ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604080071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PEMBROKE
SOURCE: ROBERT FRIES
One of Western Virginia's most popular hiking trails, ravaged two months ago by a winter flood, reopened Friday 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 paths and created soggy havoc on the Lower Trail, which winds uphill along Little Stony Creek.
A new picnic area with parking lot at the Giles County trail head, 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 of a trail will be better than nothing - and it's all hikers are likely to get for this season. Federal have complicated attempts to rebuild the Cascades Trail, Collins said.
Additionally, reconstructing the Lower Trail, with its extensive waterside rock walls, tread way 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 reached $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 has 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.
Visitors will be required to pay a $2 user fee 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: 61 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by staff.by CNB