Gorge closure order

[Aimless]

I tend to agree with Don, too. Allowing hikers to assess and accept risks seems like it ought to be a workable solution compared to closing down every trail in the gorge for months after the fires are extinguished.

In trying to understand the reasoning of the FS in the gorge, the best I can do is to note that the gorge is within an hour's driving distance of at least half a million people and even before this fire the numbers of flip-flop-shod, poorly-equipped, blissfully-ignorant people who hiked on the trails in the gorge in any one year was pretty staggering.

The FS probably thinks it much simpler to close all the trails and do an extensive damage assessment and repairs before they let the general public go traipsing around amid all the standing snags, past burned out cavities where tree roots used to be, and across undermined unstable hillsides. A very rough analogy might be closing black diamond ski slopes when there's no way of regulating the number of beginner skiers who might happily launch themselves down them, not even knowing what a black diamond meant. The expert skiers would have a right to be peeved, but the tyros outnumber experts by at least 20:1 and they rarely ever understand how much they do not know.

[VanMarmot]

I tend to agree with Don, too. Allowing hikers to assess and accept risks seems like it ought to be a workable solution compared to closing down every trail in the gorge for months after the fires are extinguished.

In trying to understand the reasoning of the FS in the gorge, the best I can do is to note that the gorge is within an hour's driving distance of at least half a million people and even before this fire the numbers of flip-flop-shod, poorly-equipped, blissfully-ignorant people who hiked on the trails in the gorge in any one year was pretty staggering.

I don't disagree (in theory) with the sentiment that "...Allowing hikers to assess and accept risks seems like it ought to be a workable solution..." but (in practice) I think those "...flip-flop-shod, poorly-equipped, blissfully-ignorant people..." are the least likely to be able to do this and the MOST likely (after Lurch rescues them) to sue the Forest Service because they snuck past a barrier and got into deep sh*t. The FS is stressed enough as it is without them wasting resources (that could go to restoration and trail re-building) fighting lawsuits.

[markesc]

Wow!

Estimated rain totals through end of Sunday.... Will be interesting to see how bad the landslides in the gorge will be

[Eric Peterson]

lots of rain coming, look at my rain totals map

With any luck the Gorge will collectively land slide en masse into the Columbia and thus reopen once the danger from slides and rockfall has ceased.

River traffic may or may not be closed indefinitely however.

[Guy]

lots of rain coming, look at my rain totals map

With any luck the Gorge will collectively land slide en masse into the Columbia and thus reopen once the danger from slides and rockfall has ceased.

River traffic may or may not be closed indefinitely however.

[Don Nelsen]

lots of rain coming, look at my rain totals map

With any luck the Gorge will collectively land slide en masse into the Columbia and thus reopen once the danger from slides and rockfall has ceased.

River traffic may or may not be closed indefinitely however.

Let's see how BNSF and the barge companies deal with that!

I've travelled a bit around the world and encountered a few signs in my travels. sometimes I take a photo of the more entertaining ones. Here are some of those that the FS might take some wisdom from: All of these but one do not specifically say entrance is forbidden, just unwise, more or less:

Seen on the Big Island, Hawaii, 061108:


On the "Bandit Trail" from Palm Springs to Mt. San Jacinto:


And another along the same route - Can't say you weren't warned! Of course, some of this is hype to discourage folks: It is 8 miles but it took me only 5 hours - and I was 56 years old at the time.


On Maui, on the way to Eke Crater:


And another along the same route: - Hey, who knew "Natural Terrain" was dangerous!!?


Here is one in Oregon at a place called Niagara on the North Santiam:


Here's one spotted at a rest stop along the freeway between Phoenix and Tucson, AZ: Note that it does't even admonish folks to beware!

In Norway a few years ago I spotted this sign. No one was paying attention so up the glacier I went.


Another sign in Norway:


Back to Maui, here is a cautionary sign that I considered for quite a while before I drove my rental car across.


Heck, it looked good enough!! (obviously, I made it!)


This one was ridiculous - the eruption was over for weeks, had cooled and no one was paying any attention, especially the locals: kinda funny for the laid back Hawaiians, too.


This one addresses the possible FS concerns Vanmarmot mentions and says it most succinctly: (I stole this one from the net - all the rest of the photos are mine.)


I encountered this one near Yuma AZ three years ago. I paid attention to this one went no further:


To close this montage with a lighter note - here is a pic I took from a screen shot from the TV series "Dinosaurs" that aired in the late 80's and early 90's:


dn

[adamschneider]

In Hawaii, you have to watch out for more than just lava flows.






Canada has bilingually dangerous deer.




Closer to home, WSDOT doesn't want you to rest too easy at the Selah Creek rest area.




And of course, there's this classic artwork at Lava Canyon:

[VanMarmot]

I used to work at places where signs like these were all around the perimeter. I can assure you they meant it.



I wonder is something like this is a step too far for the Forest Service?

[Don Nelsen]

I used to work at places where signs like these were all around the perimeter. I can assure you they meant it.



I wonder is something like this is a step too far for the Forest Service?

Let's hope so!

On a similar note, while jogging around Singapore a few years ago, I saw a no trespassing sign that showed a man holding a rifle and pointing it at another man. I didn't have a camera at the time so haven't my own photo of that one but I found the same sign on the web:

[bushwhacker]

It doesn't appear that ODOT intends to reopen the Columbia River Highway any time soon. Can't use the trails if you can't even get on the road to them .

http://www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/ind ... iver_index

Historic Columbia River Highway

ODOT doesn’t envision it will reopen closed portions of the Historic Columbia River Highway and State Trail this winter, Dinwiddie said. The agency hopes to open them in the spring, she said.

I can't believe they are going to have those poor folks guarding all those exit ramps all winter. That would be the worst job in the world to be stuck out there in December with the East wind blowing 50 mph and it being 20 degrees.