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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, May 17, 2008 Glacier Peak access closes again The North Fork Sauk Road is crumbling again, and repairs aren't expected soon. By Gale Fiege Herald Writer DARRINGTON -- Forces of nature have again limited access to the Glacier Peak Wilderness in eastern Snohomish County. With Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start to the outdoor recreation season, just a couple of weeks away, a closed road makes the remote wilderness even tougher to reach. Last May there were problems with washed-out bridges. This year the North Fork Sauk Road is closed again because the roadway is slumping and falling away at a point less than a mile from its intersection with the Mountain Loop Highway. Also known as U.S. Forest Service Road 49, the road was the last route that Western Washington drivers could take to reach a trailhead to hike into the rugged wilderness. Five years after the 2003 floods there's still no easy access to the wilderness. The flooding also closed the White Chuck, Suiattle River and North Fork Skykomish roads. Repairs on these roads are scheduled for this year and 2009. The road's closure adds another 7 miles to the walk for any hiker wanting to reach the trailhead that leads to the Pacific Crest Trail and Glacier Peak, a 10,541-foot-tall volcano and the county's high point. Dwight Noren of Marysville said the closure makes it difficult for volunteers to help with trail maintenance in the wilderness. Noren is a member of the Everett-based Traildusters chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington. "We have the volunteers to do the work parties, but we need the road access to the trails," Noren said. "If the road is closed, the trails are of no use to hikers, backpackers or anyone." The closure of North Fork Sauk Road and other roads has made the wilderness wilder than it has been in the last 50 years, said Gary Paull, Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest's trails and wilderness coordinator, based at the Darrington ranger station. The slump at North Fork Sauk Road was discovered more than two weeks ago and the road was closed May 1, Paull said. The roadbed was built on an unstable clay hillside. While its repair has moved to the top of the priority list, it's unlikely to be fixed anytime soon. The road continues to slump and is still moving. Once the slumping stops, a repair plan has to be developed, Paull said. "There's no guarantee it will be open this season," he said. Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.

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