Now the Kern River Sierra Map is digitalized also: Get it on your phone, and see exactly where you are!

There's nothing better than a large physical map for making adventure plans, but it's pretty sweet to have The Kern River Sierra Outdoor Recreation Topo Map on your phone too!

Kern River Sierra Map - South Side

• Enjoy the convenience of using the map on your digital devices.
• See exactly where you are on the map, by using the built-in GPS.
• Enjoy FREE updates.
• Now on the Avenza app, the premier map app on Apple & Android.  
• Includes tracking and other premium mapping features.
•  Check it out on Avenza Maps!
• Or see the full Extremeline Productions LLC Map Store on Avenza.

Kern River Sierra Map - South Side

Get the Santa Barbara Map on your phone or device, and see exactly where you are!

The Santa Barbara Outdoor Recreation Topo Map is now digitalized!   

• Enjoy the convenience of using the map on your digital devices.
• See exactly where you are on the map, by using the built-in GPS.
• Enjoy FREE updates.
• Now on the Avenza app, the premier map app on Apple & Android.  
• Includes tracking and other premium mapping features. 

Check it out on Avenza Maps!

Or see the Extremeline Productions LLC Map Store on Avenza.

6th Edition of the Kern River Sierra Map!

The new 2019 6th Edition is available in stores and Amazon.com! The map now includes detailed wetland areas and springs, several trail & road updates, additional rock climbing areas and labeled peak hikes, added elevation labels, and so much more!

Purchase on Amazon or Shop Locally or at REI!

6th Edtion

Discover the recreational gems of the The Kern River Sierra, the epicenter of year-round outdoor adventure.

This map features the hiking and mountain biking trails, rock climbing & bouldering spots, whitewater launches and named rapids, giant sequoia groves, winter trailheads, water sports, fishing and hunting access, motorized singletrack, and several other recreational opportunities in the Kern River and Southern Sierra region.

Ranging from 10,000 feet to 2,000 feet in elevation, the rugged and diverse land of the Kern River Sierra encompasses the Giant Sequoia National Monument, Camp Nelson, Black Rock Station and the Kern Plateau, Kernville, Lake Isabella, Keyesville, Greenhorn Mountains, Piute Mountains and much of the Domeland and Golden Trout Wilderness..

MAP FEATURES

Sides: Printed on both sides

Size: 32" X 27" Map, 9"x 4" Folded

Topo Lines: 100 Foot Contours

Scale: 1:62,500 (1 Inch on map = 1 Mile on land)

GPS: Includes 7.5' Lat/Long Grid

Paper: State of the art waterproof and tear resistant plastic hybrid paper

Land: Distinguishes between the various types of Public Lands and private property

Trails: Depicts several different type of trails such as multi-use and wilderness singletrack

Suggestions: Features numerous hikes and mountain bike routes, including variations of the popular Just Outstanding ride and the epic Cannell Trail!

Enough of the small talk, get outside and play!

The Essence of Trails

Trails represent the essence of mountain biking. The trail is our sacred pathway through nature. Double tracks and dusty dirt roads are ok for some, but the singletrack trail is where the essence of mountain biking is truly found. Every well designed trail that weaves through the forests and meadows of our land holds unquantifiable value to our biking community. These are assets, gems, and there aren’t enough of them.

They are the way to escape the motorized craziness of our society. It gives us the ability to get out and actively participate with nature in a way that hiking or jogging never could. A biker engaged on a singletrack trail is harnessing skills and gaining more with every revolution of the wheel. A bike extends the capabilities of the body, allowing fluid movement in every respect. The heart pounds as the blood pumps fast through every muscle of the body. The mind is focused and acutely aware of every movement, as the trail curves and dips to the shape of the land. The right to bike in nature becomes more precious with every passing year.

There is a bill being presented to congress called HR 6156 “Wilderness Heritage Act”. On the surface, it seems like a great idea to “preserve” public lands for “future generations”, until you dig a little deeper and figure out the implications of designating current multi-use lands “Wilderness”. Essentially, it closes all trails on current multi-use public lands to “mechanized” use. This includes many trails that are now enjoyed by mountain bikers everywhere. The wilderness advocates are trying to ban mountain bikers and other mechanized users from an ever decreasing area of public lands (see wilderness acts over the last 30 years).

The latest bill is being pitched as “Bipartisan” since it has Congressman Buck McKeon on board with Barbara Boxer. Unfortunately, their plan affects some trails in “Mountain Biking Mammoth”. We are sad to see Mr McKeon supporting a bill that will limit our use of public land. He says that he is looking out for the interests of the user groups who use these lands, but seems to only think that some dirt roads are important while ignoring multi-use trails. I wonder if he has ever ridden a mountain bike?

Maps of the proposed Wilderness areas can be found at; http://mckeon.house.gov/eastern_sierra_maps.aspx

Congressman McKeon can be contacted at:
Congressman Buck McKeon
26650 The Old Rd., Suite #203
Santa Clarita, CA 91381

Click here for further discussion on Wilderness and mountain bikes. The above pictures of Yost Meadow Trail and Coyote Flat Rides will both be affected by Wilderness closures.

Bikes & Wilderness

A lot of bikers don't really understand the implications of Wilderness, and the threat to mountain biking. Several Wilderness Bills are being proposed in California this year, led by Barbara Boxer, and would shut down thousands of acres to mountain bikes.

Here is a quick article from the IMBA website below: Bicycling and Wilderness: A Mountain Biker's Guide to Wilderness Advocacy.

"Wilderness often presents a dilemma to the environmentally conscious mountain biker. While most of us applaud the intentions of the Wilderness Act, we also believe that bicycles are an appropriate, muscle-powered activity that belongs in Wilderness alongside hiking and horseback riding.

But why did bicycles ever become embroiled in the Wilderness debate? Note that bicycling is not mentioned in the Wilderness Act. The key provision often debated is in Section 4(b), which prohibits in Wilderness all motorized travel and equipment and allows "no other form of mechanical transport."

What does the term "mechanical transport" mean? In 1965, shortly after the Congressional action, the Forest Service wrote formal regulations to implement the Wilderness Act and defined "mechanical transport" to mean a cart, sled or other wheeled vehicle that is "powered by a non-living power source." As of the year 2005, that definition is still law.

However, nineteen years after the passage of the Wilderness Act, during the early days of mountain bicycling, the agency added a regulation that prohibits "Possessing or using a hang glider or bicycle." That 1984 action was one of the first to ban bicycling on public lands and by eliminating riding on approximately 25 million acres, it was also certainly the largest.

Unfortunately, most Americans are not aware that bicycles are banned from Wilderness. This can create the impression that bicycles cause more harm to the environment than do hikers or horses. In fact, science has shown that bicycles generally cause about the same amount of damage as hikers and less damage than horses. IMBA has summarized the findings of this research, available at: imba.com/resources/science/impact_summary.html.

When the topic of bicycles and Wilderness is debated by the conservation community, views are often split. The Spring 2003 edition of Wild Earth, a biodiversity and conservation publication of the Wildlands Project, invited six environmental advocates to weigh in on the issue. You can get a sense for both sides of the argument and those on the fence."

Pictures above (top to bottom) are from the IMBA website, of the Meiss Meadow Trail near Tahoe, Mt Lola trail in Castle Peak, and the Tahoe Rim Trail...all threatened by Wilderness designations.

Wilderness & Trail Closures

Wilderness proposals are not voted on by the public, but by Congress (fat pale vampire-like people who have never even been on a trail). Yet, with a stroke of a signature, they can close millions of acres and thousands of miles of trails off to everyone but hikers and horseman. Somehow they think that a 1500 pound horse with hooves does less damage that a bikerider with a 25 pound bike (with the weight dispersed over soft rubber.) Anyone who claims this, has NEVER been backpacking in the Sierras, where trails have become deep multi-lane trenches of pulverized horse crap. But, this is besides the point...

Designating the lands as "Semi-primitive Back Country Recreation" areas instead of Wilderness would allow protection for the lands and ensure continued shared use of public lands. Closing more trails to multiple use would only serve to concentrate use and exacerbate problems on remaining trails. In many places, the only trail maintenance is done by mountain bikers and motorcycle riders. Trails would literally disapear without these users. But the special interests with deep pockets, powerful hollywood-type environmental groups and rich horseman groups, are lobbying congress to close access.

Chris Horgan of Stewards of the Sequoia is fighting the good fight. He realizes how threatened our access to public land and trails really is. He says this: "Every form of recreation on public lands has one thing in common, access. Without access one cannot enjoy mountain biking or dirt biking or camping or hunting or fishing or horseback riding or hiking. The issue is not OHV use. It is whether we stand united for access for all or whether we allow access to be restricted to a few. Do we encourage volunteerism or encourage intolerance?" You can read more about it and sign the petition at www.access-advocates.org NONE of the proposed wilderness areas are recommended by the Forest Service (they are supposed to be the experts) but congress tends to listen to the special interest groups with the money. Get involved - this is happening everywhere!

Do you want trails to ride on?

This is SCARY, for real. Soon Congress will be voting on Barbara Boxer's newest California Wilderness Bill - this will immediately close down thousands of acres of public lands to mountain biking all over California. Read a summary here and please sign the petition! Our elected officials need to know that banning mountain biking is NOT appropriate. Our lands can be protected through other designations, besides the anti-mountain bike "Wilderness" designation.