Access to Jenny Lind Gulch, CO?
Chris Webster
--Chris
I will often scout a trip in an area that I have been to many times,
just because access is always changing in Colorado. I'm scheduled to
lead a trip up
Jenny Lind Gulch on Sunday, so I went up for a look last weekend. The
trail has
been posted no trespassing and boulders placed in the few available
parking spots. There are several other Club trips scheduled to this
location in the winter schedule. I'll be going up to East Portal
instead.
Patrick J. Hayes
There an article in Thursday(today's) Daily Camera on the last page
of the Local section about Jenny Lind Gulch. If my memory is correct, the
article says the owners have closed access to the area.
Patrick
Josh Lynch
in fact been closed. Part of it does in fact cross private land, and the
owners have been nice enough in the past to allow people to trespass.
Unfortunately, this has been abused (blocking the gate, leaving gate open,
trespassing further off trail) and the owners have had enough. Given the #
of cars I saw last year I'm sure they are justified in closing it. Anyway,
the owners name is Henry Toll. The representative for property owners in
that area is Brian Repp. And finally, Gilpin county environmental specialist
is Aaron Weinsheimer is taking feedback at:
303.582.5831 ext 3. I suggest calling and encouraging others to call. Good
luck.
Josh Lynch
258.8425
TChris Webster <ch...@raf.atd.ucar.edu> wrote in message
news:3A2FA794...@raf.atd.ucar.edu...
Brian Gardel
From: http://www.bouldernews.com/recreation/articles/07gcen.html
Jenny Lind Gulch Trail off-limits to winter recreationalists
By Carol Kauder
Camera Staff Writer
Last week a private property owner and Gilpin County officials closed access
to Jenny Lind Gulch, a popular winter recreation area southwest of
Nederland, citing concerns of excessive vehicular traffic at the trailhead.
The Toll family, which owns about the first mile of the trail, and Gilpin
County workers placed large Boulders in an impromptu parking area and posted
"No Trespassing" signs. The issue is yet another addition to the state's
growing list of recreation conflicts concerning private land.
"My real concern is safety for a whole lot of people," said Gilpin County
Commissioner Ken Eye. "I've been there when there's 50 to 75 parked cars, 25
children walking in the road and a dozen golden retrievers. One day one of
them is going to get killed, but not on my watch."
The county posted "No Parking" signs last spring, which had little effect.
Earlier this week a sheriff's deputy ticketed a car parked near the
trailhead.
The two-mile trail follows a dirt road, climbing gradually through three
adjacent parcels of private property before reaching a scenic open bowl in
the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests.
"It is a big loss to the backcountry skiing community, as the bowl is a
wonderful place to ski," said Kim Hedberg of the Backcountry Skiers
Alliance. "It is close to Boulder, and quite convenient for a quick ski as
well."
More than 20 years ago, the Toll family installed a fence and gate blocking
the private dirt road to keep out carloads of campers littering on the
property. Owner Henry Toll, who lives in Denver, said he didn't mind a
handful of skiers crossing the property to get to public land. But in recent
years, numbers have been out of hand.
A small pull-out by the Toll's gate could accommodate several cars, but on
busy winter weekends, parking overflow restricted traffic on the rural road.
Eye said the county investigated building a parking lot, but County Road 16
west of Rollinsville is surrounded by private property.
"I am very sympathetic to people who have skied there a lot," Toll said,
pointing out that skiers can still reach the bowl via the town of Apex,
farther south on the Peak to Peak Highway.
Toll also said his family sold land to the Forest Service several years ago
to allow public access to trails west of the Moffat Railroad Tunnel and the
creation of a large parking lot. "I think that recreationally the thing to
do is go up there."
Aaron Weinsheimer, Gilpin County Environmental Specialist and an avid
backcountry skier, said the county moved too quickly in enforcing the
trailhead closure.
"If the landowners are willing to entertain some options, the county owes it
to the community to explore every avenue because the trail is an asset to
the community," he said.
* * * * *
There is also some talk on powderbuzz.com regarding the closure and
penalties if caught parking there:
http://powderbuzz.com/bbs/index.pl?read=203
Cheers- brian
p.s. Call me if you are ever coming up cameron way...
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"Chris Webster" <ch...@raf.atd.ucar.edu> wrote in message
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