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<p class="MsoNormal">A 2010 hiker reported heading across the ridge
to the south of Cowbone Lake /Darkhorse Creek. There’s an old?
road there, and he reported it to be in good shape. This goes by
Goldstone Lake, and connects Goldstone Pass with Skinner Lake.
This would bypass the whole area around Cowbone Lake, including
that big winding loop. anyway, I added it as an alternate in 2011.<br>
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However, to me, the bigger issue is that the trail comes down off
the divide between Cowbone Lake to Rock Island Lakes. Looking
southbound, I think a really cool route would head south to Miner
Lake… but there’s really no way through south of there without some
serious trail building or lots of up/down, or cross-country over
steep terrain. If a trail could be built to just south of Center
Mountain… or even to Timberline Lake… from there, it looks like the
easiest routing would mostly be on the Idaho side of the divide. If
the CDT could be routed through there somehow, the terrain looks
fantastic, I'm sure it'd be another highlight of the trail. <br>
<br>
-Jonathan<br>
<br>
On 3/2/2011 6:41 AM, Eric Whte wrote:
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<div>I did Jonathan's #3 NoBo this summer and got
'lost' descending to Cowbone Lake because the rudimentary
trail pooped out; I bushwacked along #3 bypassing the Lake
which required care because of steep cliffs and blowdowns. I
agree something needs to be done. Since the actual distance of
'no trail' is short - less than two miles, it could be fixed
up relatively quickly by ??Americorps or others. Mini Mart <br>
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<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b>
Jonathan Ley <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:jonathan@phlumf.com"><jonathan@phlumf.com></a><br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:cdt-l@backcountry.net">cdt-l@backcountry.net</a><br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Wed,
March 2, 2011 2:55:02 AM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b>
Re: [Cdt-l] Goldstone reroute<br>
</font><br>
Good question :-)... Anyone can look at a map and guess at a
decent route just based on the terrain. The map doesn't tell
you the quality of the "rock underfoot" though - some places
that look easy might be a giant loose talus field. In the
end, someone has to get out there and see what makes
sense... and there are lots of other considerations as
well... other users of the areas, old mining claims,
ranching boundaries, environmental impact concerns, etc. The
route that makes the "best sense for hikers" might not make
the best sense for everyone. <br>
<br>
When I look at the maps of this area (north of Goldstone
pass), a route traversing the ridges on the Idaho side of
the border would seem to make the most sense, but I don't
know what logistical/bureaucratic challenges there might be
to establishing such a route. The terrain on the Montana
side sure looks more interesting - lots of lakes and cliffs,
but it might just be hard to build & maintain a trail
through there. <br>
<br>
Anyway, I'm glad to hear there is consideration being paid
to improving this part of the CDT. I'll have to put in my 2
cents "officially"... :-)<br>
<br>
-Jonathan<br>
<br>
On 3/1/2011 8:04 PM, Matthew Edwards wrote:
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<div><font size="2" face="Arial">How funny Toc.. I took
alternate #3. It was actually quite easy.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Of course for North
bounders like me it was downhill.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Anyhow on J. Ley MT53 it
looks like the route Mr. Jim Wolf is proposing is
marked as alternate #5.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">I wonder when the CDTA,
Jim Wolf, and Jonathan Ley are going to finally sit
down together and exchange notes.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">-Iceaxe</font></div>
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