HikeArizona.COM

From the Flagstaff paper.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008


(AP) -- The heavy snow that fell in northern Arizona this winter is keeping most roads in the Coconino National Forest closed.

The U.S. Forest Service says roads above the Mogollon Rim are still too wet to reopen. Natural resource specialist Christa Roughan says "in many cases, a road may look dry and solid just behind the gate, but in spots further down, it still has mud and even 1 to 3 foot snow drifts."

Officials say several citations have been issued to motorists who've ignored the road closures and ended up stranded in the mud.

Some have been stuck for over a day, say officials, before rescuers could reach them.

Officials say typically, when preceded by such a wet winter, managers don't begin reopening roads until near the end of April.

I was hiking out from Woods Canyon Lake last Friday on the Rim road when a Sheriff pulled up and talked for a minute. They had just pulled somebody out that had went around the locked gate.It is still pretty wet back there.The road down to the lake still has a lot of snow.

Thanks for this post. It's good to bring attention to this as it's a big problem.

The Coconino NF website currently has some photos of damage caused by driving on roads that are not yet suitable for travel. Look it up and check out the photos. It's good education.

Obviously, travel on closed roads is a problem, but one of the most common problems is once roads have been opened but a driver encounters an area that is still snowy/wet/muddy, and therefore drives around the difficult area. I'm sure you've all encountered this before ... the road becomes 2 or 3 times wider than normal, destroying everything around the muddy spot.

If you ever encounter such a spot, stay on the road. If staying on the road is not possible for your vehicle, you shouldn't be on that road.

Two attached photos are from Coconino NF Website homepage.

Tortoise Hiker wrote:They had just pulled somebody out that had went around the locked gate

that's a tough call...
wonder if they called in stuck vehicle or bring me a ticket