Ridge above Multnomah Falls?

[Webfoot]

I tried and failed Elevator Shaft this afternoon. I left #400 where I found a good trail in the talus, so I'm pretty confident I was on the path, but almost immediately found small saplings growing in the way. Those weren't too hard to stomp through, but I feared it indicated that it hadn't been used much since the fire, and my fear was realized when at about 100 meters elevation I hit a wall of dense thimbleberry. I quickly realized I wasn't prepared to traverse unstable talus while unable to see my feet, after slipping twice in as many steps. I guess no one goes this way any more? It's a shame as the talus trail itself was surprisingly good and deserves to be maintained; it must have been a lot of work to make.

[Christminster]

Short version: You can't do Elevator Shaft any more.

I did Elevator Shaft pretty regularly up until a few years ago. The path through the talus was way overgrown with poison oak and whatnot but I never used to take the trail anyway, I just scrambled up.

The upper forested slope was also do-able. There were all kinds of new plants, some that deposited white fluff on your clothes, but you could push them aside and by September they had wilted. The top was blowdown city, a total mess, but I got a kick out of climbing and crawling through it.

But then THE SAPLINGS started. At first they were little and I could push them aside, but I noticed that they were stiffer to bend, and they were there year-round. And each year they got a little higher.

I can tell you the exact point at which they made it impossible to get through: five feet and eleven inches high, my eye level when I'm on tiptoes trying to see which way to go! Not to mention the pushing and grappling
-which they're doing, not me! They're thick, and you can't see where you're going. I assume it's even worse now.

I suppose you could just go down the rock section again. Yeah, right. I had to do it once, pre-fire, and it was pretty sketchy even then.

[Webfoot]

I was hoping to work on clearing some of that route. How large are those saplings now do you suppose? My loppers go to about 1.5" I believe; any more than that and progress would be extremely slow as I don't have a power saw. Maybe this one is already beyond me as presently equipped.

[Christminster]

Mmmm... like I said, at least two years ago they were as high as me... so their thickness by now, I'm not sure. You know what else you would need? A compass and a periscope! Just kidding... I think.

But, presuming that the final goal is to restore the connection to the Multnomah Basin trails, the saplings on the slope would be just the start. The blowdowns at the top are crazy. The outside edge of the basin burned hot and the trees died. That outside edge is exposed to the wind. I've been up there on a windy day when I heard four or five crashes, that's in one two-hour period. And that was years ago.

I think the basin is officially closed as well.

[EricInVancouver]

Mmmm... like I said, at least two years ago they were as high as me... so their thickness by now, I'm not sure. You know what else you would need? A compass and a periscope! Just kidding... I think.

But, presuming that the final goal is to restore the connection to the Multnomah Basin trails, the saplings on the slope would be just the start. The blowdowns at the top are crazy. The outside edge of the basin burned hot and the trees died. That outside edge is exposed to the wind. I've been up there on a windy day when I heard four or five crashes, that's in one two-hour period. And that was years ago.

I think the basin is officially closed as well.

Basin isn't closed and I hiked up elevator shaft last year in the spring with no real problems. I know a few people who have done it this year too. I would love to start improving this route as well. Definitely clearing some of the scrub poison oak between the boulder fields would be good.

[Christminster]

Every time I went up Multnomah Creek this spring and summer there were signs at Multnomah Basin saying the area was closed. Plus there were logs fallen across the road.

[EricInVancouver]

Every time I went up Multnomah Creek this spring and summer there were signs at Multnomah Basin saying the area was closed. Plus there were logs fallen across the road.

I am a trails club member and helped clear that road each spring. I have driven it's full length multiple times this year, definitely clear.

[idoru]

From everything I've been able to read, the basin is open - I was even up there this spring myself. I do, however, seem to recall a sign at the junction with Larch Mountain Trail suggesting that the area was closed. I don't remember the exact verbiage, and I think it's the only sign that mentions a closure, but it was definitely there. I went up to the basin via Oneonta and then Franklin Ridge, and never saw anything suggesting the basin was closed until I made it out of the basin and back down to the junction along Multnomah Creek.

[EricInVancouver]

From everything I've been able to read, the basin is open - I was even up there this spring myself. I do, however, seem to recall a sign at the junction with Larch Mountain Trail suggesting that the area was closed. I don't remember the exact verbiage, and I think it's the only sign that mentions a closure, but it was definitely there. I went up to the basin via Oneonta and then Franklin Ridge, and never saw anything suggesting the basin was closed until I made it out of the basin and back down to the junction along Multnomah Creek.

The road was officially close during the Eagle Creek fire and it's recovery. That is no longer the case: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 068009.pdf

[idoru]

Yeah, that's what I figured. I remember audibly chuckling when I saw the sign in April of this year, having just sauntered around the basin for a while only to see a "closed" sign on my way out. It's clearly been open for some time (post-fire trail reports I've seen in the past seemed to start back up ~2020), and that junction is so well-traveled that it seemed odd nobody had taken the sign down yet.