Status of Dry River Trail?

[psmart]

For those of us with weak terminology skills, what does it mean to change the trail from Class 2 to Class 1?

Class 1 is a more primitive trail. For full details see Appendix B of the scoping letter.

Forest Service Trails Management Handbook (FSH 2309.18) provides direction for
trail classification. Trail Classes are an inventory convention used to identify
applicable Design Parameters and to determine relative cost (and trail attributes) to
meet the National Quality Standards for trails. There are a total of 5 Trail Classes,
however only Trail Class 1 and 2 apply to this project. Dry River, Isolation and
Rocky Branch Trails are all currently classified as Class 2. This project proposes
reclassifying sections of these trails to Class 1.

Trail Class 1 is categorized as minimal or undeveloped. Trails in this class may
require some route finding, and obstacles such as logs or rocks, and wet crossings
may be present. Any constructed features on Class 1 trails are minimal and of native
materials. Generally Class 1 trails do not include bridges across streams; and signs
are the minimum required.

Trail Class 2 is categorized as simple or minor development. Trails in this class have
a discernible trail tread, which can be narrow and rough in areas. Obstacles are
occasionally present. Vegetation may encroach into the trail to a lesser extent than on
Class 1 trails. Structures are of limited size, scale and number, and primitive foot
crossings and fords are common. Signs are the minimum required for basic direction
and are generally few in number.

Class 1 trails generally receive minimal maintenance and are distinguished from
Class 2 trails by narrower tread width (14 inches vs. 18 inches) and clearing limits
(minimal vs. 2 feet from centerline and 10 feet overhead), and by more obstacles on
the trail and missing trail segments. Bridge stream crossings on Class 1 trails are
uncommon. Please see Appendix B for more information on Trail Classes.

 

[IQuest]

Great news! At least they have not decided to abandon these trails.

 

[wb671987]

Great news! At least they have not decided to abandon these trails.

Unfortunately, they have still not made a decision this is just a very elaborate and detailed proposal. The main proposal is rerouting them as Class 1 Trails, however the main alternative proposal is abandoning huge sections of the Dry River Trail, Rocky Branch Trail and Isolation Trail (West). They are expecting the decision to be made by April 2014 though! Either way it is great news that the main proposal is NOT just abandoning them!!

 

[TJsName]

Class 1 is a more primitive trail. For full details see Appendix B of the scoping letter.

Are all Wilderness trails considered class 1?

It still drives me nuts that they bother to put up signs with no mileage.

 

[psmart]

Unfortunately, they have still not made a decision this is just a very elaborate and detailed proposal!

While the final decision has not been made, this document details the "Proposed Action", and unless they encounter compelling reasons to make changes, the final decision will be much the same.

 

[psmart]

Are all Wilderness trails considered class 1?

No. A Wilderness area may contain trails of class 1, 2, or 3, depending on the history and usage of the area. Appendix B includes specific variations for Wilderness areas.

However, trail relocations in Wilderness are likely to be class 1, unless a higher class is needed for resource protection, such as erosion control measures in high-use areas.

 

[NHClimber]

Article in N. Conway Sun yesterday.

 

[psmart]

Article in N. Conway Sun yesterday.

http://conwaydailysun.com/index.php/newsx/local-news/111005-trail-011814

 

[TCD]

Thanks for the link. Interesting reasoning:

"It isn't that the U.S. Forest Service wants to abandon these trails, Martin said, but the steep terrain basically makes restoring them to their previous condition impractical. "It's unstable soil," he said, "the challenge is can you find sustainable ground to put a trail on." Any new trail through the damaged areas would have to be repaired again and again and again, he said, which isn't a great use of tax dollars."

>Somehow they were built in the first place, and maintained for years. Now a one-time event is the reason they are no longer buildable or maintainable?

"For one thing, he said, "Dry River is one of those places where you can have some solitude." The forest service would like to preserve that, particularly because such places are rare in the Whites."

>Rare? Walk 200 yards off any trail, and solitude is virtually guaranteed. There is vastly more area where solitude is guaranteed than there is area where you are likely to see someone.

"Furthermore, he said, from a rescue standpoint it is important to have access to these areas. In winter many lost hikers wind up in the Dry River basin, so being able to get to them is important. Trails make that possible."

>Is this just a set up to support the rescue budget talks? "Trails make [rescue] posible." Good trails make rescue less likely to be needed.

 

[TJsName]

http://conwaydailysun.com/index.php/newsx/local-news/111005-trail-011814

Seems like they kind of want to treat it like 'Great Gulf, south'. Once the FS relocates the trail segments and people adopt them and use them, it would seem that the maintenance/tread would be subject how much it's actually used. How popular was this area in general before Irene?

 

[DSettahr]

Somehow they were built in the first place, and maintained for years. Now a one-time event is the reason they are no longer buildable or maintainable?

The hurricane likely moved a lot of sediment around and shifted drainage patters considerably. It stands to reason that there will likely be more erosion through out the valley in coming years as the streams settle into their new paths. In areas where the trail washed out, there is probably a lot of steep gullying that will continue to erode as the sediment settles, and any re-routes would necessitate moving the trail pretty far away. Also, with the vegetation loss, you've got a lot less anchoring in place to keep soils from moving for the foreseeable future, until the vegetation re-establishes itself.

 

[TCD]

I certainly agree with relocating trails some distance away from streambeds. Many of our older Adirondack trails could use the same relocation (and some have been nicely relocated, like the Gulf Brook trail to Hurricane). That's not the same thing as downgrading the trail. Still strikes me that Irene is providing an excuse to downgrade the recreational facility.

 

[RoySwkr]

"It isn't that the U.S. Forest Service wants to abandon these trails, Martin said, but the steep terrain basically makes restoring them to their previous condition impractical. "It's unstable soil," he said, "the challenge is can you find sustainable ground to put a trail on." Any new trail through the damaged areas would have to be repaired again and again and again, he said, which isn't a great use of tax dollars."
...
>Is this just a set up to support the rescue budget talks? "Trails make [rescue] posible." Good trails make rescue less likely to be needed.

Note that much of the original trail was on the railroad grade, which made frequent crossings of Dry River. There was one round of relocations to reduce the number of crossings, then another to shift the trail off muddy sections of railroad bed. The headwall section used to come out at Monroe Flats but was moved to protect then-endangered plants. The FS should be good at relocating this trail by now

There are plenty of advocacy groups who think that trails in Wilderness should all be class 1 (or 0 so the FS is just doing what they want. And they are removing a shelter that became dilapidated because they quit repairing it.

This process has nothing to do with the state S&R budget. Although I have suggested numerous times that if unmarked trails get people lost the FS should conduct and pay for the rescues, F&G wants the mission to justify staffing and the FS doesn't want to spend money on anything outdoors but only on desk jockeys and studies.

 

[DSettahr]

Note that much of the original trail was on the railroad grade, which made frequent crossings of Dry River. There was one round of relocations to reduce the number of crossings, then another to shift the trail off muddy sections of railroad bed. The headwall section used to come out at Monroe Flats but was moved to protect then-endangered plants. The FS should be good at relocating this trail by now

I wasn't aware of this. This makes the difficulty in relocating the trail make even more sense. The railroad grade would've provided a stable, solid surface for the trail. With the railroad grade likely washed out in numerous places, the remaining options for routing the trail could easily be much less sustainable in the long run.

 

[Becca M]

After reading the description in the Conway paper, it appears as though it is possible there might not be a defined trail at all where it has washed away? "but it would not be the 18-inch marked footpath many White Mountain hikers are accustomed to" What would it look like? Would there be any indication at the end of each section that the subsequent section is gone? Since blazes are mostly gone anyway, and treadway is fading, does that mean you just need to find the path of least resistance on the east side of the river and you are now officially allowed to wander in the area?

 

[Tom_Murphy]

What would it look like? Would there be any indication at the end of each section that the subsequent section is gone? Since blazes are mostly gone anyway, and treadway is fading, does that mean you just need to find the path of least resistance on the east side of the river and you are now officially allowed to wander in the area?

The Lincoln Brook Trail from the OH silde to 13 Falls may be a good comparsion. The two trails are very similar: important for winter access to a potential S&R area and both would be Zone B. I believe the FS proposal to change the Dry River Trail from Class 2 to Class 1 equates changing it from Zone C to Zone B.

See maps of pages 37 and 39
http://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes/documents/education/WMNF WMP.pdf

Also from that PDF:

Zone B
Visitors should plan ahead and be well prepared for challenging travel and primitive recreation opportunities with a high level of risk. Self-reliance and proficient navigation skills may be needed to facilitate travel on minimally maintained trails. These paths may be exceptionally hard to follow under winter conditions.

Zone C
Visitors should plan ahead and be well prepared for challenging travel and semi-primitive recreation opportunities with a moderate level of risk. Navigation skills will better facilitate travel on moderately developed trails especially under winter conditions

 

[JCarter]

I don't believe they are proposing to change the Zone A/B/C/D classification maps within the Dry River Wilderness, but changing these trails from Class 2 to Class 1 may be bringing them into closer alignment with the Zone definition (for example, the stretch of the West Isolation Trail is already Zone B) Downgrading the stretch of Dry River Trail and Rocky Branch shouldn't affect the Zone C definition, though it might provide ammunition for a downgrade in the future.

It might be a good idea to comment on the Class 2 to Class 1 downgrade.