North Fork boat ramps won't work

As promised early in the summer, the Forest Service has rebuilt boat access sites at the Canada border and at Ford Ranger Station. Although it will be easier to launch at Ford due to the removal of the wooden terraces, I have mixed feelings about the new boat ramps.

In the past, there was no boat ramp at the border. Early in the summer, you could just back down a slight bank and put your boat in a side channel of the main river. By late summer, the side channel would either get too low to float a boat or dry up completely.

At that point, floaters would drive through the low water or dry rocks and cross the gravel bar to the main channel of the river. The new "boat ramp" now blocks the path to the river.

I suspect that was the real reason for the new boat ramp - to stop folks from driving out on the gravel bar. Now when the water goes down, floaters will be required to carry of drag their boats 30-50 yards across rocks to reach the water.

The new ramp has 2-by-6 slides so most boats will have to be taken down the ramp sideways instead of bow first, which just makes it more awkward to use. Same thing at Ford, where the old ramp with 12-inch slides has been replaced with 6-inch slides.

The construction of both ramps is supported by metal posts and, while long-lasting, was no doubt expensive. It's too bad they weren't designed by someone who actually floats the river.

The Forest Service is my favorite government agency. They have many excellent employees who are unable to do their best due to stupid regulations written in Washington, D.C. Mostly, they are no longer really involved in timber management but have been pushed into managing tourists. As a result, they make funny decisions which give columnists something to write about.

For example, Tuchuck Campground has two $20,000-plus outhouses, but seldom more than three camp sites filled. The river access at the border has one such toilet with no real camp site. The Ford launch and take out site has one toilet, and I have seen up to 10 overnight campers, although there are no tables or fire pits.

At Sondreson Meadows there are no toilets, no tables, and no fire pits - but often as many as 20 overnight campers. Logical? No. Funny? Maybe. Sad? Definitely.

What do you think?

I know by the time this appears in the paper, we will be nearly a week into hunting season. Since my deadline is now Friday, I'll cover the first week of hunting in next week's column.