mikeadam Posted February 28, 2001 Posted February 28, 2001 Everyone, Like me, I know you are all dying to get on that "hazardous enigma" sitting out there at the end of the Middle Fork SRR (Snoqualmie River Road). If you're not aware of the enigma it is a mountain called Garfield and if you haven't seen it up close it presents one of the biggest walls in the Cascades. Besides Pete Doorish I do not think it has seen much attention due to it's reputation. In addition to Garfield this approach is often used as the backdoor to the Snow Lakes area (Roosevelt-Kaleetan traverse), and the Chimney Rock Massif. This is all public land and we have a right to enjoy it. However, I am hearing disturbing rumors of the closure of this road to public access. This essentially shuts down an amazing and not often visited area of the range. How would you feel if they closed the road to Sahale and Eldo? Pretty cheated I would probably think. I am in the process of trying to get more info from the park service, but in the meantime if you feel like this issue affects you or you want to do a good turn for your other fellow climbers who consider this a valuable resource please visit the NB ranger station on North Bend Avenue(on the way to Little Si climbing) and let them know your opinion. There is some mumbo jumbo information that can be garnished from this URL, but as soon as I get the word from the Forest Service I'll scan it and put it on alpinelite. http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/ Ray Borbon has already contacted Scott Silver of Wilderness.org for more interpretations of this issue and what it may mean for the future. Any questions or additional information can be directed to this board or to me personally at mikeadamson@alpinelite.com Thanks, Mike http://alpinelite.com Quote
none_dup1 Posted February 28, 2001 Posted February 28, 2001 Bob Davis told me this weekend that he saw about a dozen entries per year in the Garfield summit register. Some years more, some fewer. I think it's getting more attention than we think, and hope this road closure never happens. The same was threatened in Darrington. Matt Perkins' Darrington web-site discusses that situation. Keep up the good work, Mike. John Quote
chucK Posted March 20, 2001 Posted March 20, 2001 Hey! Just thought I'd get this issue to the top of the climber's board again. I just talked to the ranger(?) working on the (possible) shutdown of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road. He said they're hoping to get out the draft plan by late April. Then there's a 30-day comment period followed by a 45-day period to allow appeals of the decision. Thus, the "implementation" could take place in mid-summer, just as the climbing is getting good up there. It doesn't take long for them to lock the gate at Dingford Creek. So, call now to get your draft plans and get ready to send in those comments. The phone number to reach the contact person is (425)888-1421 ext. 233. He said there's been a bunch of calls recently by people in favor of keeping the road open. I'd guess that's probably due to this thread. Powerful, but misquided organizations (Mountaineers, Sierra Club) were pro-closure the last I read. Â The Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road is very nice access to some excellent climbing and backpacking. I climbed Chimney Rock from that way a couple years back. It was a beautiful, brush-free approach. An excellent bivi site and a fun climb. There's lot's of other great stuff I've done from the end of the MFSR road. Humping all yer crap up 7 miles of dusty road would not improve the experience. Check it out, then do your part to keep it open. chucK Quote
Alex Posted March 20, 2001 Posted March 20, 2001 of course, should the road close, you could always use a mountain bike Quote
Alpine_Tom Posted March 20, 2001 Posted March 20, 2001 Maybe I'm missing something, but I thought the reason they were taxing us for trail access was to provide for maintenance of trails and roads. Or is this part of the "demonstration" project, to demonstrate that they're going to shut down any road that doesn't bring in enough revenue? Quote
chucK Posted March 20, 2001 Posted March 20, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Alex: of course, should the road close, you could always use a mountain bike Well... #1. It is not obvious that you will be able to use a mountain bike given the FS penchant for prohibiting them, so as to not bother the horseys. But that probably doesn't bother you since you broadcast to the world (on your webpage) that you use your mountain bike on the prohibited trails anyway. #2. What's your point? I could also get to the trailhead by crawling naked from the Texaco station that plays the cartoons at the gas pumps. But you know what? That would be more difficult. Sorry, but I'd rather use my limited time doing something other than humping a pack full of climbing and bivy gear on my mountain bike up a dusty road. I'd rather they don't close down an existing valuable (to me) resource in an attempt to battle a perceived problem (hooligans in the woods) with a fix that won't fix anything (from what I've seen the evidence of shooting and dumping is confined to the part they're not going to close down). chucK [This message has been edited by chucK (edited 03-20-2001).] Quote
Eddie Posted March 21, 2001 Posted March 21, 2001 No kidding ...We pay for access and the closures increase . More money for the General Fund. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.