| Ranger's Logbook |
Wednesday, June 9th, 2008
Weekend Report for June 6, 7, 8, 2008
How many times did I hear “What month is it?” this past weekend?
Countless! It felt so much like late fall on out District that I was looking for
hunter camps. The westerly winds kept the temperatures in the mid-forties
during the day, and in the low thirties at night. You could watch your breath
freeze in the air around as soon as the sun went down.
Speaking of the sun, we actually saw it on Sunday. It was a beautiful fall day,
void the beautiful fall colors. I don’t complain about the weather often, but this
is getting ridiculous. It’s Monday morning and the forecast for the week is
crazy for June! A 2,000 foot snow level and grey skies to the west can only
mean one thing… Snow in Cle Elum; in June!
Enough about the things we can’t change; here is my trail report: Our crew is
actually making great progress in opening the Taneum and Manastash
trails. We are cutting a fraction of the timber we cut during last season’s
record blowdown count. The trails are in pretty good condition.
From the Taneum Junction, you can ride to four corners via Taneum Ridge
and the South Fork Taneum trails. You can tie into the North Fork Taneum by
riding the Taneum Ridge trail to Fishhook Flats trail. The N.F. Taneum trail
remains closed at the 6 mile mark (from the Junction), and again from
Fishhook Flat east, due to the damaged bridges. We had a few guys ignore
the closure and pull the closure ribbons (and didn’t take the time to replace
the ribbons to warn other riders), but most people are respecting the closure.
The mid-week maintenance crew is bumping their equipment out to fix the
bridges, and hopefully they can fix them this week.
You can’t get to the top of Peaches (on Taneum Ridge). There is a lot of snow
hanging on at Quartz, with more coming. We tried to wheel to the top of
Quartz Mtn, on road 3100, but were stopped by DEEP snow just past
Taneum Lake trail (Taneum Lake trail is snowed in).
You can connect to the Manastash side via the Hoyt trail or Frost Mountain
trail. Our crew cleared Frost Mtn trail this weekend and even made it to the
old lookout! The trails on the Manastash side are still holding a lot of snow.
The Divide trail (4W311) is clear. You can ride the Shoestring to the South
Fork Manastash trail into the Manastash Campground, but you can’t go very
far west before hitting the snowline. The Manastash Lake trail was really
busy with some early season anglers and hikers (word is the fish aren’t biting
yet…that’s because they still think it is mid-February!). You still can’t get up to
the Manastash Ridge on the 4W trail system. You hit heavy snow on the
4W307/4W308.
Our crew saw some evidence of ATV travel, both on and off the trail, on the
South Fork Manastash trail this past weekend, and we caught five riders on
roads closed to non-licensed vehicles. These guys and gals are making it
really difficult for those of us who are trying to lobby for more multi-use road
access. Breaking the rules and damaging trails and vegetation only hurt
your sport and your chance for more access. It angers me because most
of the ATVers are responsible and trying hard to work within the system. I just
have to get this off my chest, because this is just an example of the minority
ruining it for the majority!
On that note, the idiots who don’t have the skill to run our legal 4x4 system and
would rather spin donuts (WOW!) in our meadows are really giving the true
4x4ers a bum rap. Want to see the damage these jerks cause? Just drive up
the Manastash canyon. These imbeciles are really giving a black eye to a
sport I enjoy. If you see anyone wheeling or riding off trail or off-road, please
record their license number and turn them in!
On the other side of the District, we drove up to Fortune Creek on Saturday to
get some eyes on our big February avalanche. WOW! The slide looks so
much more impressive without the snow blanketing the majority of damage. It
looks like a bomb went off! The 4W301 is impassable with debris and snow.
A large patch of snow down the slide path blocks the road, but the tread is
clear after that patch to just beyond the Van Epps (4W302) junction. Both the
301 and 302 become impassable at that point. As we were heading back
down the Fortune Creek road, we ran into two die hard sledheads towing their
enclosed trailer up to the snowline. They heard there was fresh snow up on
Hawkins and couldn’t stand it. Snowmobiling in June…I guess there are
some bragging rights attached to that feat!
Most people are respecting the motorized closure on Table Mountain. The
trails will open on June 16th, but please stay on the trail or on the road when
you head up there as the ground is really, really wet. The Liberty trails are in
good shape and the wheeling out there is pretty good, with most loops open.
You can drive to the end of the North Fork Teanaway. Our trail crew is finding
a lot of water damage in the Teanaway (see Deb’s blog for more information).
Expect a lot of snow and high swift water crossings if you venture out on the
trail system. Don’t cross fast moving creeks. We have a lot of log jams and
debris jamming our waterways, making crossings extremely dangerous!
Well, if my knee didn’t have another 3 months to go before I can expect to hike,
ski, or ride, I would wax my skis and hit the trail! As it is, I think I’ll put on my
winter jacket and stocking cap, and head to the office. Oh, and I’d better throw
my chains in the back of my truck! Have a great week! Mikki D
How many times did I hear “What month is it?” this past weekend?
Countless! It felt so much like late fall on out District that I was looking for
hunter camps. The westerly winds kept the temperatures in the mid-forties
during the day, and in the low thirties at night. You could watch your breath
freeze in the air around as soon as the sun went down.
Speaking of the sun, we actually saw it on Sunday. It was a beautiful fall day,
void the beautiful fall colors. I don’t complain about the weather often, but this
is getting ridiculous. It’s Monday morning and the forecast for the week is
crazy for June! A 2,000 foot snow level and grey skies to the west can only
mean one thing… Snow in Cle Elum; in June!
Enough about the things we can’t change; here is my trail report: Our crew is
actually making great progress in opening the Taneum and Manastash
trails. We are cutting a fraction of the timber we cut during last season’s
record blowdown count. The trails are in pretty good condition.
From the Taneum Junction, you can ride to four corners via Taneum Ridge
and the South Fork Taneum trails. You can tie into the North Fork Taneum by
riding the Taneum Ridge trail to Fishhook Flats trail. The N.F. Taneum trail
remains closed at the 6 mile mark (from the Junction), and again from
Fishhook Flat east, due to the damaged bridges. We had a few guys ignore
the closure and pull the closure ribbons (and didn’t take the time to replace
the ribbons to warn other riders), but most people are respecting the closure.
The mid-week maintenance crew is bumping their equipment out to fix the
bridges, and hopefully they can fix them this week.
You can’t get to the top of Peaches (on Taneum Ridge). There is a lot of snow
hanging on at Quartz, with more coming. We tried to wheel to the top of
Quartz Mtn, on road 3100, but were stopped by DEEP snow just past
Taneum Lake trail (Taneum Lake trail is snowed in).
You can connect to the Manastash side via the Hoyt trail or Frost Mountain
trail. Our crew cleared Frost Mtn trail this weekend and even made it to the
old lookout! The trails on the Manastash side are still holding a lot of snow.
The Divide trail (4W311) is clear. You can ride the Shoestring to the South
Fork Manastash trail into the Manastash Campground, but you can’t go very
far west before hitting the snowline. The Manastash Lake trail was really
busy with some early season anglers and hikers (word is the fish aren’t biting
yet…that’s because they still think it is mid-February!). You still can’t get up to
the Manastash Ridge on the 4W trail system. You hit heavy snow on the
4W307/4W308.
Our crew saw some evidence of ATV travel, both on and off the trail, on the
South Fork Manastash trail this past weekend, and we caught five riders on
roads closed to non-licensed vehicles. These guys and gals are making it
really difficult for those of us who are trying to lobby for more multi-use road
access. Breaking the rules and damaging trails and vegetation only hurt
your sport and your chance for more access. It angers me because most
of the ATVers are responsible and trying hard to work within the system. I just
have to get this off my chest, because this is just an example of the minority
ruining it for the majority!
On that note, the idiots who don’t have the skill to run our legal 4x4 system and
would rather spin donuts (WOW!) in our meadows are really giving the true
4x4ers a bum rap. Want to see the damage these jerks cause? Just drive up
the Manastash canyon. These imbeciles are really giving a black eye to a
sport I enjoy. If you see anyone wheeling or riding off trail or off-road, please
record their license number and turn them in!
On the other side of the District, we drove up to Fortune Creek on Saturday to
get some eyes on our big February avalanche. WOW! The slide looks so
much more impressive without the snow blanketing the majority of damage. It
looks like a bomb went off! The 4W301 is impassable with debris and snow.
A large patch of snow down the slide path blocks the road, but the tread is
clear after that patch to just beyond the Van Epps (4W302) junction. Both the
301 and 302 become impassable at that point. As we were heading back
down the Fortune Creek road, we ran into two die hard sledheads towing their
enclosed trailer up to the snowline. They heard there was fresh snow up on
Hawkins and couldn’t stand it. Snowmobiling in June…I guess there are
some bragging rights attached to that feat!
Most people are respecting the motorized closure on Table Mountain. The
trails will open on June 16th, but please stay on the trail or on the road when
you head up there as the ground is really, really wet. The Liberty trails are in
good shape and the wheeling out there is pretty good, with most loops open.
You can drive to the end of the North Fork Teanaway. Our trail crew is finding
a lot of water damage in the Teanaway (see Deb’s blog for more information).
Expect a lot of snow and high swift water crossings if you venture out on the
trail system. Don’t cross fast moving creeks. We have a lot of log jams and
debris jamming our waterways, making crossings extremely dangerous!
Well, if my knee didn’t have another 3 months to go before I can expect to hike,
ski, or ride, I would wax my skis and hit the trail! As it is, I think I’ll put on my
winter jacket and stocking cap, and head to the office. Oh, and I’d better throw
my chains in the back of my truck! Have a great week! Mikki D
| The debris from the Fortune Creek avalanche (occurred last February). For more photos, click here. |
| The debris from the Boulder Creek avalanche (occurred last February). For more photos, click here. |
| The rag-tag Off-Road Vehicle and V-Team crew. Working together to keep your trails clear and open! |
| Bossco, the lead V-Team Jeep, crosses the famous Buck Meadow bridge. |
| Tim used to be a Timber Cruiser in the USFS. He felt a bit nostalgic today. The Boss-Man tries to tell Tim he can't ride with the ORV crew in that outfit! |
| Kyle is tossing a snowball at ORV Ranger, Nicole. Nicole becomes a Forest Protection Officer at the end of the month and can then write tickets. Assault on an officer carries quite a fine, Kyle. Just a friendly heads-up! |