I believe the 7010 160 road was on a deferred list to be decommissioned after thinning was done to some timber stands in the area within 10 years. So it is no action right now, but will be decommissioned when they are done thinning in the area. At least that was my impression. So I don't think we are out of the woods on that access road yet.
The bottom of the 4650 road will be gone, as you said Doug, making for a longer commute to get to the Burnt Granite trailhead. Unless if someone was able to locate the rest of the trail down to Big Bottom where there will still be road access.
I have tried to get to that area and look for the old trail, but have been hindered by deep snow all winter. I was up there today, not to look for trail, but to crosscountry ski the 4651 road that borders the backside of Big Bottom. It has a nice grade to it, which is perfect for XC Skiing. With the weather warming up this next week, it may have been my last chance to do it this winter.
I skimmed through the Environmental Assessment (113 pages!), looking for anything related to trails. No wonder it is hard to understand what the plan is. There is conflicting info in multiple documents, locked away in the "secret" place on the forest service website. Geez....My take is that there is no real effect to trailhead access, other than the Burnt Granite issue - at least you can still get to the trailhead without too much of a detour. I'm not opposed to closing some of the roads - I just don't want to lose access to any of the trails we have. Even though they are not heavily used, they are still GREAT trails - especailly Baty Butte. That one we really need to fight for. That is one of the coolest trails I've been on. The ridge walk between the Clackamas and Molalla drainages is spectacular! As as I recall, most of that 160 spur is in REALLY good shape.
One interesting note I saw in the docs - It said there was a crew of 4 people that were responsible for trail maintenance in the district. I thought that all or almost all of the maintenance was done by volunteers? What do these 4 people do? Maintain the heavily used trails close to town?
Rob:
There is no trail crew in our district other than the volunteers. Last year we had fed money for several programs that worked some teens and other personnel on several of our trails, but the majority of the work was still done by volunteers. I don't know when the original document was written that included "a trail crew of 4" , but they may have been volunteers back then. I don't think that there has been a paid trail crew in our district for at least 10 -20 years. I am sure Donavon could attest to that.
This year we have one person from Americorp to help with recreation, but he is staying up at Zigzag until May I believe. They spend a lot of time in campgrounds giving talks and give us some help we they can out on the trails. I hope he is a hiker, for we need a lot of recon about the trails out there. If anyone could let us know of any down timber or mud or rock slides on our trails, it would be greatly appreciated in our effort to keep our trails open to the public.
Don
Donald Presley said:
Rob:
There is no trail crew in our district other than the volunteers. Last year we had fed money for several programs that worked some teens and other personnel on several of our trails, but the majority of the work was still done by volunteers. I don't know when the original document was written that included "a trail crew of 4" , but they may have been volunteers back then. I don't think that there has been a paid trail crew in our district for at least 10 -20 years. I am sure Donavon could attest to that.
This year we have one person from Americorp to help with recreation, but he is staying up at Zigzag until May I believe. They spend a lot of time in campgrounds giving talks and give us some help we they can out on the trails. I hope he is a hiker, for we need a lot of recon about the trails out there. If anyone could let us know of any down timber or mud or rock slides on our trails, it would be greatly appreciated in our effort to keep our trails open to the public.
Don
That is very interesting.....On page 110-111 in the Environmental assessment, the following statement(s) are made:
The Forest has a trail maintenance staff of less than four full time employees. Most trail maintenance on the Forest is done with volunteers like the Pacific Crest Trail Association, the Oregon Equestrian Trails, the Backcountry Horsemen, and the Oregon Nordic Club, and with partners like AmeriCorps, Project YESS, and Northwest Youth Corps. This reliance on volunteers for trail maintenance has been steadily increasing for 10-15 years. The purpose and need for this project, in addition to improving aquatic habitat, is to reduce the miles of roads this
Forest must maintain. Assuming the current trails maintenance budget, the Forest would have difficulty expanding trail mileage without reducing trail maintenance on some trails, or securing a corresponding long-term commitment for additional maintenance responsibilities from a partner. Most of our volunteer and partner groups are already at capacity for trail maintenance work. Wilderness trails require more than twice the time and cost to maintain because of the need to use non-motorized equipment (cross-cut saws rather than chainsaws for clearing down logs, loppers rather than brush saws for brushing). Additionally, while Forest Service direction (FSM 2353.25) does not prohibit new trail construction, the Forest Service’s capital investment project (CIP) emphasizes trail reconstruction, rather than construction. CIP funding is the Forest’s primary source for receiving larger sums of money for maintaining and reconstructing trails.
The document seems to be dealing with only the Clackamas district, but maybe that comment is referring to the entire Mt Hood forest (all districts). With stuff like this, it is no wonder it is hard to understand what is going on. Conflicting statements and inaccurate information....
If you are interested in looking at the EA, here is the link.
Rob,
When they say "the Forest", they are talking about the whole Mt Hood Nat'l Forest not just our district. I believe the Zigzag district is the only one with a paid trail crew still, but they don't come down into our district to clear trails. Or at least I have never heard of any such work being done out of district. I take that back, Bob and I cleared two of Zigzag trails, The Linney Creek Trail and parts of the Plaza Lake Trail last year on outings in those areas. All of those agencies listed as volunteers only amount to a few trails in our district, mainly the PCT, the Bagby Trail, and maybe still the Rho Ridge Trail. We appreciate any help we can get in maintaining the trails in our district.
Don