why was the Defiance trail closed so long?

[Chip Down]

Up until, what, maybe a couple weeks ago, there was no sanctioned access to the popular trails up Mt Defiance. I'm wondering why that was.

Was it because those trails afforded access to a network of trails that could take one into the heart of the burn zone? That's a common justification for closures, but the north-side (from Starvation) Defiance access has been restored, even though the territory to the west is still locked down.

Was it because the Defiance trail had to be rehabilitated before it could be reopened? No, there doesn't seem to be any sign of any repair work on that trail.

Was it because risks had to be assessed before the trail could be opened? Almost plausible. I like to imagine a risk assessment was conducted. But did it really take months and months and months for a trail engineer to walk this route and issue his* report that all is good? Seems unlikely.

Was it because the USFS needed to be sure the fire was adequately contained? In spite of the recent report of flare-ups, it seems there was negligible risk to hikers after, say, late Nov or early Dec.

So what's the story? Yeah, I know, I could just call and ask. Kudos to those of you who do that sort of thing. But I just don't get the feeling an honest answer would follow.

This isn't entirely a "let's dogpile on USFS" thread. Yeah, it's fun to vent, so go ahead. But also, I wonder if it's possible to get at the truth. Or maybe I'm going down X-File Avenue here.

* Sorry, unintentional bias. I don't care if it was man/woman/neither/indeterminate/transitioning, as long as the credentials are there.

[pcg]

Was it because risks had to be assessed before the trail could be opened? Almost plausible. I like to imagine a risk assessment was conducted. But did it really take months and months and months for a trail engineer to walk this route and issue his* report that all is good? Seems unlikely.

Actually that seems the most likely to me. Given the amount of attention and work that was done early on in the Gorge (removing damaged trees, etc.) they probably didn't get to it before winter, then had to wait for the snow to leave so they could do a proper assessment, then had to write up a report, then had to submit it and wait for review, etc.
I'm surprised they opened the lower portion of the Starvation Creek trail, given that it's starting to slide off the hillside in one location.

[drm]

So what's the story? Yeah, I know, I could just call and ask. Kudos to those of you who do that sort of thing. But I just don't get the feeling an honest answer would follow.

The people who know the answer probably aren't the ones answering the phone. Maybe somebody did have to walk the route. Note that FS staffing is pretty minimal during the winter and I doubt ranger staffing was upped much despite the added demands.

[Bosterson]

So what's the story? Yeah, I know, I could just call and ask. Kudos to those of you who do that sort of thing. But I just don't get the feeling an honest answer would follow.

The people who know the answer probably aren't the ones answering the phone. Maybe somebody did have to walk the route. Note that FS staffing is pretty minimal during the winter and I doubt ranger staffing was upped much despite the added demands.

I tried calling the Mt. Hood Ranger district office months ago and they didn't have an answer about "why" or specifics about "when." Similarly, I called Viento SP and asked why it was closed when the fire didn't touch it, and they said the USFS had to tell them when to reopen it. Per the call to Mt. Hood USFS, they said that Viento SP had to reopen the area themselves and it wasn't the USFS's closure. So in answer to the original question, I'm guessing the left hand didn't know what the right was doing, their knee jerk damage control reaction was to close everything, and they reopened the Defiance trails when they finally got around to looking at them, or, since from what I gather they did zero work on the impacted fire area, maybe they just reopened the trails when doing so finally came up on their to-do list, and previously they just didn't give it a thought either way.

[drm]

My guess is that it was inertia and winter and the attitude was to not think about openings much till better weather and better staffing arrived. After all, how many people hike trails like Defiance in winter?

[rekih]

I was wondering this myself. I Hiked it Saturday. Only made 3 to 4 miles. 4000 feet ? Anyways, it looked to me like they pulled down a lot of dead trees that could have fell on the trail. A company (not sure of the name) has a flyer posted with their number.


It looked like they just let the fire burn through. When it was out they dug up anything still smoldering.

[bobcat]

I know the annual walk through of the Mt. Defiance Trail isn't until later in the spring anyway. Higher up, anything that comes down in the winter stays down until May. Perhaps a bit later this year with everything else they had to keep track of.

I should add that when I did the Defiance-Starvation loop recently, there were, in addition to the mcds stepover tree, only two smallish maples down, both on switchbacks and easily walked around. The whole loop is in excellent shape, just some poison oak you can't avoid overhanging the trail on the ridge above the highest pylon on the Starvation Ridge Trail.