dduncan

Very impressive, Steph! And - your map overlays are the best!

I see what you mean about 'exposure on the left'! But Fay is fearless.

In response to Marylou's point about the rad repair cost - the 6 million dollar figure is based on barging every rock, pebble and grain of sand required to fix the road up 55-mile Lake Chelan on barges, a very expensive proposition. I have spoken personally with Cragg Courtney,the person who has all the equipment, know how and has done all the road repair/construction in the Stehekin Valley for the past twenty years and more and he assures me that if he had a million dollars and was permitted to get the road repair material from the allowed 100-foot corridor that he can do all the repairs and relocation required for well under 1 million dollars. And that is a small price to pay for an entry portal to a magnificent, inspiring wilderness area unlike any other in the world. Every year several thousand people used to ride the Park Service shuttle buses up into the upper valley but now that access portal is closed to 99% of them - not a good way to build the wide coalition Governor Evans spoke of before the WWC as necessary to preserve and extend our present wild areas. As the person who has done more than any one else to create and extend Washington's wilderness areas I think we should listen to what he has to say.

Great job, Klenke. Saves me the effort of lugging my surveyor's level up there ala Raven Ridge.

Amen to your sentiments. And the good people of Stehekin feel the same way about it.

Very well stated, Blake. Your analogy is excellent.

A road that has been there for over a hundred years is not a 'new' road. If every road that is damaged by a meandering river were abandoned mikester would be doing a whole more walking and a whole lot less talking. And maybe too dumb to know the difference.

There will never be a road into the Pickets, and I'm glad of that, but there has been a road into Cottonwood for over a hundred years. I am thinking of those who, (now and in the future) because of ability, age or handicap, are now deprived of what was once available to them.

For well over four decades climbers have benefited from a unique access to the very heart of the North Cascades and some of its most challenging summits. Not only have we benefited, but we have found particular pleasure in the boat journey up Lake Chelan to Stehekin and then catching the Park Service shuttle bus for the bumpy ride to up valley points like Bridge Creek, Park Creek, or Cottonwood Camp in search of summits such as Goode, Storm King, Logan, Buckner and others. This access was restricted somewhat in 1995 when a washout closed the last couple of miles of road below Cottonwood. This made it a bit more work to get to a camping spot in Horseshoe Basin but it could still be done in a day. But this long enjoyed access came to an abrupt halt when the 500-year flood of 2003 washed out even more of the upper road and literally tore away sections of the road in the gorge above High Bridge. Climbers and others waited patiently for three years of ‘study’ by the Park Service only to be shocked when, in August 2006, the Park Service announced the permanent closure of the road above Carwash Falls, not far above High Bridge! This action ended over 100 years of upper valley road access and ignored legally binding Right-of-Way agreements for the original road. Climbers who are affected by this closure can hike in via Bridge Creek, Thunder Creek, Fisher Creek or Cascade Pass (it may take a day or so longer) but we can still get our summits. It is not so simple for the vast majority of others who come every year to hike, camp, fish or just enjoy the bus ride into such a scenic parkland. Most of these people are not able to take the extra day or two of backpacking it now requires to get up valley and many others are now simply denied access because of physical handicaps, advancing age or tender years. The enabling language for the North Cascades National Park called for establishment of the park “In order to preserve for the benefit, use, and inspiration of present and future generations certain majestic mountain scenery, snow fields, glaciers, alpine meadows, and other unique natural features…”. It is hard to benefit, use or be inspired by what one can no longer see nor experience. If you would like to help ‘present and future generations’ enjoy and be ‘inspired’ by this magnificent parkland and help preserve this unique Stehekin entry portal please contact me for further information or write your Senators and Congressmen. A wealth of information supporting the road reopening is now available from a just opened (May 14)website for Stehekin Heritage. Stehekin Heritage