Gorge closure order

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drm
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by drm » September 28th, 2017, 9:47 am

My guess is that once it genuinely gets cold and the fire is out of the news, most of those guards will not be there.

Pdxmaestro
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by Pdxmaestro » October 9th, 2017, 8:49 pm

The fire is only 50% contained per the news today. If you REALLY can't stand staying out of the gorge and letting it heal, join a trail repair group and help with restorations.

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BigBear
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by BigBear » October 10th, 2017, 8:46 am

From the new closure map, it appears that you can hike up to the wilderness boundary throughout the Gorge, including the Eagle Creek Trail. However, I was not aware any of the exits were open. Ironically, the closed areas is where the snow will be falling this week. Perhaps some of our renegade hikers (you know who you are) can recon this situation and report back.

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adamschneider
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by adamschneider » October 10th, 2017, 9:02 am

BigBear wrote:From the new closure map, it appears that you can hike up to the wilderness boundary throughout the Gorge, including the Eagle Creek Trail.
Not sure where you got that idea...

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/map/5584/0/76067/

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Webfoot
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by Webfoot » October 10th, 2017, 9:53 am

adamschneider wrote: Not sure where you got that idea...
Presumably the first post in this thread which confused me as well.

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BigBear
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by BigBear » October 10th, 2017, 12:00 pm

The Hood River Ranger District fire closure map at:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 559943.pdf

shows the fire closure area starting at a much higher elevation than the trailheads. it is different than the NW-Inci Map displayed above.

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adamschneider
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by adamschneider » October 10th, 2017, 12:45 pm

BigBear wrote:The Hood River Ranger District fire closure map... shows the fire closure area starting at a much higher elevation than the trailheads.
That's because it only shows the parts of the Hood River Ranger District that are closed. The HRRD doesn't claim to speak for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, which is in charge of the parts closest to the river.

(Granted, it'd be less confusing for the public if the HRRD would just let the interagency folks handle all the maps.)

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BigBear
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by BigBear » October 10th, 2017, 1:53 pm

Adam: The Hood River RD spoke quite heavily about the hiking options at Memaloose Hills area of the Gorge back in the 1990s, and one of the USFS offices (GPNF?) has issued several EAs regarding trail usage at Catherine Creek. Hood River RD brought 7 rangers to Mazamas to discuss trail usage by the club on the Gorge trails, so they seem to think the Oregon side of CRGNSA is in their jurisdiction.

When I looked back at the site, it is not exclusively Hood River but MHNF which does have rangers at Multnomah Falls and a ranger station at Eagle Creek (and a work station at Herman Creek) as well as issues the unambiguously prohibited NW Forest pass for Eagle Creek and Herman Creek TH, et al. In fact, outside of the state parks (with the exception of Eagle Creek for some reason), the land is posted quite clearly as "national forest."

Given USFS' presence in CRGNSA, I think your statement that they "don't speak for" this area is without merit. If you don't agree, your issue would be with MHNF not with me. I'm not the one with staff on duty in the area and enforcing the parking/use in this area.

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adamschneider
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by adamschneider » October 10th, 2017, 2:00 pm

I have no issues with the ranger district, and I wasn't trying to make a larger statement. Just clarifying the label on that map.

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Chip Down
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Re: Gorge closure order

Post by Chip Down » October 11th, 2017, 7:44 pm

BigBear wrote:Perhaps some of our renegade hikers (you know who you are) can recon this situation and report back.
I'm not even tempted. I'm going to wait a while and see what develops. If closures persist for what I consider to be a ridiculous duration, I might look for discreet opportunities to get creative (probably a little easier for those of us who actually prefer being off-trail).

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