|
Dear Secretary Kempthorne, In the spring of 2006 the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior announced that it was abandoning the Upper Stehekin Valley Road. I am writing in support of efforts by Stehekin Heritage urging reestablishment of the Upper Stehekin Valley Road. As made plain by Stehekin Heritage, this reestablishment will use an already existing detour and result in no net loss of wilderness. As a person who has
hiked, climbed and skied in Washington's North Cascades for over forty
years I have many times taken the 'Lady of the Lake' up Lake Chelan to
Stehekin as an entry point on one of my adventures. In recent years many
of these trips were taken in my quest to climb all 100 of Washington's
highest peaks as Stehekin is an ideal gateway to a good number of those
summits, or I should say, used to be when one could ride the bumpy but
dependable National Park run shuttle bus to get from Stehekin to trailheads
where one begins climbs that typically take several days. This includes
trailheads such as Bridge Creek (for the Mt Goode NE Buttress climb),
Park Creek (for climbs of Mt Logan, Storm King or Mt Goode SE Couloir
route) or the upper valley (for entry to Horseshoe Basin and Mt Buckner). The fact that many climbers no longer use Stehekin as their approach is, of course, a fairly small matter but it is not only climbers who have been affected by the road closure. Since the closure, only committed, fit, and financially able backpackers or fishermen are willing to take the extra day or more of 'road hiking' it now takes to get to destinations up Bridge, Park or Flat Creeks, to Trapper Lake or upper valley scenic spots like Horseshoe Basin, Doubtful Lake or Cascade Pass. And from talking to the driver of the bus that goes to High Bridge (essentially the end of the road presently), very few such backpackers and fishermen are coming through Stehekin and using the upper valley 'trail'. My experience during a hiking trip to Cottonwood Camp (which used to be roads end) during the first week of October last year bears out the comments of the bus driver. Flat Creek has always been a favorite of fishermen but when I hiked two miles up the Flat Creek trail it was so overgrown in places as to be almost impassable. Usually on this sort of trail previous hikers leave some evidence of their passage in the form of broken off stalks of cow parsnips and fireweed or one will see broken and hanging branches of willow, slide alder or vine maple. Seeing no such evidence along this trail last fall leaves me to surmise that almost no one used this trail last summer. And this on a trail that used to be a favorite yearly trek for many people. If you have ever hiked an old road that has been 'converted' to a trail you know how unattractive and unsatisfying the old road is when it tries to masquerade as a trail. It is generally hot and dusty since there is no tree canopy and the long stretches of flat, straight 'trail' cannot compare to the enchantment and mystery of a 'real' trail which undulates through the woods, reaches back into ravines and occasionally opens up to provide a vista of high, snow capped peaks! Those who favor converting the old 'Mine-to-Market' upper valley road to a trail show themselves to be utterly lacking in imagination and spirit! Incidentally, on my hike to Cottonwood Camp, I noted only one set of prints on the sandy spots where they were quite plain to see. It appeared that a couple (one large boot print and one small boot print) or perhaps a father and son had come down the valley from Cascade Pass. There had been no significant rain for several weeks before my trip so I would surmise that perhaps only two persons had used this trail to view the incredible beauty of the upper valley during the month of September. How very sad! Before the road closure, literally hundreds of persons, including the very old and the very young, those healthy and those frail or disabled, and especially those for whom this trip is a very special treat that can only be afforded a few times in a lifetime enjoyed being able to at least make the bumpy bus ride into this very special region. For many others the bus ride placed them in position to make that long anticipated trip to the source of Flat Creek or to the old ruins from mining camp days still in evidence below and up into Horseshoe Basin and, for a few, the carefully planned trek up to Cascade Pass and environs and then down the other side into the Cascade River drainage to connect with the pre-arranged pick up - the adventure of a lifetime for many. These pleasures are now available, with a small number of exceptions, to only a select few; those who are young and fit and with ample spare time and, usually, the financial resources to pay for others to transport their gear. To me this seems a very poor and limited way to carry out the main purpose for setting aside special areas as National Parks since it allows only a few to enjoy the wonders of such places as the upper Stehekin Valley and also eliminates some of the support for preserving these beautiful areas because it denies so many the opportunity to view them first hand. Most of us were willing to put up with these closures with the expectation that the road, which was originally built in spurts in the 1920's and 1940's, would be repaired in a timely way so we could again ride the shuttle bus to upper valley trailheads. With the announcement in the spring of 2006 that the road through the gorge between Car Wash Falls and Bridge Creek was being abandoned and the road above Bridge Creek converted to a "trail" we have come to feel that we have been duped by the National Park Service. We have heard no satisfactory explanation for this abandonment and feel that the original intent of the 1968 bill that established this wonderful park and adjoining recreational areas has been thwarted! That original intent stated, in a few cogent words, that the NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK was established "In order to preserve for the benefit, use, and inspiration of present and future generations certain majestic mountain scenery, snow fields, glaciers, alpine meadows, and other unique natural features…" and similarly provided for establishment of the LAKE CHELAN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA "In order to provide for the public outdoor recreation use and enjoyment of portions of the Stehekin River and Lake Chelan, together with the surrounding lands, and for the conservation of the scenic, scientific, historic, and other values contributing to public enjoyment of such lands and waters…". It seems to me that by abandoning the one asset, which above all others, facilitates "the benefit, use, and inspiration" and "public outdoor use and enjoyment", of the North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, namely the Upper Stehekin Valley Road, that the clear intent of the enabling legislation has been betrayed! It is difficult to be inspired by and to enjoy what one cannot see nor experience! I urge you to use your position and your influence in support of efforts to reestablish the Upper Stehekin Valley Road. Sincerely,
|
||