Parking under Power Lines for Table, Cedar Aldrich forbidden

[beag]

Last Sun I was leading a hike to Cedar Falls. I was going to run a short shuttle between the Hotel and under PLs.WE left one car at hotel and then drove over to the PLs. At the end of blacktop there was a sign stating that road was private. I drove on as we were going to make a right up to parking area. Another sign there stating private, no parking, will be towed. I have been hiking for 15 years from there and always thought it was property of Bonneyville Power. One of the signs stated you can park at Hotel which might confirm what I later learned. It seems the hotel owner owns the property and for some reason has decided to close it. If he owns it,I can see reasons why he might close the area. Lots of garbage dumped through the years and last Summer there was about 30 cars parked in there all over the place. A big risk of starting a wildfire in there. Cars parked on dry brush with hot mufflers can easily start a fire.

There were cars parked along the road and hikers walked through the property. The cars were also parked at old area where we used to hike up to Table and I guess hikers used that way too to avoid paying the 5$ fee at the hotel. There were about 30 cars at hotel. They probably payed the fee like I did. That fee is refundable at the hotel by buying a drink or a sandwich. Last year the hotel used to have a portable toilet for hikers use but I did not notice one on Sunday. Ladies in group used hotel facilities but I'm sure hotel owner would not approve of hikers walking through halls especially if they had muddy boots. I talked to one of the workers who told me she has to pick up garbage and dog poo, after people and pets used the parking area. We are lucky to have the Hotel as a starting point for all the hikes in that area. The big question is will we have this parking area in the future. Depends on Hotel owners.

So we are back to Forest Service or other public agencies. They should provide a trailhead and they know it. About 15 years ago they held a public meeting concerning that problem. I attended and there was a good crowd at the meeting. They discussed several options and the best one seemed to be that they would build on property owned by hotel near the hotel. However sometime later Fish and Game got into a big row with hotel owner because they claimed he diverted the Creek next to his property. I don't have all the details. I know he was facing a 100k fine. He probably repaired the damage he may have done to the creek. Pete, the hotel owner could do that himself because he has the equipment and knowledge to do the necessary repairs. Because of all the problems with Fish and Game I imagine relations became strained and nothing was done about Trail Head. So now we have to depend on Hotel owners to provide parking for hikers. They can say no anytime, no more parking on our property so our option will be to hike the PCT to get into areas we like to hike. Obviously our public agencies need to act which is a scary thought because even in the best scenario this will take years. I won't see the new trailhead because I am near the end of my hiking career. Hopefully I made the options out there clear.

[Guy]

Thanks for the update Jim,

While I loath having to pay government agencies to be able to park so that I can hike on public land I have no problem paying $5.00 to use the Hot Springs private parking lot. So disappointing that some people think it's OK to leave their crap behind after their hike.

If the Hot Springs Folks do get tired of all the hassle & close the lot we all loose a secure safe parking lot with easy access to lots of hikes.

[Webfoot]

Are you talking about the the section of power line road reached by the turn at 45.6482, -121.9745? According to the Skamania County parcel map about the first 100 yards of that road are on a plot owned by "CAM, PIRFIL" as is a parcel under the lines just to the east of there. If there is not a public leeway on that bit of road it might very well be private.

[beag]

Pete Kam is the owner of the hotel so he probably owns property in that area. A few years ago there was a sign on property across from the Slough looking for permission from the County to build an apartment, Condo complex. Probably the same people. When the economy is better they may try and build there.

[kepPNW]

Hmmmm, might be someone needs to call BS on this claim. According to those Skamania County parcel records, the spot that I park in is owned by the "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" - presumably, the BPA...

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  Source: http://skamaniawa.mapsifter.com/default ... 0000320000

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  I typically park at the tip of the balloon arrow shown above. Arguably, public land!

That said, you do need to drive across the NE corner of someone's parcel to get there...

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  Source: http://skamaniawa.mapsifter.com/default ... 2000030000

And, that "someone" appears to be the same legal owner as the lodge...

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  Source: http://skamaniawa.mapsifter.com/default ... 1630020000

I think this one's still up in the air. If he's towing people who are parked on BPA land, he's definitely looking at lawsuits, and maybe even criminal charges?

[Webfoot]

Thanks for illustrating what I was talking about. I agree that towing people off of USFS land would be totally nuts, but suppose the owner blocked that short section of road after you parked there. If it really is private land with no public easement that is probably legal? Then what are you going to do; have your vehicle air-lifted out?

[kepPNW]

Thanks for illustrating what I was talking about. I agree that towing people off of USFS land would be totally nuts, but suppose the owner blocked that short section of road after you parked there. If it really is private land with no public easement that is probably legal? Then what are you going to do; have your vehicle air-lifted out?

Yeah, I suppose that'd be his prerogative. But unless the road is signed (I just don't recall?) private, no trespassing, etc, it seems he'd have a hard time pulling that off. Pretty sure I'd be calling in the Skamania Co sheriff at that point. I think that owner would need to make it an all-or-nothing deal. And I bet ya a burger there is a public easement so that BPA folks can get to their parcel. This really just smells like someone trying to cash in a little.

[beag]

There used to be a sign years ago at the Creek crossing saying Private property but I thought the people who lived to the west and used the road put that sign there. Paying 5$ won't make the hotel owner much money seeing he provided a portable toilet and had to clean up some garbage. Also you can use the fee to buy a beer after. Maybe a way to drum up business. I don't know the owner and have no axe to grind. I don't know him although I met him 16 years ago with Dick Thomas when he was building the hotel and Dick was building the trail. I, would not like to force a confrontation with the hotel owners. They have been very good to hikers through the years and I hope that will continue.

[kepPNW]

Yeah, totally mixed feelings on this one. My sense is he'll engender more ill-will than he will happy future customers. Seems to be an incredible overstep to try preventing people from accessing public land using a route that's been well-established for quite some time, though. Possibly a new owner might get away with it, but I'm sure there's precedent for some sort of squatter's-right to keep on using pathways that have "always" been allowed before. (Sorta like a corporation failing to protect their trademark?)

[klossner]

I'm sure there's precedent for some sort of squatter's-right to keep on using pathways that have "always" been allowed before.

Yes, it's called "implied easement". In Washington State, RCW 36.75.080 says that when a road (outside a city) is used by the public for ten years, it becomes a county road. I first passed over that road in 2004.