Beetle Kill (or fire) as it relates to hiking trails in roadless areas

[Chris in TN]

Am I wrong that a lot of secondary lower-popularity hiking trails in beetle kill (or burned) areas are growing up because the USFS and local volunteer groups simply don't have the resources to keep up with all the dead trees falling everywhere so people are just avoiding them?

Looking at some aerial imagery of some spots last night, I noticed that some trails that were very visible in years past on older GE historical imagery, were almost invisible (or completely invisible in places) on newer imagery of similar resolution.

I keep hearing to mentally block out areas near such trails as places to hold elk. But I know that deer will hang out closer to such roads/trails and also know that the reality is that elk pretty much have to cross roads/trails to migrate and with low enough pressure they don't completely abandon those areas and hunting pressure makes them do strange things and I'm certain that people that know their hunt areas kill stuff near roads/trails every year. But as an easterner with little public experience out west I *generally* think I'm better off getting away from trails. But what if those trails aren't so trail-y anymore? Am I right that as soon as human use goes down the elk lose their motivation to stay away?

I also realize that such a trail could be faded on two year old imagery but a group of volunteers could be out there right now opening it then the entire local hiking community might be out there hiking it on opening day of elk season and the only way to know is to be there. But, just generally speaking, am I correct that some of the trails are growing up, seeing less human use and therefore more elk use, because of the overwhelming level of beetle kill?

 

[cnelk]

Many of the so-called trails you see are old logging roads.
Unless there is more logging to be done in the area, the roads just get overgrown, or trees fall across. Pretty soon there is just sliver of a trail

I know many areas that this has happened to

 

[Pony Soldier]

The beetle kill areas have severely changed the travel patterns of elk. We don't see many hikers however every place I have opened trails within a week the the elk have modified their patterns to use them. If you cut them - they will come. Here is an old road we cut out three years ago. You will get a feeling on how severe the blowdown can be.

 

[Hoodie]

You're on the right track. I hunt a few old hiking trails in burns with downed snags all over the place. Lots of fires in the last decade in my area. You'll find elk tracks right on the hiking trail. I just relocated the biggest blacktail I've ever found in an area like this. He was maybe 30 yards aways from where the trail ran. Found him in the same spot the year before last.

 

[longrangelead]

in my area at least, FS doesn't really abandon trails. Maintenance needs can outpace actual maintenance however. Due to non-motorized regulations, trails in wilderness and other areas have to be cut out with hand saws. As you can imagine, miles of trail with hundreds of trees is a slow task.

Other trails open to motorized use, horse traffic or high use main trails get cleared early and often usually.

Just yesterday I was high on a seldom used trail and jumped a deer just feet from the trail.
In low human use areas, trails usually see more animal traffic than people if the trail is significantly easier to use due to windfall etc.

As far as disappearing trails, consider tree growth as small trees fill out and get taller. The trail may be exactly the same, just less visible.

 

[Chris in TN]

Yikes to that blowdown picture.

If I get to take my daughter to a beetle kill area this year I'm going to try to ID some better routes through the blowdowns in advance and possibly even identify some of the worst areas as no-go zones. I absolutely realize that I can't fully map out such things and won't be able to fully utilize that data in the field but I want to avoid as many steps over trees as possible. I'd certainly rather pack meat out through a predetermined better-than-average route, even if it zigzagged a bit, than to try to climb through piled-up trees wearing a pack that made me top-heavy. Ugh. I'm clumsy enough without the pack, on flat ground.

 

[justinspicher]

Where I’m at the beetle kill is getting worse, but it doesn’t really stop hikers and horse riders. The forest service tries to keep up, but with 750 miles of trails and six people, only so much can get done.

Hunting here is hard enough with the terrain, but as long as the weather is nice you’ll see folks out recreating no matter how deep you try and get.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Many of the so-called trails you see are old logging roads.
Unless there is more logging to be done in the area, the roads just get overgrown, or trees fall across. Pretty soon there is just sliver of a trail

I know many areas that this has happened to

Yup, pretty impressive how fast the mountain takes it back