Document Transcription and Description

Page 1 – Handwritten Notes (lined notebook paper)

Title: DRY RIDGE TRAIL COMPLEX
J Rondthaler 12-18-75

Legend:
- [solid orange line] — TRAILS CORRECTLY MAPPED
- [dashed orange line] — ROUTES SURVEYED AND STAKED
- [dashed red line] — OTHER POTENTIAL ROUTES
- [solid brown/dark orange line] — TRAILS NOT CORRECTLY MAPPED

Route Notes:

A-B-C — IS ADEQUATE ROUTE AND SHOULD BE RETAINED AS IS.

C-I — SHOULD BE EXPLORED. IT OFFERS A LOW ELEVATION ROUTE TO CONNECT WITH I-J-K-L

D-F — SHOULD BE ABANDONED

F-G — IS ADEQUATE.

G-H — SHOULD BE BUILT AS STAKED, WITH HELISPOT TO BE BUILT ON THE RIDGEPOINT NEAR "H"

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Page 2 – Handwritten Notes (continued)

H-D — IS FEASIBLE, AND TIED TO D-C, WOULD REPLACE D-F.

H-M-C — IS AN ALTERNATE PROPOSAL, BUT HAS NOT BEEN EXPLORED. IT HAS SOME ADVANTAGES TO H-D-C. IT WOULD KEEP TRAIL ON COOLER ASPECT. IT WOULD [REPLACE] A RELATIVELY STEEP ROUTE C-D. IT WOULD CROSS A GOOD STREAM NEAR "M" WHERE CAMPSITE COULD BE DEVELOPED. IT WOULD TAKE CARE OF A SEGMENT IN CONSTRUCTION OF C-M-I

C-D — SHOULD BE KEPT AS A PRIMITIVE HIKER ROUTE TO THE GOOD VIEWPOINT AT "D".

D-E-B — SHOULD BE EXPLORED AS A POSSIBLE [text continues on next page, cut off]

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Page 3 – Handwritten Notes (continued)

G-I-J — NEEDS MAP LOCATION VERIFIED AND NEEDS A CONDITION SURVEY. IF RELOCATION IS NECESSARY, IT SHOULD BE LOCATED WITH GRADES UP TO 20%, BUT AVERAGING 15%

J-K — NEEDS TO BE EXPLORED. IT WILL PASS THRU SEVERAL OLD CLEAR-CUTS BUT SHOULD OFFER GOOD VIEWS. IT WOULD COMPLETE A LOW-ELEVATION ROUTE.

K-P — OUGHT TO BE ABANDONED.

K-L — IS AN OLD UN-MAINTAINED TRAIL. IT IS VERY STEEP BUT FAIRLY WELL-BUILT. IT IS SO ILL-DEFINED THAT A DIFFERENT ROUTE WITH LESSER GRADES MIGHT BE DESIRABLE

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Page 4 – Topographic Map (overview, smaller scale)

This is a USGS-style topographic map covering the Dry Ridge Trail Complex area in what appears to be the Mt. Hood / Clackamas River area of Oregon. The map shows:

- Roaring River and Sunstrip River drainages on the left (west) side
- Clackamas area labeled
- The Narrows along the river corridor
- Three Lynx and Whitewater at the bottom center
- Grouse Point (elevation 4554) on the right side
- Serene Lake at right
- Forest label across the center

Colored annotations overlay the base map:
- Yellow/orange lines indicating trail routes along the ridge running east-west
- Red lines indicating trails not correctly mapped or alternate routes
- A red circled area near Serene Lake (possibly marking a specific feature)
- A shaded/highlighted area in the center of the map
- Elevation contours showing terrain ranging from approximately 1200 feet along the river to over 4400 feet on the ridge

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Page 5 – Topographic Map (detailed, larger scale)

This is a larger-scale topographic map of the same general area showing the Dry Ridge Trail Complex with letter waypoints (A through N and beyond) marked in purple/blue ink along the trail routes. The map depicts:

- Roaring River drainage on the left (west)
- Sunstrip area
- BM 990, BM 996, BM 1137, BM 1129, BM 1950 benchmark elevations noted
- The Narrows, Dinner area
- Three Lynx, Whitewater at the bottom
- Grouse Point (4554 ft) in the center-right
- Serene Lake east of Grouse Point
- Pack Lakes, Frazier Mtn, Shell Lakes, Cache Meadow in the far right
- Shining Lake, Indian Ridge, Indian Ridget (4608 ft) at upper right
- Huxley Lake (2573 ft) at upper left

Trail annotations:
- Orange/yellow solid lines showing the surveyed and correctly mapped trail running along Dry Ridge from west (near Roaring River trailhead, point A) eastward through points B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N — tracing the ridge to Grouse Point and beyond
- Pink/red dashed lines showing alternate route possibilities
- Letter waypoints A through at least N marked at key junctions and features

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Page 6 – Annotated Topographic Map with Color-Coded Legend

This detailed map covers the western portion of the Dry Ridge Trail Complex, focusing on the area from Roaring River eastward to approximately Grouse Point. The map is annotated in multiple colors with a hand-drawn legend at the bottom.

Geographic features shown:
- Roaring River (BM 990, BM 996)
- Sunstrip River
- BM 1137
- Huxley Lake (2573 ft) at upper center
- Indian Ridget (Indian Ridge, 4 [cut off]), Shining Lake at upper right
- Grouse Point (4554/4554 ft) at right
- South Fork river area

Color-coded legend:
- [yellow/black dashed] — INCORRECTLY MAPPED
- [green solid] — CORRECT TRAIL LOCATION
- [orange solid] — SURVEYED TRAIL
- [red solid] — AN ALTERNATE POSSIBILITY
- [red dashed] — YET ANOTHER [alternate]
- [blue solid] — GOOD STREAM

Symbols:
- (W) — GOOD STREAM AS OF 9-10-75
- V? — BUILD VIEWPOINT
- (H) — HELISPOT
- (C) — SAME LAYOUT CAMP 9-10-75

Signature/date: Al Ffondy (or similar) 9-15-75

The map shows multiple overlapping trail routes in different colors, illustrating existing trails (some incorrectly mapped), surveyed new routes, and alternate possibilities for the Dry Ridge Trail corridor. Waypoints visible include lettered points near the ridge line.

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Page 7 – Topographic Map (yellow-tinted, trail overlays)

This is a yellow-tinted topographic map covering the same Roaring River / Dry Ridge area with overlaid trail routes in orange/gold and red:

Geographic features:
- Roaring River labeled prominently
- Sunstrip River (lower left)
- BM 990, BM 996, BM 1137 benchmarks
- Huxley Lake (2573 ft) upper center
- Indian Ridget (Indian Ridge) and Shining Lake upper right
- Grouse Point (4554/4554 ft) right side
- Elevation contours ranging from ~1200 ft (river bottom) to 4400+ ft (ridge)
- Section numbers 31, 32, 34, 35, 38 visible

Trail overlays:
- Orange/gold solid lines tracing the main Dry Ridge trail route running east-west along the ridge
- Red dashed lines indicating alternate or incorrectly mapped trail segments in the upper (north) portions of the map
- The main trail corridor is clearly shown running from the Roaring River area (west) eastward toward Grouse Point

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Summary

This is a planning document dated December 18, 1975, prepared by J. Rondthaler (and referencing field work by Al Ffondy/Froudy dated 9-15-75), concerning the Dry Ridge Trail Complex in what is the Clackamas River Ranger District, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon. The document consists of handwritten planning notes assessing individual trail segments (labeled A through at least P) and four annotated topographic maps showing existing trails, surveyed routes, incorrectly mapped trails, and proposed new or alternate trail alignments. Key recommendations include abandoning segments D-F and K-P, retaining A-B-C, building G-H as staked with a helispot near H, exploring C-I as a low-elevation connector, and keeping C-D as a primitive hiker route to a viewpoint at D.