Slesse Crossover Trailwork - help wanted

[Optimally-Primed]

I am planning to go up next weekend (July 18-19) to work on and hopefully finish the trail. If you are interested in helping out, please be in touch.

Jeremy

[Coastal Climber]

Unfortunately I don't often check in on this forum, if I did I could have saved you a lot of work. There already is a cut path from the Memorial trail to Crossover.

Scroll to the bottom of this.
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.a ... C_ID=31689

Gerry

[Optimally-Primed]

Hi Gerry,

It turns out that we found your trail, which had grown over considerably. My work was simply to maintain it but cutting back encroaching bush. I did the Crossover Descent last September after climbing the North Rib.We found some of your flagging but were on our own most of the time. It certainly needs upgrading.

Unfortunately, I've been challenged by someone who claims that trail maintenance in the Slesse area is forbidden by the law. I've contacted the appropriate branch of the government to check right from the horse's mouth.

No helpers this weekend... so I'm going climbing

Jeremy

[Coastal Climber]

I wouldn't bother with the government, they are not in the trail building business, only deactivating roads and bridges.

I'm happy to see that you found our path and have upgraded it instead of carving out a new one. The bush is really only thick near the creek and we never flagged the route as it is rather obvious to stay on a ridge in the old growth.

[bigwalldirtbag]

great work! we got stuck decending slesse creek route a while back due to really bad weather. lots of walking!! hope to never have to go that way again!!

if you still need some help with it let me know!!

[pbeckham]

Sounds like a good effort to me.
I did the Crossover descent at night in winter with Serl and Wittmayer circa 77, horrendous.
Declined the Crossover descent in summer after the NEB and hiked down to Slesse creek instead, long walk back to Nesakwatch.
Improving the Crossover descent/ascent trail makes sense to me as does any effort to improve the trail network around Slesse.
Keep up the good work!

[Optimally-Primed]

I'm considering finishing off this project in July, as a CASBC "Adopt-a-Crag". Here's a proposal I threw together.

CROSSOVER TRAIL PROPOSAL

What's the level of interest out there? Anyone interested in a weekend up there?

Jeremy

[Dooley]

I would be in for this. Would give me great beta on the descent for when I finally do Slesse, hopefully this year!

[Optimally-Primed]

Here's an invitation to a weekend of trail-building and hopefully climbing Slesse.

Who: I'm hoping for 4 - 8 people (or more).
When: Sat July 24- Sun July 25
Where: Slesse's Crossover trail
What: trail building/maintenance. If enough people come out, hopefully we'll get it done on Sat and will be able to climb on Sun.
Why: So that Slesse will finally have a good descent route

Prognosis of the trailbuilding.

The first 300m, crossing the valley floor, is the bushiest... the first half of which is already done.
The middle 80% of the trail is up a steep, open, oldgrowth forest. Aside from the odd bit of brush, trailwork will just be putting up flagging.
The subalpine is a bit brushy and could use some flagging.

I'm hoping that Sunday will allow for a climb up Slesse. On descent, I'm planning to make some cairns on the critical/confusing parts of the Alpine part of the descent.

Please let me know if you can make it.

Best,
OP

[Seth Adams]

okay Jer Bear, I'm in.

[Dooley]

Friend in from away so I cant make this weekend. Tried to talk him into trail building but didnt work!

[Anders Ourom]

Thanks, Jeremy - a good plan. I'm not sure if I can make it, due to other commitments.

The last time I was there (2003?) we descended the normal route, and I put some time into marking it with cairns, often using turned over rocks - the white side stands out quite nicely. I wonder if they're still there, or visible?

[Optimally-Primed]

CASBC has signed on to the event making this an official Adopt-a-Crag. That will help pay for expenses like trail markers.

So far, I have just me + 2 confirmed. Any additional people would be super helpful.

Plan is to drive up early on Sat, work day Sat, then climb Slesse Sun. Apparently, there's a folk fest going on in Mission. If energy and time permit, we could take that in in the evening.

OP

[Buckaroo]

Have to side with Dru on this one. There's no need of a trail.

First of all you are upsetting the crash survivors that visit the area by putting a new trail where there was none before.

Second if you look carefully there's a rock descent scramble gully that takes you from the old growth down into the basin. No bushwack involved. It's covered with canopy so kind of hard to see, but it shows up on Google earth as a green gully coming down East of the rock cliffs.

If you are down in the basin going to the toe of the buttress you can see it when you are right under it. If you marked the way going into the top of it you would have to do ZERO trail cutting.

Do you have a permit to make this trail? How is it going to be maintained after you cut it initially?

Flagging is not the proper way to mark a trail in the wilderness. Flagging is garbage that deteriorates and ends up in streams and rivers. The only proper way is cairns.

[BK]

Well Jeremy, along with a strongly altruistic nature, I assume by now that you also possess a fairly thick skin and a good sense of humor. I bet a psyche degree dosn't hurt either.