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Rainy Day Hikes, p.28 Ski the Methow Valley, p.30 Bats, p.44 WASHINGTON TRAILS November + December 2009 » A Publication of Washington Trails Association www.wta.org » $4.50 Snowshoe Baker PLUS: Prevent Hypothermia Discover Norway’s Jotunheimen Take the Kids Out in the Snow » Table of Contents Nov+Dec 2009 Volume 45, Issue 6 News + Views The Front Desk » Elizabeth Lunney WTA holds steady through tough economic times. » p.4 The Signpost » Lace Thornberg Volunteer effort makes these pages great. » p.5 Trail Talk » Letters from our readers on fording, accessible trails and thanks. » p.6 Hiking News » 10 Monte Cristo clean-up, National Park issues and more. » p.8 Inge Johnsson WTA at Work Trail Work » Diane Bedell How WTA decides where to work (and no, it’s not darts). » p.12 Action for Trails » Jonathan Guzzo A look at trails from a legislative point of view. » p.16 28 Membership News » Rebecca Lavigne Ten utterly stellar hikers who support WTA. » p.18 On Trail Northwest Explorer » John D’Onofrio After a day on snowshoes, try a night at Artist Point. » p. 19 Further Afield » Dave Jette Take a nine-day tour of Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park. » p. 24 Pam Roy Feature » Pam Roy Rain happens. You can’t just stay home all the time. » p. 28 Feature » Danica Kaufman Skiing from Winthrop to Mazama and points between. » p. 30 Backcountry The Gear Closet » Allison Woods Rain gear that you can take anywhere. » p.31 Youth & Families » Chris Wall Nine fun games to add to your snow days. » p.34 How to Do It » Tom Milne Prevent hypothermia first and treat it if you have to. »p.36 Take a Hike » Select trip reports from across the state. » p. 37 Methow Valley Sport30 Trails Association Nature on Trail » Sylvia Feder Bats are strange and wonderful. » p. 44 This Month’s Cover » Photo by Dave Schiefelbein Camping on snow with a great view of Mount Baker A Walk on the Wild Side » Hiking haikus. » p.46 www.wta.org November + December 2009 » Washington Trails About Us « 3 Washington Trails 2019 Third Avenue, WASHINGTON TRAILS Owner & Publisher Suite 100 WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION Seattle, WA 98121 ASSOCIATION Interim Editor 206.625.1367 BOARD OF DIRECTORS LACE THORNBERG Gear Editor www.wta.org President ALLISON WOODS Washington Trails CRAIG MCKIBBEN, Seattle Editorial Interns VP, Advocacy Association is a volunteer- KIM BROWN, ELEANOR PACHAUD driven nonprofit member- DAVID SCHOENBORN, Vancouver Copy Editors VP, Board Development ship organization working STEVE BRIEN, JIM CAVIN, to preserve, enhance and MICHELE COAD, Seattle REBECCA KETTWIG, INGRID HANSEN VP, Fundraising & Membership promote hiking oppor- MELISSA STRAUCH, Seattle WTA STAFF tunities in Washington state through collabora- Treasurer Executive Director tion, education, advocacy DOUG BRECKEL, Seattle ELIZABETH LUNNEY and trail maintenance. Secretary Advocacy Director ROB SHURTLEFF, Seattle JONATHAN GUZZO Washington Trails Bookkeeper Association was founded DEB HEMINGWAY by Louise B. Marshall AT-LARGE DIRECTORS Communications & Outreach Director (1915–2005). Ira Spring CAROLE BIANQUIS, Seattle LAUREN BRADEN (1918–2003) was its LISA BLACK, Everett Development Director primary supporter. Greg JEFF CHAPMAN, Port Townsend REBECCA LAVIGNE Ball (1944–2004) founded KIRK CLOTHIER, Seattle Field Director the volunteer trail main- LANGDON COOK, Seattle ALAN CARTER MORTIMER tenance program. Their TODD DUNFIELD, Spokane Membership Manager spirit continues today DAVE EGAN, Fall City KARA CHIN through contributions TIM GOULD, Seattle Office Manager from thousands of WTA WENDY WHEELER JACOBS, Sammamish HOLLY CHAMBERS members and volunteers. RICHARD JOHNSON, Sammamish Outreach Coordinator KATHLEEN LEARNED, Seattle KINDRA RAMOS CHAD LEWIS, Tacoma Project Coordinator DAMIEN MURPHY, Redmond TIM VAN BEEK KATE ROGERS, Seattle Southwest Washington Regional Coordinator STEPHEN TAN, Seattle RYAN OJERIO Trail Programs Director DIANE BEDELL WTA Advisory Board Volunteer Coordinator Susan Ball, Ron Barensten, Mark Boyar, ALYSSA KREIDER Joan Burton, Bill Chapman, Karl Forsgaard, Youth Programs Coordinator WTA has earned Kevin Hall, Ken Konigsmark, Ken Mondal, KRISTA DOOLEY Charity Navigator’s Tom Lucas, Margaret Macleod, Susan Saul, Youth Programs Specialist highest rating three John Spring CHRIS WALL years in a row. Washington Trails is Volume 45, Issue 6 printed on recycled paper (interior pages, 30 Washington Trails (ISSN 1534-6366) is published bimonthly by percent post-consumer the Washington Trails Association, 2019 Third Ave., Suite 100, waste, cover, 12.5 per- Seattle, WA 98121. Annual membership dues, which include cent) and printed using a subscription to Washington Trails magazine, are $35. Single WTA is a member copy price is $4.50. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, WA. soy-based inks. organization of POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Washington Trails © 2009 Washington Trails Association Magazine, 2019 Third Ave., Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98121 EarthShare Washington. 4 November + December 2009 » Washington Trails www.wta.org News+Views The Front Desk » Moving Forward in Uncertain Times As the rains begin to roll in on the Pacific In early fall, we broke the past year’s record Northwest, it’s hard not to think back to previ- for volunteer hours. Our website traffic has ous winter storms and the devastation that doubled in a mere twelve months, and we’ve we’ve seen as a result. Take a drive through the been able to pilot a new youth program that Darrington Ranger District or the southern Gif- helps urban community groups teach their chil- ford Pinchot, and you’ll eventually hit a washed- dren how to hike. out road. At Mount Rainier, WTA volunteers have spent the summer helping reroute the WTA works because hikers support what we Glacier Basin Trail to bring it up out of harm’s do, through membership dues and special con- way, should the White River jump its banks tributions. That kind of financial base is what again. Five, six, seven years later, flood recov- has earned WTA a four-star rating from Char- ery continues. ity Navigator three years in a row. It is what enabled us, at the beginning of the year, to This year, the American Recovery and Rein- commit to more than 800 days of work on trail. vestment Act (ARRA) has brought millions of It ensured that when budget cuts were on the dollars to local parks and forests, and much of table for state parks and other agencies, WTA this money will go toward backlogged flood could be there to stand up for hikers. projects and other long-standing maintenance needs that have been simply beyond the reach The world, as we have seen over the past of agency budgets and existing volunteer few years, is full of surprises. One hundred year programs. Provided that this winter serves us floods every year or two. A stock market dive up nothing worse, hikers should have an easier that fulfilled all of my grandfather’s dire predic- time making their way through the mountains tions. But some surprises come with delight next summer. and that is what makes an uncertain future one worth living. A beautiful sunrise is all that Meanwhile, this great fortune comes to us much better when it takes your breath away. courtesy of a global economic crisis whose aftershocks are still being felt throughout the I have hiked this summer looking for those region. Like many nonprofits across the country, little surprises. Many of those miles were on WTA is seeing members who have lost their trails maintained by WTA. And some of my jobs or who are having to scale back their giv- happiest encounters were with the WTA mem- ing because of other financial pressures. bers and volunteers I met along the way. I am grateful for all that you give. Elizabeth We haven’t set any fundraising records this Lunney year, but we have been able to continue to de- Executive Director liver solid programs, thanks in large part to the [email protected] steadfast support of members like you. www.wta.org www.wta.org November + December 2009 » Washington Trails News+Views « 5 The Signpost » News+Views Mount Rainier looming behind Grand Park (featured in a trip report on page 42). Photo by Susan Mozer. For the Love of the Game When people ask, “Were you born in a barn?” And then there’s Allison Woods, our volun- it’s typically an insult. teer gear editor for ten years running. She’s always got an eye out for the latest trends in However, because Washington Trails was gear design so that you, dear reader, can enjoy actually born in a barn, I’d like to think it could the finest hiking and backpacking gear that be a compliment. Our first issue of Washington there is. Trails (which was called Signpost way back when) came to life in a red barn with white This is the kind of service you just can’t pay trim in bucolic Lynnwood. Over the forty years for. Which is good, because we don’t. I checked since that issue, Washington Trails has con- when I started as editor and my budget for tinued to be a homegrown publication with freelance writing was exactly $0. Freelance dozens of committed volunteer contributors. photography? Also $0. In our last issue, we featured two huckleber- Volunteer contributions make each issue of ry recipes contributed by Sarah Kirkconnell, the Washington Trails a rich and fulfilling read. In author of Trail Food Made Simple. They were a this issue, you’ll enjoy John D’Onofrio’s snow- hit, so I asked her if she would like to continue shoeing advice, Pam Roy’s recommended rainy submitting recipes. day hikes, Dave Schiefelbein’s photographs, Dave Jette’s detailed itinerary from Norway Lace She replied in nanoseconds: “I would love and whole lot more. All of these pieces were to do it.