Tour de "Short trail of the Middle Fork"
I've been to the middle fork hundreds of times in the past 25 years, but never gone on some of the shorter trails. Finally did that today. All of them.
Summary: none of them have any blowdowns, some are in great shape, some have other obstacles. All pics are from the Oxbow loop.
Mine creek day use: no trail damage, bathroom open and stocked. Picknic tables along the river.
Champion beach: short trail, no damage, no tables. Did not check the bathroom (by the road).
Oxbow loop trail: this one's a bit longer and was the most interesting. River access, massive 8 ft tall Cedar stump that has 6 trees grow out of it, including one that's a foot in diameter and about 100 ft tall. At one spot there's a large crack in the trail, a spot where a future landslide may occur. It wouldn't be a large slide, but would take out half the trail for 15 ft or so. There's also a 3" branch sticking out of the trail by about a foot that got impaled there when a larger branch broke off. I couldn't pull it out.
This trail has river access, and I saw a wild turkey. Unfortunately the only thing to shoot with I had was my camera, so it didn't figure in my dinner plans tonight. (Just kidding!)
Pratt Bar trail: trail is clear and easy to follow, but has large stretches that got washed out in December and are pure sand. Tread restoration is needed at some point, but it is accessible to even a casual hiker.
Camp Brown: loop trail is in good condition except for one large boardwalk that is under construction. You can walk through, but you'd have a hard time with a stroller (that is, you'd have to carry it). There are some picknic tables - some of them fairly close to a now steep drop to the river, due to erpain from the flooding.
Garfield ledges: trail in good condition. It was raining and the view was limited.
Comments