DeCaLiBron Closed to public access?

[RyGuy]

Any update on the closure status? I saw they were supposed to be closed for the month of May. Did that extend into June?
Thanks.

Kite lake is open - I believe that it is technically illegal to summit the peaks right now, but no one is there to stop you from doing so and everyone was on Wednesday. Get them before they close Kite Lake again!!

While Kite Lake is open, 3 of the 4 peaks are still closed and it is not possible to summit them without crossing private property. Please do not encourage people to hike the peaks anyway as it jeopardizes the negotiations currently underway with the land owners.

[510rock]

Are there signs currently posted at Kite Lake and/or the trails leading to the summits that indicate access is closed to the public? I've heard from some people that they saw no such signs. In that case how would a person know? Not everybody is researching access on 14ers.com or other sites....

[-wren-]

Are there signs currently posted at Kite Lake and/or the trails leading to the summits that indicate access is closed to the public? I've heard from some people that they saw no such signs. In that case how would a person know? Not everybody is researching access on 14ers.com or other sites....

There is an old sign from the early days of the bross closure stating bross is closed. Nothing about the other peaks. Also, on the way up bross there is a sign saying “entering private property, stay on trail” suggesting they are allowing passage to the top. It is all very confusing - however, the peaks are currently closed. They just don’t indicate it well along the trails.

[Svein]

Any update on the closure status? I saw they were supposed to be closed for the month of May. Did that extend into June?
Thanks.

Edited to be more conducive to other people’s own decision making.

Access is open, last stretches to the peaks are closed. Is it possible to climb them? Yes. Should you? Probably not.

I will say that the unwillingness to let TFI do trail maintenance on Bross and general lack of communication skills from landowners makes me think that best case scenario these peaks turn into Culebra v2, but maybe I’m a pessimist.

Ok thanks for the update! Hard to find information on this.

[rperth]

CC6B829F-15B8-4E1F-AAAE-0B7505569012.jpeg (29.07 KiB) Viewed 3051 times

Saw this guy on Democrat the other day. Said he was the owner of this here mountain.

[XterraRob]

The same people complaining about these mountains being closed would be the same people calling police if someone decided to walk through their yard and into their house unsolicited.

Respect Private Property.

[-wren-]

The same people complaining about these mountains being closed would be the same people calling police if someone decided to walk through their yard and into their house unsolicited.

Respect Private Property.

ah yes, because these are the exact same situations.

wow, one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard all week.

[rperth]

The same people complaining about these mountains being closed would be the same people calling police if someone decided to walk through their yard and into their house unsolicited.

Respect Private Property.

The “owners” are the baddies here. How can someone own the last 100 feet or so of a mountain anyway? The heck with them.

[Urban Snowshoer]

The same people complaining about these mountains being closed would be the same people calling police if someone decided to walk through their yard and into their house unsolicited.

Respect Private Property.

The “owners” are the baddies here. How can someone own the last 100 feet or so of a mountain anyway? The heck with them.

The short answer to your question is inholdings, which usually date back to prior to the establishment of National Forests and other public lands.

Public lands, especially here in the West, have lots of old mining claims--some active but many long abandoned--that somebody owns and it is a lot easier to grandfather those in than the alternatives.

[peter]

Hi folks - it would be great if someone could point to a published source indicating that the trail is open or closed. As far as I understand, the closure was just for the month of May; the route page on 14ers.com at that time indicated that the trail was closed, but that note was removed in early June. And this article also said May 1 - May 31: https://www.outtherecolorado.com/news/p ... 04bd6.html

But that article does seem to leave open the possibility that the trail closure could last beyond May. I haven't seen an article officially stating that the trail is open again (obviously with the exception of the Bross summit, which has been off-limits since 2008), and would just like to get clarity on the status from folks more knowledgeable than I.

BTW, the video embedded in the article above is surprisingly worth your time--thoughtful points from the landowners, to be sure. But I don't understand why eminent domain isn't discussed more often as an option; it's clearly within the state's power to do so (https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfile ... erview.pdf).
Haven't societal beliefs about the best use of these high places changed over the past 150 years since these mining claims started being doled out? And especially in the one instance of Bross' summit, which is within a parcel fractionally owned by many parties, eminent domain may be the only practical way to resolve the issue.

But I digress: can anyone point to sources indicating the current status of the Decalibron trail? Thank you!

[Urban Snowshoer]

But I don't understand why eminent domain isn't discussed more often as an option; it's clearly within the state's power to do so (https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfile ... erview.pdf).

Eminent domain gets messy and expensive very quickly so it's generally not the preferred option.

Even if this is within the states power, you have to consider the cost factor, not just in terms of legal expenses but the fair value of whatever is being taken--depending on what exactly is up there could be significant.

[RyGuy]

But I don't understand why eminent domain isn't discussed more often as an option; it's clearly within the state's power to do so (https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfile ... erview.pdf).

Eminent domain gets messy and expensive very quickly so it's generally not the preferred option.

Even if this is within the states power, you have to consider the cost factor, not just in terms of legal expenses but the fair value of whatever is being taken--depending on what exactly is up there could be significant.

Exactly. And given the value of some of the Rhodochrosite crystals alone pulled from the Sweet Home Mine...that is A LOT of money.
You can read more about one of the mines at the base of Bross here: https://collectorsedge.com/legacy/the-s ... orado-usa/