Indian Heaven Road Info Request

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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Thomas M
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Indian Heaven Road Info Request

Post by Thomas M » May 2nd, 2020, 6:33 pm

The last time I drove to Indian Heaven Thomas Lake Trail Head I came across a severe washout on Road 65 about 1 1/2 miles from the trail head. Is that washout still there? Can I get a better estimate how far it is from the trail head? GPS coordinates would be great. Thanks. I felt lucky that my low ground clearance car made it.

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adamschneider
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Re: Indian Heaven Road Info Request

Post by adamschneider » May 2nd, 2020, 10:49 pm

If the washout IS still there, it's easy to bypass by taking Wind River Highway to Forest Road 6507.

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Thomas M
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Re: Indian Heaven Road Info Request

Post by Thomas M » May 5th, 2020, 6:59 am

Thanks, Adam.
I have mapped that route on my Delorme GPS.
It's about 30 miles up Wind River Rd., which changes name to Meadow Creek Road, to 6507 and then 5 miles to the Road 65 near the Thomas Lake Trail Head.
I'll give that a try. I can get to the washout from there and get the GPS coordinates that I need.
Thanks
PS: have you been up there lately??? Snow conditions on the drive up?????

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adamschneider
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Re: Indian Heaven Road Info Request

Post by adamschneider » May 5th, 2020, 7:35 am

No, I haven't been there since the fall of 2018! But that washout was there then.

johnspeth
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Re: Indian Heaven Road Info Request

Post by johnspeth » May 5th, 2020, 9:41 am

There is a relatively current road report at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gifford ... ecid=74394

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drm
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Re: Indian Heaven Road Info Request

Post by drm » May 8th, 2020, 2:00 pm

It was fixed, and it washed out again. If you're coming up the Wind River Road from Carson, I think the newer route using 6507 is probably faster than the traditional route. It certainly has fewer miles of unpaved road. I believe the washout is minor and 4WD, and probably AWD, can get past it. But unless you are coming over from Trout Lake for some reason, I see no point in going that way.

Since all of Indian Heaven is in Skamania County, which is still closed to recreational hiking, I have not been to Indian Heaven this year. The nearest snotel, at Surprise Lakes on the other side of IH says there is still over 5 feet of snow. It's about the same altitude as Thomas Lake. That's actually below average snowpack.

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xrp
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Re: Indian Heaven Road Info Request

Post by xrp » May 11th, 2020, 6:20 am

NF-65 near IHW is still under 2-5 feet of snow. If you leave now, the washout should be irrelevant as it is filled with snow.

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