[pct-l] Road to Harts Pass closed until August (at least)

[Bob Bankhead]

That also means no emergency escape route in case of bad weather or injury. It is 30.5 miles back to Rainy Pass and highway 20 and a very rugged 38.6 miles north to highway 3 in Manning Park. Be careful up there!

I've been on that road before. There is a REASON they call it Dead horse Point! That whole road is scary; parts of it are a nightmare! I agree with the time estimates on repairs if they have to blast through that basalt at Dead Horse Point. They could collapse that whole section of roadway with a single mistake.

Wandering Bob
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tom Griffin 
  To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 1:09 PM
  Subject: [pct-l] Road to Harts Pass closed until August (at least)


  While looking up the North Cascades National Park information for my 
  earlier post, I came across this announcement:

  "Harts Pass Road, last road access to the PCT before Canada, is not 
  passable to the trail making the last road crossing going north Rainy 
  Pass. Forest Service hopes to gain funding to open road by end of July 
  2007."

  There is a rock slide at Dead Horse Point. For those of us who have 
  driven the road, this is the scary narrow section where you are afraid 
  you are going to plunge into an abyss. You pray there isn't anyone 
  coming in the other direction. For pictures and a good discussion, see 
  the NWHikers forum:

  <http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7960100&start=0>

  According to one post, it won't be fixed even by August. "I just talked 
  to a friend in Twisp who has mine claims the other side of Harts Pass. 
  He tells me that there is one area at Dead Horse Point that has a 
  section of road where about eight feet of the road bed is GONE! He 
  questions whether the road will open at all this year if they must cut 
  into the mountain. "

  This means thruhikers should resupply in Stehekin for the whole distance 
  to the border (most do this already) and that the last road crossing is 
  Highway 20 at Rainy Pass. Sorry, no trail magic at Harts Pass like I had 
  last year <http://griffinte.home.comcast.net/pct2006/daythree.html>.

  -- 
  Tom "Bullfrog" Griffin
  Seattle
  PCT Pages: http://griffinte.home.comcast.net/pct.html