Graham Family Farm NW

Glass Creek Scoping Run
Report and photos by Clay Graham / Eastern Washington Adventures

The Forest Service is doing a project called, “Glass Angel Restoration Project” that will effect 4W697 – Clover Springs Trail AKA Glass Creek Trail.
See project info here: http://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558…LT2_028834.pdf

The Forest Service let us know at the November 2nd, 2010 TWIG meeting we had a week to send in comments about the Glass Angel Project. So the Yakima/Kittitas Forest Watch decided to do a run to get pictures to send in with our comments to show the Ranger how tight the trails is and what will be missed if they remove all the trees they are talking about removing.

This was a very educational fun run thanks to who all came.

Here are the pictures and a report of our run:

On Saturday November 6th, 2010 we met up at the Oak Creek Ace Hardware store in Naches.

We had 5 rigs on this run. TJ40’s TJ, Guido’s TJ, Craigen’s XJ, Test Dummy’s XJ and 4WheelingPlus.com’s XJ.

Foxracer rode with 4WheelingPlus.com and I rode with Test Dummy.

We headed to the Nile Area and ran FS1600 up.

Here we pulled off to air down.

Here we are turning onto 4W697.

The trail drops in elevation very fast.
Here we are coming up to the steepest part of the trail.

It was a slick slide to the bottom.

Craigen was the next one to come down.

Two rig safe at the bottom.

4WheelingPlus.com coming down.

TJ40 coming down a little faster.

Guido seem to be sliding even faster down the hill.

Here we are coming into about the area where the Forest Service plans to removed a lot of trees including the small ones.
This trail will not be the same without these obstacles.

We found a lot of trees marked with blue paint and others with these tags.

Tags on both these trees and many more along the trail close to Glass Creek.

Moving up from Glass Creek.

There are a lot of trees marked with blue paint at the top of the ridge.

Forest Service quote,
“Approximately 2 miles (part of the 2.8 miles identified in this section) of System Trail 697 would be closed during timber harvest operations and used as a haul road. The trail would be rehabbed and returned to the trail system after harvest operations are completed.”

Well it looks like they are doing that in this section by the pink ribbons.
It looks as they are making the Trail 697 straight across the top of the ridge taking away from the adventure.

?

Here is a Possible Reroute around the top of the meadow.

Here is the route as it is right now.

At this point the trail goes down hill to the left. The user made trail ahead will be rehabbed.

A closer view of the user made trail.

The Yakima/Kittitas Forest Watch President (Test Dummy) getting rocks to hold up the trail marker.

The rigs of the day.

One Possible Reroute is to make the trail come straight from this area to hook up to the down hill section.

A nice view that will be missed if the trail does not cross the meadow.

Going down hill on the section though the meadow they may use.

Looking back up towards the meadow.

On up the trail we did not see any more project ribbon or other signs of what the Forest Service has planned.

We did find snow.

Coming up to the intersection of 4W697 & 4W665.

It was getting late so we turned off 4W697 onto 4W665 to head out.

Here at the intersection of 4W665 & 4W696 we took a break.

A very strange tree.

We headed on 4W696 toward FS1601.

We aired up down at Saw Mill Flats.