GDMBR Sec1 MapC - Nevada Crk. Fire - Alt Route 8/1/19

[JohnFromDenver]

The Nevada Creek Fire erupted Wednesday, July 31, 2019 resulting in the closure of South Fork of the Poorman and Marsh Creek Road east of Stemple Pass Road.

Here is the incident report website:

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6484/

Barbara and I run a cyclist cabin on Marsh Creek Road, 3.3 miles south of the Marsh Creek Road closure.

To avoid riding on MT200 and MT279, I suggest the following alternative (obviously, reverse for northbounders):

1) Out of Lincoln, take the GDMBR Stemple Pass bypass route to Stemple Pass.
2) After reaching the pass, continue on Stemple Pass Road for approximately 6.5 miles downhill to Gravelly Range Road on your right. I believe there is a sign marking this road.
3) Continue on Gravelly Range Road for approximately 5 miles to Gravelly Range Lake Road on your right. This road is NOT marked. You will do a  downhill section, cross a creek then Gravelly Range Lake Road will be about 100 yards beyond the creek. It is a very sharp right turn uphill.
4) Continue on Gravelly Range Lake Road for approximately 2.3 miles to rejoin the GDMBR at Marsh Creek Road. The junction is NOT marked but just continue downhill.

Our cabins are just 0.3 miles south from the junction of Gravelly Range Lake Road and Marsh Creek Road.

The Gravelly Range roads entail about 1000' of climbing. It is all unmaintained dirt roads in fairly decent condition.

I have attached a .KMZ file which shows the route (along with a track down to the MT279 which you should ignore ... change the file extension to .kmz ...).

As with all fire closures, I have no idea how long the closure will be in effect.

If you have any questions, please call us at 406-368-2226.

Keep riding! Don't give due to this closure! We look forward to seeing you at our place!

JK

[jrobertson]

Thanks, John! Here's a ridewithgps page for this alternate routing that John described:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30734049

and attached is a screenshot showing John's house which is just off of this alternate route a bit.

[JohnFromDenver]

I just checked with the Lincoln Forest Service Ranger office this morning (8/19/2019) and they report that the Nevada Creek Fire closure has been modified. The impact on the GDMBR is as follows:

1) South Fork of the Poorman is now open (good!)
2) Marsh Creek Road remains closed from the Marsh Creek Trailhead of the CDT south to the Helena National Forest boundary (bad!)

What this means to GDMBR riders is they should continue to use the alternate suggested above to bypass this closed section of the GDMBR.

DO NOT RIDE UP SOUTH FORK OF THE POORMAN!!!! The ranger suggested that there is a sign at the junction of Stemple Pass Road and South Fork of the Poorman noting the alternate route using Gravelly Range Road, but vandals may have damaged or hidden the sign. South Fork of the Poorman is open but you will be prevented from riding down Marsh Creek Road. If you do ride up South Fork of the Poorman, the alternatives are:

1) Ride north on Marsh Creek Road to Stemple Pass Road and use the alternate above, heading east on Stemple Pass Road to Gravelly Range Road -OR-
2) Ride west on FS 485D (following the CDT) to the Cellar Gulch Trail and ride the Cellar Gulch trail south, rejoining the GDMBR at Little Prickly Pear Road and Lost Horse Creek Road. Cellar Gulch is an ATV trail; a ton of fun if you are a mountain biker, difficult if you are fully loaded. Note: when you reach Little Prickly Pear Road you will have to ride 3.3 miles back east on Little Prickly Pear then north on Marsh Creek Road to stay at our place.

The ranger suggested that this closure will probably remain in place through 8/24/2019. I will update this thread if I learn of any changes to the closure

If you have any questions, please contact Barbara or me at 406-368-2226. We look forward to seeing you!

[jrobertson]

Thanks, John!

[JohnFromDenver]

The closure has been lifted and there are no GDMBR route closures in our area!

We look forward to seeing you at our place!

JK