Thunderhead 9/9/12

[NDuncan]

Ok so we need some reports, so I am going to post a couple of my most recent ones.

I went and hiked and fished thunderhead a couple of times in the beginning of Sept, and had varying success. The water was pretty low then, so this probably had some effect on the fishing.

One thing I noticed when I got out there on Sept 3, is that they had recently cleared the manway all the way up to where it crosses Long creek (after long creek it wasn';t very over grown or anything anyway.

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010318.jpg

While I appriciate that they cleared the fallen trees that were laying across the metal bridge and the across the trail, I was kind of sad to see the rhodo tunnel disappear.

One thing that I think is kind of a bad idea, is they clear alot of mostly buried logs from the trail. These logs were acting as soil dams and holding a lot of dirt that will probably get eroded away from the trail come spring. They weren't a hindrance to hike around, and like I said they probably did more harm than good removing them.

Anyway the fishing was pretty good on the 9th, not so much on the 3rd,

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010342.jpg
caught this little guy

But there were also some decent ones
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010341.jpg


Great part of the stream to be on

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010339.jpg

Another local resident:

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010336.jpg

And another for good measure:

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010334.jpg

[duckypaddler]

The park most likely cleared it as it is a Quiet walkway up to Long Branch.
You had me excited for a minute thinking someone had cleared Defeat:eek:

That's a trail that should have never stopped being a maintained trail in my opinion.

Thanks for the report:smile:

[NDuncan]

My favorite part on that manway is the pit of doom...

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010323.jpg

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae158/Nathan_Duncan/2012%2009%2003%20Thunderhead/P1010324.jpg

Truthfully, when I took the picture with the flash down in it, i was half expecting to find a skeleton of some sort... When the trail is overgrown, if it weren't for the big log sticking out of it, its easy to walk right past.

[duckypaddler]

My favorite part on that manway is the pit of doom...


The Pit of Doom - That seem to be a recurring theme with you:eek:

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q548/duckypaddler/141.jpg

Just be glad that pit of doom had an angel's tooth rock.;)

[AL trout bum]

Nice report! This is probably an obvious question, but what are the quiet walkways? Or is it what I think it is? (If so, I still don't get it.) :redface:

[duckypaddler]

The Quiet walkways are a seies of mini trails throughout the park that give the folks a chance to stretch thier legs. Self-guided nature trails usually starting at pull-off etc through the park. Like the trails they are maintained for ease of access.

[NDuncan]

And now they have cleared and I guess are going to start maintaining the first 0.7 miles of the Defeat Ridge Manway (now known on the park's maps as a 'Quiet Walkway') The upper part of Defeat Ridge is still a Quiet Walk-and-Crawl-through-tangles-of-briars-and-chest-high-stinging-nettle-while-trying-to-stay-on-the-often-disappearing-path-and-not-get-lost-in-the-rhodo-maze-that-is-frequented-by-bears-and-full-of-yellow-jacket-nests-Way. The park just felt that was too wordy to put on a map.:eek:

Did I mention the spiders whole webs across the trail contain strands that seem as strong as 7x tippet? They'll cut your head off. Oh yeah and if you step in the wrong spot on the path, a giant rolling ball comes down from the devil's courthouse.