Tag Archives: Hay Creek

Hay Creek Drainage partially closed due to slide damage

Hay Creek Drainage from West End

Hay Creek Drainage from West End

One of the two gates in the Hay Creek Drainage opened on schedule July 1; the other remains closed for a few more days. The Moran Creek Road (Rd 5241) gate is open, allowing motorized access as far as the Moran Creek Trail trailhead. The gate across Hay Creek Road (Rd 376) at the 5.5. mile point will remain closed for a while due to slide damage about two miles past the gate.

Hay Creek Trail No. 3 cleared

T26-T3-PNT Intersection Sign, July 11, 2020 - W. K. Walker

T26-T3-PNT Intersection Sign, July 11, 2020 – W. K. Walker

On August 11, North Fork Trails finished clearing Hay Creek Trail . This completes the work started in this drainage about a month ago when we cleared the west end of this stretch of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNT).

Trail work begun in Hay Creek Drainage

Brushing out along Hay Creek Trail #3, July 9, 2022 - W. K. Walker

Brushing out along Hay Creek Trail , July 9, 2022 – W. K. Walker

We’ve started work in the Hay Creek Drainage, beginning  with a short stretch of the Whitefish Divide Trail and the piece of the Hay Creek Trail west of the bridge at the foot of Hay Lake. We started at the west end because this is where most of the blow-downs hide out (we removed eight of them), posing considerable inconvenience to folks hiking this segment of the Pacific Northwest Trail.

National Trails Day in the North Fork! – Sat., June 4

MCC Trail MaintenanceLove Trails? Join Us to Get Outside & Give Back!

Join the Pacific Northwest Trail Association, Montana Conservation Corps, and the North Fork Trails Association for a day of outdoor fun, stewardship, and community on the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail!

– Tell me more!: After meeting at Polebridge Mercantile in the morning, we will carpool to the Hay Creek Trailhead, hiking while removing trail brush and obstacles. Be sure to bring your own pack with warm layers, rain gear, and plenty of water and snacks! Long pants and sturdy footwear are a must!

– I’m in! But is there food?: Barbecue lunch provided by Polebridge Mercantile and the Pacific Northwest Trail Association.

– How do I get there and back?: Meet at Polebridge Mercantile @ 9:15am or take a MCC shuttle to Polebridge from Columbia Falls’ Super 1 leaves @ 8:15am. Shuttle back to Columbia Falls from Polebridge leaves at 2:30pm.

For more information contact Stephanie Campbell: scampbell@pnt.org or 765-465-9891.

**If you plan on attending, please RSVP to scampbell@pnt.org.**

2016 NTD Hay Creek Flyer - thumbnailView/download the
National Trails Day
event poster
(JPG, 411KB).

Check out the ‘National Trails Day on the Pacific Northwest Trail’ Facebook event page.

Hay Creek area trails exploration

Debo Powers’ article covers our recent activity in the west end of the Hay Creek drainage, but I thought it useful to include some additional material here.

Here’s a map of the two expeditions Debo mentions. The red track is the Trail 3-Trail 26 survey conducted on September 13. In yellow is the route of the successful September 18 search for the Trail 26-Trail 14 junction.

Hay Creek Explorations

Hay Creek Explorations

Randy and I added about a mile to our part of the Trail 3 hike by spending some time investigating Hay Lake.

Hay Lake

Hay Lake

Here’s Randy at the Trail 3-Trail 26 junction.

Randy at T26

Randy at T26

And here’s a photo of the Hay Creek drainage from the west end that I took on an earlier expedition up Trail 26.

Hay Creek Drainage from West End

Hay Creek Drainage from West End