Walker Valley Logging

[boardbysled]

Well, it looks as if we are going to have some more logging at Walker.

1) Ron's Run (formerly Jeep Cross) is currently being logged. They have timber across the trail currently. It looks like to me they are about half way done with their current landing, which should mean ~2 weeks till that part of the trail is opened back up. I am unsure if there is more timber downed up above the ridge.

2)Timber Tamer (formerly lower Expressway) is partially marked for right-a-way boundary. This means that they are going to punch a road in. The area that is marked is just above the first series of S turns, just above the first bridge. It follows an old road grade. We will most likely be loosing trail here. Usually when DNR punches a right-a-way in, they allow ~2 years for some vegitation growth to take hold before they log it.

3)Pat's Trail is possibly going to come under the site of State Lands. Most of the timber around Pat's Trail is full grown, put it is sub par timber. We had a discussion with Jim (Walker Land Chair) and he mentioned that sometimes the DNR will come in and log that so that in the future, they can grow better timber (long term investment)

The reason for me believing that this area may be logged soon is because the road from the pit to the beginning of Pat's Trail has been grated and rock has been added to fill in the low spots. Usually this means that there is going to be a timber sale in the area.

I am sure we will hear more on this at the Walker Valley Focus group Meeting.:awesomework:

 

[Binder]

On a positive note loosing trails to logging should leave room for expansion and building new and better trails.:awesomework:

 

[boardbysled]

On a positive note loosing trails to logging should leave room for expansion and building new and better trails.:awesomework:

Agree'd, on easier managed, rocky terrain:cheer:

 

[2slow4you]

Agree'd, on easier managed, rocky terrain:cheer:

Especially if they take care of some of the issues in that area. win, win in my book. :awesomework:

 

[zukkev]

I agree---It will take alot of planning and work on our part (volunteers); but a win/win in the long run...:awesomework: still sad to think about in the short term though...:booo:

 

[japerry]

I do worry about the 'easy connector' trail, as it was the last thing to replace the previous lower mainline after it was logged. But in two years, and with the help of Reiter, I think we'll see DNR thinking a little differently about trail design... or so we hope :awesomework:

PS. Just a slight correction to the parent topic, its lower mainline aka Timber Tamer trail, not lower expressway (expressway connects off of upper mainline).. the area being talked about is where the muddy corner used to be.

 

[crash2]

I do worry about the 'easy connector' trail, as it was the last thing to replace the previous lower mainline after it was logged. But in two years, and with the help of Reiter, I think we'll see DNR thinking a little differently about trail design... or so we hope :awesomework:

PS. Just a slight correction to the parent topic, its lower mainline aka Timber Tamer trail, not lower expressway (expressway connects off of upper mainline).. the area being talked about is where the muddy corner used to be.

I am betting and hoping reiter will be a guage for other areas in the future :awesomework:

 

[boardbysled]

PS. Just a slight correction to the parent topic, its lower mainline aka Timber Tamer trail, not lower expressway (expressway connects off of upper mainline).. the area being talked about is where the muddy corner used to be.

Oops, my bad. Fixed now.

Zukkev, the only area I am almost positive that is going to be an issue soon is the Timber Tamer (lower mainline) as they already have the placards up for the Right of Way. Unfortunetly, it follows the trail for a little ways and crosses the trail a few times.

I am just making an assumption (we all know how those go:haha that the Pat's Trail area is going to be logged. Jim did not know and couldn't provide an answer, but said he was going to talk to State Lands on the subject. He did say that usually State Lands doesn't maintain a road like that unless they are going to get some timber out of it, but they did smooth the logging road Mainline, so it could have just been an extension of that.

 

[boardbysled]

I do worry about the 'easy connector' trail, as it was the last thing to replace the previous lower mainline after it was logged. But in two years, and with the help of Reiter, I think we'll see DNR thinking a little differently about trail design... or so we hope :awesomework:

I think DNR is starting to realize that not everyone is driving short wheelbase vehicles on 31" tires anymore, that we as a group are asking and wanting more extreme obsticles.

I am betting and hoping reiter will be a guage for other areas in the future :awesomework:

I hope so, from what I have seen, there is some promising land in the Walker Valley area for some challenging, semi-natural challenges rocky trails.



But, before any of this could go forward, we need to show DNR that we can maintain our current trails. This may mean that we have to work with DNR with rerouting some trails/major trail modification (top of the expressway is a major one.)

Again, I would like to thank those volunteers who went up on sunday after the previous work party to install some hay bales and silt fencing.

 

[zukkev]

Oops, my bad. Fixed now.

Zukkev, the only area I am almost positive that is going to be an issue soon is the Timber Tamer (lower mainline) as they already have the placards up for the Right of Way. Unfortunetly, it follows the trail for a little ways and crosses the trail a few times.

I am just making an assumption (we all know how those go:haha that the Pat's Trail area is going to be logged. Jim did not know and couldn't provide an answer, but said he was going to talk to State Lands on the subject. He did say that usually State Lands doesn't maintain a road like that unless they are going to get some timber out of it, but they did smooth the logging road Mainline, so it could have just been an extension of that.

I know the area you are referring to, the beginning of Upper Main Line above the tank traps, right?

 

[boardbysled]

I know the area you are referring to, the beginning of Upper Main Line above the tank traps, right?

Yep, my map reading skills fail, it is in the Pats Trail area, but Pats trail is a >50" wide trail, it is the lower part of the upper mainline.:awesomework:

 

[zukkev]

Yep, my map reading skills fail, it is in the Pats Trail area, but Pats trail is a >50" wide trail, it is the lower part of the upper mainline.:awesomework:

:haha::awesomework:

 

[japerry]

heh we need to remember to ask Jim about the impending destruction of Timber Tamer trail. I haven't seen any timber sales, even for the right-of-way yet, but you're right... if that gets logged this summer (likely), and we have to wait 2 years before they move on to timber sales, we could be seeing that trail gone for a good 3-4 years.

Even then, once that road is put in, bye bye trail. It won't be coming back like it did. I'm hoping that we can work with state lands and build a trail that routes around the right-of-way sometime this summer, so we will have a trail that will last beyond the timber sales in 2 years.

 

[japerry]

I ran the trails at walker for the first time last weekend seemed much better than I thought it would be... as an area it appeared much better cared for than Reiter. Good to see - not allot of trash along the trails.

Question thats a bit off topic but is camping allowable at walker?

Sure is! You can camp in the parking lot (and there is a spot for a campfire there) or several places along the road. And yes there are a bunch of good spots at Walker. while its not a free-for-all, its still worth going to.

 

[zukkev]

heh we need to remember to ask Jim about the impending destruction of Timber Tamer trail. I haven't seen any timber sales, even for the right-of-way yet, but you're right... if that gets logged this summer (likely), and we have to wait 2 years before they move on to timber sales, we could be seeing that trail gone for a good 3-4 years.

Even then, once that road is put in, bye bye trail. It won't be coming back like it did. I'm hoping that we can work with state lands and build a trail that routes around the right-of-way sometime this summer, so we will have a trail that will last beyond the timber sales in 2 years.

Was up there yesterday, and yes there are right of way signs in the forest.
If the right of way gets punched in... The timber sale has already been done as I understand it....could be a lot sooner than one might think, and yes....I am calling Jim on Monday to see about getting the ball rolling on a reroute BEFORE the trail is destroyed (the last real fun section of L Mainline, now known as Timber Tamer Trail)....We'll see how this goes.

 

[Duck Dodgers]

Guess they will have to update the "New" trail map before is it released since "Timber Tamers" will no longer be a trail....

 

[japerry]

A few things to note... there are no planned timber sales in this area. What does this mean? This area hasn't been selected for logging upto the July auction block. While its possible (and likely) that this will come up in Sept or Oct, this means the right of way still has some time. They're not allowed to build roads from Nov 1 to Mar 31.

If you look at the timber sale that is occuring just up the hill from the skills area, that bid was awarded sept 23, 2009. They built the road in April, and started logging later that month.

so odds are that we'll loose this trail come next spring, but its hard to tell if that spur road is optional construction or required, and if its to be abandoned or not. Until the packet is finished (Perhaps Jim can get this info?) we won't know how long its going to be there.

Nevertheless, my brief talk with Jim about this indicated he wanted to make that road like 'humps and bumps' when/if its abandoned. I personally think this is a bad idea, because it'll just be a logging road with, heh bumps in it. When I'm wheeling I'm looking for stumps, rocks, some mud, off camber, etc. Nothing we've built (all obstacles in skils area are natural) has posed any difficulty to even open/open rigs.