Hikers hit a rut

Increased traffic puts user groups at odds

August 30, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

SUTTON - Hiking enthusiast Sharon McEntee enjoys bringing people to Eska Creek Falls trail, a path she and Sutton resident Lynne Woods discovered in the 1980s by connecting game trails and following an overgrown mining road from decades earlier.

Saturday, she escorted a half-dozen Valley residents up the 2.5-mile trail to the waterfall, which splashes down the rock face of Eska Mountain in the Talkeetna mountain range. At an elevation of approximately 2,900 feet, Eska Creek flows through alpine tundra, where fall flora and bountiful blueberries bask in August's afternoon sun.

Even though she's in her element, McEntee gets annoyed every time she sees another set of off-road-vehicle tracks straying from the path. Along the trail, posted signs from the Mat-Su Borough warn vehicles to stay on existing trails, and yet new trails keep appearing, McEntee said.

Off-road vehicles wear down the tundra to expose glacial rocks, and then start a new trail to avoid hitting those rocks, she said. In another spot, grass and fireweed lay flat for about 40 feet, where an ATV driver pulled up to the edge to take in the scenery instead of parking the vehicle and walking that short distance, McEntee said.

This winter, the Mat-Su Borough will hold public meetings to create a land-use plan for the area, according to Ron Swanson, the borough's community development director.

Already, the borough has signed negotiations with the state to take over the management of Eska Creek Falls trail, Swanson said.

"We'll look at resolving conflicts between pedestrian traffic and motorized vehicles," he said, adding that two routes are a very likely solution.

The borough will also explore ways to mitigate damage that might be occurring to the alpine tundra near the falls, he said.

A small, shallow creek pools into a mudhole created by this spring's ATV activity. In another area, a mud bog gets bigger every year, according to McEntee.

The group of hikers on Saturday later happened upon a hunter on an ATV, who said he was able to pass through the bog using a winch.

In the late 1990s, as part of a national mine reclamation act, the Division of Mining, Land and Water axed the alders shading the narrow trail and placed gravel on the ground. The reason: To build an access road so heavy equipment could repair damage done to the land from abandoned mines, McEntee said. Workers smoothed out the slopes where mining had occurred and replanted trees, she said.

Little by little, people with all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes discovered this widened road.

Two years ago, as part of a program called National Park Service Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance, Rep. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, visited the Eska Creek Falls trail.

According to McEntee, he said the trail could not sustain off-road vehicles because of the steep grade of the path, soil makeup, swampy areas and fragile alpine tundra.

Meyer suggested a separate trail be designed for off-road vehicles, with an easier grade of between 12-20 percent, McEntee said.

"There should be rules to preserve the trail. If it's muddy, wait until it dries up," said Julie Plotnik, a hiker and Palmer resident.

On Saturday, as the hikers left behind views of the waterfall, a man approached on a four-wheeler.

He motioned to a fellow rider to let her know there were people on the path. As he passed, he asked about the blueberry patches. His companion joined in on the brief but friendly conversation. Then, the couple headed toward the falls.

As the hikers proceeded down the mountain and navigated some of the muddier parts of the trail, they came upon a six-wheeled Polaris ATV.

Except for one girl with a hunting rifle, the rest of the family was on the path in front of the vehicle.

The man was using a saw to cut down a tree branch. He said his vehicle wouldn't pass under it, so he was removing it.

He explained he was staying on the existing path, but it was moose season and he needed the vehicle to haul game.

"You can't make the whole wilderness fit your mode of transportation," said Plotnik, who hikes, bikes and cross-country skis. "That's the difference with us. We fit into the wilderness."

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252, or dawn.debusk@frontiersman.com.