Tripe (noun)
- Lining of the stomach of a ruminant (especially a bovine) used as food.
- A slang term synonymous with rubbish, in the sense of something of little value, or nonsense.
- (see also San Elijo Trails)
Definition #2 particularlythe “something of little value” is the theme of this rant.
So for the last week or so I have been investigating some of trails not to far from my hood. The San Elijo Hills area. I was not expecting much and I was quite underwhelmed. More than just underwhelmed, I was pissed at what the developer was allowed to get away with calling trails.
The Gardens View Tripe – Are you f$%^ing kidding me! When two trucks can pass one another on it, it is not a trail. It is a dirt road.
I laughed out loud at this sign. “Give Life A Chance”. What the sign from the San Elijo Hills Development Company should say is “YOU need to give life a chance, because WE have already bulldozed all the habitat in this area”
Take a look at the crap they have on their website. 18 miles of trails. There is less than one mile of trail in this development. There are over 17 miles of Dirt Sidewalk Pathway Tripe throughout this development. Try a little truth in advertising.
The Double Peak Tripe. The “trail” is the dirt sidewalk on the side of the pavement and then starts up the hill. Where is the natural outdoor experience here? You have either pavement or a cement gutter on one side and a wooden rail fence to keep from even contacting nature on the other. Most of this climb is compacted and absolutely smooth decomposed granite. It is a nearly sterile outdoor experience where you never escape development. I have been on treadmills that were only slightly less interesting. If you can drive a Ferrari or a Prius on it, it is not a trail, it is TRIPE!
Do I even need to say it, “It is not a F$%^ing Trail! TRIPE, TRIPE, TRIPE! This is part of the 18 miles that San Elijo is selling as an attraction.
The Lake San Marcos Tripe. PAVED! I will not buy any blabage about American Disabilites Act Access with this “trail”. What this picture does not show is how stupidly steep this thing is. There is no Rascal, Humaround or any other battery powered mobility chair that is going to get up this thing. The city has a formula for how many miles of trail the community should have for its size and population. The mileage of this tripe counts towards meeting that trail requirement. What does that mean? It could mean less funding for real trails in the future because the city already has its mileage.
This is part of the “Make A Wish Trail”. I sure did make a wish. I wish there were more trails like this in the area. This IS a trail. Part of it looks to be pre-developement but portions of it are obviously newer.
This is the “Secret Trail” aka Trail 90. While it is fairly short this is good stuff that not only offers a high quality outdoor experience it is substainually less impacting on existing habitat. This is the best legal and sanctioned trail out here. It is also a legacy trail from before the develeopment started.
Okay so maybe I’m being rash and a trail snob but this is some of the worst stuff I have seen in an urban area interfacing to open space in San Diego County yet. The dirt pathways have their place down between the homes, but running this crap all the way up into the open space is just dumb. It does not meet the needs of the users who would venture up that far and it needlessly destroyed even more habitat by making the “trails” three to five times wider than they need to be. Arrrrrrrgh, What a nearly complete failure on the part of those charged with the oversight of this development. I’m not sure if this failure is due to incompetence, ignorance, or just a simple lack of caring but it certainly did occur.
You can download a map of all this Tripe here and go see for yourself. While it is a good workout it is not a high quality outdoor experience. If you disagree, you need to start looking for some new places to ride as you are missing out on the good stuff elsewhere in the county.