Open up West Side Road

[Gary_Yngve]

All they did was smile and steaksauce their heads and give some excuses for the WSR. Grrrr.

 

On a more serious note, Mark's comment about maybe having a park shuttle ferry people along the West Side Road sounds like a good idea to me.

[Winter]

Wow, you guys are freaks. I didn't state any opinion on anything. Just putting some facts out there for the discussion. Obviously facts are pretty scary for you folks.

[cj001f]

But when it comes to preserving traditional access he is strangely silent...and now apparently is a mouth-piece for the NPS lock 'em out gang.

As shown Fairweather, the NPS just doesn't have the money. It's the poor manager, when not having money to manage their current infrastructure, increases the resource demands. Of course it takes tax dollars to pay for all this.

[Fairweather]

Yes, but they seem to have enough $$$ to propose buying/adding land to the northwest corner of the park!

[Mark_Husbands]

look into it...it's a congressionally approved purchase and exchange that will provide a new, easier (cheaper) to maintain access point, and increase protected acreage.

[Fairweather]

Yes. And they also propose "improving" access to the Carbon Glacier trailhead by closing most, or all of Ipsut Creek Road!! Be sure to read the fine print. I posted the proposal here about a year ago...I'll see if I can dig it up.

 

...But then, you didn't address my point about the $$$ unavailable for WSR.

[cj001f]

...But then, you didn't address my point about the $$$ unavailable for WSR.

Talk to Congress & The White House. Congress is willing to approve money for acquisitions, but not road repair. The White House isn't willing to request money for repairs (that it said it would request!) Fairweather, which party's in charge again?

[Bandit]

The problem here is two fold. One, you have a minority of enviornmental people who don't want to see any progress made anywhere. I saw it all in The Crystal Mountain Expansion hearings. What a bunch of fruitcakes. They bitch and complain about everything. Some college grad fresh out of Biology class worrying about some spotted salamander. I told Einstein that in the winter when there is 60" of snow on the ground, that little salamander is probably hibernating somewhere. The opinions against the expansion were just plain silly. Same goes for MRNP. About five years ago some brilliant NP official decided they would spend $200,000 to get rid of all the fish in the lakes in the park. It had to do with a salamander again. As you could guess, the fisherman were up in arms. They decided not to kill off the fish. My point is that you have to use common sense. The park says they are short on money? Well, hell, let's make some money. MRNP would provide the best heli-skiing anywhere in the world. I can hear the enviornwhackos as I type. Hey, they use heli's on MR all the time. For rescue, hauling shit buckets, hauling material to Camp Muir. Why not haul some rich clients up and dump them off and let them ski to their hearts content? Too radical? No. It's a money maker. Two, MRNP is a fed run outfit with tons of waste. 99% of the park rangers are lazy and don't do anything but bitch and complain. I'm not talking about the climbing rangers. I'm talking about the grunt rangers. They can't even get the Paradise road open until 12:00 in the winter.

Edited June 28, 2004 by Bandit

[Bandit]

They've been talking about a shuttle on TWSR for years. Like I said, MRNP is all blah, blah, bullshit. All talk and no game. Pathetic!

[Mark_Husbands]

The Wilderness Act allows for limited motorized use for administrative purposes only. The heli-skiing idea is illegal and silly. So too with your needless screed against the park and park employees. I have spent a fair bit of time up there. I don't hear rangers bitching about the park. I hear you bitching about your sense of entitlement to easy park access. "Pathetic!"

[cj001f]

They've been talking about a shuttle on TWSR for years. Like I said, MRNP is all blah, blah, bullshit. All talk and no game. Pathetic!

Sack up. Where's the waste? Where's the money going come from? These things cost money. Roads have to be repaired once opened. Areas have to be patroled.

 

All I see is blah, blah, bullshit. All talk and no game. Pathetic!

[Bandit]

"Areas have to be patrolled". For what? Heli's illegal? Better not rescue or haul anything if it's illegal. Why do they allow snowmobiles in Mt St. Helens area? Just some more enviorn wack nut jobs. Just as I thought. Enjoy the crowds at Paradise fellas. Just like you fight the traffic jams every day in your drone jobs, you'll fight that line and traffic to get into the park. Ya, let's keep those already built roads closed. DUH!!

[Duchess]

A picture says a thousand words Bandit.

 

You want to know why the West Side Rd isn't open? Go take a walk up the road today. Just past the culvert, the main channel of the Tahoma has rerouted itself OVER the West Side Rd., causing a huge pool of water that is 2-3' deep. Maybe the park will drain it, maybe even sometime this summer. But it's quite likely that in the next flooding event, the river will actually flow over or down a section of the road, which really could wash out the culvert, etc.

 

Politics and GMPs and visition aside. You can't argue with the mountain...

[Stefan]

What really needs to happen is the Mt. Rainier Timber Company needs to add a road going to the West Side Road. Then the company could charge people using the road.

 

The only problem is getting across the Puyallup River.

[Bandit]

Ever hear of The Army Corp of Engineers? Or Mud Mountain Dam?

[Bandit]

Stefan, I totally agree with your idea. I've checked into this situation. MRTC used to issue weekend or daily permits at a resonable fee. They stopped doing that and now charge a yearly fee of $235 for individuals and even more for families.