Trouble on Tumala Mt.

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Underwater Arsonist
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Joined: January 2nd, 2014, 9:24 pm

Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by Underwater Arsonist » July 18th, 2018, 3:50 pm

I hiked the Fanton trail up to Tumala Mt. yesterday (7/17) and was shocked to find just how trashed the summit of Tumala Mountain was. I haven't done this hike in years, but do not have any recollection of there being any trash or other damage even remotely close to what I saw yesterday.

I was surprised to find another hiker up there, and we talked for a while about the sad state the summit is in. He said he had been up there the weekend before last and the summit was still in good condition. We concluded that the damage must be very recent, and it must also be from the 4x4 crowd coming up the access road, shooting their shotguns, starting numerous bonfires on the summit, damaging trees, leaving broken glass and other trash, etc.

This conflicts the field guide, which states that the access road to the summit is now closed. Hopefully sometime soon the road can be gated to keep all of the rift raft out. Given the high fire danger it is appalling to think somebody would somehow rationalize to themsleves that setting numerous bonfires on top of the summit of a highly exposed mountain is okay :roll: .

Also, the old trail sign that was at the jct. with where the Old Baldy trail hits the spur trail up to Tumala Mt. is now gone. It also appears another sign placed at this junction is also now gone, and looks like it was shot.

One final word of warning: anybody planning on hiking the Fanton trail from the western TH needs to be especially vigilant of where the Fanton trail crosses the now decommissioned 4614-167 spur. There is an active shooting gallery here now, with the trail crossing RIGHT behind the final berm/tank trap, complete with a table set up with junk and no proper backstop to keep stray bullets from flying towards the trail. I've reported these problems to the FS, but who knows how long it will take for them to clean everything up. And even then, there's nothing stopping the irresponsible target shooters from coming right back.

Photos of the damage:

The Fanton trail crosses the 167 spur road ~20 yards behind where this table is:
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Newish (?) sign at the Tumala Mt./Old Baldy Trail jct. appears to have been shot, in addition to the other old sign referenced in the field guide now gone (not pictured):
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Damage on the summit, including a minimum of 3 fire pits on the summit, complete with shotgun shell casings and shot clay pigeons (3rd one not pictured):
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A sign has been destroyed:
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The OHV slobs also appear to be trying to push their vehicles up onto the actual summit, as evidenced by the wide track now present up to the summit, as well as damage to trees, where the branches have clearly been pruned:
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Obligatory shot of used toilet paper strewn about everywhere :x:
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It is clearly long overdue for road access to the summit to be limited, not only in order to protect the historical remnants of the fire lookout in a fragile subalpine area, but also given its close proximity to the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness.

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bobcat
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by bobcat » July 18th, 2018, 7:38 pm

The war in that area with a few pin-brained ATVers continues. The old lookout road is closed to vehicles but obviously they got around it. I've encountered motorcycles at least a couple of times on the ridge, and once followed tracks from the trailhead at Twin Springs into the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness for several miles. They routinely trash the Fanton Trail at its access points, but I haven't heard of large amounts of trash on the summit before. Basically, at least between McIntyre and the Plaza, there are some that feel the wilderness designation is a trampling of their freedoms and they're going to trample right back, especially on Independence Day.

It's very difficult to contain because there are so many access points, including some old roads, and it would entail major decommissioning, massive ditches, etc., all of which would be equally unsightly.

ThePortlandeer
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Joined: May 5th, 2015, 1:28 pm

Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by ThePortlandeer » July 19th, 2018, 8:33 am

I would reach out to Clackamas County Ranger District's law enforcement officer with your photos. They're generally responsive to issues like this.

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walrus
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by walrus » July 19th, 2018, 7:05 pm

I second what ThePortlandeer suggested. Earlier this spring after encountering vehicles on the McIntyre Ridge trail, I made a report to MHNF via a website form and received response asking for more details (and photos) for their follow up. Don't know what the final outcome was, but felt like someone cared.

Webfoot
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by Webfoot » July 19th, 2018, 9:31 pm

When was the lookout road supposedly closed? I drove it in 2015 and it was not signed or barred in any way. At that time the summit seemed OK and I certainly didn't do any of the things you lament. 4610.180 is on the most recent Motor Vehicle Use Map as open to highway legal vehicles.

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bobcat
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by bobcat » July 20th, 2018, 9:14 am

Webfoot wrote:
July 19th, 2018, 9:31 pm
When was the lookout road supposedly closed?
I'll take that back then. I thought saw it gated a few years ago just driving by, somehow got the impression it was permanent, and it just fixed in my mind . . .

The damage in the area is sporadic it seems, so 99% of the ATVers are staying where they're supposed to. Then there's the 1% that come along and cause the Forest Service and other users conniptions (and give ATVers a bad name).

Underwater Arsonist
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by Underwater Arsonist » July 20th, 2018, 4:18 pm

I also drove the access road 2-3 years ago, and probably would've made it to the top if it weren't for an inextricable small mountain of gravel (perhaps to allow only the most privileged and lifted trucks access to the summit) in the middle of the road not far from the top.

I contacted the Clackamas River Ranger District to explain the problem to them and also sent them pictures of the damage. I've yet to hear back from them, but if I do I'll make sure to report back. It seems like installing a gate at the beginning of the access road would be the most effective option to prevent these sorts of problems from occurring in the future, though it might not be the most popular option amongst the OHV crowd...

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RobFromRedland
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by RobFromRedland » July 22nd, 2018, 8:16 pm

I didn't think the road had been closed, just in such poor shape it was almost impossible to navigate. I know when they put that new "radio repeater" (or whatever it is) up at the summit several years ago (10?), they improved the road - I'm assuming to get the new gear to the top.

It only takes one group to be idiots..... It is too bad - that was a nice place. With the Memaloose road continuing to be closed, it seems like shooters are finding all sorts of new inappropriate places to shoot. Before it seemed like a LOT of shooting was confined to the Memloose road gravel pits.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

justpeachy
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by justpeachy » July 23rd, 2018, 11:13 am

Yes, that is a radio repeater up there and since it's pretty important for radio communication I'm surprised the Forest Service doesn't gate that road. Seems like it would be a pretty big safety issue if some idiot shot that thing up and disabled it, leaving a radio hole in certain areas. I don't know anything about radio technology but I imagine there are many places where you wouldn't be able to reach the next nearest repeater if Tumala was disabled.

In general, it seems like the Forest Service is really reluctant to close/gate roads and when they DO close roads they often don't take extreme enough measures to keep out the OHVs. As walrus mentioned, vehicles are STILL getting up onto McIntyre Ridge, which has been a problem for years. Also, I always wondered why the road to Badger Lake wasn't decommissioned when the entire surrounding area became wilderness in 1984.

slopvehicle
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Re: Trouble on Tumala Mt.

Post by slopvehicle » September 19th, 2018, 4:09 pm

Just ran into this post randomly... I was up there on Sunday 7/15 for the first time and found the summit exactly as OP described. Bummer to hear that it was in worse shape than usual.

Heard a lot of gunfire in the disatance, sorta frightening to think we could have been in someone's line of fire on the trail. The whole time we were on the summit we expected to encounter the offroad / ATV crowd, there was so much evidence all around.

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