[pct-l] more on western section R - through hikers have it easy!

[David Hough reading PCT-L]

Wait there's more - it's not that easy to interest anybody in a tree blocking
a road after 5pm.

As I made my escape from Cook and Green Pass into Applegate Valley, I thought
of the four cars still parked at the pass that had probably come up from
Seiad Valley via the road now blocked.

Trees falling and blocking roads in a national forest burn area are not
exactly news, but there seemed to be enough of an emergency aspect to
warrant taking steps - there might be an emergency if somebody tried to
drive around that particular tree or tried to cut it themselves.

So who do you call?    When I got to an inhabited place (Ruch, OR) with
a cell phone signal I tried
calling 911 and got a busy signal.    Later in Ashland I tried calling
the Klamath National Forest main number in Yreka and got a recording to
call back in the morning - no message or emergency dispatch number.
Finally I called the Siskiyou County Sheriff HQ and they actually were open
and somebody took the message and promised to pass it on to Klamath NF,
though expressing doubt that anything would be done before morning.

The next morning I called the nearest Klamath NF Ranger District in
Happy Camp and gave the same message, suggesting they might want to
close the Cook and Green Pass road at both ends.   The person taking the
message said she hadn't heard of the problem but would ask somebody to
drive up to take a look and evaluate.

Nobody ever called me back for further information, and I haven't heard
of any day hikers starving to death at Cook and Green Pass, so I suppose
it's all resolved one way or another by now.

David Hough