Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

[adamschneider]

Interesting survivor story from Spokane. By his account, only one of the 150 + overnighters at Tunnel Falls had the essentials, and she was an immigrant who had been in the country only 6 years!

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/s ... l-neve/#/0

I freely admit that I don't even know exactly what "The Ten Essentials" are, but every time I go out, I wear my same old 40L day pack. And tucked away somewhere in that pack are granola bars, jerky, a Sawyer Mini purifier, a rain jacket, a warm hat and thin gloves, fresh socks, band-aids, a headlamp, a Leatherman, and a USB battery pack (among other things). I don't have to think about those items because they live in there. Having a real backpack sometimes makes me feel silly when I pass the people with flip-flops and a 16oz. water bottle, but you just never know...

[Bosterson]

By his account, only one of the 150 + overnighters at Tunnel Falls had the essentials, and she was an immigrant who had been in the country only 6 years!

I know they specifically reference this in the article, because the main woman being interviewed says it, but since you also seemed to think it was important to note, the relevance of her being an "immigrant" is what, exactly...? Do only native-born Americans know the arts of preparedness, or, presumably, how to go hiking? And if this arcane knowledge were indeed somehow only available in this country, is bringing a spare jacket a skill that takes more than six years to perfect? I'm asking for a friend.

What I get out of this anecdote (assuming it's accurate) is that upwards of 99% of people on the Eagle Creek trail in all sizes, shapes, colors, and flavors don't seem to carry basic gear in case of an emergency. (Are we surprised?) Realistically, this is probably fine most of the time - Punchbowl is not very far from the road, it's always busy, and your chances of being stranded by a massive forest fire on any given day are probably not very high. More worrisome is the fact that none of them appeared to have a map or any idea where the trail(s) went, to be able to self-rescue out to Wahtum after it was clear they couldn't go back to the TH. Luckily it only takes one instance of getting stuck out in the dark to learn that you should always bring a headlamp with you whenever you set foot on a trail.

[Bart H]

"The only hiker near the Midtlyng group who was equipped"

"near" is not the entire 150

Morfeover, its inconcievable that the only people trapped upstream of the fire were punchbowlers. what about those hiking out after visiting Tunnel? about those camped beyond, or doing a backp[ack loop. Most likely imo the 150 'trapped' were not representative of all who were trapped. Its likely that the some of the prepared/competent hiked out on their own.

As far as I can tell, nearly all the fire is in true Wilderness. I doubt any replanting will happen inside the Wilderness boundary, and hope it doesn't.

[kepPNW]

By his account, only one of the 150 + overnighters at Tunnel Falls had the essentials, and she was an immigrant who had been in the country only 6 years!

I know they specifically reference this in the article, because the main woman being interviewed says it, but since you also seemed to think it was important to note, the relevance of her being an "immigrant" is what, exactly...? Do only native-born Americans know the arts of preparedness, or, presumably, how to go hiking? And if this arcane knowledge were indeed somehow only available in this country, is bringing a spare jacket a skill that takes more than six years to perfect? I'm asking for a friend.

I took it exactly the opposite way -- as a hit on us locals, pointing out people "not from here" have their act together far better...

[Charley]

From the Spokane article:

The only hiker near the Midtlyng group who was equipped for being on the trail overnight was a young woman from Washington, D.C., who’d trekked the short trail to the falls with day pack loaded with essentials.

“She was an Asian gal named Emily, just six years in the country, and she’d read the book ‘Wild’ and knew all the things to bring on a hike,” Midtlyng said. “She had a headlamp, food, shelter and water purifier and was so helpful to a lot of people, helping them get safe water to drink.”

Three cheers for Asian gal Emily, and three cheers for Cheryl Strayed and Wild! If I tell my wife maybe she won't give me such a hard time about carrying all my gear on our Forest Park walks.

[Rather B Hiking]

"The only hiker near the Midtlyng group who was equipped"

"near" is not the entire 150

Morfeover, its inconcievable that the only people trapped upstream of the fire were punchbowlers. what about those hiking out after visiting Tunnel? about those camped beyond, or doing a backp[ack loop. Most likely imo the 150 'trapped' were not representative of all who were trapped. Its likely that the some of the prepared/competent hiked out on their own.

Anyone who was visiting Tunnel Falls, or doing any kind of loop involving Eagle Creek, on September 2, was doing so illegally. Due to the Indian Creek fire, which had been burning since someone ignited it with fireworks on July 4, Eagle Creek was closed from High Bridge to Wahtum Lake, along with connecting trails Eagle Benson, Indian Springs, Eagle Tanner, Tanner Butte, etc. Several reports from those who were trapped above Punch Bowl have referenced a gate at High Bridge, making it unlikely that anyone would enter the closure area accidentally. Coming from the other direction, information about the closure was posted all over the Gorge.

[justpeachy]

Due to the Indian Creek fire, which had been burning since someone ignited it with fireworks on July 4

I've heard this from several different people now but have never been able to find out the source of this info. I never found anything online, and on Inciweb the Indian Creek Fire is still listed as "cause unknown". The date sure leads one to think it's fireworks, but I'm wondering if they ever proved that or if they have any suspects or witnesses. Anyone know?

[aircooled]

Will a treeless Benson Plateau be less spooky?

Same for Multnomah Basin. Any word on how that area has faired? I know the fire swept through Nesika Lodge, but I'm referring to the area west of there, directly above the Elevator Shaft.

I took a look from St. Cloud this afternoon. Visibility was OK - the ridge above Elevator and Cougar Rock appeared to be a long line of burnt trees.

[Rather B Hiking]

Due to the Indian Creek fire, which had been burning since someone ignited it with fireworks on July 4

I've heard this from several different people now but have never been able to find out the source of this info. I never found anything online, and on Inciweb the Indian Creek Fire is still listed as "cause unknown". The date sure leads one to think it's fireworks, but I'm wondering if they ever proved that or if they have any suspects or witnesses. Anyone know?

Someone (I can't remember who) posted somewhere on this site a photo of a very small fire on the far side of Eagle Creek, just above Twister. That photo showed an unusual horizontal smoke plume, and was taken shortly before the reported start time of the Indian Creek fire.

[markesc]

I think people just fall into either good or bad habits. Invariably some prepare for the worst even when the odds are very slim. I mean, isn't there a show where people have those bunker things? I also have seen some that just carry a heavy day pack so they are more in shape for standard backpacking trips. Some know their limits more than others.

I used to be more disciplined on the preparedness thing, but gave up that to add more camera junk. Maybe it's time to rethink things. One MRE' is not only tasty but calorie filled enough to get you by for 1-3 days (throw a few in the car too for the snow "events" on hwy 26-217-205).