Superior trails manager gives district update

Rachel Ryan, trails manager for the Superior District of the Lolo National Forest, shared that the hiking trials in her district are open.

“All the snow is gone, and all trails are ready for hikers. As our fire danger creeps up almost every day, if there are trail closures, they will be marked,” she said.

Her area covers from the Quartz Creek Drainage to Lookout Pass, and she said that of the 50 plus lakes in her district, not all of them have trails for hikers but the majority of them have "social trails" for access.

“This is a narrow trail, usually, that’s not maintained by the Forest Service but is a step-up from a game trail,” she smiles.

Small campfires in a fire ring are still OK but that could cease with almost no notice.

“You can camp anywhere on Forest Service land. We have the developed campgrounds that have the (parking) pullouts, the fire rings the rest rooms and those kinds of amenities but then we also have our more dispersed campgrounds that don’t have water and are more developed for just parking and camping on that spot. And we also have individual dispersed sites along the drainage roads that have pull off areas, usually with small rock rings for fires.”

Trailhead parking was brought up and she said this is on their radar. “Currently the parking for Cliff and Diamonds Lakes is a high priority and we’re looking at making a better area a little farther down the roads where there is more room to clear for a parking area, she explained.

Another subject was the log jams at the outlets of the upper lakes making it difficult and even dangerous to launch kayaks or fish or just to go swimming.

“This is something that is also being worked on but FWP needs to weigh in as these log jams provide shelter and security for the fish.”

Possibly the most popular lake is the big Heart Lake up Trout Creek and discussion about the condition of the trail itself came up.

“That one we are actually working on right now to improve,” Ryan said. “We had our crew and the YCC kids (Youth Conservation Corps) up there last week pulling out rocks and making it flatter and improving the muddy spots where water is a problem. And then for the next 8 days we are going to have the Montana Conservation Corp up there doing the same thing so hopefully between all of us and the volunteers from the Great Burn who are going to help we can get the whole 2.5 mile stretch a little bit easier for walking in.”

Her to-do list also has structure repairs for areas that need shoring up and to be thinking of horses as they have had reports of them snagging or loosing shoes. Moore Lake and Diamond Lake are handicap accessible, meaning you can drive to them and the newly developed Murphy Creeh Trail system on the Southside Road has paved trails with more coming.

She also explained that the seasonal gated roads are open but there is only 1 person unlocking them so if a person finds one that should not be locked, let them know at (406) 822-4233. How to know if it’s a permanent gated road or a seasonal one can be found from a map that the USFS sells that is color coded for campgrounds, gates, trails, parking and most everything else that involves the Lolo National Forest.

Free maps are available but mainly display the numbered roads in the district. Both are available during business hours at their office at 209 Riverside Avenue West in Superior. A new map is in the works for next year, hopefully, that will show the designated locations of these different campsites as people have been asking for directions long enough that the USFS understands the need.

In closing, she wanted to remind the small assembly that Hoot Owl restrictions for fishermen are in place so that means all fishing ends at 2pm. And that ripe huckleberries anywhere have yet to be reported.

Ryan spoke to a group of people at the Mineral County Library on Aug. 1. She was one of the invited speakers that the library hosts every Monday at 11 a.m. The remaining Mondays this month will be discussing canning, dehydrating and other options for fruits and vegetables as the harvest time for many is taking place right now.