![]() ![]() "It's kind of in a category of its own."įirst constructed in 1916, crews made the trail by blasting a path into the face of a cliff, creating a 27-mile loop around the adjacent Benson Plateau. "If you were to propose the Eagle Creek Trail today it wouldn't be built," said Rachel Pawlitz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Still, it's hard to compare the historic trail to any other in the area. Like most other trails in the Columbia Gorge, the Eagle Creek Trail has always dealt with and will continue to deal with regular rockslides and landslides. The moss that once held the rocky slopes in place is now largely gone, she said, making the whole area unstable. Crews cleared some areas of rocks only to come back and find more. ![]() Some rock piles have been chest high and up to 30 feet long, Cobb said. That work has included hacking through thickets of hanging branches, cutting up burned logs and clearing out piles of fallen rock that have continuously fallen over the trail. "Some of the trails are in better shape now than they were before the fire, just because we've had a chance to get in there and work on them." "I would say that it's a lot more hopeful than it used to be," Cobb said. It can be disheartening to see those, but the fresh growth is a sign that the forest is recovering. Of course, there are plenty of burned trees as well, she said – charred trunks and blackened snags for which the trails in the Columbia River Gorge are now known. "There's still a lot of green trees, there's a lot of ferns coming back and there's a lot of spots that haven't been touched at all." "The biggest thing that everyone should know is that it is lush regrowth happening," Cobb said. Two years after the fire, the Eagle Creek Trail is now a mosaic of both severe burns and untouched forest, according to Roberta Cobb, a crew lead with the Pacific Crest Trail Association, which has been working with the Forest Service on the trail. Hood River County Juvenile Director Robbie Johnson said the teen has been in compliance with court orders and declined to release any further information about his payments. A Hood River County judge eventually sentenced the boy to pay over $36 million in restitution, work 1,920 hours of community service and serve five years of probation. 2, 2017, after a teenager tossed fireworks into a canyon on the trail. That trail is in much better shape than the others, still lush with green foliage and moss. In August, officials reopened the Wahclella Falls Trail, located only two miles west from where the fire began. All three trails bore severe scars from the fire. Reopening the iconic hiking trail, known for its views of several waterfalls including Punchbowl Falls and Tunnel Falls, would be a marquee event following several high-profile trail reopenings since the fire.Īt the end of 2018, forest officials reopened the popular Angels Rest Trail, followed months later by the Larch Mountain and Wahkeena trails around Multnomah Falls. "We'll see what the winter brings us," Hinatsu said. If officials don't feel comfortable reopening the trail this fall, it could happen in the spring or next summer, depending on how much more trail work will need to be done as a result. The Columbia Gorge is notorious for seasonal landslides and rockfall, and trail work done this summer could suddenly be erased by a particularly wet season. "There's no guarantee that it will actually open when the bridges are installed." "Do we think it will be ready to open then? That's something we'll have to sort through and make a call," he said. Replacements for both the High Bridge and Fern Creek Bridge are scheduled to be airlifted to the trail in late September or early October.Īt that point, officials will meet to determine whether to reopen the Eagle Creek Trail right away or to wait, Hinatsu said. Forest Service in the Columbia Gorge, said the 13-mile trail could open as early as this fall or as late as next summer, depending on weather and assessments from forest officials.īefore any decisions are made, crews need to install replacements for two bridges that were destroyed in the fire. Stan Hinatsu, recreation staff officer with the U.S. Now, two years after the Eagle Creek fire began over Labor Day weekend, the famed Eagle Creek Trail where it all began is in the final phases of reopening to the public. ![]() Oregonians watched in horror as flames licked the lush forests of the Columbia River Gorge, dry winds fanning a fire that ultimately burned for three months, consuming nearly 50,000 acres by the time it was done. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |