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cascade curmudgeon



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cascade curmudgeon
PostFri Nov 17, 2017 9:23 pm 
Context: This is the USGS section that contains the Yodelin development and the old Yodelin ski area, and was sold after Yodelin developer went bankrupt after avalanche deaths in 1971. The PCT only runs through about a half mile of a corner of the section, but owner (a timber company) would only sell whole section, not just the small part that contains the PCT. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/pacific-crest-trail-wont-be-severed-after-1-6m-deal-with-stevens-pass-landowner/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=mobile-app&utm_campaign=ios

First your legs go, then you lose your reflexes, then you lose your friends. Willy Pep
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puzzlr
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PostSat Nov 18, 2017 12:09 am 
A story with a good ending so far. I hope the LWCF money comes through to pay off the loan.

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Randito
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PostSat Nov 18, 2017 12:18 am 
Seems like kind of paying ransom situation. The easement wasn't recorded, but the physical trail has been on that route for more than a decade -- so it seems like adverse posesion rules could be used to enforce the easement. But that could take years and in the interim the trail could get fenced off...

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Schroder
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PostSat Nov 18, 2017 7:08 am 
I found the article initially misleading, thinking it was the ski area at first. It seems a lot of money to me to buy land they've had on the market for many years and been unable to sell because of the avalanche exposure. I agree with RandyHiker - this was paying a ransom. When this was originally placed on the market, the parcels were available individually and it looks like at a lower price than that from the prospectus: http://www.centurypacificlp.com/userfiles/file/Stevens/Stevens_2015.pdf

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Malachai Constant
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PostSat Nov 18, 2017 8:27 am 
The proper term Is Greenmail you buy a parcel that has signifagence for beauty or access then threaten to log, mine, or develop in the hope a government or private conservation group will buy for an inflated price. Pay me or the land gets it! It frequently happens, I remember when a Wenatchee lawyer was threatening to mine the Dutch Miller Gap area unless the FS bought it. They called his bet and the area is still fine. Almost always the proposed action is no economically viable.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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ale_capone
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PostSun Nov 19, 2017 6:06 pm 
I always thought trail should go up and over skyline at that point. Maybe keep ridge and true crest where possible, then down and over and up to Valhalla. Few routes come to mind. The first few miles of that section are very yawn worthy.

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Randito
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PostSun Nov 19, 2017 8:38 pm 
I think the existing routing north out of Stevens follows the old old old railroad grade from back before there was *ANY* tunnel and one the West side the track did a lot of zigzags to climb over the pass.

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cascade curmudgeon



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cascade curmudgeon
PostSun Nov 19, 2017 9:40 pm 
RandyHiker wrote:
I think the existing routing north out of Stevens follows the old old old railroad grade from back before there was *ANY* tunnel and one the West side the track did a lot of zigzags to climb over the pass.
Correct. The Great Northern RR used switchbacks for the first four years of operation (1896-1900) while they were building the old Cascade Tunnel. The first 1.5 miles of the northbound PCT from Stevens is on a switchback. Sections of the old Cascade Highway on the west side of the pass are also on switchbacks, as is parking lot 1 at the ski area. Before the PCT there was a trail from the old Cascade Highway at Wellington which followed the Haskell creek drainage (below Tye Lake) and crossed the crest at the tri-county intersection and then became what is now the PCT.

First your legs go, then you lose your reflexes, then you lose your friends. Willy Pep
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cascade curmudgeon



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cascade curmudgeon
PostSun Nov 19, 2017 9:52 pm 
Malachai Constant wrote:
The proper term Is Greenmail you buy a parcel that has signifagence for beauty or access then threaten to log, mine, or develop in the hope a government or private conservation group will buy for an inflated price. Pay me or the land gets it! It frequently happens, I remember when a Wenatchee lawyer was threatening to mine the Dutch Miller Gap area unless the FS bought it. They called his bet and the area is still fine. Almost always the proposed action is no economically viable.
Yes, there were/are a number of other recent instances of this the along US 2. A few years ago above the town of Index, another just resolved around the Lake Serene trail, and an ongoing one above the south shore of Lake Wenatchee. In all those cases, as in this one, land was owned by timber companies who were otherwise going to log it. Supposedly in all cases land was sold at market value.

First your legs go, then you lose your reflexes, then you lose your friends. Willy Pep
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Token Civilian
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PostMon Nov 20, 2017 12:20 pm 
So, I have some insight into this, being one of the local chapter leaders for the volunteer PCT trail crew. When this issue came up, a reroute was looked at, but it isn't practical. The current routing going north IS the optimal one. As part of the investigation, ground reconnaissance was done and any attempt to reroute would encounter numerous avalanche chutes, rock slabs / outcrops, etc. Simply not a sustainable routing.

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