I'm afraid it's not a joke. The areas past Twisted Tree are currently closed due to a recent mudslide in Icicle Canyon. We drove up to take some photos yesterday and were met with a Ranger and a lot of neon orange. Apparently since the slide is still settling they are not allowing the public near it. Luckily the Forest Service is moving faster to clean this one up due to a small number of people trapped on the other side.
Here is the official release from the USFS:
June 10, 2011
Leavenworth, WA — A series of mudslides occurred mid-morning, Friday, closing the upper Icicle Road (FS Rd #76) approximately 10 miles west of Leavenworth. The first slide is about 40-feet wide and 5-feet deep; the status of the other slides is unknown due to continued flow of water, mud and debris still occurring.
The slides occurred near Fourth of July Trail. Fourth of July Creek is flowing through the slide and has split into several channels.
Chelan County Sheriffs Office of Emergency Management and Forest Service personnel are working together to ascertain the damage that has occurred. Neither personnel nor equipment can currently access the area due to the continued landslide flows.
“We estimate that 30 people are stranded in the upper Icicle drainage above the slides,” said Wenatchee River District Ranger Jeff Rivera. “Luckily, no one is injured or in distress. A Medivac helicopter is on alert in case a medical emergency occurs.” said Sheriff Brian Burnett.
-BLOCHEAD
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I'm not familiar with exactly how far down that is, does it block your project? Or many other areas?
ReplyDeleteIt's a little further down the road from the first mudslide so it blocks less, but what it does block are some classic areas such as The Sword boulders, and Egg Rock. The last area you can climb up the canyon is Twisted Tree.
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