Old School GMU 346 Hunters, question for you..

[acrocker]

Not sure if this is the appropriate thread to put this in, but I figure it's elk hunters who are most likely to know.

Hunted 346 this year due to my usual haunts getting burned out in the Blues. I'm no stranger to this unit, I hunted it regularly in the 90's and early '00s, but a friend of mine told me about an old pack trail that he had found in a fairly remote area (as far as that unit goes) - he took me down there to check in out since it was in a fairly off the beaten path area and we figured we might get into some elk.

Well, saw a few but didn't knock anything down. We did find this old pack trail, however - there are cut timbers where it went through the woods, a faint remnant of established trail, and my buddy told me that several years ago he found where it had been cut into the rock face of a slide, 3-4 feet wide, for quite a distance, with piles being driven in some places to support it from being washed out. This area is a couple miles from the nearest road through some ROUGH terrain, the nearest roads probably went in sometime between the 80's and 90's, I'm guessing, based on the timber cuts around them, and this pack trail has to date back to the 40's, 50's, or 60's. It hasn't been used in many years and would need some work to get back to snuff, but it's still very interesting - I'm not sure if it was put in for hunting or for mining - I didn't find any evidence of mining, but I didn't put in a ton of time looking.

Long story, short, just wondering if anyone has any ideas on the history of this trail - just for my own knowledge, I find it really cool to check out the history of the areas I hunt and those that came before me. I can't find any reference to this trail being any kind of officially installed thing, it looks for all intents and purposes like a trail put in by some very determined hunters or miners for their own use - you wouldn't know it was there unless you put in some boot leather in the steep country and stumbled onto it.

Without giving too much away, it's going to be near Mt. Clifty, in the Pileup Creek drainage. Let me know if you have any info on who might have put it in, or if you've hunted off it and found anything interesting.

[Naches Sportsman]

I have been on that trail and faintly recall that one being on a map from the 30’s. Sheep grazing and exploratory mining used to be huge in the area. 

[trophyhunt]

Yup, sheep grazing, I know a trail they used to use for sheep. Love seeing the blazed trees that are super old, kinda crazy they used to run sheep up there, the trail I know is very close to the crest.  You’d think the low lands would be better??

[hunter399]

I know nothing about the area or Trail.
But a word of advise......
I would never in a million years cut back or improve a trail to the point an ATV,SXS,even bicycle can go down.
After some of the things I've seen this season.
I've thought about cutting open some old roads and trails I see on ONX . No way.
You improve things too much ,it will never be remote location again.

[acrocker]

Thanks, guys - I kind of figured it would be a mining thing, to be honest. There was some talk about a guy who supposedly hunted in there 20-30 years ago who knew the guys that originally put it in. It would not surprise me if it was from the 30's, it's pretty worn down and hard to find in places. Be interesting to see if anyone else chimes in with some more history. Thanks for the replies.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

There are alot of sheep trails which have been improved upon in this state and others. They can and do lead into some of the most beautiful country in the world.... Find em and enjoy!

[GASoline71]

There is also a buried cable powerline "road" that runs from the Crow Creek area, all the way up to the micro-wave station up on Raven's Roost.  Back in the late 80's and early 90's you could walk the entire way on that "road". Pretty steep in a lot of areas, and also carved into the hillside in a few spots as well.  Then in the late 90's and early 2k's, the Jeep and ATV guys have destroyed most of the "road".  Once they started cutting new paths further  and further into the woods to get around some of the Cedar Swamps, the USFS finally blocked access to it so there hasn't been a motorized vehicle on it in about 20 years.

Gary

[scoutdog346]

Sheep guys did that back after the 20s amd b4 the 50s

Not sure if this is the appropriate thread to put this in, but I figure it's elk hunters who are most likely to know.

Hunted 346 this year due to my usual haunts getting burned out in the Blues. I'm no stranger to this unit, I hunted it regularly in the 90's and early '00s, but a friend of mine told me about an old pack trail that he had found in a fairly remote area (as far as that unit goes) - he took me down there to check in out since it was in a fairly off the beaten path area and we figured we might get into some elk.

Well, saw a few but didn't knock anything down. We did find this old pack trail, however - there are cut timbers where it went through the woods, a faint remnant of established trail, and my buddy told me that several years ago he found where it had been cut into the rock face of a slide, 3-4 feet wide, for quite a distance, with piles being driven in some places to support it from being washed out. This area is a couple miles from the nearest road through some ROUGH terrain, the nearest roads probably went in sometime between the 80's and 90's, I'm guessing, based on the timber cuts around them, and this pack trail has to date back to the 40's, 50's, or 60's. It hasn't been used in many years and would need some work to get back to snuff, but it's still very interesting - I'm not sure if it was put in for hunting or for mining - I didn't find any evidence of mining, but I didn't put in a ton of time looking.

Long story, short, just wondering if anyone has any ideas on the history of this trail - just for my own knowledge, I find it really cool to check out the history of the areas I hunt and those that came before me. I can't find any reference to this trail being any kind of officially installed thing, it looks for all intents and purposes like a trail put in by some very determined hunters or miners for their own use - you wouldn't know it was there unless you put in some boot leather in the steep country and stumbled onto it.

Without giving too much away, it's going to be near Mt. Clifty, in the Pileup Creek drainage. Let me know if you have any info on who might have put it in, or if you've hunted off it and found anything interesting.