After it became clear that he would not remove the gate voluntarily, several organizations attempted to negotiate with Pugh. The legislature approved $100,000. He appears to be walking his dog. 7-10 days is the most common. As a young man, Whitehead spent long weekends camping on Ruby, watching dall sheep bound between the crags. Discover the optimal month due to daylight, temperature, and rain. he spells it out pretty clearly: the city cant you with litter, parking, etc. Sic burn, Paxson! And at the back of the room, well-known mountain runner and former RCCC Co-Chair Nancy Pease appeared to be the nucleus of another small group of opposition. This ridge is well-traveled and there is an informal trail running along it most of the way. For the most part the Rabbit Creek route is truly a route and not a trail, so it is most appropriate for those with basic routefinding skills and at least a mild sense of adventure. Several days before the Assembly meeting, Pugh had sent Nancy Pease a letter titled Order to Stay Away from the Pugh Property. The Assembly, mayors office, RCCC, Senator Cathy Giessel, and others were ccd. Our picks for the best tours and experiences during your Alaska Cruise. Anchorage, Some developers appreciated her work, and highlighted trails that Pease had pushed for in their real estate listings. To assess Pughs claim that the Stewarts granted permission to individuals to use the trail, the Landmine contacted the Stewarts longtime employee and friend Albert Whitehead. Locations of several Stealthcam game cameras operated by Pugh. 2023 Bear Valley Resort. Discover the optimal month due to daylight, temperature, and rain. I Am so thankful for your persistence and work! In the back yard, Whitehead introduced Team Landmine to Star the Reindeer, a descendant of the same herd that Ivan and Oro had paraded through Anchorage decades ago. Visit September to April to see the Northern Lights. Yes, he said, Weve heard several stories of that effect.. Though tens of thousands of Anchorage residents live on the foothills below this belt of parkland, the Honey Bear trailhead can accommodate only five vehicles. Those who park on nearby streets risk tickets from APD, though enforcement is uneven and the legality of the No Parking signs and tickets has been questioned. Note the line of old fenceposts visible right below the rainbowthese are a good landmark for when you might consider crossing the valley and heading up McHugh. Great views. I dont know what grand designs they had when they purchased the property but its really too bad, because I think theyve turned the whole neighborhood against them, needlessly. Eklutna. Eklutna. The room hummed with quick, whispered conversations. We'll match you with a local itinerary expert to help you plan your trip. Great views!!!!! 99516, Location:18691-18699 Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99516, USA. Either way, public access would remain. Our old homestead is now Mountainside Village, which we developed and lived on until a dozen years ago. Ill just make a brief comment that if you have to pay to be a part of a society that declares you have high intelligence, well you aint that smart to begin with. At the signed intersection, cut right/northeast/uphill onto the McHugh Lake Trail. This trailhead has many route options. From downtown, take New Seward Highway toward Seward. At some point in 2016 the situation had reached the 8th Floor of City Hall, which houses the offices of the mayor and city executives. Car, train, or group tour. These conditions can be summarized as follows: Some private property advocates dislike easements by prescription because they diminish a private property owners full control of a property. Never would have guessed, I really appreciate Seans well-thought-out and expressed comments, and cant disagree with anything he said. The trailhead to this route provides access to Bear Mountain and Mt. Car, train, or group tour. Campgrounds, RV Parks & Public Use Cabins. All trails are moderate with wonderful view. The business is listed under In fact, the land now effectively behind Pughs padlock was so vast that it encompassed multiple microclimates, stretching from wooded wetlands by Potter Creek to alpine tundra populated by dall sheep, and finally giving way to the rocky, windswept summit of Ruby itself. US. Visit September to April to see the Northern Lights. On June 20, 2017, APD issued a press release detailing the new parking restrictions. Nine-time champion and record holder at Crow Pass. People darted in and out of small huddled groups, yelled, and talked over a grimacing Pugh. In the fall of 2018, Pease applied for a position on the municipal Board of Adjustment, an obscure but powerful board that can override land use decisions made by other municipal boards and commissions. No, no, no, they never had a problem with people going up there! He was sometimes slow, one former coworker told the Landmine, but he was careful. After Lewis and Meacham spoke, attendees took turns sharing personal stories of trail use, including instances of harassment on the trail. He disingenuouslyRead more . Highlights plus less visited destinations. Does this trail get overgrown. Secondly, to say that the homeowners are somehow at fault for creating the situation of littering and illegal parking is asinine. I can't give it the five stare ratings it deserves, maybe we can all get together and change things back to the way they should be! thats why the city originally made it apart of the development of the neighborhood to create and maintain the honey bear access in the first place- now I do believe that additional funds to expand the parking perhaps should be granted. But if youre hoping to score a prime parking spot, this trailhead is best tackled on weekdays or in the off-season. Without support from the police, and perhaps suspecting an unfavorable outcome in civil court, Pugh resolved to defend the trail alone. Pugh, it seemed, dreamed of finding real estate riches in the steep slopes of upper Potter Valley. By submitting the photos to the Assembly Pugh entered them into the public record, revealing the tools he employs to record and track those who use the Stewart Trail. The trail is a mix of dirt and rocks. Neither Constant nor Birch were impressed. sean, as article explains your neighborhood has such problems with trash, parking, etc because yall VOTED to stay out of the parks area so you could keep dodging that parks tax. Later, Pugh recovered the memory cards, identified each of us, and compiled his footage into a video. This trailhead is the only designated public access for a vast swath of Chugach State Park stretching between McHugh Creek and the Rabbit Lake Trailhead. Follow Ski Rd for one mile, take a right on Whaley, which become Chugach Park Rd. On June 19, 2019, the Anchorage Daily News published a cryptic editorial by Cavanaugh titled Anchorages never-ending crime prevention loop. In the article, Cavanaugh excoriates the Anchorage Police Department for allegedly enabling criminal behavior, and expresses frustration at the time he has had to spend covertly recording and catching trail users. You are under no obligation to speak with anyone on a public easement, and use of a public easement is not trespass. Campbell Airstrip Trailhead, Anchorage, AK 99507, USA . Unless I missed a point- no where in this article does Alaska Landmine mention Private Property ownership Rights As longtime homesteaders of Potter Heights (60+ years) We knew The homesteaders that created Stewart road (the Millers were one) none of them did it to give the public recreational access to their land-Period!- Private property is just that- I stand with Frank Pugh, and other Potter land owners that want their privacy preserved. come on, admit it,you know who did that. Let us simplify it for you, How much does an Alaska summer vacation cost? Back inside, Team Landmine asked Whitehead whether Ivan or Oro Stewart had ever been concerned with granting permission to traverse the Stewart Trail. Though the area was beloved by many it remained something of a hidden gem, a place where those in the know could slip away from city life into the peaceful wildness of the Chugach foothills. After 0.6 miles (1 km), keep right to stay on the Glen Trail. Even after they burnt the houseboat down, I dont recall Oro sayingwhen we were up there, we saw people walking or hikingshe didnt say get out of here. It was just Hi, how are you doing? that kind of stuff. Starting from Ram Valley, it's approximately 11 miles to Mile Hi trailhead with three summits, or approximately 13.5 miles to Baldy if you add in Round Top. In her will, Oro Stewart divided her homestead tract between two beloved local organizations, the Alaska Botanical Garden and the Alaska Zoo. The position requires confirmation by the Anchorage Assembly, and Pugh was determined to stop it. The idea that everyone who wanted to hike was able to do so is preposterousthose people who used to legally park there on the roadside didnt just disappear. Thank you all of those working on this. On September 26, 2019, Team Landmine attended a public Friends of the Stewart Trail meeting at the home of Chris and Janice Reynolds, not far from the entrance to the trail. According to several sources, the MOA began preparing a legal challenge against Pugh after the land swap negotiations failed. Free personal GPSdriven travel guide to Alaska. The mountain goes unnamed on current maps and hikers simply refer to it as East McHugh, but 1979 USGS maps briefly gave it its own name: Ruby. From central Anchorage, take the Seward Highway south to O'Malley Road (or take the Minnesota Bypass, which turns east and becomes O'Malley Road). The Stewart Trail is far from the only prescriptive easement in Anchorage, where many trails and roads were built with little regard to official property lines. Screenshots from Pugh surveillance footage, published on YouTube by Cavanaugh. Its nowhere near the tallest or most difficult, but by land area its a sprawling giant. Big ship or small ship? Eliminating the easement and closing the trail had been Pughs plan from the beginning. At least one section of road corridor was wide enough that we reached the STOP message at the end of our 35-foot measuring tape. A public prescriptive easement exists when there has been continuous, hostile, and open use by the public over a 10-year period.. My interaction with him was really short, I walked up to him and said whats going on? and he said Im building a gate or something. Portage Pass Trail. Insider tips to pick the best Alaska cruise. The brush on the south side of McHugh is not at all bad by Chugach standards, though the tundra and grasses can be steep and slippery. Also, the fire truck turnaround thing is obviously an excuse to keep hikers away. 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