuttle's place. Seeing he's hanging with Bubba these days (be gentle bubba), suggest you grab a beer from the fridge, hit the sofa and watch me hucking huge on OLN (assuming he has a dish).
Huck'o'rama a Weekend Warrior riding a hot pink low riderPosted:12/16/2004
- Trail UpdateBlackstar-Motorway-From the parking place at the start of Silverado Canyon Rd up Blackstart, over to Motorway, then back down to the start is about 25 miles.
MPx3 a Weekend Warrior riding a bamboo beautyPosted:12/16/2004
- Trail UpdateGood Route-When you get to the top, turn right and take the main divide many miles to the Silverado Motorway trailhead..its single track and drops about 1,800 ft. in 3 miles. At the bottom you will be on Silverado Canyon Rd....take a leisurely cruise down hill on the road to the turn off for Blackstar and back to your car. It's a great ride. Not sure of the total mileage.
EJPosted:12/15/2004
- Trail UpdateFire Road?-I rode Black Star after the recent rains. Besides the heavy mud at the bottom and near the ranch the trail was in decent shape. What is a good loop ride once you get to the top of the road? The road to the top was a good workout but fairly eventless.
a 32 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a KHS from OCPosted:12/15/2004
- Trail UpdateFire Road?-I rode Black Star after the recent rains. Besides the heavy mud at the bottom and near the ranch the trail was in decent shape. What is a good loop ride once you get to the top of the road? The road to the top was a good workout but fairly eventless.
a 32 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a KHS from OCPosted:12/15/2004
- Trail UpdateWow!-now since tuttle is out of the picture there is nothing to fear in black star canyon anymore. except the ghost and spirits if you believe they are out there.
Posted:12/08/2004
- Trail UpdateThank you sir!!!!
Posted:11/29/2004
- Trail UpdateThank You-Officer Demarest, we really appreciate all your efforts to make it safe out there for the public at large.Outside of Mr. Tuttle and his threats,I don't believe there's ever really been much of a problem up there for us mountain bikers.We are all aware of the other illegal activities that have occured there and are grateful that you and you associates are doing a great job.
Pain Freak riding a Surly Turner from The 909Posted:11/28/2004
- Trail UpdateBlackstar Cyn. Law Enforcement-To answer the first question you may be thinking....yes, Law Enforcement DOES monitor these websites. I would first like to introduce myself, I am Officer Demarest a Law Enforcement Officer assigned to the Cleveland National Forest L.E.&I Office (Law Enforcement and Investigations) In Corona California. I patrol the Blackstar Canyon area and the rest of the Trabuco Ranger District with several other recently aquired officers. First, I would like to quell a few rumors. The Tuttle arrest: Myself and additional USFS Officers along with several Orange County Sheriff's deputies did arrest Art Tuttle for brandishing a firearm at a hiker in Blackstar CYN. He currently resides in the O.C. jail. Use of the road: The Forest Service has an easment on Blackstar CYN road all the way to Beeks which means that the road is a public roadway (subject to California motor vehicle laws). The main road and the surrounding Cleveland National Forest are there for the lawful enjoyment of anyone who choses to be there. The private land off of the road is well, private. Stay off of it. Unlawful activity to include but not limited to: illegal hunting, vandalism, illegal firearms(ie-maching guns)possession, drug activity, gang activity, assaults, illegal off road vehicles and general bad behavior will not be tolerated and delt with swiftly, by arrest and prosecution. Uniformed Officers patrol in marked vehicles and in plain clothes as hikers, bikers, hunters etc. for your safety. Please contact our office to report unauthorized activity or for further info. The address is Cleveland National Forest, L.E.&I 1147 East 6th Street Corona CA 92879. the 24 Hour emergency dispatch number for the Cleveland N.F. is 619-557-5262. My desk number is 951-736-1811. Enjoy the national Forest and be safe. Please note, *most mobile phones do not work in the canyon area*.
Officer Demarest a Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Ford Expedition Police Package from U.S.F.S Law Enforcement .usPosted:11/28/2004
- Trail UpdateJohn-we got an update on art yet? what exactly happened? is he goin to jail? if so for how long?
Posted:11/27/2004
- Trail UpdateThanks for the info Mark!!
abmtnbkr a Weekend Warrior riding a Giant NRS 3 from OrangePosted:11/18/2004
- Trail UpdateBLACK STAR CANYON.... THE NAME BRINGS A FEAR INTO THE EYES OF THOSE WHO KNOW ABOUT IT. "WHO THE HELL IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT TO GO THERE?" "I'M NOT GONNA RISK MY LIFE GOING TO A CREEPED OUT PLACE LIKE THAT." WELL FOLKS.....I HAVE MADE PLANS TO START EMBARKING ON A WEEKEND EXPEDITION IN BLACK STAR CANYON. I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS VERY CAREFULLY. THE PEOPLE WHO I CURRENTLY HAVE TAGGING ALONG WITH ME ARE A WILY BUNCH INDEED. I HAVE A BUNCH RANGING FROM DRUGGED OUT TWEAKERS TO LUNATICS THAT CAN SNAP WHEN PUT INTO AN AWFUL SITUATION. WE WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH MODERN MILITARY EQUIPMENT. FOR PROTECTION WE HAVE LICENSED NRA MEMBERS. WE WILL CAMP OUT AT THE OLD CAMPGROUND FOR THE NIGHT AND IF NEED BE..THE WHOLE WEEKEND. IF ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND ON THIS SPECIAL EXPEDITION OF BRAVERY AND ADVENTURE OR FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT: celtic_yankee87@yahoo.com OH AND WE WILL GET THE OK FROM THE FOREST SERVICE AND THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FOR OUR EXPEDITION...IT WILL BE COMPLETELY LEGAL AS IT IS JUST A "CAMP TRIP".
Ride rating: Expert
Nate a 17 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Bianchi from Central OCPosted:11/16/2004
- Trail UpdateSee Ya Art!-OK folks for all who want to know exactly what happened last Saturday.... I have some info. My buddy Jim and I arrived at about 11:30 AM. We ran into an older lady who was walking her dog. She stopped us and told us that some guy with a beard pulled a gun on her up the trail. We said - That sounds like Art. Don't worry about that guy. A couple women walked up behind us, overheard what the lady said, and did a quick about-face out of Blackstar. The older lady asked us what she should do, and we said well... if he bothered you, call the Sheriff.
We went about our ride & saw Art and another guy standing in a yard off to the right. I guess that's his neighbor. They said nothing to us and we made sure to be as quiet as possible. But they watched us all the way up the first switch back.
When we got to Beek's place, a Sherrif's helicopter fly directly over us a couple times but we didn't think anything of it. They flew right over us again on our way down.
We took our time visiting Beek's place and Sierra peak. On the way back, we passed up some workers who had been trimming the bushes along side the road near Art's place. We didn't see Art though.
A bit further down the trail where it turns back into a paved road, we noticed a white truck parked there - completely open. We figured maybe it was the worker's truck. We continued down the paved road to about a half mile away from the gate where we were PULLED OVER by the helicopter. They told us to stop and wait. After a few minutes, they let us continue.
When we got to the gate, we noticed a red hummer parked right behind it, and a whole bunch of Sheriffs, Forestry Service, fire department folks. IN fact if you want to see a picture of that, go here: http://www.warrick.net/sierra_peak_ride/pages/PB060048.htm. We also noticed the guys dressed up in the SWAT gear walking around looking for something. There must have been at least 20 cars there. We tried to ask what was going on, but the police told us to get lost in a hurry.
We packed up and left as quickly as possible. On the way out, we were pulled over again - this time by Sherrif's investigators who were quite nice to us actually. They asked us how our ride was and whether we had notice anything strange. We said - yeah, apparently Art had another confrontation with a hiker. The investigator wanted to know how we knew the Art's name and we said well.. type his name in on the Internet. You'll find a few websites (like this one) where people talk about the guy.
Ride rating: Novice
Ride distance: 23 Elevation change:
Mark a 32 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose Rockadile ALD from Santa Ana, CA URL: http://www.warrick.netPosted:11/08/2004
- Trail Updateno but I saw the ghost of xmas past up there. boo.
Posted:11/08/2004
- Trail UpdateGhost Cop-Has anyone heard of a legendary ghost cop at Black Star Canyon?
Posted:11/08/2004
- Trail UpdateSNAP-Inmate Name:
Tuttle, Arthur Burt
Booking Number:
2219891
Date of Birth:
04-28-1949
Sex: Male
Race: White
Height: 6' 00
Weight: 210 lbs.
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Blue
Occupation:
CONSTRUCTI
Next Appearance Date:
11-09-2004
Next Appearance Court:
CENTRAL JUSTICE CENTER
Housing Location:
Central Mens Jail; Module F
Custody Status:
In Custody
Bail Amount:
$50,000.00
Arrested on:
11-06-2004 at 15:15
Case Summary - 1 Case:
BK
11-06-04
PC 245(A)(2)
CENTRAL JUSTICE CENTER
Booked on: 11-06-2004 at 17:34
Bail Amount: $50,000.00
Jurisdiction: CENTRAL JUSTICE CENTER
Arresting Agency: ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF
Number of Charges: 1
01
Felony
PC
245(A)(2)
ASLT W/FIREARM ON PERS
Posted:11/07/2004
- Trail UpdateJesus....How many times has this guy been arrested? Is he mental? He's going to hurt someone if he already hasn't
abmtnbkrPosted:11/07/2004
- Trail UpdateTuttle Gets BUSTED-Blackstar Canyon- Yes, it's true, no rumors, he's in jail. Just check the OC Sheriff's website arrest log!
He is in jail on $50,000 bail for felony assault with a gun. I don't know the specifics, like if he shot at someone or made a threat with a gun, but either way he went too far. Maybe this time around they can finally put him in his place. I guess it's a little safer in Blackstar Canyon, at least for a little while.
Jeff Tice a 34 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Santa Cruz Blur or Bullit from Lake ForestPosted:11/07/2004
- Trail UpdateThey arested Art Tuttle on Sat, it was a 4 hour stand off
Posted:11/07/2004
- Trail UpdateBSC-My wife and I road up to the radio towers on 11-6-04. When we returned to the gate at 12:30 there were 8 sheriff cars blocking the road. One of the sheriffs was suiting up in body armour and pulled out an assualt type rifle. Another sheriff asked us if we saw a white pick-up truck and or a man with a long beard. The sheriffs then suggested we may want to pack up quickly and leave the area asap. Does anybody know what happened or has anybody heard anything?
Posted:11/07/2004
- Trail UpdateWasn't-your grandfather in local politics?I do remember that house and all the people.I mostly remember seeing the two monkeys in the tree.
Pain Freak riding a Surly Turner from The 909Posted:10/13/2004
- Trail UpdateMY MEMORIES OF BLACK STAR CANYON-What an interesting web site I have stumbled upon. My grandfather Al Ulrich lived in Black Star Canyon in the late 50's and early 60's. It is probably about 5 or 6 miles from the gate. He lived a short distance before the Tuttle house. I remember visiting the Tuttle's and they were very nice people. I am sure it must be their grandkids that live there now. It was such a fun place to visit every week end. My grandfater had 1 main house which was the huge kitchen and 4 bungalow's with beds where his company (and he had lots of it) slept. He also had a large room with a bar, player piano and old style record player. We loved playing in that room. It later burned down. My grandfather was a real character. He had every animal you can think of. Goats, pigs, chickens, fox, not very friendly monkey's that lived in the tree and a whole menagarie. I do remember one time they killed a goat and a chicken. I don't remember eating the goat but we did have the chicken. I thought it was kind of disgusting at the time. We use to hike the trail back up the mountain where there was along bar with bar stools and a large mirror on the wall, picnic bench and natural spring. It was so beautiful. My grandfather took in homeless families and always had people living there. I think one family that stayed there for some time had about 6 children. There was alot of gun target practice and there were bear's and bob cat's not to mention rattle snakes. the bear hides was displayed on the side of the old wooden building. The foundations to the buildings are probably still there. It was so much fun for all of my family. I don't remember a church because I know we went to a house in town to attend mass at that time. I was about 10 years old then and have pictures and lovely memories. I don't remember hearing about any hauntings. My aunt owned the property and just recently sold it to a big developer. I will have to take a ride up there before they ruin the beautiful scenry for development. If anyone remembers my grandfather please let me know.
Cathy Ulrich Mclean a 50 year oldPosted:10/13/2004
- Trail UpdateNo Bs Here-I just wanted to say thanks for the emails...im sure i will have a great time. Last week I was all ready to go and my car wouldnt start. That sucked. Once my car is up and running I will try again. I plan on taking pictures. I will post a link to see them if anyone would be interested. By The Way - Mambla not Nambla is a nick name my dad gave me when i was younger (my name is Amanda)...get it? God some people can be so immature!
Amanda a 20 year oldPosted:10/05/2004
- Trail UpdateNo F-in Demons-I went up there around 10:30 yesterday because i thought it would be fun to see some hauntings. I went to the chapel church first and started talking to this guy who had a reddish beard and a ponytail, we started getting into the gospels til about 11 when my friends arrived. I said bye to Art and he said a nice goodbye and me and my friends had a nice leisurly walk about 6 miles into the canyon and back. Some falling down cliffs and running into barbed wire fences to hide from the cops, but that was about it. Those damn animals scared the shit out of me though
The highlight of the night was walking down the quiet dark road and then all of a sudden a car started reving its engine and squealled away. And we flashed a mag light on someones sex sesh and saw the "O shit" look on there face. haha. Overall the trail is harmless.
We ended up getting back to the cars (which were parked by i guess the water factory) at around 2:30-3 Am
Ride distance: 6 miles Elevation change:Posted:09/30/2004
- Trail UpdateHotmail free accounts are now (use to be 2 Mb) 250 Mb. That's all!
Shoot me an "E" at Chainsaw AT socaltrailriders DOT com or Chainsaw AT Hotmail DOT com
Posted by JoeTruth on 09-29-04Responses: (1) Post Reply
CrzyRidr5Posted:09/29/2004
- Trail UpdateBus-Yes, there is a bus inside the ditch on the left side of the road. Yes, it is old.
Shell Answer ManPosted:09/29/2004
- Trail UpdateBus Crash-i just went to black star canyon today with my friends to check it out. While we were hiking on the road we saw a bus inside a ditch to the left of us. It looked like and old bus . does anbody have any info on this?
a 17 year old from santa anaPosted:09/28/2004
- Trail UpdateHuh?-BS, Amanda, you're actually a 40 year old Arab male who has hairy ears. Is that e-mail address "nambla"?
GLTY.
BS SpotterPosted:09/28/2004
- Trail UpdateWondering-Hello. I am a 20 yr old female from OC who has been fascinted by Black Stay Canyon for about 5 years. I have decided that one day/night this week I will venture up to Black Star Canyon. I am looking for some tips on what to go look at. I plan to take my camera. I want to see these houses you speak of. I also remember something about an old Indian site.....can u tell me where that is? Also I wonder as to the location of this Juvinille Camp. Please dont try to discourage me from going as I am moving out of state soon for college and really want to see and take some pictures. Also any scenic sites would be appreciated.
Amanda a 20 year old from Orange CountyPosted:09/28/2004
- Trail UpdateSKULLMAKER-Hi, yes, we did park at the gate and hiked in from there... Never ran into anyone. Like I said, we did see the OCSD Bronco several times which was nice. I wish I could say we caught something strange on film or tape, but, like I said it was a pleasant walk. URL: Ghost Magazine
Posted:09/27/2004
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Parties...-Back in the mid-70's early 80's Black Star Canyon was the place to party.
We used to 4 wheel, ride dirt bikes, smoke dope, drink beer, camp, hunt, shoot guns, it was a great place.
Too bad all of the yuppie scum liberal eco-nazis messed it all up.
Posted:09/18/2004
- Trail UpdateMoon Struck On Black Starr-Well, once again, I was the only soul out there soaking up a little
moonshine.Out of the truck a little before 7 PM and off up the canyon.
Chatted a little with one of the locals that was up the hill a bit
working on water bars or some such thing. Friendly fellow, but I
had to get on my way so I said my good bys and continued up the
road.The sound of live music could be heard most of the way up the
fireroad. It was loud and clear as I passed Hidden Ranch.
Somebody was throwing a birthday party for Michelle at Baker
Ranch, and it sounded like a good time, just based on the decibel
level.Moon rose over the ridge of Main Divide long about 7:30 or so.
Bright enough to ride the road without using the lights. But
nervous at noises in the darkness off the side of the road (chicken
sh#t!), I certainly turned the lights on in the darker stretches,
using my helmet light to search for eye shine in the darkness. I
stopped and turned the lights into the hillside at one rather large
sounding critter, as it huffed off into the night, but never did see
what it was. Close encounter with....?At one point, just past the cattle grate uphill from Hidden Ranch,
a large owl took an interest in me and kept circling
over my head, again and again. I'd shine my light on him and he'd
split for a moment, then return to check me out. Last time I saw
him he was sitting on a road marker, and took off as I
approached, not to be seen again, bored with the human
interloper.Reached Main Divide about 8:30, quarter of. Not a blistering pace,
but with a sore knee for the past week, respectable enough.
Soaked in the sights of So Cal, the cities all lit up light Christmas
or something; the doppler glistening in the light of the moon; felt
a slight but warm Santa Ana on my skin; sounds of wilderness in
the night; after some time spent soaking it all in, saddled up and
headed back down.Let the stories keep lesser men away! The peace and solitude of
Black Starr at night is always welcome.
Bobrsta a 49 year old riding a off into the darkness from Aliso viejoPosted:08/28/2004
- Trail UpdateSoldier Expidition Through Black-a militia is forming that will be made to partol through Black star to investigate any suspiciose activity.This will be a rouge operation, all are going to be with prior service mostly Army and Marine corps background.A report will be to this message board after several months of traing have taken place. P.S. Black Star BILL you better not be around, I'm a Vet thats lost all his marbles. LOL
SGT. REDLIONS a 30 year old Die-hard Enthusiast from AnacrimePosted:08/28/2004
- Trail UpdateHey SKULLMAKER-i noticed you said you parked at 9 pm and hiked around for 6 hours, where did you park? right next to the gate or farther back down the road a bit near the church?
Posted:08/15/2004
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Canyon-isn't there an abandoned town or abandoned indian village or somethin real far into black star canyon somewhere?
Posted:08/15/2004
- Trail UpdateSkullmaker-After reading all the warnings, scary stories, etc... I decided to go to the canyon last night. I produce a ghost hunting magazine (www.beyondinvestigation.com)and wanted to see if I could get anything documented on film, tape or digital media. Three of us arrived at the gate around 9pm. Parked both of our vehicles to the right side of the road. Grabbed our equipment and started down the trail. Yes, the "private road" chalked on the path is there. We walked taking pictures, video and audio tape. We spent almost 6 hrs hiking on the trail. Yes we saw the "yellers" house and the false signs. Other than that folks, all we saw was wilderness. We were never yelled at, shot at, attacked, threatened, warned, or had any "evil curses" placed on us. It looked like a billion stars were visible and the weather was in the 70s, clear and almost no wind. As for the trail, if you plan on hiking or riding at night, I would strongly suggest a nice bright flashlite as the trail does have a lot of water errosion spots but nothing danerous. You may trip or your wheel could fall into one of the errosions and I'm sure it would cause the rider to fall, so do be careful.
As for getting anything (ghost, spirits, spooks, etc...) on any of our equipment, NOTHING... Not so much as a cold spot, orb, faint voice or mist. If it wasn't such a pretty night and nice wather for the walk, I would have called the hike a complete waste.
Enjoy the trail, do bring a flashlite or helmet lite for you bike riders. We were glad we brought sodas in the plastic 1 liter bottles (please make sure you take your trash with you) and an energy bar or candybar would have been nice.
We did see the OCSD drive up a few times which made the hike that much more pleasant knowing those men and women are on the job keeping the area safe.
So, forget the ghost stories, the "yeller" stories, the "cult" stories. I'm sure there were others there and probably smoking pot or having a beer or two, but if they were there, they never bothered us. As for the squaters, evidently the OCSD has made several sweeps making it an unpleasant enviroment for those people. My guess is, they are no longer there, we never saw any.
URL: Ghost MagazinePosted:08/15/2004
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Mystery-Back in 1986 eight mountain bikers never returned from a day ride in B.S.C. The riders were ever found. Some local riders say at night sometimes you can here a faint voice yelling " The Fullerton Loop is for wimps and loosers who cant climb. Ride a real trail"
Posted:08/13/2004
- Trail UpdateSorry... make that "Canyon Watch"! I always forget what the signs actually say. But you get the idea.
Posted:08/09/2004
- Trail UpdateFolks, one thing you'll sometimes see in the canyon area is our FireWatch group. Particularly during high risk times, we patrol all night. You will be able to tell a FireWatch car by signs on the doors of the cars. These are safe people who will not threaten you, and to whom you can turn if you need help. They have radio contact with a monitor who is listening in. They may drive up and check you out, but that's only because they are keeping an eye out for problems.
Posted:08/09/2004
- Trail UpdateFire-The CHP site is reporting that a fire broke out at 1:21 PM in Black Star Canyon.
Bender a 37 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a ellsworth ID from BuelltonPosted:08/09/2004
- Trail UpdateCrazy-hey guys, i live over in orange and have been going up to black star for several years now at night with my friends to poke around (no drugs or alcohol or anything) all these stories about evil locals are bogus, the only people i ever find up there are the cops, they monitor the gate constantly, if you look closely through the trees when going up there you will almost always see a squad car or SUV hiding somewhere. i have never had a run-in with tuttle or any crazed local. i do have one "scary" story, its probably just in my head though because the place is supposedly "haunted", but yah the canyon is harmless expect for the po-po
Posted:08/09/2004
- Trail UpdateHi guys, I am a resident of blackstar canyon , Blackstar bill has been gone for at least two years, Art is still there he has never been evicted that i know of, he does not live up there but goes up a lot, The people in the jeep and van are not residents , i dont know who they are...for more information on blackstar my e mail is : sabowen@hppcorp.com
Posted:07/28/2004
- Trail UpdateWell one of the nuts out there pulled a gun on an undercover cop and is now in jail :-)
I'm not sure who it is though.
Posted:07/28/2004
- Trail UpdateThanks... But-do you think it was bill or art or are they really evicted like i read on here?
Posted:07/28/2004
- Trail UpdateNext time get license plate numbers and call the Sheriff and ask them if they'd like to wait for the Sheriff to arrive to discuss the issue. They'll be out of there as fast as they arrived.
Posted:07/28/2004
- Trail UpdateAdding On-This is to add to that last post.... You may think im a resident trying to scare you. I'm really not. I say ride on, its a beautiful place. I was just hoping to get some info. So please, if you know, do post.
Posted:07/28/2004
- Trail UpdateScary Run In-I was with a few of my friends and we went up on Blackstar road. We weren't drinking, smoking, shooting or doing anything at all to cause mischeif. We simply went up because we heard it was haunted, and was just a beautiful place to see. When we got to the gate we crossed through and walked down about 200 yards down to the chalk letters saying "PRIVATE ROAD". It was about then we saw head lights up by our car. We ran back up just in time to see an Air Conditioning Van drive back away from us up the road. We then noticed shattered glass had been placed all around our car. We got in and then we saw another car (Jeep Wrangler) stop in the middle of the road and block our exit. He then pulled up next to us, opened his door and spoke "Get off my property." He then chased us in his car all the way back out to Silverado Canyon Road. Halfway up the road the Air Conditioning Van was sitting on the side of the road with the driver still in it. The man in the jeep looked anywhere from 20-35 yeard old, possibly with long blonde hair and there was a woman in the car with him. The man in the AC Van looked perhaps middle aged, with kind of a stocky build. Maybe you could tell me who they were and if me and my friends were in any kind of danger..
Posted:07/28/2004
- Trail UpdateNice Rides-There's some really cool stuff back there... mainly fire road.
When they lectured us... they followed us. Then we ran into more on horseback... it was like an army of "We're Better Than You Are."
In fact, one of my buddies kept replying to their "You're not allowed to be here," with "And you are?"
Fang Grebelski a 37 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Trek Fuel 90Posted:07/23/2004
- Trail UpdateWhat are the trails like on the Irvine Co land? Single track, fire road, how long, etc?
Posted:07/17/2004
- Trail UpdateWill this land ever be opened up? Who the heck knows. As of now, the Irvine Company still holds deed to the land and wants to give it to the county. The county doesn't want the land and doesn't have near enough resources to manage the land. The Forest Service is the next logical step but the Irvine Co isn't so happy with that idea so the whole thing is in limbo. Meanwhile down at the ranch, high and mighty blowhards calling themselves docents will lead you on a hand holding ride and lecture the crap out of you if they see you out there, because they have a God complex or think they own the land. I haven't figured out which yet but when you see 'em smile, flip them the bird and ride on. They can't do squat about it.
Posted:07/17/2004
- Trail UpdateThat's Right-You have to go past the gate - all the way up to the top of the ridge.
You can then hang a right for a real good workout and lots of fun.
If you turn left, you'll climb a short way up to Sierra Peak, and then a long drop will put you at a gate into the old Irvine Co. land that they "gave back" to the public. This is still closed - docent-led only rides.
Two buddies and I hopped the fence about 6 months ago. Beautiful riding back there! But we got stopped by some of the docents and lectured. I don't know if the plan is to ever open it up completely. If anyone knows, clue us in, because that is some fun riding.
Fang Grebelski a 37 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a 2001 Trek Fuel 90 from NPB, CAPosted:07/16/2004
- Trail UpdateHobobob, Turn right at the Main Divide, go for 8 more miles and then come down the Silverado Motorway. It makes a nice loop.
Spiderman a 45 year old Weekend Warrior riding a FSR xc Comp from Trabuco CanyonPosted:07/13/2004
- Trail UpdateHobobob-i have gone up to black star almost three times in the past week and was wodering if anyone knew any good places to go once you are up there. I have gone up the dirt road off to the side of the trailer park but half way up it there was a gate and i havent gone past that..any good suggestions
Posted:07/09/2004
- Trail UpdateOutstanding post!! Well written and captured my imagination. Thanks to author.
Posted:07/03/2004
- Trail UpdateFull Moon 7-1-2004-Wanting to catch some of the full moon, I didn't leave the parked
car until shortly after 7 PM Thursday. Not another biker to be
seen, but passed a couple of ladies walking a dog on Black Star
road outside the gate. Once inside the gate, climbed up out of my
seat, hammerin' away trying to keep pace with the setting sun.Kept at it this way pretty much all the way to the Main Divide.
Except for someone watering their little patch of heaven at Hidden
Ranch, not another soul to be seen. Once on main Divide, turned
north for just a few hundred yards to the concrete foundation on
the ridge that overlooks pretty much all of So Cal.Dismounted, got into character, positioned the iPod for some
tunes and just admired the view, waiting for the moon. While it
was a little hazy and as such I couldn't really see too far in the
haze, but the lights of nearby Corona and OC sparkled in the
gathering dusk. It was at once calming, inspirational, beautiful...Waiting, waiting for the full moon to rise. It had taken about an
hour 10 to get to main divide and the moon rise was supposed to
happen just a few minutes before 8 PM, but it was already 8:20,
and nothing. I was beginning to think the cosmos had conspired
to deprive me of my moon by making it come up so far south that
the ridge line of the Santa Ana's was going to keep it from
showing until way late... when a bright crescent began to appear
above a bowl in the ridge of Main Divide beyond the doppler golf
ball.Just incredible as that light of the darkening night began to make
its way higher up in the sky. As it raised itself, slowly,
majestically, above the ridge line, the light of it was reflected in
the joy that spread across my face. I can't explain, but I have
always been attracted to the wilderness at night and that shining
beacon of a full moon has a pull on me that I cannot ignore.The primal pull of that moon got stronger and there I was, in the
words of Van Morrison, dancing in the moonlight. No one there to
observe me in my foolish madness, but also at an age now where I
no longer care much what others think. Giving in to the primal,
tribal urges, I let myself go into the joyous trance of a primitive,
just feeling glad to be in this life. From awe struck kid, to hippie,
to father, husband, to seeker on the path of the warrior.... what a
long strange trip its been. It may all come to an end tomorrow,
but tonight, I am alive! ...guess I got a little far afield from a ride
description. SorryFinally, after some time basking in the primeval glow, I climbed
back aboard the chariot that brought me to this place and started
back down the Black Star fire road. Dark now, and freaking cold
for July 1st, I hurtled down towards the bottom of the canyon
wondering why I was carrying the useless dead weight of my
brakes, as they did not seem necessary over long stretches of the
road down. Sometimes when you get into a groove and time
seems to slow down... Reel it in, self, others are counting on you
getting to work in the morning.Got back to the car about 9:30, soul batteries charged for a few
more days of a more mundane existence. Live to ride.
Bobrsta a 49 year old Weekend Warrior riding a magic carpet ride from Aliso viejoPosted:07/03/2004
- Trail Updateyes but have you ever been there at night? i've been there during the day with no problems, but at night...
Posted:07/03/2004
- Trail UpdateGot A Point-I've been going up Blackstar Canyon since I was a little kid hunting varmits.EJ 's got a point.Quit posting that BS.My Dad and I went up that canyon on a weekly basis over forty years ago for close to a year hunting rabbits.I continued to hunt there till the mid 80's.The locals in those days ( 60's to the 80's ) used to appreciate us hunting the rabbits in those days.There were only four homes and the ranch in those earlier days.There is no "church".In the 70's lots of hippies used to head back there for parties,but there were never any "cults".Just a lot of people getting ripped.OC Sherriff closed it for awhile because of this problem and thats when some of the newer residents started to think it was a private road just open to residents.The parties stopped and the road had been re-opened but some like the Tuttles still believed it was their road.
Please don't proporgate these rumors and BS stories.
Pain Freak riding a Surly Turner from The 909Posted:06/27/2004
- Trail UpdateC'mon Stop Posting This Crap-Who are you? A resident trying to scare mt bikers away from Blackstar? No one believes your stupid stories, so stop wasting your time.
EJPosted:06/27/2004
- Trail Updateto add onto that last post, i was recently driving around blackstar canyon with some friends and a truck started following us and turning their fog lights on and off. us in the back ducked down, knowing of the rumor that there's dangerous cults out there. it was pretty scary...
Posted:06/26/2004
- Trail UpdateCults-are there really cults out in blackstar canyon? i heard that there are cults out there who torture and burn children, and on a clear night you can see their fires in the distance.
Posted:06/26/2004
- Trail UpdateIs Art Dead-I think he kept that church to him self because his dad owned it but then he got crazy because of his dad.I think he has somthing treasured under the church or somewhere around the church. I went up there and i saw Art digging and digging. He had a gun with him and he had a metal detector thing. I think theres something about that land of Arts that is really special. Really
Posted:06/19/2004
- Trail UpdateI can't imagine any reprecussion from phtographing trails and such, just because of that incident. It's not exactly a mysterious crime scene or anything. Business will more than likely go on as usual in Blackstar. No need to give joeshmoe a hard time. And joe, I would like to see those pictures, so once you get em up, drop a link. (Please report ANY strange or illegal activities in the area.) Thats funny. Everything that happens up in B-Star is strange and illegal.
tyrel a 19 year old Weekend Warrior riding a my sketchersPosted:06/19/2004
- Trail UpdateGCBY-Yeah, good call by you to head up into the canyon and poke around a couple days after the SWAT team had to take a guy out because he was firing on a local business and on police, wounding two officers....yeah, good call by you.
El Jefe a 34 year old riding a Santa Cruz V10 and Blur, Kona Stinky, and a SS Kona Cowan from Trabuco CanyonPosted:06/15/2004
- Trail UpdateBlackstar Canyon-I'm planning on taking this ride for the purpose of photographing the trail. I plan to get photos of the squatters and their homes so I will do my best to make them available to all who care to see them. I am not the type to be kind to people like this Art & Bill, but considering how my actions may effect other riders, I will be as cordial as possible. I'll post my experience next week. P.S. If you ride in Blackstar Canyon at night, you should be armed. I personally carry bear repellent. Even a schizophrenic on PCP wouldn't have a chance against that stuff. Over the years that canyon has become a favorite hangout for gangmembers and other losers. Please report ANY strange or illegal activities in the area.
joeschmo a 30 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Gary Fisher Big Sur from Orange, CaPosted:06/15/2004
- Trail UpdateAlso, there is a hare krishna church up that way, if thats what you're talking about Gina. I guess it could be considered Gothic style, although I wouldn't say so.
Posted:06/11/2004
- Trail UpdateBurned Alive?-My friends told me that not to long ago, a guy was burned alive while tied to a tree near silverado. It was maybe a year and a half or two years. I went to see myself, and there is indeed a burned stump where they claimed it happened, with evidence that gasoline might have been used. Is this true?
tyrelPosted:06/11/2004
- Trail UpdateGina...-...you were high.
I ride that weekly and have for years. There is nothing but a couple of ramshackle trailer homes and a few mangy dogs, all the way up to main divide.
The only building up there on a foundation is the ranch, but even that is questionable.
Posted:04/20/2004
- Trail UpdateThe Church...-It's Gina again...and I was up in the Canyaon not too long ago and there was a gothic style church up by Black Star..what's up with that?
Posted:04/20/2004
- Trail UpdateOops...-Hi Gina, look elsewhere for places to worship, honey, they ain't here no mo'.
Art was, and is a born again, even from his current jail cell for pulling a weapon on an off duty peace officer. He is Christian but really stupid.
Blackstar Bill, the kook extrodinare, was evicted from the canyon via the OC Marshall some years ago after his transgressions hit fevor pitch and his actions landed him in jail more times than my toes.
Yep, the canyon is pretty tame these days...
...except for the ghosts of the slaughtered at the Indian village. ;)
Posted:04/20/2004
- Trail UpdateA Little Confused?-Hey does anyone know the history and background and truth or myth about Black Star Bill, Art Tuttle...and the cultest church? What is the church called??
Gina from OCPosted:04/20/2004
- Trail UpdateA Little Confused?-Hey does anyone know the history and background and truth or myth about Black Star Bill, Art Tuttle...and the cultest church? What is the church called??
Gina from OCPosted:04/20/2004
- Trail UpdateA Little Confused?-Hey does anyone know the history and background and truth or myth about Black Star Bill, Art Tuttle...and the cultest church? What is the church called??
Gina from OCPosted:04/20/2004
- Trail UpdateJuvenile Detention Center-To answer Tyrel's other question:
Best way to get to the juvenile detention center that's over that way is to: a) be under 18. b) spray paint a bunch of cars right in front of the cop station. They'll send you there real quick.
Another way is to walk, ride or drive up Rose Canyon road.
Ride rating: Beginner
Ride distance: 1 miles Elevation change: 111
Paved Path=100%
Schmedley a 100 year oldPosted:03/18/2004
- Trail UpdateYou must mean the Trabuco Creek Road. See the Trail Head description for Trabuco Canyon or just read below.
Trabuco Canyon - Trabuco Canyon
Drive north on El Toro Rd. off I5 in Lake Forest, about 7+ miles. Take note of the battered old restaurant on the corner. Cooks Corner is the local hangout of mountain bikers, roadies, and Harley riders. At Cook's Corner, turn right on to Live Oak Canyon Rd. After you pass O'neill Park the road turns left on to Trabuco Canyon Rd. Look for the Trabuco Creek Rd. on your left. You can drive or ride the 4 to 5 miles to the Holy Jim Fire Station. (Note please travel slowly through the populated areas to keep the dusat and noise down) Thomas Guide page 863
Spiderman a 45 year old Weekend Warrior riding a FSR xc Comp from Trabuco CanyonPosted:03/18/2004
- Trail UpdateAnyone Know That Road?-whats the road called thats south of Cook corner. It's a dirt road of to the left after you cross over a bridge but before you come to the big hill. It's entirely dirt, and bvery rocky and bumpy. I've seen people off-roading alot there, and even done it myself. It leads to a volunteer firestation, and a little town. I need to know the name. Thanks guys.
P.S.Also, does anyone know how to get to the juvenille detention center thats over that way?
Tyrel a 19 year oldPosted:03/18/2004
- Trail UpdateAnyone Know That Road?-whats the road called thats south of Cook corner. It's a dirt road of to the left after you cross over a bridge but before you come to the big hill. It's entirely dirt, and bvery rocky and bumpy. I've seen people off-roading alot there, and even done it myself. It leads to a volunteer firestation, and a little town. I need to know the name. Thanks guys.
P.S.Also, does anyone know how to get to the juvenille detention center thats over that way?
Tyrel a 19 year oldPosted:03/18/2004
- Trail UpdateArt Et Al-Art hasn't been sued and puts rocks on the road all the way up to the ranch to try to "discourage" us from riding there.
The ranch has been a private inholding for years and with the family for about 100. Recently, the owners have put the land in a trust to be donated to the NROC at some point, moved out and stopped running cattle.
The people who live at the ranch are currently unknowns but one of the trucks looks to be that of the infamous Blackstar Bill. No run ins with people as of yet which tells me it isn't be don't push your luck.
Posted:12/07/2003
- Trail UpdateHidden Valley Folks?-Does anyone know if the people at hidden valley ranch are friendlier than Art et. al.? I took my first ride up the canyon yesterday and ran into art, who gave me the line about the road being private. I respectfully told him that the road was in fact public, and he went on to say how he didnt like bikers up there because they would hurt themselves, and how one guy sued him for not clearing the rocks on the road in front of his house. Can anyone verify this? I told him I was sorry to hear that and that I certainly wouldnt do anything like that, and he replied that he didn't believe me and drove off. He was very soft-spoken and even though his words were standoffish his tone was kind of resigned, so it seems that he knows he can't keep anyone out of there. Weird nonetheless. Oh yeah and how do the hidden valley people get to the ranch? Its quite a beautiful location up there.
Ride rating: Novice
OokieCookie a 23 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Rockhopper from Laguna HillsPosted:12/06/2003
- Trail UpdateFun Ride,,never Had A Problem-I have been riding this ride for 3 years, I haven't had any problems. I have never done a night ride there. A couple of the friends I ride with have had some bad experiences there, but that was before they cleaned everyone out about 6 years ago.
Posted:11/23/2003
- Trail UpdateRun-in With Art-Well a few friends and I went out there last night and arrived at around dusk. The old fellow I take to be Art (Old guy with a bushy brown-red beard, glasses, and fedora) seemed kind enough as we were arriving: "You don't plan on staying till after dark do you? It's dangerous out here after dark. And don't mistreat the animals."
After asking if strange stuff happens at night, he replied "All kinds of stuff, all kinds" and then drove off.
On our way back, however, he was just returning in that old white pickup of his and raised all kinds of hell. Seemed like a different person entirely.
"You kids don't listen well do you? I told you you're not allowed to be out here after dark. This is private property and we don't want you here!"
Other than that, it was a neat little ride on a windey old road, over some narrow bridges and through some Sleepy-Hollow-esque copses of trees. Relatively simple but fun.
Ride rating: Novice
Ride distance: ~7 miles Elevation change:
Singletrack=1% Dirt Road=70% Paved Path=10% Truck Trail=20%
Matt a 21 year old DownhillerPosted:08/16/2003
- Trail Updateactually i have been riding the trail since i was about 11 when it was illegal and onley live up the rode 4 miles past the school and i now him better then you will ever know...and he might be a born again christian well you should read his past or just here some stories from the preist of the old church up there..o that's my dad well buddy your in idiot...ride hard and safe blackstar soon will have a dirt track to
the gunuis as one guy called me riding a gt timberlinePosted:08/13/2003
- Trail UpdateActually, genius, Art is a born-again Christian and doesn't swear. He will tell you it is a private road by stating very clearly "PRIVATE ROAD" or give you the history of how his grandaddy built it.......but other than that he his harmless. Barring his smell, of course.
Tell Art I said "hi".
Posted:08/13/2003
- Trail UpdateNight Ride-update from last message....... im the punk lol he was yelling at us telling us he would show us who the boss is and he used some choice names for us and just like stupied kids we got him back on the way back throwing rock.. i have ridden there latley and it is a nice ride all around we rode straight up the fire rode and up the hill off to the left at the next gate.most of the noises were from the left hand side we rode for a good hour up the hill thinking we were making time and then back down i dont know the routes that well. but mr.t is a mean ass he has give me problems before but i dont let him get to me the trail all in all is pretty good cept a few ruts on the fire road and after that its pretty good but it looks like up the hill that drainge got to it and alot more rut's..easy climb good nights ride weird noiese but i dont know mutch about the history of the canyon.. smile at all the locals and STAY ON THE TRAIL TROUBLE OTHER WISE AT NIGHT
Ride distance: 10 Elevation change: pretty good
Singletrack=4% Dirt Road=8% Paved Path=6% Truck Trail=5%
chad riding a gt timberline from saPosted:08/13/2003
- Trail UpdateWhosthepunk?-in reading the last update... its good someone has been there recently... but your post has some conflicting statements. 1: who is the 14yr old Punk? -did you have a problem with some punk out there? 2: You rode at night? what was your route? 3: NEVER throw rocks... at anyone, much less someone's house. 4: Did you have trouble with Mr.T this time? Where did you hear these "strange" noises? I thought things had really improved in that area, so long as we stay on trail, never throw rocks, and have courtsy for everyone... the more angery someone is, the more courtsy we need to show. -Peace
Ride rating: Novice
Ride distance: as far as we can go Elevation change: many ups and downs
Mtnbikerman a 27 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a a desktop computer from Long BeachPosted:08/13/2003
- Trail Update14 Year Old Punk-Some of my freinds and i walked into blackstar last night not a good thing some would say..no loacals no freaks nothing...some weird noise's but if your going to ride at night stay on the trail and do not throw rocks at tuttles window he is one crazy ass i have been in the canyon on my gt hard tail and he has chased me out...CRAZY ass
but great ride im a local and your free to ride!
Ride rating: Advanced
Singletrack=6% Dirt Road=5% Paved Path=6% Truck Trail=3%
nate riding a my right and left foot from santa anaPosted:08/13/2003
- Trail UpdateReal Sad Story - From OC Registe-I hope these rapists gets assholed everyday in prison for the rest of their lives.
Thursday, August 7, 2003
2 guilty in canyon rapes
A third is convicted of kidnapping, assault in Black Star Canyon attack on two girls and their dates.
GUILTY: Convicted rapists Jesus Rene Green, left, and Erick Oswaldo Dominguez face multiple life terms at their sentencing Oct. 17.
By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI and BILL RAMS
The Orange County RegisterTwo men were convicted Wednesday in the brutal gang- rape of two teenage girls in remote Black Star Canyon, an attack that terrified residents and prompted police to increase patrols.
Erick Oswaldo Dominguez, 21, and Jesus Rene Green, 18, were found guilty of rape, molestation, assault with a deadly weapon and other felonies.
They face multiple life terms when they are sentenced Oct. 17.
A third man, Cuahutemoc Torres, 21, was found guilty of charges including assault and kidnapping. The jury was split on whether he was guilty of rape and sexual assault.
The girls, 13 and 15, had driven with their two dates to the deserted spot July 2, 2001, because they heard it was haunted. After a midnight stroll, they returned to find their car vandalized.
Deputy District Attorney Jeff Levy argued that the defendants pretended to help the couples, when in fact the defendants had vandalized the car. The trio struck the boys with their fists and softball- sized rocks, putting one boy in a coma. The girls were raped and then abandoned - bruised and naked - in the dark canyon.
Torres could be sentenced to 16 years. Prosecutors haven't decided whether to retry him on the sex charges.
Outside the courtroom, the aunt of the boy who was in a coma for six days said she and the boy's mother believe Torres should face life in prison.
"Me and my sister are not satisfied with the verdict," said the aunt, who declined to give her name because she said she feared for her safety.
Her nephew, she says, still undergoes therapy and won't speak about the attack. "(Torres) hit my nephew in the head and now (the victim) is scared of everything."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Register staff writer Larry Welborn contributed to this report.
Rydog a 28 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Motiv and LL Bean from South Orange CountyPosted:08/07/2003
- Trail UpdateSay "hi" to Art.....
He is harmless.
Posted:08/02/2003
- Trail UpdateCreepy Indeed-i was riding up the hill after the houses and i start hearing gun shots. i look across the canyon to my right and see some guy at a make-shift shooting range firing a gun.
Posted:08/02/2003
- Trail UpdateSeen Anything Creepy?-I've heard that the trail can be very creepy at night (Actually, I've heard numerous first-hand 'ghost' stories as well). Anyone had any creepy experiences riding the trail at night?
Matt a 21 year old Downhiller from Orange CountyPosted:08/02/2003
- Trail UpdateDistance-I believe it is about 7.5 miles, from gate to gate.
Pilas a 35 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Cannondale Hardtail from IrvinePosted:06/22/2003
- Trail UpdateBeeks And Back-anyone know, accurately, the distance from the gate leading into blackstar to beek's place?
Posted:06/22/2003
- Trail UpdateGAM-Get a Map! If you are coming from Black Star over to the Silverado Motorway, it is rollecoaster, but mostly uphill. It is a good grunt. At the bottom of the motorway, you are at the end of Silverado Canyon road. However, the small piece of road to get you back onto the paved road is closed to access because of toad love, I think until September. So you could do it as an up and back trip. If you have more questions, you might get better results by using the local SoCal message board.
kujo@home riding a big cup o' joe from a computer chair that needs replacingPosted:06/07/2003
- Trail Updateis main divide mostly uphill or downhill and does it take you to the silverado guard station or the end of silverado canyon road?
Posted:06/06/2003
- Trail UpdateGAL-I've heard that people posting on this message board aren't the brightest. Ever come in contact with that?
Posted:05/27/2003
- Trail Update?-i heard that there is white power and satanic rituals being held in that canyon? has anyone came in contact with that
Posted:05/27/2003
- Trail UpdateComplete BS-Tell Art Tuttle I said hi.
This guy is the clown that lives in the trailer on the left before you start to climb. The road is a public easment to the Nat'l Forest.
When you ride by his "ranch" he will yell "private road...". Just say "hello" and keep moving. If he decides to make any threats just call the cops. They know him well and he knows the trouble he can get into for being a pain in the azz.
From the Warrior's Society website:
The Tuttle’s also reside in Black Star and have been known to try to discourage people from using the road, too. Art Tuttle is 40 something, about 5’8", slight build with a reddish beard, glasses and a hat. His wife Clarisse is in her 30’s, about 5’5", rather matronly and also wears glasses. They’ve got two young boys and drive a tan Suburban. Art’s favorite line is actually a diatribe that includes how his grand daddy built the road, some obscure county rulings and ordinances, and how $60,000 damage was done by vandals to his possessions (after seeing his place, a person would have to wonder about that figure). Clarisse has been known to go on about how Mt. bikers wrecked Beek’s Place (yeah, and we left all our Busch cans up there, too). Understand that before the gate went up, lots of lowlifes cruised back there playing with guns and dumping trash, but that was many years ago. Now the only trash there belongs to Art and Bill, and it’s confined to their properties.Your chance of running into these people is slim and no matter what "lines" they use, remember: you have a right to use the road! Just be polite, bid everyone a good day, and continue on your way. If any one tries to block your passage- and you’re on the public road or trail- tell them that you will call the O.C. Sheriff. For obvious reason, it’s best to travel with a couple of buds and maybe a cell phone. Whatever you do, DON"T aggrivate the situation with an attitude and be sure you STAY ON THE ROAD!
Posted:05/04/2003
- Trail UpdateRoad Access-I was riding Black Star yesterday (4-3-03) and shortly after I came over the gate I was stopped by a land owner in the pick-up who said that the road was private (privately builded, owned, maintained). I think this guy was lying. Is Black Star canyon road indeed open to Mountain bikers and if so how do you fight against landowners that limit access to public roads? Thanks.
a Cross-Country RiderPosted:05/04/2003
- Trail UpdateBlack Star To Beeks-rode up sat 3/30 trail is in excellent shape..great ride!!!! the creek is running full strength and all the flowers are in bloom....not too many people..rode to the top and half way back before i ran into anyone! stay out of beeks area lots of broken glass!
Posted:03/31/2003
- Trail UpdateBlackstar To Silverado-Waited for a few days for the ground to dry out. It was still very tacky and definately added some effort to the climbs. The rains didn't seem to cause to much errosion and it was nice to be able to stand on the really steep climbs. The single track down was primo. Using a cateye AT100 I came up with approx. 4800' total elevation. Ride time-2:58
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 26 miles Elevation change: 4800'
Singletrack=15% Dirt Road=70% Paved Path=15%
Xtrchris a 50 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Specialized M4 from Val VerdePosted:02/17/2003
- Trail UpdateBlack Star To Silverado Motorway-First time up Black Star Canyon. Wanted to check out the Coup route to see if I can talk myself into it. Took off from the gate, one large tree down early on, but easily negotiable. This section is hard, smooth and fast. A very pleasant and scenic ride, but I think my Grandmother could do this in a wheelchair with a good set of tires. After getting to the Main Divide, the elevation picks up. Saw two trail runners here. Things start to change around Pleasant Peak. The road gets more rutted, and starts to show signs of rain damage. Nothing major though. Great views from up here. The Main Divide stays in pretty much this shape all the way to Silverado Motorway. This is where things change. The Motorway is much looser and rutted than the last time I went down. There is one short severely rutted section towards the top. The trail was very loose and sketchy, with ruts. I managed to have a close encounter of the first kind with an embankment. Ouch! Grandma would need an upgrade to her wheelchair for this trail! Lots of hikers over here, still no bikers. Made it to the bottom with plenty of cushion time for the coup. (Yeah!) Quick bomb down Silverado Canyon, and back to the car. Overall a very nice ride.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 26 miles Elevation change: ~3000
Singletrack=15% Paved Path=5% Truck Trail=80%
KujoWabo a 40 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Stumpjumper FSRxc from Laguna NiguelPosted:01/13/2003
- Trail UpdateBlackstar-Deny.....I was up there last week and saw no such construction.
Posted:01/08/2003
- Trail UpdateMotocross Track-I heard through the grapevine that a motocross track is currently being built in Blackstar canyon. Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor?
Posted:01/07/2003
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Bill Worries-For those that are concerned, Black Star Bill has been removed from the property. If you've been there before, you'll notice the junk he had all over has been mostly cleaned up. Tuttle, on the other hand is still around. He doesn't live there now but he does stop in durring the week and may stay the weekend (he drives a white truck).
I am a Black Star resident and I don't mind the bikers and hikers as long as they respect the land by leaving it the way they found it.Posted:11/08/2002
- Trail UpdateBLACK STAR-First time out there. Very beautiful. Rode the 26 mile loop. Out of the clouds and into the blue sky:)
Ride rating: Advanced
Ride distance: 26miles Elevation change:
a Die-hard Enthusiast riding a 2x8 DRIVETRAIN from OUT OF NOWHEREPosted:07/21/2002
- Trail Updatedude, i tried to explore that singletrack 3 years ago and ended up with pure bloddy legs at the end (total bushwack). glad someone found it.
DFT a 31 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Santa cruz superlight from San diegoPosted:03/11/2002
- Trail UpdateBlackstar Canyon-Well, I'm wearing the "eau de sage" and a big ol' grin cause I finally found the elusive singletrack at Blackstar. I hadn't been on Blackstar in almost a year and I was jonesin' big time for a ride, any ride. So I justified the afternoon off to myself and went to one of my old fav's. The fireroad up Blackstar is in the best condition I remember going back almost 14 years - even Hidden Ranch wasn't all muddy and potholed with hoofprints after the rain yesterday. I rode up to the doppler radar station, looked at main divide snaking on up towards Hagador Peak, and decided to try and find "an alternate route down". I did, and even though it is only about 2 miles long and largely a cow path, it sure was fun. I'd tell you where it is, but then I'd have to ... Anyway, just look for where it makes sense for there to be another way down.
The best part, though, was just getting out for a nice solo ride on a beautiful day with nary a soul around.
Good luck to all riding the VQ tomorrow!
Lorax a 38 year old riding a 'ruth from Corona del MarPosted:03/08/2002
- Trail UpdateBlack Star/Silverado/Harding-This is a good loop if you are in the mood for some miles. Did it on Sunday morning and the weather was very nice. A little chilly in the early morning, so the extra layers helped. The climb up Black Star was pretty uneventful, until I got to the ranch. The wind started kicking a bit and the road here was bumpy due to the last rain and cattle trafic. Got to Main Divide and made a right. This is the most demanding part of the ride. There are a couple of long and steep climbs that require
granny gear (at least for me). But there are some fun roller coasters and the views are awsome.
Made a right down the Silverado Motorway and it was as fun as always. It is too bad that is going to be closing soon so we don't disturb the frogs.
At the bottom of the Motormay took off my vest and made a left up on Maple Springs. It was getting a bit warmer. This is not a very tough up hill, but yesterday it seemed harder than usual, I guess after 20 miles of riding anything is harder than usual.
Reached Main Divide and went down Harding. The trail is in great condition, but there were tons of hikers, so
wacth out if you like it to fly downhill.
Made to the bottom of Harding and cruised the 5 miles of flat riding on Santiago Canyon Road. Total time: 5 hours, including some food and rest stops.
If you are looking for lots of single track and technical riding this ride may not be for you, but if you want a nice epic and a killer workout give it is a great one.
Ride rating: Advanced
Ride distance: 42 miles Elevation change: 6000 +
Singletrack=8% Dirt Road=80% Paved Path=12%
Pilas a 33 year old Cross-Country RiderPosted:02/25/2002
- Trail UpdateThe guy in the track on Blackstarr is a
homesteader. His family has had a small 'ranch'
back in the canyon for as long as I can remember.
They have been terrorizing people for a long time,
trying to convince everyone that Blackstarr is private
property, which it is not. I've had run ins with them
since I was in junior high school. Don't let them
scare you off. I ran into the fool in late January and
got into quite the shouting match with him. I ended
up getting by him and hammering up the road to
Beek's. He found a place to turn around (he was
headed out when I ran across him) a followed me
up the hill for probably 20 minutes, laying on his
horn, until he finally tired, quit and turned around. I
turned the night into a big loop by going to
mini-Moab, behind Irvine Lake and back out the
bottom of Blackstarr. Great night ride under a full
moon.
Bobrsta a Die-hard EnthusiastPosted:02/17/2002
- Trail UpdateTo Beek's Place And Back-The trail was great until we hit the switchbacks, then we started to ride amidst gunfire. Hopefully someone just target shooting. Made it to Hidden Ranch to discover that the cows and the rain had turned the trail into an 8 inch deep mud pit. We already collected enough mud riding downhill. At the gate, we saw a scraggly local in a red ford ranger pick up truck with two mountain bikes in the back. This guy was no mountain biker!
Ride distance: 10.4 miles Elevation change:
Dirt Road=100%
Otis a 27 year old Weekend Warrior riding a schwinn moab 2 from ocPosted:01/01/2002
- Trail UpdateBeeks And Back-Rode this trail for the first time this morning. The grade on this trail is comfortable. The trail is in awesome shape--nice and tacky--although a bit muddy down in the Hidden Ranch area. We rode up to Beeks--an interesting place there. I can't imagine every living there. It was a little breezy up there. The downhill was fun--just pedal and go. It took us just over 2 hours to climb and descend. The thing that struck me the most were the views. It is absolutely beautiful up there. I can't wait to go back in the spring time when it is green. There was very little traffic. Didn't encounter any other bikers. A couple of runners and hikers and that was about it. A good ride after the rains.
Ride rating: Novice
Ride distance: 15+ miles Elevation change: Just under 2g.
Paved Path=5% Truck Trail=95%
Kory a 34 year old riding a Titus LocoMoto from Long BeachPosted:12/23/2001
- Trail UpdateJust The Ol' Out And Back-Blackstar Road is in incredibly good condition. It's like someone groomed it with a broom!
Did the ol' "up to Beek's Place and back down". I love that rock shack - it looks just like the shack in "True Grit". I mean JUST like it.
Anyway, the ride was great. No more structures of any type in the lower canyon. Rumor has it that the Nature Conservancy is going to rebuild and preserve Hidden Ranch in the near future. Awesome views and a quick descent on a beautiful Sunday afternoon - what more can you ask for?
Ride rating: Beginner
Ride distance: 20.5 Elevation change: Up then Down
Dirt Road=100%
MTB Fiend a 42 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Ventana El Saltamontes from Portola HillsPosted:12/17/2001
- Trail UpdateBlack Star To Silverado Loop-Had a great ride this morning. The only problem was the wind. Most of the way up Black Star and in Main Divide I found myself pedaling against it. It made the uphills harder than usual. In some of the downhills I didn't need to use much brakes, the wind took care of it.
The views along Main Divide were spectacular. To my right I could see Catalina Island, and to my left, the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains. Coming down the Silverado Motorway was very fun, as usual. Overall,
besides the wind factor, an awesome ride.
I would rate this ride as a high intermediate. The only technical part is the descent down the Motorway, but this loop demands some stamina,especially some of the climbs on Main Divide.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 26 miles Elevation change: about 3000 ?
Singletrack=15% Dirt Road=60% Paved Path=25%
Pilas a 33 year old Cross-Country Rider from IrvinePosted:12/08/2001
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Locals Gone Now-Rode the trail 12-1-01. No need to worry anymore folks - Tuttle moved out of his "compound" in the canyon recently took his peacocks (and shack) with him. There is some sort of new development off the low side of the road as you're entering the canyon. The people there were occupied with their big trucks & working hard and were friendly as we rode past. Didn't see anyone at the Ranch, but the cows were all around.
Just watch out for the big rigs on the canyon entrance trail they take up the entire road - don't want to get run over, right?
Of course, keep your heads up and make sure you protect any ladies in your group due to the gang activity of the past year. I'll be riding with my AR-15 strapped across my back.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 16 miles Elevation change:
Dirt Road=90% Paved Path=10%
TC Special a 30 year old Weekend Warrior riding a MC San Andreas from OCPosted:12/03/2001
- Trail UpdateUpset Locals?-Lately, I have been hearing about some problems with the Black Star Residents. I have ridden this trail in multiple ocassions and I haven't had a problem. However I haven't been there since early summer. Has anybody had any problems lately? I'm planning to do the Black Star/Silverado Motorway on Saturday, but I want to be safe. As far as I know, the road is still open to the public,right?
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 26 miles Elevation change:
Pilas a 33 year old Cross-Country Rider from IrvinePosted:11/29/2001
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Locals-Yeah, Black Star Canyon locals do not like the fact that bikers, hikers, equestrians, motocross riders, etc.... can ride through. When we did the Warrior's Society Counting Coup / Vision Quest ride, we had to have a Sheriff's Deputy accompanee us through Black Star to avoid trouble. Do be careful. Don't ride alone. Never argue with the locals; just wave, say thank you, good day, etc... and ride quietly on. You don't want buckshot in the arse..let alone have it hit your frame....that would really suck.
El Jefe a RacerPosted:11/13/2001
- Trail UpdatePrivate Property?-A couple days ago I road Black star. I parked my car at the gate, and departed on the road behind it. On my way back I encounterd one of the residents driving up. He began to tell me that the road is private property, and that I was trespassing and should get off of it immidiately. I was later curious and asked around. I found that the road is owned by the federal government. It is known as an easment, therefore it does not belong to him or any of the land owners. So go ride, but still be carefull.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Dirt Road=95% Paved Path=5%
Stone a Cross-Country Rider riding a Trek VRX 200 from AnaheimPosted:11/13/2001
- Trail Update9-16-01-9-16-01
My first experence on black star canyon road was with my wife on a beatiful Sunday morning. We parked at the gate, and took a hike up the fireroad 3+ miles. We did not encounter any locals or strange activity. The mountain biker we ran into said he has been riding for years in this location, and he has had no problems, but he did say to stay on the road, for respect of the locals. The next time we will be on our mountain bikes!
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 6+ Elevation change: 300
Dirt Road=33% Paved Path=33% Truck Trail=33%
a Weekend WarriorPosted:09/16/2001
- Trail UpdateUpdate FYI-5 held in gang rapes
Crime Police say the teens, accused in the canyon attack on two girls and their companions, are part of a graffiti ring.1
July 17, 2001
Byline: TIFFANY MONTGOMERY
Five teen-agers linked to an Orange graffiti gang have been arrested in connection with the gang rapes of two girls and the vicious beating of their dates in Black Star Canyon earlier this month, authorities announced Monday.The suspects, ages 15-19, returned to the canyon after the July 3 attack and left their gang moniker, LTK, which helped investigators track them down, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona said.Those arrested were Erick Oswaldo Rivera, 19, of Anaheim; Cuahutemoc ``Temo'' Torres,
Ogre a 31 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a 2001 Giant Rainier SE from FullertonPosted:07/22/2001
- Trail UpdateNight Riders Beware-5 sought after rape of 2 teens in canyon
July 6, 2001 - The Orange County Register
Authorities searched Thursday for five men who
gang-raped two teen-age girls and savagely beat
the girls' dates this week in a desolate canyon
area popular with young sweethearts and partiers.One boy, 17, from Mission Viejo, is in intensive
care with a fractured skull, but is awake after lying
unconscious for 24 hours. The other teens, a boy,
16, also from Mission Viejo, and two girls, 13 and
15, from Tustin, were treated at hospitals and
released.The assault happened just after midnight Monday
in Black Star Canyon southeast of Irvine Lake.
The young couples, who have no gang affiliation,
they were not drinking or using drugs.When they returned to their car, all the windows
were smashed and another car was parked
nearby. Five men approached the teen-agers.The five men, described as in their late teens to
early 20s with shaved heads, then beat the
Mission Viejo boys on the head with rocks and
repeatedly kicked them. They then shoved the girls
into their car, which authorities described only as
older, white and possibly foreign, and some of the
attackers followed in the victims' Mazda 626.They drove for about half a mile to a quarry
northwest of Silverado Canyon and Black Star
roads, Amormino said, and the abductors raped
the girls for about an hour. They then shoved the
naked girls out of the car and dumped the Mazda
near Irvine Lake.
Mother Mercy riding a canyon in daylight onlyPosted:07/06/2001
- Trail UpdateThe directions on this page, to this trail head, are lacking. It took me a while to discover that Chapman Ave. turns into Santiago Cyn Rd. It would have been nice if the directions included a major freeway. When I got to Black Star Cyn. Rd. there were two gates within a mile from the turn off. Which one is it? And what is up with all the private property signs? Is it safe? IS it really private property?
Ramon a 27 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Research Dynamics from Orange CountyPosted:07/05/2001
- Trail UpdateBlack Star/Silverado/Maple Sprs.-The Black Star ride was one that you are glad you did not go on. First of all, it was muddy for about 30 minutes of the first 1:45. Very muddy. We made it to Main Divide at 11:00 (we started at 9:25). Then we started riding basically south on Main Divide. Reed and Jeff were out front and Dave and I brought up the rear. No surprises here. By 1:00, Dave was dragging big time. He did not have any breakfast and brought no food on the ride. Actually no one brought much food, but even a power or balance bar helps. I offered Dave part of mine but he declined (this was 11, later he would have paid big time for anything to eat). We called his wife about 1:30 to tell her Dave would not be back in time for the 3:30 soccer game and that we were okay but had no idea how far it was to the end of the trail. Dave was now out of water, out of gas, and we really did not know how far the Silverado Motor Expressway was. All I could tell was that Modjeska Peak looked to be a very long way off. This is especially true when you consider that the Main Divide was a continuous series of sharp twisting down hills and long twisting uphills. We were making little progress toward Saddleback and areas that I would be familiar with. To make a long story shorter, we reached the Expressway about 2:30 and Dave rode his trusty bike down to Maple Springs at 3:15 with only one major oops on the way down.
This loop is a good ride providing, you have the time, take warm clothes, take plenty of fluids, take plenty of food, and have a good cell phone with battery. Actually , Reed did the loop in about 4:20 minutes. So he could have done it in 4 hours. As you are well aware, 4 hours of Reed is 5-6 hours of the Whitespring group.
The Expressway was surprisingly good trail. Mainly down hill and a lot easier technically than the San Juan Trail. Also, much shorter but still a good run.
Reed's other buddies, came up Maple Springs (end of Silverado, where Hell Ride begins) and took a left at Main Divide over to the Expressway. They ran into quite a bit of snow which required a lot of effort.
I actually had a good time on the ride and had lots of energy. Perhaps it was actually adrenaline motivated by fear.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 26 miles Elevation change: a bunch
Bicycle Bob a 56 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a A real dirty, squeaky GT from Mission ViejoPosted:03/13/2001
- Trail UpdatePerfect Conditions-Went to Black Star today looking to break in my new Trek. Picked it up at Jax 20 minutes before leaving for the ride. Went with three friends. Conditions were perfect. It was about 55 degrees (chilly at first but perfect once we started riding), overcast, and the road was wet enough to where it was soft but not greasey. We only rode up to the top of the switch backs where you enter into Cleaveland National Forest, then we turned around. The ride back was awesome. we just opened it up the entire way. Nadar "no brakes" almost ran off the side of the road a few times taking turns (not thinking he needed brakes). Tod "the Stacker" stacked hard on a big giant puddle. His bike's front tire got stuck in the mud. The good news is he didn't get wet. He cleared his handle bars and the puddle. Bad news is he had to fish his bike out of the mud. Nadar then almost killed a couple of hikers, again not thinking he needed brakes. Got to the bottom quick.
Fun ride, think I'll go back next week.
We didn't run into Black Star Bill, but about a year ago I almost ran over his peacock.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Dirt Road=95% Paved Path=5%
Downhill Jay riding a Trek 4500 from LBPosted:03/11/2001
- Trail UpdateSaturday morning I and three others; Dan, Caff Man, and Ranger Jay, decided to venture up Black Star. After all, the weather forecast called for partly cloudy and mid to upper 50's. Should have known when Scott got a flat in the first 50 yards that this was gonna be a long one. After the flat, the ride to Hidden Ranch was essentially uneventful. We spread out a bit, each riding at our own pace. Nice climbing, cool day, but warm enough to shed layers. Off with the weather gear. Great guys to ride with. Nothing technical in the first few miles. Then the mud. The specific gravity of this stuff had to be that of mercury with the adhesive power of Super glue. You should have seen Jay trying to keep the Klein clean for the first few miles. He doesn't carry the camelback for drinking, it's his bike-wash kit. ;o) Still we pressed on, using the small ring on flat ground just to keep moving. The temperature started to drop. 50, 45, 42... Then rain, more rain and even more rain with maybe a little ice thrown in for good measure. On with the weather gear...too bad it isn't really waterproof. We stopped and tried to clean some mud off. Each used their own technique. Carving, poking, banging, washing, we cleaned the bikes back into ridability and off we went. Some downhills were coming up and afforded an opportunity to take on a bit of speed. The road was getting really greasy, but against better judgement, (I seem to say that a lot these days), I decided to catch some air off a dowhill jump over a small rut. Nice air, good speed, great landing, wait, I've landed in... uh oh.... the one good thing about really thick slimy mud is that it doesn't hurt as bad when your body hits it. I offered a bit of flesh to the bike gods. Well, at least my biff stopped Jay from making the same mistake, and his bike is worth a heck of a lot more than mine. More roller coaster riding, and we scrapped the idea of doing the counting coup route. The Motorway was going to be it. No 40 miler today.
Good news and bad news-
Good news: It stopped raining.
Bad news: It is now snowing and 35 degrees.
Man I knew I shouldn't have worn shorts...
Mud + hard riding + no White Lightning = chain problems.
That was good for a few hike a bikes, cramps and shin rakes. It hit Jay first, but we all caught it. New chains for everyone I'm sure after this ride, if not derailers, bearings, a couple spokes, brake pads........ Ahh, finally the Motorway. Other than the fact that our feet were completely numb, we were soaked with rain, mud (and in my case blood), and shivering uncontrollably, we pressed on knowing the end was near. Sure wish I had disk brakes. Somehow, my front and rear pads melted and I found myself descending rocky switchbacks with the stopping power of a baseball card tickling the spokes. I half dumped, half just lost it at one point when I saw some serious exposure near the bottom, but Jay hung behind me, which was nice since at that point I wasn't sure I wouldn't just become the bottom link in the food chain. I never thought I'd be happy to see road. The few miles back to the cars afforded the opportunity to think about just what a mistake this was.....so why then was I, and still am smiling? Great ride. Thanks guys!Flowrider rated this at novice?
Ride distance: 26 miles Elevation change: a good bit
Singletrack=a little% Dirt Road=more% Paved Path=some%
Jeff JarvisPosted:02/25/2001
- Trail UpdateBlack Star To Silverado Motorway-At 9am Sat, Feb 17th, parked at the gate and rode up Blackstar Canyon. Most of the muddy ruts around Hidden Ranch the prior weekend had dried up (but has rained since and will rain again before spring no doubt). Came across a guy in a pickup a few switchbacks before Beeks. He had his bed full of tree branches, and a cool pup with him that came and greeted me on my bike. I said hello, he said hi back and all was good. Continued up to Beeks and Main Divide, then over and down the Silverado Motorway, which is in excellent condition and fast. Hooked up with a riding bud at the Maple Springs gate and was going to head up to Santiago Peak and down Holy Jim, but the weather was questionable so we took Silverado back to the cars (fun downhill on road through Silverado).
Cheers,
dk
Ride rating: Novice
Ride distance: 26 Elevation change: 2840
Singletrack=11% Dirt Road=66% Paved Path=23%
Flowrider a 37 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Ellsworth Sub 22 from Huntington Beach, CaPosted:02/20/2001
- Trail UpdateThe Legends Are True-my little brother was killed by Black Star Bill. I will never mountain bike there again.
Posted:02/19/2001
- Trail UpdateAs of the year 2001, Black Star Bill is just another legend in Black Star Canyon's past. He has been removed from the property by the property owners. As for problems from other residents in the area. You shouldn't worry as long as you stay on the road, and respect private property as any good citizen would.
a Weekend WarriorPosted:02/14/2001
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Bill And Booby Traps-In response to the post below, I am only going to speak from personal experience. In the past 2 yrs I have ridden in Black Star Canyon 9 or 10 times. Sometimes I rode alone and sometimes I rode with others. Each time I parked at the gate at the end of Black Star Canyon road. My rides varied from short (up to Beek's place and back) to long (up to Main Divide and down Silverado Motorway loop). I never saw Black Star Bill. I never encountered any booby traps (broken glass, nails, ...). I never saw any evidence of car tires being slashed at the gate. Once, I passed one of the people that lives in Hidden Valley Ranch up near the ranch (he was in a truck). I said "Hi" and he waved back. So, he seemed friendly. However, 10 rides in 2 yrs is not a large sample size. Others may have experienced problems there. Look at the facts, though. The people that live in Black Star Canyon obviously don't want visitors. They have gone through the trouble of erecting signs that say trespassing is not allowed and that the fireroad is private property (even though access is permitted if you stay on the main road up to Main Divide.) These people choose to live in secluded canyon with a locked gate blocking motorized entry. Hostile encounters are a possibility. I'm sure that the residents of the canyon view mountain bikers as a nuisance. However, if you want to ride back there and you are concerned about problems, I would recommend parking on Silverdo Canyon road near the church and riding in with a group of friends. This canyon is beautiful and the riding is too good to ignore (in my opinion). I'll continue to ride here.
By the way, did you know that Black Star Canyon was also haunted..............?????!!!!
SS a 33 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Catamount from OCPosted:01/16/2001
- Trail UpdateCan someone please enlighten me on the situation at Black Star. (guy in the red Ford Ranger and booby traps, slashed tires and "Black Star Bill"). How many people have come across this and what and where are these booby traps?
a Weekend WarriorPosted:01/15/2001
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Canyon-Parked near the gate and rode all the way up to Beeks Place. The road was clear all the way. Good ride, long uphill, great downhill.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 16 miles Elevation change:
Jeff a 40 year old Weekend WarriorPosted:10/11/2000
- Trail UpdateBlack Star-Parked at the gate -- good thing I didn't read yesterday's posting (tires were OK upon return). Rode up Black Star in some light rain. Beautiful! Went all the way to the Motorway. The Motorway was awesome -- very fast ride down to the bottom of Maple Springs Road. Rode up Maple Springs to the divide. The weather turned on us at the divide -- windy, cold and rainy. Quickly headed down Harding. Made it to the road and up and over the hill down to Cooks Corner (had a car waiting). Burgers and beer! Definitely an epic.
Ride rating: Advanced
Ride distance: 40 miles Elevation change: 7500
Singletrack=10% Dirt Road=85% Paved Path=5%
Gregg a 38 year old from San DiegoPosted:01/17/2000
- Trail UpdateBlack Star Canyon - Orange-Take Santiago Cyn Rd. east from Orange and turn onto Silverado Cyn. Rd. Make an immediate left onto Black Star Cyn. Rd. Go about 1 mile and park on the side of the road near the gate. Thomas Guide page 832
Posted:01/16/2000
- Trail UpdateDO NOT PARK BY THE GATE!!!!!!!!!
Turn around, go back to the church and park there. We have had lots of flat tires from 'black star bill' who lives in the canyon.
Other than that, enjoy, great fire road to bomb up and down.
Posted:01/16/2000
- Trail UpdateBlack Star To Beeks Place-A buddy and I rode this trail Saturday morning (10-2-99) and what a treat it was. Starting early was our best move as it did get warm later. The road from Harley Man's trailer up to Hidden Ranch is almost like riding on pavement. It's really smooth and almost no rut's. From Hidden Ranch up about a mile on the road is pretty rough from the cattle but after that it's once again pretty darn smooth up to Beeks Place. The downhill was wonderful. No sign of the dude in the red Ford Ranger or his booby traps. Go and enjoy before we get rain.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Ride distance: 15 Elevation change:
Paved Path=10% Truck Trail=90%
JLampitt a 27 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Cannondale Super-V 500 from RSM, CAPosted:10/04/1999
- Trail UpdateThis ride is a great up-and-back fireroad with great views and optional, extended loop potential. The basic ride is 15 miles long with 1,956' net elevation gain. Carry your bike across the gate and ride straight to the end of the pavement, approx. 0.75 miles. The road goes right and turns to dirt, following Black Star Creek. Disregard the no trespassing signs that may be illegally posted by some of the residents - the road is public right of way, even if H.B. Tuttle tries to convince you otherwise. At about 2 miles, you cross a bridge and turn right. The switchbacks start in another 100 yards and don't relent for the next 2.5 miles. Near the end of the switchbacks, you cross into Cleveland National Forest from Orange County land, and then drop into Hidden Ranch, a private cattle ranch. The road can be a little rough through the ranch on account of the hoof traffic - respect the cows, especially the bulls, or you may be sorry. At the end of the valley, the road climbs another 880' in 2 miles to the Main Divide Truck Trail. To the right is Beek's Place - 2 dilapidated stone buildings, a big concrete foundation and several rusting towers. Enjoy the view and head back down, or continue riding on the Main Divide Truck Trail. Heading North on Main Divide, you can reach Sierra Peak overlooking the 91 Fwy. in about 3 miles and 750' of gross elevation gain. Heading South, you climb a short distance and reach the new Dopler radar station. Continue on to Hagador Peak in 2.6 miles and 1100' of gross elevation. Somewhere on this section there is supposed to be a singletrack returning back into Hidden Ranch, but I have yet to find it. If you keep going South, you can make an arduous 26-mile loop by passing Pleasants Peak and taking Silverado Motorway (a rutted truck- trail/singletrack) down into Silverado Cyn. Return down the paved canyon road to Black Star Cyn. Rd.
Dirt Road=90% Paved Path=10%
Chris Francoeur a 34 year old Weekend Warrior from Orange CountyPosted:05/12/1998
