Slickrock – It’s a short stretch of trail at Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, but with a big impact.
Storm damage last year forced the U.S. Forest Service to block one end of the most popular hiking trail at Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in Graham County.
Only half of the 1.2-mile lower trail is open, the part from the right entrance to the memorial plaque. The upper loop, which is 0.8 miles, is also open. Hikers can still walk on part of the trail – the traditional start of a lower 1.2-mile loop through to a memorial plaque – but the trail from the plaque back, across a bridge and to the parking area has been closed.
That section was closed when runoff from a storm caused erosion and undercutting of a stretch of stepped trail just past the bridge near the parking area. The rest of that section has fallen into disrepair as well.
The Forest Service estimates say 35,000 people visit Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest each year, although local experts believe the number is much larger and regard it as among the top three wilderness trails in the nation.
The 3,800-acre forest was set aside in 1936 as a memorial to the author of the poem “Trees,” Joyce Kilmer, who was killed in action in France during World War I.
The forest has been called one of the nation’s most impressive remnants of old-growth forest. The forest contains examples of more than 100 tree species, many over 400 years old, and some more than 20 feet in circumference and 100 feet tall.
This forest, part of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, is maintained in its primitive state. The only way to see this forest is on foot. A 2-mile trail leads to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial and loops through giant trees.
An out-of-commission restroom, temporary toilet facilities and picnic tables are located at the trailhead.
An engineering study will determine how to fix the damaged section of trail and whether a barrier wall is needed, said Dick Evans, a private citizen who is knowledgeable about the issues and who gave a briefing to Graham County Travel & Tourism last week.
Evans said funding has been approved for repair work and the expectation is that contracting decisions should be made by mid-May, and work to begin in early summer. There are also plans for a trail crew to make repairs to the entire 2-mile loop trail, he said, but that work isn’t expected to start until next year.
There are several issues facing this project.
The forest is on the edge of wilderness boundaries and certain portions must be maintained using only hand-powered tools – no powered equipment.
Also, June is an extremely busy period at Joyce Kilmer, when tourists flock to see the forest’s famous synchronized lightning bugs in addition to its pristine setting. Parking is limited and a repair crew may take up some of the memorial forest’s limited parking, Evans said.