Forum Index > Trail Talk > Rangers need better communication in Glacier Peak Wilderness
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Noheaperture
Nohea



Joined: 25 Aug 2018
Posts: 130 | TRs | Pics
Location: Issaquah
Noheaperture
Nohea
PostSun Sep 09, 2018 12:15 am 
So I ATTEMPTED to do spider gap/buck creek pass loop this Tuesday-Friday. Made it to image lake by the second day when the fires near flower dome and lost creek were burning pretty bad you couldn’t see glacier peak. I went to the look out at image to check trail status for buck creek and was told it was closed and needed to go a different route. Well, the only option reasonable for me was to go back through spider gap (not fun with majority towards the top being mostly scree and steep hard snow) the ranger at lower Lyman said it was fine to go so I started my ascent. She ran After me 20 min later and said that Phelps meadow was ALSO closed and my only option was to go to Holden which would require a massive detour via boat and bus. After getting dropped at the boat dock outside of Holden, the bus driver told me that she called in and neither trails were closed and don’t know why the rangers I spoke to both gave me wrong info. I spent $150 and wasted a whole day traveling by bus and Leavenworth shuttle while walking 10 miles extra to a place that wasn’t necessary. Oh let’s not forget to mention walking all the way back to upper Lyman from image lake even though the trail was never even closed this week..This Ruined the remainder of my journey. The station in Chelan, said they couldn’t help even though the rangers mistake cost me time, money and ruined the last half of my trip. Things like this should not happen especially when communication is detrimental being so far off the grid.

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Wastral
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Joined: 13 Sep 2006
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Wastral
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PostSun Sep 09, 2018 1:49 am 
You should know better than to believe anything the FS tells you be it a message board(months, sometimes years out of date usually) or Ranger(ignorant arrogant college kid generally). Never heard one thing out of their mouths that is actual truth unless you are plopped down in the MAIN ranger station during business hours. They always err on insane caution. For instance trails years after fires went through are still closed..... Yea.... as if. Or where you can park/hike for free... Or the horrors of cutting one in a billion small alpine tree/shrub for helicopter ski operations far away from where any hiker will travel so they wouldn't go into shock at observing the soul sucking destruction of a stumps in a wilderness area!... making their air operations safer. Oh wait, they see plenty of stumps of dangerous snags removed by the FS in wilderness areas along trails.... DOH! Unless there is orange/red fire X tape across a trail, it is open. EDIT: PS: Why did you not just walk through the Entiat then up and over back into the Chiwawa River basin...???

Slap Slap; 10 bugs dead, Blip Blop; Stumble Fall; Curse and Get up and Do it all Over Again; Reaching High For the Sky a Mile High; Topping Out Atop a Peak; Priceless
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contour5
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
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contour5
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PostSun Sep 09, 2018 10:39 am 
Quote:
Ranger(ignorant arrogant college kid generally). Never heard one thing out of their mouths that is actual truth
I've generally found the opposite to be true. Most back country personnel are pretty dialed in, while the office help can be frustratingly out of touch. There are exceptions, of course...

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natural_log
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Joined: 19 Oct 2015
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Location: Portland, OR
natural_log
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PostSun Sep 09, 2018 1:54 pm 
contour5 wrote:
Quote:
Ranger(ignorant arrogant college kid generally). Never heard one thing out of their mouths that is actual truth
I've generally found the opposite to be true. Most back country personnel are pretty dialed in, while the office help can be frustratingly out of touch. There are exceptions, of course...
Agreed, the office tries to stay up to date based on ranger reports, and unfortunately, places like this. Also, good luck to any college kid getting a federal job on USAJobs.

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Noheaperture
Nohea



Joined: 25 Aug 2018
Posts: 130 | TRs | Pics
Location: Issaquah
Noheaperture
Nohea
PostSun Sep 09, 2018 2:40 pm 
Well, I know better next time. I’m new to the area and had my dog with me who had a difficult time on some of the steep scree sections so we didn’t want to risk a dangerous situation and me not feeling 100% confident in my ability to navigate some of the higher spots in the area especially with the strong recommendation of the rangers (who I trusted) to steer me from harms way.

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FiresideChats
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Joined: 20 Jan 2014
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Location: San Juan Islands
FiresideChats
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PostSun Sep 09, 2018 3:41 pm 
As with anything, there are usually one or two, go-to people that are the ones you want to talk with. I'm thinking of a ranger in the Darrington office that I consider cautious, but very reliable, and one in another office that, well, he means well. Asking a few questions generally reveals if they have a detailed map of their area in their head. Or not.

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