2012-09-06 Old Vista Ridge Trail to Owl Point and Perry Lake

[Splintercat]

Excellent, Peder! Lots to explore in that area for off-trail folks like you!

@ Peabody: Contrarians are welcome, Peabody! But it's not illegal to maintain an established trail unless you're using power equipment in a wilderness area. In fact, MOST trail maintenance is done by volunteers, usually anonymously, when you move away from the most heavily travelled areas. You are correct on posting signs, of course... and I therefore look forward to seeing a USFS sign on this trail, someday! It will happen... eventually.

Tom

[retired jerry]

I see the Forest Service's point

They don't want people opening trails that have been decommissioned

Trails have to meet their specs. They don't want people to be injured. They don't want a trail that will get washed out, and then people will complain about it not being fixed, like Eliot Creek. They have limited resources to maintain. etc.

[Splintercat]

Except this trail was never decommissioned, Jerry. Just dropped from maintenance... as are many trails that are still part of our trail system, ostensibly due to budget constaints. So, hiking (or maintaining) this trail is no different than hiking the Tanner Cutoff or Moffett Creek trails in the Gorge, for example.

Meanwhile, several trails that were never officially designed, constructed, maintained or even recognized by the USFS are heavily traveled: Munra Point, Ruckel Ridge, Eliot Moraine route to Cooper Spur, the various routes to Barrett Spur and the "short" path to McNeil Point are a few that come to mind. These were never even part of the official trail system, so should they be closed?

Of course, most of our discussion is academic: the USFS is generally unable to prevent REAL threats to the forest and those of us who visit it legally (shooting galleries, marijuana grows, trailhead break-ins, illegal OHV trails, squatters, dumping, timber and firewood theft...), so hard to imagine that threatening notices to hikers represent a true priority for the agency -- let's hope not, in the interest of our tax dollars!

Tom

[Roy]

I am a bit lost here. So what's being said is those two wooden signs are being removed by the forest service?they look standard issue and a bit weathered. And some one is making them and replacing them?

I understand the one sign with the guy cutting the tree. Hell somebody up there with chainsaw wacks a finger off and reasons if the gov maintains this I don't loose a finger.So it is gov fault my fingers gone.

The trails open people hike it wont dissapear. Correct me if I am wrong the nfs is not maintaining it does not care if you hike it.

I wont go as far as Jerry and back the nfs. I am not reading policies just emotion.

Sounds like Splitercat answered maintanance before I sumbmited.

[Roy]

Oh Tom there's a recliner proposed with a loony and I next week I have never been here don't think he has your photo sold me.

[retired jerry]

I really appreciate Tom's effort and I'm not backing anybody - I just see their point

If they walked on the trail they'de see it was done properly

Tom will really appreciate your comment about the weathered sign, he goes to great efforts to make that happen

[Splintercat]

I have no idea what you're talking about, Jerry. But it is always good to see a well-maintained trail sign.

Tom

[forestkeeper]

You all should ask the FS if they are taking the signs down before you accuse them of something they didn't do. Custom trail signs are not hard to make if you happen to have the right tools. If the trail is in need of maintaining, yet the signs are missing, usually would indicate that it is NOT FS personnel. As with the Clack River District, Zig Zag, Hood River and Barlow are low staffed with trail engineers. We have one, with just two people helping him. Timber Lake and youth from Portland help with maintaining. Zig Zag, to my knowledge, have no FS volunteers, so that means there are no trail scouts. I scout trails whenever I can, and Aaron Pederson gets the issues I make known, taken care of within days or a week. Tom can point out the info about Kathleen, the MHF Recreation Manager at the HQ in Sandy, and how she feels towards trail construction and maintenance.

[Splintercat]

Will, I think the accusations stem from earlier this summer, when the original trail signs were pulled and replaced with the USFS signboard you see in the mire recent photo, along with the notice about illeal trailbuilding. Seems like a fair assumption, but in the big picture, it doesn't really matter. The trail is getting plenty of use now, and is in better shape than a lot of officially maintained trails. Official recognition from the USFS would be nice, but not necessary at this point in the trail's history.

BTW, this trail is in the Hood River RD, so not sure who the recreation planner is. Used to be a very helpful gentleman named Kevin, but he has moved on from the Forest Service.

Tom

[Grannyhiker]

Actually, ForestKeeper, there was no illegal trail building! At the time the trail was maintained (by a number of volunteers) after some years of neglect, it was still listed in the USFS trail inventory. That maintenance took place several years before the wilderness area was expanded. Since that original effort, it has, to the best of my knowledge, been user foot traffic that has kept it open.

Assuming that my heel keeps progressing so that I can do short hikes, I hope to get up there in the next few weeks--it will be my first hike since my injury back in March!