So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

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Chase
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So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by Chase » March 11th, 2016, 6:53 am

But don't fret! You can still hike in the first little bit. No need to go past Tish Creek anyway.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/t ... /81610874/



A bridge over Tish Creek on Eagle Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge was damaged by a falling tree. The bridge likely won't be replaced for at least a year.
One of the most popular hiking trails in the Columbia River Gorge could become a major hazard this spring and summer.

Eagle Creek Trail, located just east of Bonneville, had a bridge knocked out by a large tree that fell during a storm last December.
The broken bridge is at Tish Creek, 2 miles from the trailhead and about a quarter-mile past Punchbowl Falls.
The creek is not safe to cross and the bridge won’t be repaired for at least a year, said Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area recreation staff officer Stan Hinatsu.

“It’s going to be a big challenge to make sure folks aren’t crossing the creek,” Hinatsu said. “We can’t be there 100 percent of the time and folks will go around any

There have already been multiple reports of people attempting to cross the bridge and creek, and those numbers should increase during spring and summer.
“The trail is closed from Tish Creek on up,” Hinatsu said. “We don’t want people trying to ford the creek — it really wouldn’t be smart.
“There is a waterfall about 15 feet downstream of where people have been crossing, and an accident could turn bad very quickly.”

Hinatsu said officers were not planning to issue citations to people crossing the creek at this point, but said more law enforcement might be required.

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retired jerry
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by retired jerry » March 11th, 2016, 7:18 am

it didn't look that difficult to cross the creek without the bridge. Much less bad than other trails

maybe they're just playing it safe, avoid liability, there are normally a lot of inexperienced people on that trail that they wouldn't want to mislead

maybe they don't really mind of people do it at their own risk?

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Peder
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by Peder » March 11th, 2016, 7:50 am

Image
Crossing Tish Creek in January 2016

This crossing was "challenging" in January, at least if you were determined to keep your feet dry. Come summer, the water flows will be much lower and the crossing should be straight forward. The Hermean Creek trail is not permanently closed, although it also holds a couple of creek crossings that can be difficult in winter.

This seems like a very silly initiative that does nothing to protect the public and that will be hopeless to enforce. Using this logic, the infamous Oneonta Creek Ford should be permanently forbidden, resulting in the decommissioning of the Horsetail Creek Trail.
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drm
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by drm » March 11th, 2016, 9:42 am

Well, it sounds like they aren't planning to enforce it. I think the "closure" is just really a warning to those who haven't heard that this bridge is damaged.

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retired jerry
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by retired jerry » March 11th, 2016, 10:08 am

that looks pretty difficult from that picture, nicely done

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Guy
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by Guy » March 11th, 2016, 10:47 am

Sorry but this is total BS in my book!

I'll bet $100.00 Stan Hinatsu hasn't been anywhere near that bridge or Creek to see for himself.

Yes it can be difficult to cross if you want to keep your feet dry but so is Winter Creek on the Larch Mountain Trail & it's still way easier & less dangerous than the Wyeast crossing further up the trail. You are still at greater danger of randomly falling off one of the many cliffs along the trail than you are crossing Tish Creek.

Argh! makes me mad!
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Markh752
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by Markh752 » March 11th, 2016, 8:59 pm

I'm a little confused and maybe a few of you can unconfuse me. I read the OP's SJ article and an OL article, http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index. ... river_home. Both article have a headline stating that the Eagle Creek Trail will be closed for the next year. Both articles interview Stan Hinatsu who is the recreation officer for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The OL article states that the Eagle Creek Trail will be closed according to the forest service. I went to the MHNF website and looked up the Eagle Creek Trail and it shows the trail is open, http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mthood/r ... ecid=53082. I also looked under Alerts & Warnings and News & Events on the MHNF website and didn't find anything. I guess my question is who/what is the CGNSA? The closest thing I could find via Google is that it might be part of the Columbia River Gorge Commision, http://www.gorgecommission.org/aboutus.cfm? Does the GRGNSA have the right to close trails on the MHNF? Does the CRGNSA believe the trail should be closed and is using the media to dissuade people from hiking it with slight misinformation?
My personal opinion is that the crossing where the bridge is out is no different than a lot of other creek crossings that don't have a bridge. I've seen the Forest Service post signs at trail heads notifying recreational users that a damaged bridge along a trail can't be used. But I've never seen them close a trail for a bridge being damaged.

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retired jerry
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by retired jerry » March 12th, 2016, 6:06 am

Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area is managed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and the Forest Service. It's complicated by the fact in includes state, county, tribal, and federal land. The commission has memebers appointed by the states and counties.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/crgnsa/alerts-notices says it's closed

The national forest websites aren't always updated well, frequently have out of date information

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Markh752
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by Markh752 » March 12th, 2016, 6:25 am

Thank you for the link retired jerry. Here's the thing. It's dated from December and states that the bridge is out of commission. So nothing has changed and the trail appears to be open.
CRGNSA wrote:Critical Eagle Creek Trail
Date(s): Dec 14, 2015
The bridge at Tish Creek, milepost 2.0 just past Punchbowl falls, is out of commission. Please to not attempt to cross it.
This is similar to what I have seen elsewhere. Basically, the bridge is damaged, please don't cross the bridge.

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retired jerry
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Re: So there's this rumor about Eagle Creek closing...

Post by retired jerry » March 12th, 2016, 10:07 am

ahhh... you must be a lawyer :lol:

if you really want to think of it that way, okay, it's ambiguous, not clear if the bridge or the trail is closed

for the rest of us, the trail is closed at Tish Creek

but that wouldn't stop me if I felt like crossing it :twisted:

I guess it depends on how scary any "closed" signs looked

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