The Benchmark of all Alpine MeadowsRoad washouts suck! And we here in Washington State are in real danger of losing permanent access to so many of our hiking trails because of the large number of them. Take a look at the Skykomish and Darrington Ranger Districts' lineup of accessible trails. Not much, uh? And no wonder trails like Dickerman are even more crowded than before. Some of our trails have been de facto closed now for over five summers. Enough! This country has the money to fix roads and hiking trails. When are we going to make this a priority? Boy do I long for another president like Teddy Roosevelt. He'd get the job done and there wouldn't be much red tape in the way either!

I only hope that whomever replaces the less-than-environmentally stellar W; McCain or Obama, that they make public lands and public funding of public lands a priority again. And that goes too for our governor. Give me another Dan Evans any day. Ms. Gregoire has nearly bankrupted our state and her budgets are forcing state parks to raise their fees again-new parks have been put on hold-and DNR was given no funding for trails. So much for Washington Democrats caring about public lands and providing adequate public funding so that the public may enjoy these lands. And Washington Republicans-here's your chance to win over some folks. Do something postive for the environment like what Mr. Evans was so proud of doing. And Dino, in 2004 properly funding our state park system was part of your campaign platform? Is it still?

In the meanwhile however-here's something positive-kind of. If you are tenacious enough to bike past some of these road closures you will be guaranteed an amazing wilderness experience in our backcountry. I recently spent a couple of days at the end of the North Fork Skykomish River Valley and hiked back up to Benchmark Mountain, one of my absolute favorite places in the Central Cascades. The meadows are stunning! The views are breathtaking! And the trail is in excellent shape! No one up there except me and the bears. If you can work up the extra energy to bike 3.5 miles of closed road with one mile of it being covered in downed trees- this wilderness can be yours! Enjoy-and remember to hold your public officials accountable-maybe even try to get some of their sorry butts out on our trails so they can see this mess they've left us with!

(photo- Benchmark Mountain-August 2008)

Road Closed My Arse!

Hey-I have a deadline to meet. Do you think I am going to let a little thing like a road washout stop me from completing my latest guidebook? Hell, no! Alan Bauer and I recently spent some time in the Icicle Gorge Area finishing up scouting for our upcoming Day Hiking Central Cascades Book-due in your sweaty little hands this spring.

We finished up our Icicle work and move on to the Skykomish Area next where we'll deal with another washout and defy it as well. Heck, I didn't let all the washouts in the North Cascades and Olympics stop me from getting my other Day Hiking books out. Have mountain bike will travel.

Here's the lowdown on the Icicle Gorge Road. About a half mile of road is now river. Just incredible how this spring washout forced the river to jump its bank into the road. From high up on the Chatter Creek Trail you can see the earth moving culprit. Interesting enough, the slide originated in an old clearcut! Imagine that? The bad news now is that the road probably won't get reopened for at least three years-and that's if the Forest Service gets appropriate funding- (Go Obama or McCain-and write your rep!) and some whack-job Seattle enviro group doesn't decide to sue the Forest Service because they want to keep you locked out of your public land. I am a conservationist but also a trails advocate. I don't want any new roads-and I don't mind decommissioning many spurs-but when it comes to main access roads that have been around for decades (Dosewallips, Suiattle, White Chuck, Icicle)- Get them open!

Meanwhile on the Icicle, the Forest Service has built a .7 mile trail around the washout which is an easy hike or mountain bike back to the road. From the road closure at the Ida Creek Campground here is what you are looking at for distance to trailheads.

Chatter Creek 1.7 miles

Icicle Gorge 2.3 miles

Trout Creek 3.75 miles

Blackjack Ridge 4.75 miles

Upper Icicle 5.0 miles

Makes your trip a little more challenging now, doesn't it? But there is a silver lining to all of this. If you make the extra effort right now you'll get to enjoy an Icicle Gorge crowd free. Actually, practically deserted. Alan and I had Lake Edna to ourselves. Yesterday I shared the Upper Icicle Valley with a big black bear! Get that bike tuned and don't let a little thing like a road washout stop you from exploring your favorite places. And don't forget to ask Congress to help get these roads reopened (because not everyone can bike to trailheads) and fund our trails (like they deserve). The current trail funding deficiency is a far bigger threat to our trails than a washout!

(Photo by Alan Bauer)