Marcy Dam bridge washed out

[Explorer Editor]

DEC says the bridge at Marcy Dam washed downstream during the storm.

I have a few more details here.

 

[Little Rickie]

Bummer If any one gets a picture of this please post it.

The last time it leaked it patched itself. This must have been big water!

 

[una_dogger]

OMG! That's terrible! I've never taken the truck trail -- any one know it's condition?

 

[yvon]

It's incredible

 

[yvon]

OMG! That's terrible! I've never taken the truck trail -- any one know it's condition?

I taken this trail very often, but not recently.

 

[Jay H]

OMG! That's terrible! I've never taken the truck trail -- any one know it's condition?

Adirondacks... heave flooding... let me guess...wet!

Jay

 

[una_dogger]

Doh! Jay -- I realized right after posting that I should have asked for a decription -- not condition!

I recall in '99 the Catskills got a foot of rain with Hurricane Floyd -- and the trail damage in the Cats and Daks was so extensive -- so many trees lost :-( but not the Marcy Dam?

I'm sure that sadly, this is just the beginning ...

 

[1ADAM12]

Phil,

Do you know the condition of Duck Hole yet?

Adam

 

[Explorer Editor]

News gets worse

I just got back from Marcy Dam and will post an update soon. The bridge is gone; I saw parts of it smashed against the rocks a little downstream. Some of the water from the pond has drained, revealing mud in the middle.

But the really bad news is that the road to Adirondak Loj is closed. One of the bridges on the road has washed out. I'm also told that the road to the Garden is washed out as well. (I was told there may be an alternative route to the Garden, but I haven't confirmed this.)

Also I'm told trails in the High Peaks are severely eroded and bridges on many trails have been damaged or washed away.

There also are many new slides. I saw a big one on Wright Peak, to the right of the Angel Slides. It's appears to be longer than both of them.

I will be posting photos on my blog.

 

[Peakbagr]

DEC closes eastern High Peaks, Giant and Dix Wilderness areas.
For details: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=41747

 

[Mark]

New slides, Duck Hole Dam breached

Found this on adkforum: (http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?p=174982

Flew the high peaks this afternoon.

Lots of slides in the High Peaks Region - Wright, Colden-north, Trap Dike, Basin, Haystack, Wolfjaws, Dixes, Giant ... I lost track after a while. The bridge over Marcy Dam is gone and the dam is leaking significantly. There are numerous washouts on the Marcy Dam Truck Trail. Marcy Brook between Marcy Dam and Avalanche Camps jumped its banks, carved a new channel and wiped out much of the trail. The VH trail above Marcy Dam is eroded 1-3 ft deep in many places. The handrails on the suspension bridge on the Calamity Pond trail are gone and the trail is not passable.

The biggest news was that Duck Hole Dam breached and the pond dewatered.

The Adirondak Loj road is closes at the bridge crossing just south of the South Meadows Rd. Interbrook Rd (access to the Garden) is not passable past the Johns Brook Bridge.

DEC has closed all trails in the eastern management zone if the High Peaks Wilderness, Dix Mtn Wilderness and Giant Mtn Wilderness. The press release should be going out tomorrow if it has not already.

Tom: I'm sorry, we did not fly west fo Duck Hole, so I am unsure what the Cold River Vally is like,, and I have not looked at the trail through Moose Pond and Wanika Falls.

I think we're gonna need new maps for Christmas.

Mark

 

[bachand]

I have read several reports about Marcy Dam, Duck Hole, and Rt 73 but have not seen anything about the status of Upper Works and the Lake Colden/Flowed Lands area. Does anyone have any news on these areas?

Marc

 

[BlackSpruce]

Maybe it's time to stop the FORTY-SIXING?

 

[Little Rickie]

Maybe it's time to stop the FORTY-SIXING?

You're kidding right?

 

[MichaelJ]

They didn't stop after '38.
And I'd like to think there are plenty of people hiking in the Adirondacks who are not pursuing the 46.

 

[Tim Seaver]

Thinking Outside Of The Bagger Box

They didn't stop after '38.
And I'd like to think there are plenty of people hiking in the Adirondacks who are not pursuing the 46.

After hiking there for over 20 years without a thought as to completing any list, I like to think so too.

 

[BlackSpruce]

Well hikers in general and the 46R in particular are often blamed for the conditions of trails and herdpaths. Today considering the extensive damage by Irene as She was completing her 46 in less than 11 hours...

 

[Adk_dib]

Anyone know what the status the the "land slide" by Porter?

I actully hike "non" 46 peaks 95% of the time. I would rather climb Noonmark and Ampersand than couchie anytime

 

[Neil]

Well hikers in general and the 46R in particular are often blamed for the conditions of trails and herdpaths. Today considering the extensive damage by Irene as She was completing her 46 in less than 11 hours...

I think that poorly designed (ie. not designed at all) trails are the culprit not the 46er peakbagging phenom.

Who knows, maybe this represents an opportunity to lay out and cut trails that will endure rather than erode. Perhaps trails that require significantly less maintenance and which provide for a more pleasant hiking experience.

Just wondering out loud here, it's probably too early to say but could this event be of greater impact than Floyd?

 

[MichaelJ]

Well hikers in general and the 46R in particular are often blamed for the conditions of trails and herdpaths.

True, they can't be blamed this time! But really, the trails exist for hikers. The moose and deer don't really need them.