[marionthegoat]

The truth be known, I often picture imaginary minature railroad tracks precariously perched on the trails I hike. Just hope I don't derail ...

[Jake]

I just talked to a friend in Twisp who has mine claims the other side of Harts Pass. He tells me that there is one area at Dead Horse Point that has a section of road where about eight feet of the road bed is GONE! He questions whether the road will open at all this year if they must cut into the mountain. By the way, there are pictures of Dead Horse Point on pages 255 and 256 of Discovering Washington's Historic Mines Volume III including one taken prior to 1931 and one of the same place in 2003. Also, the story of how it got it's name. I hope it's not as bad as it looks and they can open the road this year.

[elulofs]

We went up there last weekend. On the way up you can still see the old 24-36" road! Too many blow downs and too rough a surface to hike on so we stayed on the road. It cuts across the road in one place that we saw and parallels the road in two places. Being a geology teacher, it looked to me like the slide was not vegetation related, but rather steeply bedded sandstone and shale-slate. The weak slate washes out and the sandstone collapses. There are some large pieces that need to be cleared. Around the corner i did see where some of the road bed had slid away. The sign on the gate says it will be done by early August, but from the damage, it looks to me like it could easily take longer. Ed

[Quark]

[elulofs]

i uploaded to flickr a map of the location of the old road and two pics of the old road where it crosses the new road http://www.flickr.com/photos/33536593@N00/ Ed

[ArcDome]

The Methow Valley News ran an article about the road closure this week. The Forest Service has been looking at the slide but has not came up with a plan of action yet. The article closes with: "Although they are hoping for a summer opening date, ranger district officials are unable at this time to make a prediction as to when the road will be cleared." The FS road condition website now says: "There is a strong possibility that the Hart's Pass closure may remain in effect through this year" There is also an article on the MVNEWS regarding trail work in the valley.

David describes slide at Dead Horse Point. Edit to add picture and FS website quote.

[heavy08]

After reading the MVNEWS article....contracting the outfitters and horse stock to clear the trails is a very feasible idea....As they use the trails as much as anybody else with more impact and it is their livelyhood.

[elulofs]

[heavy08]

point taken on the rock slide...i was referring to the trees blown down across the trails...Thanks...

[BeyondLost]

I was at the rock slide this morning. There is a new sign on the closed gate above Ballard campground which says the road is to be closed even to foot traffic as rock clearing will begin July 10. They will be using heavy equipment and blasting with dynamite. They make no estimate when it will be open. According to the Forest Service as quoted in the Methow Valley News, the main concern is destroying the road bed if blasting releases more unstable rock above. There are some garage size rocks involved to be removed and a large, potentially unstable wall above. This will take weeks, not days (my prediction). Then they still have to grade from the Lost River bridge to Harts Pass before they open the road to cars. The good news is that when they get done there will likely be a nice wide area there to meet oncoming traffic.

[ArcDome]

Thanks BeyondLost for the update. According to the FS web site, the W. Fork Methow TH will also be closed during repairs. The following is from the FS web site: "Starting Monday July 9, Rattlesnake trailhead and 1 mile of the trail beyond will be closed until further notice. Blasting and rock removal from the slide at Deadhorse Point will begin on Tuesday July 10."

[elulofs]

Yes, thanks for the updates, guys. It is good to know this info. On a Doctor Demento level ( you can Google him if you are a youngster), it would be fun to watch the hikers run for it to escape the falling rocks if the trail were not closed. Sorry, just couldn't get that image out of my head. Ed

[BeyondLost]

The Forest Service is being super cautious in closing the West Fork Methow trail. Even when the side of the mountain slid the tailings are not within 1/2 mile of the trail as can be seen in this photo down from the slide. I'm not saying that is wrong although the mountain bikers will not be happy.

The West Fork Methow River and trail are seen in the distance.

[Slugman]

I'm not worried about when the repairs will be done. Just so longs as they have started, that's the important thing, IMO. My problem with the way these things usually go is that it takes years and years to even move one shovel-full of dirt. So I do have a question, why does this road get super-duper ultra priority, when Mtn Loop Hiway-area roads have been wiped out since 2003 with nary a backhoe in sight?

[Guiran]

No salmon on the road to Hart's Pass.