Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Mail Tribune 100, Feb. 9, 1916 ... Oregon and Alaska lift suspension of troubled insurance carrier Moda ... Oregon refuge occupier releases videos mocking FBI ... Mail Tribune 100, Feb. 9, 1916 ... Oregon and Alaska lift suspension of troubled insurance carrier Moda ... Oregon refuge occupier releases videos mocking FBI ... NATIONAL PARK IMPROVEMENTS Work on Rim Drive, Cleetwood Cove Trail will mean congestion at Crater Lake Work on Rim Drive and Cleetwood Cove Trail will mean congestion at Crater Lake this summer Comment By Lee Juillerat for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Lee Juillerat for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 8, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Lee Juillerat for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 8, 2016 at 12:01 AM --> Trails to hike at Crater Lake Jen Gifford, the trails supervisor at Crater Lake National Park, is often asked about trails she recommends for park visitors. Her usual suggestion ... » Read more X Trails to hike at Crater Lake Jen Gifford, the trails supervisor at Crater Lake National Park, is often asked about trails she recommends for park visitors. Her usual suggestion is Mount Scott, a 5-mile roundtrip hike that climbs 1,240 feet to an elevation of 8,929 feet, the highest peak in the park. The trail offers spectacular views of the lake and surrounding forestlands. Another of her favorites is the hike up Union Peak, an 11-mile round trip. Shorter, less-taxing trails include Annie Creek, which she said needs some significant upgrades, and Sun Notch, a trail she helped reroute that offers great views of the lake, including the Phantom Ship. Some trails, such as Union Creek, hold special appeal to Gifford because she helped with trail maintenance while working at the park as a seasonal worker from 2001 to 2006, including five years leading a Youth Conservation Corps crew. After years at other parks, including Zion, she returned to Crater Lake as trails supervisor in 2012. » Social News CRATER LAKE — Trails at Crater Lake National Park are buried under snow, but Jen Gifford, the park's trails supervisor, is making plans for this summer. Visiting the park this summer likely will be challenging because of ongoing work to improve Rim Drive. Sections of the 33-mile road that circles the lake and areas in Rim Village are being upgraded and widened, which will cause delays for motorists driving to many of the park's most popular trailheads, including the Cleetwood Cove Trail. Parking at the trailhead, the taking-off point for the only trail to the lake, will be limited because the parking area likely will be closed in July and August. The parking lot will be enlarged and configured for larger vehicles, including RVs and motor homes. "That's going to be a huge challenge," Gifford said, noting the park is considering implementing some type of shuttle system to the trailhead that provides the only access to the lake and summer ranger-guided boat tours. Devising a solution is necessary because the National Park Service will be celebrating its centennial in 2016, and another heavy visitation year is expected. Even in a normal year, the Cleetwood Cove Trail is the park's most heavily used. Based on use records, the trail had upward of 52,000 users in 2014 and nearly 64,000 last summer. The heaviest user months are July — nearly 21,000 in 2014 and more than 23,000 this year — and August — more than 20,500 and nearly 19,000, respectively. Gifford said the Cleetwood trail always poses a challenge because of necessary maintenance projects, noting the trail is "inside a volcano, so gravity works. It's the challenge of living in a volcanic environment." Before the trail opens, crews typically spend weeks rebuilding retaining walls, repairing the easily disturbed tread and clearing debris. "It's a huge money sinkhole for the park." Collecting data on trail use began in 2014 after the park bought trail counters. Four trails were monitored that year and seven last summer. Until more counters are purchased, Gifford plans to rotate them on a seasonal basis, although the two located at Cleetwood Cove and the park's south entrance for the Pacific Crest Trail will be permanent. "The infrared trail counters track any 'warm body' that passes by the device and records how many, date and time of the day," she said. Counts from 2015 indicate the Cleetwood trail had a relatively modest increase, about 800, but the PCT saw a jump of almost 3,000, from 3,245 in 2014 to 8,942 in 2015. "It was astronomical. It did skyrocket. Are the deer messing with us, or is the Hollywood effect really that great?" Gifford said, referring to the popularity of the book and movie "Wild." "That's probably part of it." Receiving heavy use, too, was the Plaikni Falls Trail, the park's newest. It recorded nearly 11,000 users during its four-month season. Despite problems at its parking lot — the original lot was expanded but it remains often overflowing — Plaikni has proven a draw. And, Gifford believes, it may help entice hikers to visit the nearby Pinnacles Trail, which had 3,617 users last summer. Other statistics show Garfield Peak having 51,104 users and Pumice Flat 1,532 in 2014, while last summer's counters recorded 10,047 users on the Annie Creek Trail, 1,091 on the Crater Peak Trail and 23,954 on the Lightning Springs Trail. Most of the trails had figures divided in two to reflect out-and-back hikers, with use figures only partial in June and October, when counters were set up or removed in mid-month. "That gives me ammunition to say this trail has this much use," Gifford said of using the statistics to help in developing maintenance for existing trails and charting potential new trails in the park's still-developing trail management plan. Under study is a new Mazama Rocks Trail, a mile loop with a trailhead near the Cleetwood Cove trailhead. Strongly supported by park Superintendent Craig Ackerman, she said, the trail likely won't be built until 2019 or 2020, "if all goes well," because of the required review process. "It will be a really neat trail." One of Gifford's favorite trails, Boundary Springs, which begins from two Forest Service trailheads off Highway 230 west of the park, was heavily damaged by last summer's Pumice Complex fire and is expected to remain closed through 2016. Along with burned bridges and dead vegetation and trees, "There are areas you can't even tell that there's a trail. In other areas you'd get lost because you can't see where the trail is." Reach freelance writer Lee Juillerat at [email protected] or 541-880-4139. By Lee Juillerat for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Lee Juillerat for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 8, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501