Clackamas River CROSSCUT Logout and Tread Trail Party(Fire Damaged)
Tue Sep 6, 8:00 AM - Tue Sep 6, 3:30 PM

Max Size of Crew: 10
Hike Distance: Elevation Gain: (in ft) Hike Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Work Difficulty: Difficult
Work Type: Crosscut logout, Tread work/Bench Repair
Event Information:

The entirety of the 7.5 mile trail—and more importantly the cliffs and slopes above it—suffered high severity burns in the Riverside Fire of 2020. It also suffered from the same windstorm that fueled the fire, though of course the damage is intertwined. Fifteen months of rain, snow, freeze/thaw, and torpedoing windfalls onto fractured cliff faces, hydrophobic soils, and steeply-inclined and loose talus have left us an extremely challenging and dangerous rehabilitation challenge. The terrain and post-fire-associated geomorphological changes are very similar (and as challenging) as those posed in the aftermath of the Eagle Creek Fire.

Please be aware of your capabilites and limits before registering for this event. If you have any questions please contact Vito Perrone (vito.perrone@trailkeepersoforegon.org)

Dangers include:

• High rockfall risk (steeply inclined talus slopes beneath fractured bands of basalt cliffs)

• High windfall risk (>90% tree mortality, with hundreds still standing)

• Rockslide and debris flow. Many of the talus fields and drainages suffered slides and debris flows. Oftentimes the flows came to a sudden or gradual stop behind an object—usually a fallen tree—creating a dangerously-perched reservoir of material. The removal of the dam will cause the material to slide. (As seen in this video taken on the Eagle Creek trail video ). Oftentimes simply walking across these temporarily-abated talus slides will trigger the slide to collapse further—this is especially true with wet rock. Occasionally the chain reaction of the sliding material will trigger additional material to come down from above. The debris flows are especially dangerous, as scree is bound with mud, boulders, roots, and whole trees