Questions about Quillan Creek Bushwack

[buttermilkmeeks]

I'm scouting what I call the Hudson Outlaw Trail (Arnold Motorway down to Quillan Creek and following Quillan down to Hubbard and then up Parker Branch back to Kinlock Road) this weekend in preparation for a BAG meetup group hike (less than ten in the group) and wondered if anyone here can comment on the amounts of tornado damage that I will encounter.

I've done this route before, but it was last January before the storms in April. Anyone been through any sections of the above route since the storms?

I've heard that Arnold Motorway was hit pretty hard and that it is going to be rough going from FS208 down to Quillan Creek - and I've heard that the trail out of Parker Canyon is in good shape.

I've got a few other hikers joining me on this scout run and I'll post what we find - but any advance information would be welcome!


(I call this the Hudson Outlaw Trail in honor of Jay Hudson/jaybird - he led a group that I was a part of on a bushwack along this route last January.)

[weathermansam]

I did Quillan back in September, and it was easy enough to navigate once you got in the canyon.  There were quite a few walk arounds /climbovers on the motorway, but not enough to wear you out.  The are trees down just above the cascasdes, before you get to amphitheater canyon.  Past there, there were areas with trees down, such as in this photo http://www.weathermansam..../091611camping/_3599.html , but it was usually clear on the opposite side of the creek and generally easy enough to get across.  Judging from the damage I saw on the Hubbard section betweeen Quillan and Thompson that trip, I would imagine there is some damage on the lower end of parker for sure.  It would fall in line with the path of downed trees. 

[buttermilkmeeks]

Thanks Sam!

I can only hope the damage along the lower end of Parker Branch is on the western side of the drainage - aka the side that is too steep to follow up the canyon.

I am certain that this outcome will not be the case though.

[weathermansam]

Thanks Sam!

I can only hope the damage along the lower end of Parker Branch is on the western side of the drainage - aka the side that is too steep to follow up the canyon.

I am certain that this outcome will not be the case though.

A lot of what was down in Quillan were from trees blown off the top of of the bluffs, especially those right on the edge.  Saw more snapped trees than uprooted on the Hubbard section. 

[buttermilkmeeks]

The route is not as bad as I had feared - the supposed disaster zone I had been told about along Arnold Motorway were old blowdowns that had been there for years (for the most part). There were a couple of sections along Quillan and one section along Parker (near its junction with Hubbard) that had some tornado related blowdowns - but never more than 5 or 10 uprooted/broken trees per section. All of this damage was avoidable by crossing the creeks more often than you might like. The damage through here is nothing like that of the Thompson Creek trail.

We hit the Motorway from FS208 at 9:20 am and were back on Kinlock Road by a 4:00 - which is about the length of time it took when I went through here with Jay Hudson last year.

The group that will be coming along with me on this hike in two weeks is going to have a great and challenging time (I hope).