On July 22, 2023, 9 volunteers from Valley Outdoors spent an average of 9 hours per person working on 2 sections of Coyote Flat Road at around the 8,000-foot elevation mark. This was the latest in a series of work events totaling over 300 volunteer work hours to date by Valley Outdoors on the 7-mile road section up to Coyote Flat from the Bishop side, USFS road 07S10. During the latest workday volunteers fixed a heavily erosion rutted section approximately 250 feet in length and a second rutted section farther up that was approximately 480 feet in length at the creek crossing near the old Peterson Mill site. The ruts were approximately 3 feet deep and 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide respectively. The ruts caused by this year’s unprecedented storm damage created an unsafe condition for vehicle use and led to the decision by the Inyo National Forest to temporarily close the road for safety concerns. After 80 hours of very
hard work by volunteers this Saturday, these sections are now passable for motor
vehicles. It is our understanding this is the last of the safety concern sections requiring correction before the road can be considered to be re-opened. Volunteers using hand tools moved approximately 100 cubic yards of material within the existing roadbed in one day to smooth out the drive surfaces and fill the holes. To put this in perspective, that’s roughly 9 dump trucks of material moved by hand in one day. Simply outstanding work done in short order. Valley Outdoors staff and volunteers would like to thank the Inyo National Forest for not only the continued support of grass root organizations but also for placing a such high priority on getting such key recreation roads as Coyote Flat open again.
Once again, very heartfelt thank you to all our partner organizations and agencies.
Together all things are possible.
Humbly,
Valley Outdoors Board of Directors
