Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

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Sugar Pine
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Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by Sugar Pine » July 26th, 2021, 7:29 am

After reading posts regarding the upcoming closure of the Sugarloaf/Mount Mitchell trail we decided to combine this hike with North Siouxon and a car shuttle. Seems we were a little late.
About 0.2 miles after taking the sharp turn off S-1000 the road was blocked by a tree across the road.
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Tree across the Sugarloaf access road.
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The tree was cut.
We decided to hike the extra 1.5 miles up to the trailhead and found two other trees across the road.
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Second of three trees across access road.

The hike started steeply, but became more gradual and trail wider to the base of Sugarloaf.
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Sugarloaf
We hiked up to the viewpoints and summit of Sugarloaf (bushwack to summit), where there was a view north toward Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens, although the same view as from the lower viewpoints.
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View from Sugarloaf
Then to Mt Mitchell, we stayed at the top only long enough to snap a few photos, being swarmed by gnats. Plus, it was sunny and hot.

After dropping down from Mt Mitchell we were soon walking along a road through a clear-cut and then an older road with the nearby trees all cut so there was no shade for about 3 miles. Fortunately, we passed a couple of refreshing streams.

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View back to Mt Mitchell from clear cut
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Trail enters some shade on descent to North Siouxon
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We passed a number of old signs.
We descended to a lovely spot on North Siouxon. There were three options for crossing a side drainage, an old falling apart bridge, a log, or small logs at creek levels. We opted for the creek level crossing as the water level was not high.
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North Siouxon
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Old bridge
On to Black Hole falls we rested a while and then finished the hike back to the North Siouxon Creek trailhead. It is unfortunate that the trail is far from the creek for most of the hike.
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Black hole falls
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Black hole falls sign is now empty
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Our route in green. Road marked in black.

johnspeth
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by johnspeth » July 26th, 2021, 3:53 pm

Sugar Pine wrote:
July 26th, 2021, 7:29 am
About 0.2 miles after taking the sharp turn off S-1000 the road was blocked by a tree across the road.
I have to wonder: Are the trees down the result of a spiteful land manager or a guerilla protestor to block access?

You probably also noticed the tree felled across the start of the trail. It was professionally cut with a chain saw too.

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Water
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by Water » July 26th, 2021, 9:30 pm

love the TR.

were all the trees cut with a chainsaw?

i'd err towards ahole land manager private land owner in the area before guerrilla protestor. the level of effort to fell a tree as such vs the thought that you'd actually block people who operate chainsaws all day..

ask yourself who this most effectively blocks, a recreationalist (i almost never bring my chainsaw along for weekend/day hike trips), or a forester.

needless to say I'd send this to the land manager of that location and escalate it up the chain. that's BS and a safety hazard.
Feel Free to Feel Free

johnspeth
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by johnspeth » July 27th, 2021, 4:56 am

Water wrote:
July 26th, 2021, 9:30 pm
ask yourself who this most effectively blocks, a recreationalist (i almost never bring my chainsaw along for weekend/day hike trips), or a forester.
Right, but it seems like a pointless poke-your-finger-in-the-other-guys-eye thing no matter how you look at it. For legal protection, foresters would only have to get Wa DNR to close the road safely and without doubt at the S-1000 turn-off. They will soon close the road anyway. As a protest, it's only a minor annoyance to the forester.

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NacMacFeegle
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by NacMacFeegle » July 30th, 2021, 10:48 pm

My guess is that this was a DNR employee, possibly acting under quiet orders from on high - they've been known to close roads long before the sale takes place if it's a controversial one, or even if it might be potentially controversial. They've been catching flak for doing that recently, so this might be a new tactic of blocking access without officially closing the area.

justpeachy
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by justpeachy » August 1st, 2021, 4:50 pm

Wow! We did this hike on July 11 and they hadn’t cut those trees yet. Road access was fine.

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Sugar Pine
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by Sugar Pine » August 6th, 2021, 8:36 pm

Yes, I think the cuts were from a chain saw. Thanks for the suggestion, I emailed WA DNR about the trees, received a response indicating they would pass the info to the right person.

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by Don Nelsen » August 26th, 2022, 4:49 pm

Logging started today near Mt. Mitchell but nearly 3/4 miles away from the west TH. I spoke with the loggers and they didn't know when the additional roads would be built or when major logging would begin. I'll put more info up later. I was able to do the hike with no problems.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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dmthomas49
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by dmthomas49 » August 27th, 2022, 11:40 am

Don Nelsen wrote:
August 26th, 2022, 4:49 pm
Logging started today near Mt. Mitchell but nearly 3/4 miles away from the west TH. I spoke with the loggers and they didn't know when the additional roads would be built or when major logging would begin. I'll put more info up later. I was able to do the hike with no problems.

dn
Don is this the driving directions and hiking directions you used?
http://www.nwhiker.com/GPNFHike105.html
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
— John Muir

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Mt Mitchell and Black Hole Falls

Post by Don Nelsen » August 27th, 2022, 12:46 pm

dmthomas49 wrote:
August 27th, 2022, 11:40 am
Don Nelsen wrote:
August 26th, 2022, 4:49 pm
Logging started today near Mt. Mitchell but nearly 3/4 miles away from the west TH. I spoke with the loggers and they didn't know when the additional roads would be built or when major logging would begin. I'll put more info up later. I was able to do the hike with no problems.

dn
Don is this the driving directions and hiking directions you used?
http://www.nwhiker.com/GPNFHike105.html
Yes, those directions are correct except you may not be able to drive all the way to the TH and have to walk at least some of the road. Plenty of parking along that last 1.9 miles of access road though. Here's a photo of what the new TH looks like now. The start is dead center in this photo:
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"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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