From an email from Sean Murphy with the Flagstaff District of the Coconino National Forest: "Some bad trail news…Little Bear and Little Elden will be closed at least for this season. Three rain events in 8 days dropping an enormous amount of rain each time was just too much. Pictures are available at flickr/photos/coconinonationalforest/ . The debris is unstable and there are numerous drop-offs. One of our trail crew, checking the upper reaches of Little Bear, reported a 100lb rock rolling across the trail about 40’ in front of him. All but one of the lower drainage structures appear to be intact though it’s hard to tell with certainty since several are buried. I think Little Bear can be fixed again but it’s going to take much longer than a couple of days with my crew! I’m recommending that Little Elden be re-routed. For the Equestrian Bypass I suggest the ATA put a temporary re-route on the website of: From the highway 89 side take Sandy Seep Trail to Christmas Tree Trail, south on Christmas Tree until you meet Fatman’s Loop, continue south on Fatman’s Loop to Elden Lookout Trail, up (right) Elden Lookout to Pipeline Trail junction, south (left) on Pipeline and then follow pipeline west around the southern base of Mount Elden to Lower Oldham/AZNST. Testament to great work done by ACE and CREC! After the first event, my crew spent two days cleaning up the trail and all structures were in place and functioning. After being hammered 3 times, the structures are still there though many tons of rock and debris flowed through them. Thanks guys!" We at FBO will do everything that we can to help get these iconic local trails reopened as soon as possible. Stay tuned, we will need your help!
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:50:37 +0000
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