Hiking the Appalachian Trail through New Hampshire will get a little easier this year as the U.S. Forest Service faces a question that has come up several times before: Whether to replace old structures in regions designated as pure wilderness.

The question arises because the Forest Service says a footbridge over the west branch of the Peabody River deep in the Great Gulf Wilderness Area has become unsafe. They have closed it and will decide whether to remove it or replace it.

The Madison Gulf Trail bridge is a key point on the trail system that runs between the Presidential Range and Pinkham Notch, used by the thru-hikers as they traverse the state. It is difficult to ford the Peabody River at this point during much of the year and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy urges backpackers not to try it. “It is a dangerous crossing in all but dry conditions when the river’s flow is low and even then, it can be difficult. The riverbed is mostly large boulders with deep, swift moving pools of water around them. … Only hikers with experience fording rivers should attempt this option and only during dry weather,” the group says on its website.

The Forest Service has established a detour that takes the Appalachian Trail north of Pinkham Notch. The detour is about 4 miles shorter than the original route and considerably easier since it avoids the Wildcat Ridge Trail, which rises more than 3,000 vertical feet in a short distance and is one of the most challenging sections of the 2,190-mile trail.

The Forest Service may replace the bridge, although the website for the Madison Gulf Trail Bridge Replacement project says a decision won’t be made until the fall. Replacing footbridges in wilderness areas is controversial because it requires the use of machinery and materials brought in by helicopter, which goes against the goal of areas covered by the Wilderness Act of 1964.

Under that act, only hand tools are supposed to be used in wilderness areas, but that would be impractical for replacing a bridge of this size.

Since 2009, three footbridges in the Pemigewasset Wilderness Area have been removed rather than replaced after they became unsafe. They were all built before the Wilderness Act was signed into law.

The removals included a 180-foot suspension bridge as well as the Thoreau Falls Bridge over the Pemigewasset River, which was damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

Removing the Thoreau Falls bridge was particularly contentious because it made portions of the wilderness area almost inaccessible in winter and much harder to access from campgrounds on the Kancamagus Highway. Then-state Sen. Jeb Bradley, an avid hiker, and Kelly Ayotte, who was then a U.S. senator, urged the Forest Service to replace the bridge, but the wilderness ethos prevailed and the bridge was removed.

None of those removals, however, involved the Appalachian Trail, the most famous hiking trail in the country. That high profile may affect the decision about what to do with the Madis on Gulf Bridge, although it’s not  unusual for a section of the Appalachian Trail to be rerouted for various reasons.

Questions regarding the closure can be directed to the Androscoggin Ranger Station at (603) 466-2713.

Crossing the closed bridge is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a $5,000 fine (or $10,000 for organizations) or six months in prison.

 David Brooks can be reached at dbrook s@cmonitor.com