he said that dlm had found motor oil on the rocks near the river crossing and between that and the vandalism at the cabin they closed the trail. he said that in the very near future, that whole area was going to be closed, roads taken out and all, to make it a 'nature conservation' that would only be open to hikers, no motorized vehicles. from talking to him, i took him not to be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was a really nice guy, very understanding.
we had first saw him as we were driving in, he stopped to tell us it was closed. as we continued, he took down my plate # and ran it. of course, it came up as an explorer. he didnt believe that, so he turned around and caught up with us. he wanted to make sure it was an Explorer, and to tell me that my plates expired in August of 04'. no ticket, he just told me to get that taken care of.