Multnomah / Wahkeena update 2/1/2024

[Petr]

looking down paved trail

almost to Lemmons Viewpoint

snowman upper wooden bridge

Oh no,new rock and debris fall covered in fresh snow

Now a second tree down (on the left). Glad there are still good steps to the right of right tree!

Fairy Falls

The closure

First sign of trouble, trail switch back buried

OH NO, say it isn't so! But yes, this is the famous tree that leaned out over the trail.

Very sad!
Red Shorts made his way up and around the 2nd switchback and then

picture of pole ends hanging out in mid air

The he noticed the upper section of trail above is undercut.
<Edited out possible escape route as others have created a better one! See later replies >
This will be Red Shorts last trip up for a couple of weeks at least. Good luck!

[squidvicious]

I came from Multnomah, so I hit this from the top. I guess that undercut section is what I walked over before I realized what was up. It was just snow and branches, didn't look like anything too out of the ordinary. I guess I'm not the most observant person in the world, because I just saw the trail in front of me and not the landslide just off to the side and below. I stepped and sunk further than expected. Huh. Still walked across it, got to the switchback end and turned... to find no trail in front of me. Whole lot of empty air. Huh.

I saw your flagging. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to mark a route, but I didn't feel like I could go down that way. I'm already forgetting, but iirc the initial drop was quite steep, and there was just enough snow there to be slippery but not enough for a foothold. Wiesendanger is still unpleasant enough that I figured it was worth looking for an option to get through the loop rather than turn around and have to tackle that going downhill, so...

I wound up backing up to the other side of the slide, finding a place where the drop looked slightly less steep but had a lot more snow and a tree midway. I figured I'd be able to step/slide down on snow without tearing up the ground or starting a new slide. I was only partly correct, as it was probably more sliding than stepping and I did wind up starting a tiny slide towards the end. Feel bad about that. Hopefully the wind covers my tracks and a hard closure keeps people out of there, so no one tries to follow my trail.

I then had to cut a second blocked switchback that wasn't quite as bad. Honestly surprised that this is the storm that caused so much damage and not the January one. It's definitely throwing a wrench in my morning routine.

[Petr]

Squidvisious- WOW, glad you are OK! It will probably be a high priority TKO project when safe to work on. It is good timing for Red Shorts as he will not be in the area for at least a couple of weeks.

[arlohike]

Honestly surprised that this is the storm that caused so much damage and not the January one.

I went up that trail just before the ice storm in mid-January. Several fallen trees from the heavy December rains that caused the Fairy Falls slide had been cleaned up, but at the start of the switchbacks, just after the second foot bridge, another big one had already fallen. I think this is the area shown in the "Now a second tree down" photo. I looked up and saw a few others way up above the trail, just teetering on the edge! So it's hard to know which storm to blame, but it seems that the damage is not over yet.

[Petr]

Photo credit : Gregory LaVallee
Where there's a will, there's a way! Red Shorts sees the fresh ditch coming down from above (doing much damage of course) that others coming down have used as an emergency escape. He is not sure if the Forest Service has done a hard closure, and they may not, as this high use trail is an approach and/or exit from popular trails above.

[squidvicious]

He is not sure if the Forest Service has done a hard closure, and they may not, as this high use trail is an approach and/or exit from popular trails above

I don't know about "hard closure," but there does need to be really clear obvious warnings at the trailheads. Especially Multnomah so people don't get most of the way through the loop before discovering they're stuck. You can say "closed" without gating anything off.

Bit of a rant here, but it really frustrates me that the FS is always saying "Check conditions before you go," but they are absolutely the last ones to bother providing that information. Any note on the CRGNSA twitter or facebook about the trail? No. The web page for trail 420? No. Any updates on the pages for the Larch Mountain trail or Vista Point trail, which both have slides that have taken out a section of trail? No.

Hopefully by now there is some kind of trailhead sign up, but is it obvious to see and clear and concise about what the situation is? Previous experience says probably not.

I don't get why there is not a info kiosk/board at the Multnomah trailhead with closures, condition info, a map, etc. Going in to the visitor center to try to ask someone at the little desk located at a pinch point crowded with people who need a 20 minute explanation of directions to their next tourist stop is not a practical option. It's supposed to be the most-visited site in the state. You know it's going to be swarming with clueless people expecting Disneyland who fell out of their cars and suddenly decided they're hikers. Why not have a prominent spot with helpful at-a-glance warnings like, "Hey, I know it looks like spring down here, but you're about to walk into a foot of snow in heels, so maybe don't, OK?" Or such-like.

[Petr]

You may have made the difference squidvisious!

"2/18/24: Landslide above Fairy Falls (approximately 2.0 miles from trailhead)has blown-out trail switchbacks. No timeline for repairs. Trail is not officially closed but access is not recommended. Cross slide with extreme caution."

Source of quote : https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/crgnsa/ ... ecid=29998

[squidvicious]

You may have made the difference squidvisious!

"2/18/24: Landslide above Fairy Falls (approximately 2.0 miles from trailhead)has blown-out trail switchbacks. No timeline for repairs. Trail is not officially closed but access is not recommended. Cross slide with extreme caution."

Source of quote : https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/crgnsa/ ... ecid=29998

Well, that's something at least.

I was in the area Tuesday. I didn't go as far as the slide, but I did run into two separate parties who were headed that way. Both told me they were aware of the slide but had talked to someone who had been that way who said it was "fine." That seemed unlikely, but ok, in their position I know I'd want to see it for myself either way, so have at it.

And I did want to see it for myself, so I went back today to have another look. It was not fine. The top switchback that was still there but undercut has collapsed. With the snow gone, everything is wet, muddy, and loose. You can get past, but it's not a simple thing, and I can't imagine it's was what those people were expecting. Especially since one group had kids.

Didn't see any notice at the Multnomah trailhead, but there was one at Wahkeena. It struck me as curiously understated. "May make it impassable for some hikers" almost sounds like a challenge!

[squidvicious]

The slide above Fairy Falls has expanded at the top. Coming down towards the slide the trail is blocked by a mound of earth and a big tree lying lengthwise mostly along the trail. Still not completely impassable, though it looks pretty terrible.

I wound up choosing a sketchy route, but having looked at it from both sides it looks like the best thing would be to detour around uphill, and then a little ways further along there's enough of a gap that you can get under the log and get back on the trail just before it disappears in the slide. At least until everything moves again.

Not the hike for anyone who's not a fan of mud.

[squidvicious]

Have to pop back in here to say how amazing the trail crew is that worked on the washout at Wiesendanger. I knew there was work scheduled yesterday to clear trees from the Larch Mountain trail, and I wondered if they might do something to patch up that washout a little, even just to help themselves get through. It's been a day-to-day thing of how bad it's going to look depending on how saturated the soil is, the water levels, and how many people have clawed out the hillside. Didn't have high hopes of it changing until the snow disappeared and the water level went down, though.

Absolutely amazed today to see everything miraculously restored. A real trail where once there was diverted creek flow, no muddy hillside vertical scramble, and functional switchbacks again. That's maybe saved a rescue call out from some unprepared spring breakers, as well.

Thanks! 10/10, will hike again.