410 hwy. Gold ck and Rock creek roads washed out and wont be fixed

[hunterdan]

When I passed Milk Creek last weekend the sign just said road closed due to flood damage. I didn't stop, but in passing I did not notice any sign saying no wheeled or foot traffic. There was no getting around the barrier at the highway by a vehicle. But again, I did not see anything that made me think you could not walk back from there. I went up spring creek and know of a 4x trail down to the 1707?. There was no signage at the top of it. My truck is too large to go down the trail, but I walked it a way with no signage that way. I have also been to the backside of the closure on Pine creek in the past. No illegalities there, so whats the difference between being on pine creek and coming in to milk creek from one of the 4x trails?

[Curly]

The forest Service just re wrote the closure order because people were giving hell to them.  Now it is roads closed to all motorized vehicles. Foot traffic and mountain bikes are now OK.

Awesome.  That's good news!  And how it should be.

[brianmtsinc]

The forest Service just re wrote the closure order because people were giving hell to them.  Now it is roads closed to all motorized vehicles. Foot traffic and mountain bikes are now OK.


 

[Instinct]

Bout fricken time

[bigtex]

If a forest service worker asks me for ID and my truck isn't anywhere around and I'm walking up the road in the mountains, I'm telling him to screw off.  He's not a law enforcement officer, I understand if your at camp and have a fire or littering and he writes a citation but up in the hills and he stops me for my ID!!! I just don't understand what the hell is wrong with this country, Damn liberals.  Just venting

FYI Trohphyhunt

The USFS has two forms of enforcement.

• There are USFS Law Enforcement Officers which are fully fledged federal officers, these are the guys with the guns and cuffs. There are very few of these in WA, less then 30. These officers can also be comissioned as state or county officers as well, so they can make cases/arrests at both the federal and local levels.
• There are USFS Forest Protection Officers. FPO's are limited in what they can enforce. These are the individuals that do a lot of the ATV, Snowmobile, parking enforcement, etc (petty stuff). These officers are not armed, however they do have enforcement authority. Many USFS employees are designated as FPO's, rarely is being an FPO their sole duty. For example, it is completely possible that the individual that is clearing brush could issue a federal citation

[brianmtsinc]

I just came back from doing some scouting and ran into the ORV Ranger while driving on what I believed to be a jeep road from Spring creek over to Pine creek.  The road we were on is a road we have used MANY times over the years, however he informed us that its is actually a snowmobile road and we were on it illegally.    

This guy (not exactly sure of his name so I won't post it) went on to tell us that the Milk and Pine creek drainages are getting hammered by hunters thinking that because it is a closed road system, and they know a way in via a jeep road, they will have a great area to themselves.  He said there is NO  legal way to access either drainage other than by foot or mountain bike, and that he has been assigned daily to those 2 road systems until sometime in November.    

What pisses me off about this is not the closure, but that instead of placing signs on these CLEARLY well traveled jeep roads (they can call them a snowmobile road all they want, but jeeps run them ALL the time!!) The US forest service, with all of it's extra money, has decided to pay this guys salary and operating expenses, in hopes of getting it returned (plus some) in tickets!!  He stated that " The tickets range from $125 - $175 depending  on the guys attitude that I stop".   

He was very arrogant and seemed as though he could not wait to start writting the tickets.  He let us go only because he pulled up to us as we were picking up a bunch of trash someone had left in the middle of the road.  Otherwise we would have been ticketed for driving a road we believed was open. 

I KNOW it is my responsibility to know the laws and to only travel on legal roads, and I accept my responsibility here.  But who are the decision makers that decided to take away from our supposedly stretched too thin forest service workers, to patrol this area on a daily basis, but would not spend a hundred bucks and post the entry points to at least keep honest people out?   

[brianb231]

 

I was told the same thing as I was stopped. They said tickets will be written and it will be patrolled daily!

I was surpised by this as I knew a way in there and I thought Pine was not part of the restricted area.

Guess I was wrong. Be advised or bring your checkbook I guess.

Looks like I will be hiking in a ways.....

Good Luck

[gasman]

If it was the guy in the OHv Jeep, his name is Merrick. i have talked to him a few times and his main goal is to keep the illegal acivity to a minimal and catch those law breakers breaking the rules, especially  back on the jeep trails. The jeep trails need to be patrolled to keep people from ruening what we have.

Yes, the trail you were on is a snowmobile trail, not a jeep or quad trail. I have also been on it to take the short cut to Whistling Jacks.

As much as you don't like him being there, he is needed to patrol the areas up there, and he only works the weekends, not 7 days a week  But the sherrif will be patroling the roads on motorcycles.

As far as no legal way in there, there is two jeep trils that take you to the top area around Milk Lake, and there is nothing they can do if you are in there. Only the road is closed to vehicle traffic, not the jeep trails 

[brianb231]

You ran into the former chinook pass sheriff. he retired and now is one of the 2 OHV rangers.  Yes he knows what he is talking about. You broke the law. deal with it. they are going to write a closure area on all the jeep and snowmobile trails FYI. there is at least 2 people on 7 days a week. It is not the forest services fault for not allowing people in and writing tickets. it is what the laws and the constitutions say.

This is just a guess, but you must be either the new sheriff or the number 2 OHV guy??? LOL  Just playin... But I just hope they do patrol the hell out of it becuase when I hike my arse off and ride my mountain bike up that mountain the last thing I want to see is 6 rigs at the top!

So I am all for it at this point.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

i think naches sportsman just doesnt want people to ride there bikes in or there jeeps or there feet jeez buddy there are alot of woods out there for us all to share>  I'll be riding my mountain bike into all of these areas and I aint buying a discovery pass either.  dnr can eat it!

[Instinct]

Na diyarchery naches knows  those roads hes always on top wth whats goin on wth the forest dept. Always good idea to pick up a green trail map and see where ur at to make sure u dont get fisted by the man.

[brianmtsinc]

Gasman - I asked him 3 separate times, "SO, there is NO WAY to access Milk or Pine Creek via the road system or any jeep road" his response each time was "No way.  If you are on any of the roads back there, you are breaking the law and will be ticketed"  Any insight can share?

Naches sportsman -  As I clearly stated - I know it is my responsibility to know the law and where I can and can't go.  That was not my point.  My point is, that I feel this is simply a way to ticket hunters and bring in more revenue.  Hell, I'd be happy to go to kinkos and print up 4 signs and post them on each snowmobile trail to save others from getting fined - but my guess is that is probably against the law too.

My  - patrol the area. Enforce the law.  But do your best to make sure honest people are aware they are entering a closed area. 
Like I said - that is just my 

[bobcat]

Of course if they put up signs, people would just tear them down. That's why they normally have a map that shows which roads are open and which ones are closed.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

Na diyarchery naches knows  those roads hes always on top wth whats goin on wth the forest dept. Always good idea to pick up a green trail map and see where ur at to make sure u dont get fisted by the man.

where can i call to get info on biking in or walking in?  a red dot road closure would mean no driving in.  When i was there three years ago they had the red dot green dot system going.  That says nothing about foot traffic or bike traffic.

[bobcat]

There are only green dots, no red dots. Unless things have recently changed. But I have never heard of red dots. In the green dot road management areas, if a road does not have a green dot, then it is not open for motorized traffic.