Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Bear Creek National Recreation Trail Work Set to Resume

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests will resume trail reconstruction on the Bear Creek National Recreation trail, located south of Ouray, on Oct. 10. Crews will be reconstructing portions of the trail between the trailhead and Yellow Jacket Mine, including construction of stone retaining walls, drainage features and low water crossings. This critical trail maintenance and reconstruction is funded by the Great American Outdoors Act and a grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The trail is expected to remain open during construction; however, visitors may experience delays of up to 45 minutes on weekdays. Construction activities will not occur on weekends. Trail crews will work until the weather becomes unfavorable this fall and will resume in the spring if the project isn’t completed.

“Public and worker safety during the trail reconstruction is our top priority,” stated Dana Gardunio, Ouray District Ranger. “We are doing our best to coordinate a schedule that will complete reconstruction work efficiently and mitigate potential hazards during the construction process. We appreciate the patience and support of trail users during this time.”

During the construction, signage will be installed at locations along the trail to indicate work areas. Visitors are asked to follow the guidance provided for everyone's safety.



              ************************************************************************************

Check out our online trail guides:



Saturday, October 5, 2024

Red Flag Warning for Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park posted this warning on their social media this morning:
Today there are widespread critical fire weather conditions, including across all areas of RMNP, due to strong winds, low humidity, and warm temperatures. Don't park on vegetation.

Rocky Mountain National Park always has Stage 1 fire restrictions in place where campfires are prohibited throughout the park, except within designated campfire rings in picnic areas and frontcountry campgrounds.
From the National Weather Service:
Widespread critical fire weather conditions will occur today due to gusty winds, low humidity and record/near record temperatures. Avoid any activity that may create a spark and start a fast moving wildfire. Also, have a Go Bag or emergency kit ready in case of a new fire start in you area and/or evacuation notice.




              ************************************************************************************

Check out our online trail guides:



Thursday, October 3, 2024

Bierstadt Lake Parking Area in Rocky Mountain National Park to Close for Vault Toilet Replacement Project

Beginning on Monday, October 7, 2024, the Bierstadt Lake parking area, located on Bear Lake Road on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park, will be closed for a vault toilet replacement project. Weather and conditions permitting, this parking area, including a shuttle stop, will be closed for approximately six weeks.

This project involves removing the existing vault toilet infrastructure which has exceeded its service life and installing a new vault toilet building. These needed improvements are funded by visitor recreation fees.

Due to the equipment necessary to complete this project, the size of the parking area and entrance and exit areas, the Bierstadt Lake parking area will be closed for the duration of the project. There will be no vehicle access and shuttle service will not be available at this stop. Vehicles will not be permitted to stop in the lane of traffic on Bear Lake Road to load/unload passengers.

There are numerous trails that lead to Bierstadt Lake, including from Bear Lake, Hollowell Park and Park and Ride. To board the park’s free shuttles and to access other destinations along Bear Lake Road, hikers will have to use alternate trailheads.



              ************************************************************************************

Check out our online trail guides:



Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Paving Projects at Beaver Meadows and Fall River Entrances

Contractors will be re-paving entrance gate lanes and repairing damaged concrete curbing at the Beaver Meadows Entrance beginning Wednesday, October 2 and Thursday, October 3 then again starting Monday, October 7 through Thursday, October 10. The paving will take place during daylight hours and in only one lane at a time. Be prepared for longer lines on these days.

Contractors completing the Fall River Entrance project will be paving beginning Monday, October 7 through Thursday October 10. Because only one lane will be operational with alternating traffic, visitors entering or exiting the Fall River Entrance should expect potential delays of more than 20 minutes.

Paving will not occur at these locations on Fridays or weekends.



              ************************************************************************************

Check out our online trail guides:



Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Southern Appalachia Desperately Needs Your Help

Yesterday, Kathy and I returned from our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. As some of you may know, we moved to to a small community just north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee a little over three years ago. If I remember correctly, news that Hurricane Helene was approaching the Florida coast reached us on Thursday, and that the track of the storm was expected to pass near our home. Naturally, we were more than a little concerned. Though we expected some damage to the area, we never dreamed that it would become one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history. Fortunately for us, the storm spared our small community. However, several towns in our immediate area were completely devastated. I'm writing this blog in hopes that some of you will help the people in this region whose lives have been turned upside down. Many of these people have lost everything - their homes, businesses and jobs. Some have even lost their lives. There are still homes, communities and towns that are completely cut-off from the rest of this world. Numerous roads have been washed out, including both I-40 and I-26 near the TN-NC border (on either side of Asheville, NC). Numerous bridges have also been destroyed. Power is still out for millions of people in TN, NC, SC, GA and FL. I just read an AP story that volunteers are using mules "to deliver food, water and diapers to hard-to-reach mountainous areas".

Most importantly, at this very moment, there are immediate needs, such as water. Our community has organized at least two truckloads of bottled water that have been sent to Greeneville and Newport, TN. I'm sure we'll be doing much more over the next days, weeks and months. For those who can't physically provide relief, donations are also extremely appreciated / needed.

As the region waits for FEMA and other Federal agencies to respond en masse, there are many ways you can help right now. The Tennessee Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster is taking monetary donations. Second Harvest of East Tennessee is accepting monetary donations to provide food relief. The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina also seeks donations for relief in western NC. Samaritan's Purse is already on the ground in five locations. And of course, the Red Cross is the most well-known organization. These are just some of the ways you can help. There are many more here, here and here.

To possibly personalize the story a little more for this audience, I wanted to provide some additional information from the hiker perspective. Several Appalachian Trail communities ("trail towns") have been virtually destroyed. This includes Hot Springs, NC, Erwin, TN, Roan Mountain, TN and Damascus, VA. As you may have guessed, the Appalachian Trail has also been devastated. Right now, the southern third of the trail, from Springer Mountain, GA to Rockfish Gap, VA is effectively closed. That's 865 miles of trail that were impacted. You can visit this ATC page for ways you can help.

Several roads, and likely much of the trail system in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is currently closed. On their website, the park states, "outdoor recreation is currently discouraged due to park staffing being stretched and visitor safety concerns." On another page, they posted this statement:
"Hiking and backcountry travel are not recommended in the park following Hurricane Helene impacts. Park staff are assessing trail conditions and addressing damage, but unpredictable creek crossings, potential downed trees, and other hazardous trail conditions remain. Emergency response times may be delayed with staff stretched thin and resources limited."
High On Leconte is reporting that Mount Leconte received 10.35 inches of rain during the storm, with maximum winds clocked at 65 MPH. They are also reporting that the TN side of the park seems to have escaped much of the damage. However, that side was on the lee side of the storm, and was protected by the crest of the mountains. My guess is that the NC side, and the eastern portion of the park is in very bad shape right now.

Though their website hasn't been updated since September 26th, I would imagine much of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed. Mount Mitchell State Park, Gorges State Park and Grandfather Mountain are all closed. Much of Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests are also closed as well.

Here are a few stats from the storm, provided by NOAA:

* MOUNT MITCHELL reported maximum winds of 106 MPH.

* BUSICK NC received 30.78 inches of rain.

* MOUNT MITCHELL STATE PARK received 24.20 inches of rain.

As you can see from this map, western NC received the brunt of this storm once it reached inland:
There are likely thousands of pictures of destruction from the storm. All of them tell a story, but none tell the full story. I'll post one from Hot Springs, a town that we visited just a few weeks ago as we were training for our hikes in Colorado: