WELCOME TO TRAIL ADVOCATES

Donovan Harding

About describes the purpose of this site and includes some trail related District history and some old maps.

Trail Index contains information about hiking trails in the Clackamas River Ranger District of the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. If you go to the index be sure to read ABOUT TRAIL INDEX if it's your first visit.

Get Involved has suggestions for those who would like to advocate for trails in the District.

Hikes describes a series of hikes we have guided in the past.

HALF CAVE ON CLACKAMAS RIVER TRAIL photo K Helser

MAY NEWS

Wildflowers are out along the Clackamas! Dogwoods in bloom. Time to get out of town and go for a hike. Out of the coffee house, forget the office, the lawn can wait, call in sick, and enjoy prime time in the woods.

Our low elevation trails are mostly free of snow this month. It will likely be a late season for high country hiking. The snow pack is at about 2500 feet. Most of our available trail mileage has been maintained already this year.

Road 63 is washed out, closed, just above the Road 70 (Bagby) junction at Little Fan. This complicates access to Bull of the Woods. The detour will be over Rhododendron Ridge. It will be a while before that access clears of snow.

Wind, rain, and snow. Tis the season for low elevation trails and prudence. See ABOUT TRAIL INDEX for listing of low elevation trails. Avoid hiking in inclement weather. It is more hazardous than it is exciting.

Bagby users should be prepared for extended stays. The road in is susceptible to slides, downed trees, and snow which can block your departure.

This year volunteers have successfully cleared all the Districts non-Wilderness trails of downed trees and debris. In Bull of the Woods Wilderness, the story is different. Only 12% of the trails are free of obstructions, in spite of significant volunteer efforts. The trails there have not been cleared since 2002. The reason for this is that the chainsaw is not allowed in the Wilderness. The drafters of the Wilderness Act did not foresee the severe waste of the peoples trails which is happening in Wilderness Areas all over the West. In short, if you want your Wilderness trails to be kept up, the chainsaw is your friend. Write Mr Blumenauer, Mr Wyden, Ms Hooley, Mr Walden, and Mr Smith and let them know that you want the handful of volunteers who take care of your trails to have 20th Century tools that will enable them to care for the most miles per day. There is no inherent virtue in the use of 18th Century technology in todays Wilderness. If hikers were riding up to Bull of the Woods country from Portland in their ox carts, it might not seem so stupid to use a crosscut saw to clear the trails. Hikers, stand up and protect your trails. Environmental groups will not protect your trails. They often work against them and do pitiful little to mitigate the negative impact on trails their agenda wreaks. Even Oregon's leading and otherwise venerable hiking club is not protecting your trails. It's up to you.

NWFC put a substantial effort towards clearing many trees off the Bagby 544 trail towards Elk Lake, back breaking crosscut saw work. Thanks so much!
Equestrians made their regular and generous contributions

Please watch your footing. Between Big Leaf Maple leaves, ice, frost, rain we have cause for many slipping hazards. We have had some serious injuries. As our days shorten, be prepared for darkness. Be prepared to spend the night in the event of a mishap. Can you make a fire in the rain?

Expect sudden changes in weather up high. High evening winds in the Clackamas Gorge. Watch for rocks on Hwy 224 in the mornings.

PLEASE don't remove plastic flagging, it is probably important.

OLD BUSINESS

The (Lewis and Clark) Wilderness Bills are back. They seem to refuse to die. Wilderness expansion will incorporate many of our trails. We will no longer be allowed to clear them yearly with our chainsaws (and our teeth aren't that sharp). The labor and cost of trail maintenance could rise ten fold. Currently there is little money for this work as it is. There is no reason to expect more. The sale of condos at Government Camp will not be funding crosscut saw crews to keep your trails nice to walk. Expect deterioration. Climb over, under, and around fallen trees: average ten per mile per year. This wilderness expansion is really heartbreaking because we volunteers have worked so hard to recover most of these trails from years of neglect. We will continue to keep the non-wilderness trails nice.

IT CANNOT BE OVER EMPHASIZED HOW MUCH OF A DISASTER THE LEWIS AND CLARK WILDERNESS BILL WILL BE FOR THE DISTRICT TRAILS. The consequence will be loss of trails and access to all but the most extreme adventurers, a very small minority of users.

Wilderness expansion impacted trails:
502, 502-A, Old Bissell, 506, 507, 521, 517, 518, 510, 512, 515, 516, 521, 702, 704, 703, 705, 727, and a handful of user trails.

If the Bills pass, we will consider lobbying for abandonment of some of the above trail mileage and work to replace it with mileage outside wilderness that could actually be properly maintained - with modern equipment and available manpower.

OTHER NATIONAL FORESTS further from Portland are harder pressed than Mt Hood in maintaining their trails and hosting their campgrounds. They have smaller local population bases from which to draw volunteers. Consider helping in your favorite away from home Forests.

It is possible that we may lose the roads leading to our more obscure trails. An environmental organization, BARK, is pushing hard to close roads and restrict access. They want us to walk miles of ripped up roads to get to our trails. Anyone who thinks walking ripped up roads is neat needs to spend a day doing so. Trail lovers need to pay attention and have their voices heard.

For those of you who have requested old trail maps, we have made a few of interest available in the About section of the site.

IT IS TIME TO COMMEND the Forest Service for a hundred years of managing the Roaring River drainage. Before the Forest Service establishment, the Roaring River country was severely burned out. Extensive trails were built. It was planted and seeded and protected. Now it is cherished by wilderness fans. The new thinning projects elsewhere in the District have also been quite a boon letting in just enough light to liven things up while making it easier to get around and appreciate the new settings.

There have been more unusual COUGAR ENCOUNTERS in the region this year so please be careful. Cougars have not been hunted with help from dogs for some time and are becoming impudent. Their habits are changing with respect to humans. Watch behind you from time to time. Cougars do not like to think you know they are following. When sitting, oppose one another and watch each others back. Cougars are attracted to sitting figures because they appear to them to be manageable prey. When a cougar advances on you, DO NOT RUN, assault the cougar with anything you've got. They are averse to being injured. A side arm is a prudent companion in the woods. Young cougars can work in pairs and are particularly stupid.

ATV DAMAGE to trails, theft of signs, car theft, car burning, and damage to vegetation -- particularly around water -- can be reported to the Forest Service. Doing so helps them document the dimensions of various problems which is the first step towards addressing them.

CONDITIONS

Hiking in the Clackamas District is generally not like taking a walk in the Gorge or on Mount Hood. Our District is rough, steep, remote, and unforgiving. The trails are often faint, there are few signs, and help is far away. It's wilder than wilderness. Don't underestimate it. Be prepared. Cell phones cannot be relied upon.

DO NOT rely on internet trip planners to navigate the woods. DO NOT try to cross the District during the Winter, late Fall, or early Spring unless you know exactly what you are doing and have your Common Sense pulled up tight. Use Highway 26 or 22. That's what they're for.

You can call 503 261 9246, then 3-1, to hear the mountain WEATHER FORECAST (National Weather Service).

Please encourage your ATV riding friends to respect our hiking trails by staying off of them. Point out to them that ATV damage to trails, vegetation, and water quality will likely lead to restrictions.

ROADS

WATCH FOR LOG TRUCKS! There will be some thinning projects this year. Headlights are a good idea in the woods. Keep right on outside curves.

Road 57 new bridge is OPEN.

Road 46 not open to Detroit due to snow.

Road 7010 has a SLUMP difficult for cars to traverse about seven miles up.

4610 Road (the Abbot Road) also remains IMPASSABLE except by X-treme four wheel drive action between the old 790 trailhead and the 791 Salmon Butte trailhead. NOT A THROUGH ROUTE ANYMORE.

SECURITY

It is surprising how many people leave valuables in their cars. Break-ins are common along the highway and routine at Bagby Hot Springs.

Enjoy the woods. Be safe and prepared.

EMERGENCIES

Most loggers and equipment operators have radios for emergencies. PGE staff are very present along the Oak Grove Fork and have radios. Most Forest Service staff also have radios.

Cell phones may work between SiSi and Olallie Butte this year (Verizon).

WISH LIST

We could use some pictures and enhanced descriptions of our Bull of the Woods Wilderness trails to add to our trail pages. Write us: trailadvocate@hotmail.com if interested in helping with some content.

GPS downloads onto TopZone maps of all District trails.

An interpreter of celestial observation data from 1855 to determine points on the ground today.

A bridge over the Roaring River at the Trail 517 crossing. A replacement of the shelter burned at Cache Meadow. A trail machine. Grants to restore certain sections of trail. Hello philanthropists?

trailadvocate News

WELCOME TO TRAIL ADVOCATES