Mueller Tunnel Construction

From the Forest Service:

Steve Rodgers Crew is still working on the crib wall @ the Mueller Tunnel
entrance. If you have no need to be there, please stay away for safety
reasons. Maybe 1 more week if all goes well. See attached photos.
Alan D. Edler
Forest Road Manager,
Angeles National Forest
Arcadia Supervisors Office

Mueller Tunnel is between Mt Wilson Rd and Upper Sam Merrill.

 

So that's what all the heavy equipment we saw up there is for! I thought they were just grading and re-enforcing but obviously, it's that and then some. Good stuff!
Thanks for the heads up, Tom!

 

I was shocked this AM as I rounded the corner heading up from Markham Saddle and I saw what used to be the exit of Mueller Tunnel .

It looks like they'll have quite a bit more work ahead of them.



I apologize for the photo quality, I took it with my iPhone.

 

Yep, 95% is blocked by a landslide & once you look out there isn't a road. Very scary.

 

Yeah REAL fun this morning doing the Chinese fire drill to get about 20 or so bikes across that thing....I hope someone got a picture of that clusterfvck.

Staying far away from that mess until some more of that stuff slides out of there at least. More pucker factor just getting across all that than actually riding the trail with the usual exposure.

 

I suppose there's always the Mt. Disappointment Trail from Markham saddle to Red Box.
Red Box is going to be getting a lot of love.

 

Kudos to the guys who helped me and my and my kids go thru that opening. As we they we carrying the bikes over where the "lack" of trail is, another slide came down. We ducked underneath a cornice until it passed.

Didn't quite realize how bad it was, until we saw it from the other side!

Thanks again!

 

Yep i got plenty of pictures yesterday with some guys i went up with and we barely made it accross before more chunks came down! We formed a chain and got all the bikes accross first one by one..Looks like Red Box is back in buisness! LOL

 

Pics of new slide at Mueller Tunnel

Would you mind posting some of your pics? Thanks!

 

bah, it's totally rideable

 

word. Sack up and pedal

LOL!!! i have a camera in my left hand LOL

 

Since i dont know how to post the pics on here like some of you computer geniouses do, some one Please give me an email ill forward them to you and you can post them for me....:wave:

 

pics from panterawork^^^ as of this last weekend
























holey moley...what a difference a week can be

 

Sucks....

 

Wow, that's a lot worse then I thought it was. I'd be concerned walking across there. I'm surprised the forestry service hasn't closed that area off. All it takes is one big rock to pop you and you are HISTORY!
I guess the new drop off point will now become Mt. Disappointment to Eaton Saddle. No climbing there at all.

 

Right after we got by more chunks came down! Too close for comfort man and then a few minutes later a few other guys came trough like nothing!Red Box and or a whole lots of climbing from now on!Thanks for posting this fellas!

 

I think the Forestry Service will. Someone had to hold the rebar from the tunnel out of the way while everyone passed. The ground and hillside is really unstable. Those photos were taken probably earlier in the day.

By 2:00, the only way to get a bike through the crack was sideways. At least in the third photo you could stand up. We had to crawl through. It will probably seal itself soon. I almost deserve a Darwin award for that.

Hindsight is 20/20. I don't think I would have passed again now looking from the trail to the tunnel.

 

Wow, that is some serious rockfall. Way more than when we were up there a week ago...thanks for the pics. Surprising to see it's almost closed the tunnel off. Glad you guys made it across alright.

Are there any trails that run directly below that down in the canyon? I know that the drop off right there is near vertical - I'm talking further downslope, down in the canyon...right in the crosshairs of the rockfall, so to speak.

 

I carried all those bikes across it, and it was well worth the risk!

 

Not really. The closest trail from there (south east) is Upper Merrill but that's on the other side of the canyon to the steep side of the slide. Then there's the Wilson Toll Road but that's east of there by 1.5-2 miles and accessed via the paved road. Quickest way to get past the tunnel is probably going up to Mt. Disappointment (north-west of the tunnel and opposite side where Upper Merrill begins. That's the bottom of it) and back down to Eaton Saddle. It ain't no cake walk but it's the shortest distance from point A to point B.