New road interrupts trail

[Sugar Pine]

We hiked to Three Corner Rock from the PCT and continued down the Stebbins Creek Trail (one-way, car shuttle). When we were a few switchbacks from W-2000 road and Three Corner Rock TH the trail abruptly ended at a ~15 foot drop down to a new road. It appeared too steep, so we bushwhacked up a bit, seeing what looked like a drainage on our GPS. Not much of a drainage, but there was a place we could slide down the hill to the road.

Other trip conditions:
The Three Corner Rock TH was filled with construction vehicles, although there was another parking area just up the road.
Roads in good condition. We drove up W-2000 and CG-2090 to the PCT.
The PCT is snow covered at about 2800 ft and up to the Three Corner Rock plateau. Hard pack and sloped, we used Yax and spikes and very glad we had them. Snow also on the way down Three Corner via Stebbins, but not for long.
Fairly easy to cross Stebbins Creek on rocks.
The trail does pass through a short section of a clear-cut.

Nice views from the top, although some haze and clouds.

[cfm]

Darn rude to do that and not make a ramp or detour for us.

There is a similar intrusion on the Tarbell Trail between Grouse Vista and the Sturgeon Rock Trail.

[adamschneider]

There is a similar intrusion on the Tarbell Trail between Grouse Vista and the Sturgeon Rock Trail.

Are you sure? I hiked Tarbell from Sturgeon Rock down to GV this past summer, and there were no roads anywhere near that stretch.

[bobcat]

Thanks for the info. I've put a caution in the Field Guide about this. Washington DNR does this kind of thing all too frequently; farther north on the Tarbell Trail, between Hidden Falls and Kloochman Butte, there are new logging roads and WTA is making some trail reroutes.

[kepPNW]

We hiked to Three Corner Rock from the PCT and continued down the Stebbins Creek Trail (one-way, car shuttle). When we were a few switchbacks from W-2000 road and Three Corner Rock TH the trail abruptly ended at a ~15 foot drop down to a new road. It appeared too steep, so we bushwhacked up a bit, seeing what looked like a drainage on our GPS. Not much of a drainage, but there was a place we could slide down the hill to the road.

Well yeah, that's just damn rude! Glad to see that, as the thought of taking the Stebbins Creek trail up there has been in the back of my mind recently. Jeez! At least I have a track of where the trail used to be, so finding it should be more possible than arriving at the destroyed trailhead unaware of this mess.

There is a similar intrusion on the Tarbell Trail between Grouse Vista and the Sturgeon Rock Trail.

Are you sure? I hiked Tarbell from Sturgeon Rock down to GV this past summer, and there were no roads anywhere near that stretch.

Yep! This is one of the spots where Tarbell crosses, with nary a clue where the trail continues beyond...

• 
  December 10, 2017
  
  
  
  New view of Pyramid Rock from Tarbell Trail.

[woodswalker]

That is so mean. Good to hear about conditions, although they will change with the next storm. I've been wanting to do that back way into Table and Three Corner Rock from the PCT for awhile. I'd also thought about Stebbens creek, but maybe not now.
Colette Grace

[kepPNW]

When we were a few switchbacks from W-2000 road and Three Corner Rock TH the trail abruptly ended at a ~15 foot drop down to a new road. It appeared too steep, so we bushwhacked up a bit, seeing what looked like a drainage on our GPS. Not much of a drainage, but there was a place we could slide down the hill to the road.

Wow! I kind of shrugged, and didn't think a whole lot about this, until I got there on Saturday. That trailhead is basically obliterated! If I hadn't know where the trail was, up above, from a previous visit/track it would've been more than a bit difficult, if not impossible, to locate.

I parked at what I knew as the old trailhead, which was maybe 1/8 mile before the large pullout on the left/west of W2000. That other spot was entirely filled with very large construction vehicles (graders, dump trucks, bulldozers, etc).


Where the Stebbins Creek trail used to hit the road.


Didn't look all that bad, so I decided to give it a go straight from there. First thing I see:


Not cool. But it's a Saturday, so no active road building today! WTH...


Scrambling up from the old TH was fraught with irritants, as it was basically crawling through a brush pile. To me, this just seemed like gratuitous hazards, placed there to piss off hikers not willing to read and obey the sign.


Looking down from the beginning of the first scramble.


Climbed up another 200' or so through all sorts of downed trees and limbs, before hitting a brand new road! OMG... Looking across it, I see what the real issue is going to be. That climb up is steep! And totally unconsolidated. I wandered back and forth a bit, looking for a good option. Tried two, each of which started the hillside sliding my general direction before I was halfway up, before finding a third route that was stable enough for me to manage reaching some wayward roots to pull myself the rest of the way up with. What a nightmare!


There was a bit of a groove here to walk up. Look for markings on tree above.


That route may, probably will give way, but you can find it looking for the paint on this tree:


Head up and to the right from directly below this one.


As it turned out, getting up was FAR easier than coming back down. Oh my goodness! Finding the right spot to drop down from above was a royal PITA, especially after more than 20 trail miles and just wanting to be done. This is what you see when you hit the end of the trail:


Sliding down here would HURT! Serious.


All you can do then is back up 50 feet or so, bushwhack uphill then to the left/north, checking every so often for a chance to descend. Even when I found the place I initially went up, there was no way to get over the edge other than butt-sliding on down, bringing a cascade of rocks along with me.

Meanwhile, the trail itself is taking on all appearances of simply being abandoned. What a shame!

[bobcat]

Good ol' Washington DNR. This trail was/has been maintained by mountain bikers. Hopefully, they're up in arms about this.

[kepPNW]

Good ol' Washington DNR. This trail was/has been maintained by mountain bikers. Hopefully, they're up in arms about this.

There was zero indication any bikes had been in there anytime recently. Or, really, ever. It's disappearing.

I heard from someone else who used to help WTA maintain it, as well, back when the bridge was still there.

According to the governing agency...

Three Corner Rock Trail is temporarily closed as of Thursday, July 13 due to timber harvest activities. Check back for updates. ~ https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Yacolt

Temporarily!

[Charley]

And to think, you paid for the privilege to drive the very road and hike the trail! They should call it the Disappointment Pass.