O.K. so it has been a long time since I got up on my "soapbox" but I just can't seem to let this one go without a few words.

Local news outlets recently reported that several men who had been out 4-wheeling and shooting firearms in the Ravensdale Flats were confronted and forced out of their vehicle and to the ground by a group of armed men when in their own words they had "been doing nothing wrong".  Read the story here and be sure to watch the video which shows these guys illegally driving over a berm meant to keep 4-wheelers out!

It may come as news to those that are ignorant and misinformed but there never has been and still isn't any LEGAL place to 4-wheel in Ravensdale. Those that are familiar with the area and who are serious about 4-wheeling know that this area has always been off-limits. There are no sanctioned or numbered 4-wheel routes anywhere near Ravensdale. Most of the land is either private, powerline right-of-way, state or county owned. The term "Public Land" does not mean "Legal 4-wheeling" a simple fact that seems to escape those that continue to rip up this area by driving around numerous barricades, gates and berms that are meant to keep the 4-wheelers out!

Years ago, Ravensdale was very popular with the 4-wheeling crowd mostly because it was very remote and there just wasn't much opposition to the illegal wheeling being done there. Houses and population were in most cases a long way away. However with more and more development in the area more attempts at baring access to those that continue to come here to wheel are evident. For some reason word of mouth continues to spread the myth that Ravensdale is a valid place to wheel.

It should be a very large and glaringly obvious sign to anyone but the dumbest that when berms, eco blocks, jersey barriers, large rocks and steel gates are erected to bar access to an area that it is NOT OK TO WHEEL THERE! However year after year we see new trails cut over berms and around these gates and barriers by un-informed 4-wheelers that think they have the right and are "doing nothing wrong"

Add to this idiots with firearms who don't realize that there isn't anywhere in Ravensdale to legally shoot (besides the firing range) and the close proximity of houses in the area that never were there before and now it can become obvious why the locals that live in the area are fed up! In their own words these men said that they "were keenly aware that they were in a remote area" I guess they are not that keen then as they failed to notice that there is nowhere in the area where you are not more than 3/4 of a mile from a house or a populated area and that this is a popular area for hiking and the locals that come there to walk their dogs. A stray bullet can travel a long way! How would these men feel if we came into their yuppie developed neighborhood and started shooting up the place and 4-wheeling in their back yards!

We can in no way condone what happened to these unfortunate and misinformed individuals. From the news reports it would appear that the vehicle owner was what I would term to be a non-4-wheeler due to the fact that he was driving a stock Nissan X-Terra or similar type vehicle with street tires and no body protection or recovery gear installed. Those that are not familiar with 4-wheeling think that because they buy a vehicle off the dealer lot that says "4x4" on the side and has a knob that says "4x4" on the dash that it means they can 4-wheel where ever they damn well please.

While these men were victims for a few minutes I feel the real victims are the residents of Ravensdale who moved to this "remote" area for a more quiet and peaceful place to live and to raise their families and who have to endure the endless noise and pollution that continues to be thrust upon them because of bad information that continues to be spread by word of mouth.

I suspect those that wheel in Ravensdale will take offense to this commentary (not that they are the type to search out a web site that focuses on legal places to 4-wheel or even care) but for the majority of us who do care the real issue here is the negative light that this continued disregard sheds on all of us and our favorite past time. It only serves to make it harder and harder for us to keep the legal areas open that we all use and enjoy.

A new word of mouth needs to spread: "Ravensdale is NOT a LEGAL place to 4-wheel"

Please Tread Lightly!