ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604050068
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: CURRENT EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PEMBROKE
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
Western Virginia's most popular hiking trail, ravaged two months ago by a winter flood, reopens today with some substantial detours.
Hikers will be able to use the Upper Cascades Trail, an old roadbed situated above much of the washout that knocked out two bridges, eroded treadway and created soggy havoc on the Lower Trail, which winds uphill along Little Stony Creek.
A new picnic area and parking lot at the Giles County trailhead, flood-damaged before it opened, has been repaired and will be available for day use.
Yet the Lower Trail remains closed indefinitely. And access to the spectacular series of waterfalls at the 2.2-mile trail's end will be limited by damage to the footpath and viewing platforms.
"It's not going to be the same," said David Collins, the U.S. Forest Service's Blacksburg District ranger.
Forest Service officials said half a trail will be better than nothing - and it's all hikers are likely to get for this season, at least. Federal funding cutbacks and congressional budget battles have complicated attempts to rebuild the Cascades Trail.
Additionally, reconstructing the Lower Trail, with its extensive waterside rock walls, treadway and bridges, will be challenging and expensive. Collins said he doesn't know at this point how much rebuilding the entire trail will cost, although preliminary estimates ran up to $300,000.
Warm, heavy rains that followed a deep snow in January turned babbling Little Stony Creek into a destructive torrent, dousing the Forest Service's attempts to upgrade facilities at the Cascades Recreation Area.
Within the past year, money from a $176,000 federal grant was used to construct a new restroom building, enlarge the trailhead parking area and build about 17 picnic sites.
Each year an estimated 70,000 people visit the Cascades, located about four miles north of Pembroke in Giles County. The access road, Cascades Drive, also was washed out by the flood in several places. It's been repaired, although some rough, unpaved spots remain.
Heavy equipment was needed to replace several culverts along the Upper Trail. Community volunteers - including a group organized by the Giles County Chamber of Commerce - pitched in to rebuild treadway and clear debris near the trailhead.
With wheelbarrows and manual labor, "they really worked," said Bill Compton, an operations assistant with the Blacksburg Ranger District.
Other areas and roads within the district also were damaged by the flood. Some remain to be repaired, because the cascades got first priority and siphoned away limited maintenance dollars.
"We just put everything else on the back burner," Compton said.
Hikers who use the Upper Trail will be within sight and sound of Little Stony Creek, but not as close to the stream as the Lower Trail.
Also, when the gate is unlocked today for the season, visitors will be required to pay a user fee of $2 per vehicle to enter the Cascades Recreation Area.
A $20 pass - good for the entire season - can be purchased at the Ranger District office on South Main Street in Blacksburg.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON/Staff. A slow shutter speed makes theby CNBrushing water of Little Stony Creek appear to run as smooth as silk
over the rocks and boulders. The creek
and falls are the main attraction of the Cascades Trail. color.
iGraphic: Map by staff. color.