Blue Lake trailhead open?

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
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mcgib
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Blue Lake trailhead open?

Post by mcgib » August 6th, 2021, 10:05 am

Has anyone hiked recently from the Blue Lake trailhead on the SW side of MSH? Status on the government's site suggests it's open, yet says road 8123 is washed out a mile in. Thanks!

mcgib
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Re: Blue Lake trailhead open?

Post by mcgib » August 6th, 2021, 11:10 am

And calling monument headquarters resulted in no further information. They referred me to the website.

Walkin' Fool
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Re: Blue Lake trailhead open?

Post by Walkin' Fool » August 6th, 2021, 4:09 pm

Yes, FR 8123 from FR 81 is still washed out. It adds about 1-1.5 miles each way. But the Blue Lake TH is open, you just need to schlepp on the old road for a bit.

The Forest Service site says this, "This road provides access to the Blue Lake area via a newer trail/old 8123 road section. Repeated washouts have permanently closed the road less than a mile in. There is no parking lot, just a wider section to park." Based on that, it sounds like there are no plans to fix it.

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adamschneider
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Re: Blue Lake trailhead open?

Post by adamschneider » August 6th, 2021, 5:46 pm

I haven't been up there myself, but best as I can tell from online information, here's the current situation:

FR 8123.jpg
Last edited by adamschneider on November 20th, 2021, 11:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

mcgib
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Re: Blue Lake trailhead open?

Post by mcgib » August 7th, 2021, 7:40 am

Thank you for the intel, much appreciated.

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Chip Down
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Re: Blue Lake trailhead open?

Post by Chip Down » August 7th, 2021, 2:33 pm

That road has been virtually a creekbed in sections. No surprise it didn't hold up.

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Chip Down
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Re: Blue Lake trailhead open?

Post by Chip Down » November 20th, 2021, 10:22 pm

Road has been repaired. It's in really good shape now, all the way to the trailhead.
Incidentally, I watched a couple guys take their trucks past the TH through the section that's been washed out multiple times. If you've ever walked that road, you know how difficult it would be to drive it.

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