Birders,

We have a term in B.C. for the phenomenon that Randy describes of frozen
roads thawing out in the spring: it's called spring breakup. In most of the
southern B.C. interior, for instance, logging operations grind to a halt for
about a month every spring, because the trucks would do too much damage to
the soft and sometimes waterlogged roads, never mind the potential risk to
logging truck drivers themselves.
I'm sure the same thing applies in forested parts of eastern Washington. It
does not apply so much in lowland western Washington, where temperatures
stay above freezing for most of the winter.

In any case, Randy's recommendation to drive unpaved roads with caution
during early spring is a wise one. I got hopelessly stuck in the mud once on
Okanogan Forest Road 39 south of Long Swamp and had to be towed out by a tow
truck from Tonasket (long wait!!), and I almost got stuck in March last year
on a rural road in eastern Okanogan County. The only surprising thing is
that we are normally talking about spring breakup in March and April
(perhaps May at the highest altitudes)--- not in January!!

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net




-----Original Message-----
From: inland-nw-birders-bounces at uidaho.edu
[mailto:inland-nw-birders-bounces at uidaho.edu] On Behalf Of Randy Hill
Sent: January-22-10 6:41 AM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu; inland-nw-birders at uidaho.edu
Subject: FW: [inland-NW-birders] RE: [Tweeters] Wet spots; Doug. County

I'd like to add that the frost layer that holds water in some of these
temporary or seasonal wetlands disappears, it also affects the roads as
Meredith mentions. They become soft. Road weight restrictions are placed
on paved roads as this occurs to protect the integrity and, hopefully,
reduce maintenance costs. It is worse with gravel roads. Not only a chance
to get stuck, but they become rutted and a major headache for maintenance
crews if driven on. Please consider a route that is safe and doesn't create
a problem for overworked county road crews. Whether or not they are
designated closed, many unpaved roads should be considered off limits during
this period.

Randy Hill
Othello