Extreme rains wreak havoc on area trails

Observation by Mike Brubaker:

Last weekend my wife and I took our two daughters backpacking in the Talkeetna Mountains. There was a break in the rain and a little sunshine in the forecast so we thought we would make a break for it.The destination, a popular day hike from Hatcher Pass, Reed Lakes. It’s about a five mile hike and 1000’ of elevation to the tent sites. What we were not aware of was how much rain had fallen in the past days. Apparently, on a recent day several inches of rain had been recorded in the area. However, other then puddles, there was no indications about the trail conditions at the trailhead. As we headed up the valley, the lower portion of the trail was mostly in pretty good condition, although we did notice some washout channels in a few areas. The upper trail however, was a mess with vegetation peeling off of boulders and bedrock, and carefully built stone steps sliding off the trail. In some places there was knee deep mud. Other areas the mud coated the boulders making them slippery and treacherous. Up at the lake the impact of the rains and hiker traffic was apparent in the plume of muddy water running into the stream and the green lake waters. In some areas, new trails were being beaten in to get around flooding and mud, making matters worse. In others, there were already many meandering routes where hikers had left the proper trail and created a myriad of channels or a fall line creek for erosion to occur. It was clear that the rains was causing severe damage to the trail but the combination of the rain and hiker traffic made it much worse. I was sad to be contributing to the destruction. On Saturday (day 2) we decended and passed dozens or groups making there way up through the muck.

Comment by LEO Editors:

We have reached out to the Alaska State Parks office in Palmer for feedback on the impact from rains on the trails and the management processes applied. Please note the graphic showing how extreme the rain event was in Palmer area in July. By our LEO Network measure (see graphs below) close to ten inches of rain fell between June 25 and August 25, a record, for the station at the Palmer Airport. M. Brook

Comment by Stuart Leidner:

First, we do appreciate updates like these on trail conditions. In Hatcher Pass this year, we have had a number of trail issues brought to light, due in part, if not entirely, to the continued rain that we are experiencing. Couple those conditions with the volume of trail users, and the results are not unexpected. Trail work that was completed even just last year never got the chance to set up and is now severely impacted again. One of the most distressing parts, among many from your pictures are the stone stairs. Those particular ones you show, had JUST been put in last year. I spent time working with the crew as they were completing them. Last year when we were working on several sections of that trail, they had a significant amount of rain as well making progress slow and ultimately, it now appears this years weather undid a portion of their work. Unfortunately, we don’t have dedicated trail crews to go in an make repairs on a regular basis. Our goal will be to get out to make repairs again on this trail within the next two years. All of our trail work is dependent on grant funds. We rotate where we work each year managing one small trail crew that gets hired once a project has been funded. Externally, we try to partner with Alaska Trails when we can to have their crews complete projects when they have secured grant funds.