Gifford Pinchot Road 4109 Repair July 19th & 20th 2019
Posted: October 7th, 2018, 4:32 pm
As anyone who has driven to the Silver Star Trailhead knows, forest road 4109 is in terrible shape. The Forest Service knows this but has been unable to fix it. So I would like to start a volunteer effort to do some road maintenance. I know that the Chinook Trails Association and Washington Trails Association has built some great trails up on Silver Star. But access to the main trailhead is being lost because of a lack of road maintenance.
To my eyes, the primary problem on the road is damaged water blocks which lead to rutting. You all have a lot more experience with trail maintenance than I do, so if you are aware of any other problems, please list them. But I think that, if we got 50 people up there for a weekend with hand tools, we could repair a significant section of the road. Would any of the local associations or agencies be interested in organizing or supporting such an event in the Summer of 2019?
I have visions of a big camping event every Summer, featuring blueberry pancakes, where a bunch of people get together and maintain a section of road 41 or one of it's subsidiaries. There are many places in the road 41 system where there is gravel, it just isn't sitting in the ruts or the potholes anymore. If some people got together with rakes and compactors, we could probably improve the situation. Who is with me? Who can tell me why it won't work?
EDIT FOR EVENT DETAILS:
When: Friday July 19th at 11:00 AM through Saturday July 20th from 9 AM to 6:00 PM
Where: The junction of USFS Road 4109 and DNR Road 1100
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.7948622 ... 722,16.75z
What to bring: Sturdy boots, gloves, a gallon of water, a sack lunch and any digging or cutting tools that you would like to use. Shovels, pickaxes, tampers, bowsaws, pruners, machetes and hoes would all be useful. Eye protection and hearing protection are also recommended. Domino's pizza will be provided for dinner on Saturday so please let us know if you intend to be there for that.
Communications: (360) 335-4528, FRS Channel 9.
Rough Schedule: On Friday morning I and some others will arrive and start removing brush from the shoulders, ditches and waterbar areas. We will also remove some logs. Friday evening I will camp either up at the junction or down on Copper Creek.
Then, on Saturday morning, some mechanical force multipliers will arrive and we will rebuild a waterbar, clean out a ditch, and place two yards of new gravel to fill a rut. We may accomplish more than that depending on how many additional helpers come up, but those are our minimum goals. After work finishes up around 5, we will eat pizza and toast the day's work. Any of you are welcome to come and go at any time during the event. We will find work for you to do. But most of all, we will leave the road in a better condition than when we found it, and we will have fun.
To my eyes, the primary problem on the road is damaged water blocks which lead to rutting. You all have a lot more experience with trail maintenance than I do, so if you are aware of any other problems, please list them. But I think that, if we got 50 people up there for a weekend with hand tools, we could repair a significant section of the road. Would any of the local associations or agencies be interested in organizing or supporting such an event in the Summer of 2019?
I have visions of a big camping event every Summer, featuring blueberry pancakes, where a bunch of people get together and maintain a section of road 41 or one of it's subsidiaries. There are many places in the road 41 system where there is gravel, it just isn't sitting in the ruts or the potholes anymore. If some people got together with rakes and compactors, we could probably improve the situation. Who is with me? Who can tell me why it won't work?
EDIT FOR EVENT DETAILS:
When: Friday July 19th at 11:00 AM through Saturday July 20th from 9 AM to 6:00 PM
Where: The junction of USFS Road 4109 and DNR Road 1100
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.7948622 ... 722,16.75z
What to bring: Sturdy boots, gloves, a gallon of water, a sack lunch and any digging or cutting tools that you would like to use. Shovels, pickaxes, tampers, bowsaws, pruners, machetes and hoes would all be useful. Eye protection and hearing protection are also recommended. Domino's pizza will be provided for dinner on Saturday so please let us know if you intend to be there for that.
Communications: (360) 335-4528, FRS Channel 9.
Rough Schedule: On Friday morning I and some others will arrive and start removing brush from the shoulders, ditches and waterbar areas. We will also remove some logs. Friday evening I will camp either up at the junction or down on Copper Creek.
Then, on Saturday morning, some mechanical force multipliers will arrive and we will rebuild a waterbar, clean out a ditch, and place two yards of new gravel to fill a rut. We may accomplish more than that depending on how many additional helpers come up, but those are our minimum goals. After work finishes up around 5, we will eat pizza and toast the day's work. Any of you are welcome to come and go at any time during the event. We will find work for you to do. But most of all, we will leave the road in a better condition than when we found it, and we will have fun.