These are the recent report summaries from our rangers.

Comments: We took 4wheelers to trailhead, the road is really bad!
Work Needed: On the lower section before the first water crossing there is a 50′ section of trail that is muddy (turnpike?). Heavy dirt work needed fixing a couple problem areas (10′ &40′) below first water crossing where water is running down the trail. The trail close to the creek (1mile) is getting a berm built up from horses going on it when it is wet. We will need to do alot of deburming to fix this before it gets worse.
Work Performed: Dirt work, tree clearing.
Destination Area: Wilderness
Entry Point: Roaring Fork
Date Out: 09/29/2011
Date In: 09/29/2011
Patrolled By: Jeff Ballantyne and Chris Smith

Comments: Cold and windy, we woke up to frost every morning.
Work Needed: South of Divide Pond there is a 15′ section of mud (re-route?). We left about 8 trees on Luna Lake trail close to Swamp Park due to lack of time.
Work Performed: Dirt work, sign fixing, removing illegal campsites and trash and clearing trees (88)
Destination Area: Luna Lake Trail
Entry Point: Buffalo Pass
Date Out: 09/22/2011
Date In: 09/19/2011
Patrolled By: Jeff Ballantyne & crew

Comments: Just north of Big Creek there was a 100′ section of trail covered by a big mud slide up the mountain. We marked the trail with rocks, logs and pulling tread.
Work Needed: 200′ of trail south of Burn Creek goes straight uphill and is severly rutted out (re-route?). Two 20′ boggy areas south of South Fork Elk River (turnpike?). Where the trail crosses North Fork Big Creek the east bank is washed out, 6′ drop, (heavy dirt work?)
Work Performed: Dirt work, sign fixing and clearing trees (106)
Destination Area: Mad Creek
Entry Point: Burn Ridge
Date Out: 09/01/2011
Date In: 08/29/2011
Patrolled By: Jeff Ballantyne & crew

Comments: Great meeting up with Friends on Thursday, we couldn’t have completed the loop in a week without the help.
Work Needed:
Work Performed: Dirt work, cutting out trees (84 total), fixing signs and posts.
Destination Area: Loop to North Lake TH
Entry Point: 3 Island
Date Out: 08/25/2011
Date In: 08/22/2011
Patrolled By: Jeff Ballantyne & crew

Comments: Rivers challenging to cross with such high water.
Work Needed: A couple muddy areas that are reoccuring each year just west of junction of Red Dirt and Swamp Park. One on Red Dirt (re-route?) the other on Swamp Park (turnpike?). Each is about 20′ long.
Work Performed: Tree clearing and dirt work completed. Cut out about 25 trees in the wilderness.
Destination Area: Swamp Park/Red Dirt Loop
Entry Point: Mad Creek
Date Out: 06/23/2011
Date In: 06/23/2011
Patrolled By: Jeff Ballantyne & Crew

Comments: Beautiful day with incredible colors, especially in the upper meadows.
Sorry I’m filing this so late!
Work Needed: NONE
Work Performed: Interacted with hikers, gave trail info.
Destination Area: Long Lake
Entry Point: Steamboat Blvd. Parking lot
Date Out: 10/01/2011
Date In: 10/01/2011
Patrolled By: Bonnie McGee

Comments: Beautiful day; foilage is several days from peak color.
Work Needed: None currently. No trees down; waterbars in good shape. All signs are up and in good shape.
Work Performed: Patrol and trail recon
Destination Area: Three Island Lake
Entry Point: Three Island Lake TH
Date Out: 10/01/2011
Date In: 10/01/2011
Patrolled By: Bob & Mary Korch

Comments: We met no one all day. The one car was for 3 fishermen. Also, I’ve never seen Sheriff’s reservoir so low. Lots of water has been let out. Also, John has had a new bridge installed to cross the overflow. Just a slight =:) improvement!

This is a great hike….Sand and Charter lakes are gorgeous! The trail is in very good shape, thanks to John’s crew. The view from the intersection with 1165 is impossible to verbalize. Viva the Flattops!!
Work Needed: One deadfall, about 2 mi up, but it’s a step over for people and horses. One campsite has some tent poles (logs) wrapped up around a tree with two tarps. Need some input from JA in Yampa regarding outfitters. And, course, the never ending stone removal. Also, some cairns in the upper part of the trail need posts.
Work Performed: Trail Patrol, campsite inspection and minor cleanup, cairn repair.
Destination Area: Intersection with Trail 1165, below Orno Peak
Entry Point: Sheriff’s Reservoir, Sand Creek Trail Head 1160
Date Out: 09/29/2011
Date In: 09/29/2011
Patrolled By: Jim Berger/Don Borden on Horseback

Comments: All hunters are gone, even those that had said they were staying longer. Elk harvest must have been very slim.

Campsites at Slide and Mandall were pretty clean…just minor trash pickup. One of the firerings that I noticed last week with quite a bit of trash….cans, etc,….had been cleaned up by campers/hunters fairly recently. Nice thought.
Work Needed: Mainly stone removal due to hunter and horse traffic during the wet period a couple of weeks ago.
Work Performed: Trail patrol/Visitor Contact/Campsite checks/Trash cleanup and haul out. Met 11 hikers, 4 from Steamboat and 7 from Front Range up here for fall foliage. Cleaned up 5 fire rings, all legal but with trash left in them. Not a lot, but still too much.
Lots of stones to remove from trail and brush out some walk around.

Straightened up cairns in valley/meadow below Mandall Pass.
Destination Area: Slide Lake/Mandall Lake/Mandall Pass
Entry Point: Mandall Trailhead TH1121
Date Out: 09/24/2011
Date In: 09/24/2011
Patrolled By: Jim Berger

Comments: The weather up the mountain was cloudy and cold. The trail after the rain was very muddy. We were able to use the logs in the crossing. The top of the peaks had a lot of snow already. See pictures.
Work Needed: One tree was down in the trail.
Work Performed: Trail patrol. Check the register book. It was a mass, every register of that date was in a different page.
Destination Area: Gilpen Lake
Entry Point: Trailhead
Date Out: 09/18/2011
Date In: 09/18/2011
Patrolled By: John & Helaine Riffaud

Comments: Most of visitors must have gone to Causeway or Mosquito Lake. 2 parties met on 1122 were originally headed for Causeway, but diverted to 1122 because of large sheep herd and sheep dogs all over trail on that side of Stillwater. All were afraid of the sheep dogs.

1122 in very nice shape, despite rains and horses. Marshy areas were really marshy, but they always are. First time I have ever been to Hooper’s without finding an illegal firering or campsite. Area was clean.

Will try the loop again to look for hunters and camps when weather fines up for a few days.
Work Needed: None.
Work Performed: Trail Patrol and visitor/hunter contact. Actuallly, met no hunters and 2 fishermen. Original plan was for Edge, Baily’s, Keener, Hooper Loop. Weather concerns shortened trip to Hooper’s only. Some stone removal….recent rains and horse traffic have been hard on trail.
Destination Area: Hooper Lake
Entry Point: North Derby Trail TH 1122
Date Out: 09/11/2011
Date In: 09/11/2011
Patrolled By: Jim Berger

Comments: Trail was wet from recent rains. Also had lots of loose rocks from recent horse and mule traffic. Marshy areas were pretty messed up. Also, numerous walk-arounds, probably due to recent rains and muddy trails. Hovever, overall, the trail is in good shape….no deadfall and really good water bars put in.

No illegal campsites found, and most of Mandall Lake sites were clean, except for the one noted above. Slide Lake sites also clean, no illegal sites or fire rings.

No hikers contacted at all. All were hunters and fishermen.
Work Needed: Return to clean up two campsites. One campsite at Black Mandell Lake has large amount of cans, aluminum foil, toilet paper, etc.. Second campsite opposite Slide Lake on east side of trail has the same. Neither seem recent. Plan to return week beginning Sep 18.
Work Performed: Trail Patrol and visitor/hunter contact. Brush out several walk-arounds and lots of stone removal. locate campsites and hunter camps locations. Took out small bag of trash.

Spoke with 7 bow hunters and 1 fisherman. 5 hunters on way out with no success. Ditto one fisherman. 2 other hunters set up in established camp half way between Black Mandall and Mandall Pass. Nice camp. This is 35th year for the father in the same campsite.
Destination Area: Upper Meadow beyond Black Mandall Lake
Entry Point: Mandall TH 1121
Date Out: 09/09/2011
Date In: 09/09/2011
Patrolled By: Jim Berger

Comments:
Work Needed: dirt work from slavonia trail head up to mica lake trail junction
Work Performed: removed the 2 trees on gilpin trail that were mentioned in a previous report. re-filled sign in sheets at slavonia and three island.
Destination Area: gilpin trail
Entry Point: slavonia t.h.
Date Out: 09/08/2011
Date In: 09/08/2011
Patrolled By: obray

Comments: Beautiful day! Talked with lots of hikers and backpackers. Discouraged backpackers from doing a camera shot/tent ad next to Hooper or Keener lake.
Work Needed: One illegal firering could be removed – south end of Hooper lake near the outflow. Willows need cutting back in places where they are making the trail hard to find.
Work Performed: Left note on tent that was within a 1/4 mile of Hooper lake. Tent was not in plain site and campsite was clean, but illegal. Did not remove firering – well established, but appeared to not have been used in some time.
Did remove firering and hauled out a good deal of trash from an illegal site next to Keener Lake. Also removed one fire scare by lake and hauled out addditional trash.
Removed two trees across trail to Keener Lake.
Destination Area: Hooper/Keener lakes
Entry Point: North Derby trailhead out of Stillwater
Date Out: 09/04/2011
Date In: 09/04/2011
Patrolled By: Elaine & Win Dermody, Emily & Tony Seaver

Comments: 5.5 hours up and 4.5 down on mostly user trail, but worth it. There are many shallow lakes, beautiful meadows and lovely cascading in/out streams. We heard 2 trees fall in the vicinity going in. We saw 5 deer. It rained only a short time but the winds were high throughout the night.
Work Needed: Three more trees down 9/1 between second water crossing and North Lake TH 1164. Due to high winds the night of 8/31 we suspect there are more trees down on 1164 to North Lake and beyond. We found no illegal campsites/fire rings.
Work Performed: Trail patrol and trash collection and removal from previous horse camp at Dome Lake.
Destination Area: Dome Lake
Entry Point: North Lake TH 1164
Date Out: 09/01/2011
Date In: 08/31/2011
Patrolled By: Bill Sanders, Barb Orms

Comments: Main Fork Trail now clear from Diamond Park TH to a point about 2.5 miles inside MZW boudary. Numerous trees remain beyond this point. Stock users are able to go around these obstacles but resource damage is occurring.
Work Needed: Mores trees and dirt work needed up to Encmpment Meadows.
Work Performed: Cut and cleared about a dozen trees to about a point 2.5 miles inside the MZW boundary on 1152.
Met up with Neal Obrary and John Taylor of HPBE trail crew who did dirt work on the same stretch of trail.
Destination Area: Wilderness portion of Main Fork Trail – 1152
Entry Point: Diamond Park
Date Out: 09/01/2011
Date In: 09/01/2011
Patrolled By: Seaver, Dermody,Kopf, Dougan,H. Riffaud

Comments: found 3 illegal campsites at Gilpin, had been none 3 weeks ago. trail in good shape, great flowers, beautiful day, water crossings easy.
Work Needed: 2 trees down. 1 outside wilderness boundary a green aspen, 1 between water crossings 20 inch diameter and very difficult to take down
Work Performed: visitor contact and education, removed 3 illegal firerings at Gilpin Lake, trash removal
Destination Area: Gilpin Lake
Entry Point: Slovonia
Date Out: 09/01/2011
Date In: 09/01/2011
Patrolled By: Emily Seaver/Elaine Kopg

Comments: KIDS LOVE THE HAND OUTS. THINK IT WOULD BE NICE TO INCLUDE A PICTURE OF CHILDREN RECEIVING INFO ABOUT SMOKEY BEAR. YOU ALL DO GREAT WORK ON TRAILS, HOWEVER INFO FOR NEXT GENERATION IS VITAL
Work Needed: TWO VERY LARGE CLUMPS OF HOUNDS TONGUE NEAR BRIDGE . WISH SOMEONE WOULD HOLD A LINE SO i WOULD NOT WIND UP IN THE CREEK. LEFT 2 ROCK CARINS TO MARK IF THEY STAY IN PLACE. TREE DOWN ON PICNIC TRAIL NEEDS CUTTING,
Work Performed: INFORMATION ,FIXED PERMIT BOXES AND TAPED PENS ,CHILDREN INFO ABOUT SMOKEY AND POLICED AREA.FOR TRASH PICK UP
Destination Area: FISH CREEK FALLS
Entry Point: FISH CREEK FALLS
Date Out: 08/30/2011
Date In: 08/30/2011
Patrolled By: ann ross

Comments:
Work Needed: None
Work Performed: Visitor contact, trash removal
Destination Area: Gold Lake and vicinity
Entry Point: Slavonia Trail Head
Date Out: 08/24/2011
Date In: 08/24/2011
Patrolled By: E Kopf & E Seaver

Comments: Trail was clean, 1 small and 1 big tree down as mentioned in past reports.
Work Needed: Need blank pages for registry
Work Performed:
Destination Area: Mica Lake
Entry Point: trailhead
Date Out: 08/28/2011
Date In: 08/28/2011
Patrolled By: John &Helaine Riffaud

Comments: Met up with non-motorized trail crew working down from the top.
Trail is now cleared to North Lake and beyond to the Divide.
Trail crew has also cleared 3 Island trail to the Divide as well as water bar work.
Work Needed: None.
Work Performed: Cut & clearec about 10 trees on upper part of North Lake Trail plus about 8 smaller ones for trail width.
Destination Area: North Lake
Entry Point: North Lake TH
Date Out: 08/25/2011
Date In: 08/25/2011
Patrolled By: Seaver, Sanders, Stafford, Dermody,Kopf, Korch