Category Archives: News

Moran Basin trails wrap-up: Trails 2, 4 and 14

August saw a lot of activity on the trails surrounding the Moran Creek Basin. See below for the GPS tracks. (The Trail 4 trace is roughly .25 miles short because I didn’t start recording immediately on the return trip.)

Moran Basin Trails

On August 11, we (Bill Walker, Jerry Costello and Bob Nelson) worked through the last of the downed wood and underbrush on Trail 4, encountering almost unrestricted ridge-top travel for the next half-mile or so. At that point — about 1.25 miles from the Trail 14 junction — we decided to carry our equipment out rather than continue.

We found a nice view of Cyclone Peak and Lake on the way back . . .

Cyclone Peak and Lake

A couple of weeks later, Jerry and I went round the north and west sides of the basin on trails 2 and 14. The tread started to fade a little ways past the old Coal Ridge lookout tower. We took a photo at our turnaround point and called it a day . . .

Trail 14 Limit of Travel

The next step is to walk and identify those last little bits of trails 4 and 14, possibly with two groups, one going in from each end.

North Fork Trails Association has boots on the ground!

Debo Powers wrote the following general circulation article about some of our September activities. As you’ll see, the “Three Amigas” (Debo, Margaret Heaphy and Betsy Holycross) have donated a lot of time to the NFTA this month! . . .

The newly formed North Fork Trails Association (NFTA) under the leadership of Bill Walker has been very busy this summer exploring, compiling information and planning for future improvement of North Fork trails.

Bill made a presentation before the RAC committee on September 16 to ask for funding for trail maintenance for the stretch of trail between the Whitefish Divide Trail and the end of Hay Creek Road. In preparation for his presentation before the RAC committee, Bill organized a group Saturday, September 13, to hike this section from two different directions. Bill and Randy Kenyon hiked from Hay Creek Road while Margaret Heaphy, Betsy Holycross, and Debo Powers hiked from Red Meadow Road on the Whitefish Divide. When the two groups met, they exchanged car keys thus avoiding the need for a shuttle.

Two groups meet on trail and exchange car keys

On Thursday, September 18, Bill transported NFTA scouts (Margaret, Betsy and Debo) to the Whitefish Divide trailhead on Red Meadow Road. Their mission was twofold: (1) hike along the Whitefish Divide Trail and find the junction with the Coal Ridge Trail and (2) reconnoiter the upper portion of the Coal Ridge Trail to find out if the trail was discernible. If the trail was passable and there was enough time for the long trek, the scouts would continue along Coal Ridge to the old lookout and patrol cabin and hike down to Hay Creek Road where Bill would pick them up. Although both parts of the mission were accomplished, the Coal Ridge Trail was so difficult to follow that the scouts returned the way they had come.

: Betsy and fall foliage on Whitefish Divide Trail

: Searching for a lost trail

: Building a cairn to mark the junction

If you would like to donate money, time, or resources to help improve the hiking trails in the North Fork, please contact Bill through the NFTA “Contact” page.

Trail 4 hazard reduction

On July 25, several folks showed up to perform hazard reduction along the ridge top section of Trail 4. A few perilous spots on the upper switchbacks were fixed up and considerable blow-downs removed.

There were five of us in this little party…

Trail 4 Crew, July 25, 2014

From left to right: Randy Kenyon, Jerry Costello and Jan Caldwell. Not shown: Bill Walker (behind the camera) and Greg Evans.

Coal Ridge — Hay Creek tour

July 3, John Frederick and I took advantage of a nice day and open Forest Service gates to do the tour of the Coal Ridge — Hay Creek drainage area. We went perhaps a quarter-mile up Trail 4 with the big chain saw, did a little clean up and then drove to the Trail 3 trailhead at the west end of Hay Creek Road.

Trail 3, most of which is old roadbed, is in excellent shape for the first mile (and likely for at least another three after that). It offers a broad vista of the west end of the Hay Creek watershed, including the Whitefish Divide.

Trail 3 – looking west towards Whitefish Divide

Moran Basin Road (Road 5241), the last stop on our tour, has problems. We encountered a bad slide about two miles in where a collection of trees had slid down the bank, roots and all, spilling across the road. I cut out the first pile, but we encountered two more about a quarter-mile farther up the road. Until the Forest Service cleans this up, Moran Basin Road is navigable only by ATVs and bikes. Update: By July 8, the road was open. Someone (not the Forest Service) had removed enough debris to allow passage by regular vehicles.

Slides on Moran Basin Road – July 3, 2014

National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act aims to improve trail maintenance

This is interesting, especially in view of our own goal to increase volunteer trail maintenance activity in the North Fork’s portion of the Flathead National Forest.

Mind you, there’s no extra money here. Instead, the bill instructs the Department of Agriculture to come up with policies to encourage and increase volunteer assistance to relieve the public trail maintenance backlog. Still, better official support at the top of the food chain for our trail concerns can’t hurt . . .

A bill encouraging the U.S. Forest Service to improve its trail maintenance received widespread support from Montana outdoors groups this week.

The Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, The Wilderness Society and others heralded the introduction of the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act by Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, and Tim Walz, D-Minnesota. The bill would expand the use of volunteer help on trail maintenance and codify how the Forest Service prioritizes its maintenance backlog.

Getting started

Welcome to the North Fork Trails Association, known informally as the “Trail 4 Organization” (more on that later).

We’re currently under construction, but expect some actual content Real Soon Now.