Foraging, p.24 John Day Fossil Beds, p.28 Storm Survival, p.35 WASHINGTON TRAILS

September + October 2010 » A Publication of Washington Trails Association www.wta.org » $4.50

Pilgrimage to Sahale Arm

Good Work at Hart Lake, p.15 Salmon Tales, p.10 and p.34 Nettle Pesto Pasta, p.36 » Table of Contents

Sept+Oct 2010 Volume 46, Issue 5 News + Views The Front Desk » Brian Windrope A poetic expression of the WTA mission. » p.4

8 The Signpost » Rob Shurtleff A guest post from WTA’s new board president. » p.5

Trail Talk » Letters from our readers, or, in this case, second graders. » p.6 Hiking News » The feds want to hear from hikers, a case study in stakeholder involvement, Washington State Trails Conference and more. » p.7 Don Jacobson WTA at Work Trail Work » Partnering with conservation organizations to build trails. » p.12 Action for Trails » Help trails get funded at the state level. » p.16 Membership News » Workplace giving lets you work 9 to 5 for trails. » p.17 On Trail Feature » John D’Onofrio A photo essay exploring Sahale Arm. » p.19 Eli Boschetto 28 Feature » Lace Thornberg and Langdon Cook Feasting on wild edibles. » p.24 Northwest Explorer » Eli Boschetto Travel back through time at Oregon’s John Day Fossil Beds. » p.28 Backcountry The Gear Closet » WTA introduces a team of gear reviewers. » p.31 Packs that carry what you need to survive the day. » p.33 Nature on Trail » Dennis Dauble Learn more about an iconic Northwest species, the Chinook salmon. » p.34 How to Do It » Todd Miller Wait it out or dash? What to do when a storm blows in. » p.35 35 Take a Hike » Select trip reports from across the state. » p.37 Jim Cummins Featured Landscape » Look for larches on Carne Mountain. » p.47 This Month’s Cover » Photo by John D’Onofrio Sahale Arm, North Cascades National Park www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails About Us « 3

WASHINGTON TRAILS 2019 Third Avenue, Board of Directors Staff Suite 100 President Executive Director Seattle, WA 98121 ROB SHURTLEFF, Seattle BRIAN WINDROPE 206.625.1367 www.wta.org VP, Advocacy Advocacy Director STEPHEN TAN, Seattle JONATHAN GUZZO Washington Trails VP, Board Development Bookkeeper Association is a volunteer- CRAIG MCKIBBEN, Seattle DEB HEMINGWAY driven nonprofit member- VP, Fundraising & Membership Chief Crew Leader ship organization working CAROLE BIANQUIS, Seattle MIKE OWENS to preserve, enhance and Treasurer Communications & Outreach Director promote hiking oppor- DOUG BRECKEL, Seattle LAUREN BRADEN tunities in Washington Secretary Development Director state through collabora- KATE ROGERS, Seattle REBECCA LAVIGNE tion, education, advocacy At-Large Directors Editor and trail maintenance. PETER BARRETT, Bellevue LACE THORNBERG Washington Trails LISA BLACK, Everett Field Director Association was founded JEFF CHAPMAN, Port Townsend ALAN CARTER MORTIMER by Louise B. Marshall LANGDON COOK, Seattle Membership Manager (1915–2005). Ira Spring KAREN DAUBERT, Seattle KARA CHIN (1918–2003) was its TODD DUNFIELD, Spokane Northwest Washington Crew Leader primary supporter. Greg TIM GOULD, Seattle ARLEN BOGAARDS Ball (1944–2004) founded WENDY WHEELER JACOBS, Sammamish Office Manager the volunteer trail main- RICHARD JOHNSON, Sammamish HOLLY CHAMBERS tenance program. Their JERRY KEPPLER, Seattle Outreach Coordinator spirit continues today KATHLEEN LEARNED, Seattle KINDRA RAMOS through contributions DAMIEN MURPHY, Redmond Project Coordinator from thousands of WTA MELISSA STRAUCH, Seattle TIM VAN BEEK members and volunteers. STEPHEN TAN, Seattle Program Development Manager DIANE BEDELL Southwest Washington Regional Coordinator Advisory Board RYAN OJERIO Susan Ball, Mark Boyar, Joan Burton, Bill Volunteer Coordinator Chapman, Karl Forsgaard, Kevin Hall, Ken ALYSSA KREIDER Konigsmark, Ken Mondal, Tom Lucas, Margaret Web Editor Macleod, Susan Saul, John Spring SUSAN ELDERKIN Youth Programs Coordinator Washington Trails KRISTA DOOLEY Youth Programs Specialist Owner & Publisher CHRIS WALL WTA has earned Charity WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION Washington Trails (ISSN 1534-6366) is published Navigator’s highest rat- bimonthly by the Washington Trails Association, Washington Trails Volunteers ing four years in a row. 2019 Third Ave., Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98121. Annual membership dues, which include a subscription to Gear Team Washington Trails magazine, are $40. Single copy CHERIE BEVERS, ELI BOSCHETTO, CHERI HIGMAN, price is $4.50. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, WA. PATRICK LEAHY, MATT THYER POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Washington Copy Editors Trails Magazine, 2019 Third Ave., Suite 100, Seattle, WA MARK CANIZARO, JIM CAVIN, REBECCA KETTWIG, 98121. © 2010 Washington Trails Association ANITA WAHLER WTA is a member organization of Printed on Grays Harbor Paper’s Harbor 100, 100 percent recycled paper made with EarthShare Washington. 100 percent renewable energy. Learn more at www.ghpaper.com.

4 September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org News+Views The Front Desk » Working Together

oetry permeated my childhood. 1. Our staff, volunteers and land managers My maternal grandmother are able to work together with shared purpose was a wordsmith of some local and goals, even though they work physically renown, and in addition to apart from one another all around the state. writing a weekly newspaper 2. Our members and donors of all levels see column, she had several books their support for WTA as a necessary part of of poetry published during her their personal responsibility, even though they lifetime. To this day, I turn to will never know all the community benefits to poetry to find expressions of truth I can find few people and trails made possible by their dona- other ways. My early tenure here at WTA has tions. beenP marked by two major recognitions that find their best expression for me in a Robert Frost poem that I cherish. How do I link the WTA mis- This connectedness, and shared sense of sion with poetry? Well, come along for a moment vision and purpose, is an essential part of why and you will see. our mission at WTA has grown in effectiveness over the years. This sense of WTA being a large extended community is a beautiful thing for Frost’s poem “The Tuft of Flowers” is writ- me to behold. Each and every one of us, in our ten in rhyming couplets that are remarkable for own way, is a part of what makes the mission at their song and easy flow. The poem, dare I say, WTA successful. Every trail mile that is main- is about something central to our mission here tained, and every hiker that has a safer and bet- at WTA. This last couplet lacks the full story of ter experience, comes as a result of your efforts, the entire poem and does require a pardon for whether you see the impact or not. the dated male-only reference, but the idea here rings true nevertheless: We truly do work together, whether we do our work together or apart. ‘Men work together,’ I told him from the heart, ‘Whether they work together or apart.’

Brian Something fundamental about WTA is em- bedded in those few words. It is not an uncom- Windrope mon idea, but I’ve never heard it expressed more Executive Director effectively. It has become abundantly clear to me [email protected] that WTA thrives because two things are true: www.wta.org www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails News+Views « 5

The Signpost » WTA Ambassadors Needed A message from recently elected WTA President Rob Shurtleff

WTA’s new board president, Rob Shurtleff, near News+Views Lake Wenatchee

19 people, after all, and we’re not going to break the membership thermometer by ourselves, much as we might try. This is why I would like to ask you, our valued members, to lend a hand. Greetings! Please allow me to introduce myself. I am an avid hiker and a seasoned WTA has seen great success over the last technologist. As a board member, I have few years: membership is growing steadily, worked with WTA’s communications staff trail maintenance crews set new records ever on our online strategy, most recently helping year, the website traffic is skyrocketing. Why to design the map-based “Hike Finder.” This do we need more ambassadors? summer, I was elected as the president of WTA’s board of directors, and I am thrilled to Simply stated, WTA’s ability to reach any have the opportunity to contribute so mean- of our goals is directly related to how many ingfully to WTA’s mission. members are helping out by paying for mem- berships. We receive nearly 60 percent of our Every two years the board president and annual funding from individual members. the executive director nominate a slate of This is a great strength, and it means that new officers to the board for approval. As the program enhancements on our wish list incoming president, I helped to interview are possible if we can grow membership to new board candidates and I noticed that fund new initiatives and grow our program’s many had the same question for us: “Will I be reach. expected to ask all my friends for donations?” Our answer was always no with the inevi- When you meet someone on trail, when table “but”—in this case, “But we do need you you see a Facebook post about a great hike, to be an ambassador.” when someone is regaling co-workers about a hike they did this summer, don’t let the By ambassador, we mean someone who opportunity slip. I have personally recruited will engage other hikers, explain the mission 25 new members over the last two years and and the accomplishments of WTA, talk about I can promise it gets easier each time you his or her personal commitment to WTA and say, “Hey, have you heard about WTA? I am ask folks to join him or her in supporting a member. Let me tell you what great things WTA. they are doing for the trails in Washington. Take a look at WTA’s website and consider The 19 members of our current board are becoming a member.” t all committed ambassadors, but we’re just 6 » News+Views September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Trail Talk » Letters On the first day of summer, WTA received a stack of letters from second-grade students at Greenwood Elementary School, where Fireside Circle member Jesse Shook teaches.

I like the way WTA donated some hiking supplies to the school’s auction and the students’ thank you let- you memorize ters were pure gems. We were so humbled by the students’ gratitude, so delighted by their “ creativity and so thrilled to see their admiration for the great outdoors that we thought all the trails in we’d share a few of our favorite letters here. Washington. Dear W.T.A Dear .W.T.a —August ” Thank you very much! Thanks you very much! For donating hikeing I wish there was an award for helping. And suplilies. it was a very big help. It was very if there was I would be there for you kind for helping. I love the outdoors the fresh air, berries like currant, blackber- Thank you, Fakhirah ries, rasberries, well you get the point. The animals, the trees. I have been up in the Mountains. Picking berries but I don’t know Dear W.T.A much about the trails.

I love to go running THANK YOU I love to go hicking MACKI I love to go wocking I love to go play I love to go gump Dear, W.T.A, I love to go bicken I love to go to the parcke Thank you for making trails for people to I love to go to states hike on. My favorite trail is Wallis Falls. I like I love to go to defern cunches the way you memorize all the trails in Wash- I love to go to Ilins ington. My mom would like you if she met you. I love to go to the bech I have fun on hikes and …. I love to go fishing Happy trails!

Thank you August Room 307 Name: Marcus P.S. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you very much!

Dear w-t-a Write to Us » I went hikeing on Mount Rimrock. I also saw Dear W.T.A Send a letter to a deer and a waterfall. I also saw deer 2019 Third Ave. poop. I stayed there for 3 days. I love taking walks in the woods. It makes me Suite 100, feel like I’m in a different world. I love taking Seattle WA 98121 Thank you hikes in the woods. My favorite thing to do or e-mail From: cannon is walk in the woods. I always see ponds. [email protected] thank you! Brittany www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails News+Views « 7

Hiking News » Great Outdoors Initiative The administration is seeking your input on conservation and recreation. What will they do with what they hear?

On Thursday, July 1, several hundred people gathered at Franklin High School in Seattle to talk about “the great outdoors.” The crowd included staff and board members from local environmental groups, concerned citizens and avid outdoor recreationists. Earlier in the day, more than 100 high-school students had come to this auditorium to discuss that same topic. What drew these crowds to gather? Ameri- ca’s Great Outdoors Initiative. In April 2010, the Obama Administration assigned four top officials—Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Environmental Protection Agency Administra- tor Lisa P. Jackson and Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality—to commence a “national dialogue about conservation in America to learn about some of the smart, creative ways communities are conserving outdoor spaces.” • How can the federal government be a more What kind of Americans were invited to take part in effective partner in helping to achieve conserva- relationship will “listening sessions” and “youth summits” or to tion, recreation or reconnecting people to the hikers and outdoor submit their comments online, to share their outdoors? enthusiasts have opinions on the state of outdoor recreation and • What additional tools and resources would with their federal conservation on federal public lands. On July help your efforts be even more successful? public lands as the 1, the team made its only scheduled stop in Each breakout session was facilitated by a twenty-first century Washington state. forest supervisor, park superintendent or other rolls on? Photo of Jon Jarvis, the director of the National Park public lands official who asked each of the four Mount Baker by Paul Service and former superintendent of Mount questions, while note takers (also public agency Raymaker. Rainier National Park, made the opening staffers) recorded the responses. remarks, and Leonard Forsman of the Suqua- Once the answers provided to these ques- mish tribe gave a blessing. Then, after each of tions have been collected from outdoor enthu- the agency representatives had spoken their siasts across the country, the task force will bit, the crowd dispersed, with the participants synthesize the responses, look for the common making their way to the room number listed on themes that emerge, and provide a full report each of their name tags. and recommendations to the president by mid- In each room, 20 to 30 people spent one November. The White House will then take the hour weighing in on four questions—the same report under consideration and determine what four questions being asked in dozens of other recommendations to move on and how to do so. Franklin High School classrooms that night, So far, it’s been the government asking the and the same four questions being asked in public for their feedback, but as this process listening sessions held throughout the country. moves forward, it’s the recreating public who • What obstacles exist to achieving your will be asking the questions. goals for conservation, recreation or reconnect- For starters, how soon will hikers see these To discuss this and ing people to the outdoors? ideas hit the ground in our parks and forests? other issues online, • What works? Please share your thoughts Beyond the broad swath of “the twenty-first visit the Signpost and ideas on effective strategies for conserva- century,” what will the time frame be for the Blog at tion, recreation and reconnecting people to the implementation phase of this initiative? www.wta.org/ outdoors. Continued on p.45 blog. 8 » News+Views September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Awaiting Decisions on Catherine Creek Use

Catherine Creek is among the most distinc- wildflower enthusiasts. Seeking snow-free trails tive landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. Unfor- during the winter months, mountain bikers in tunately, years of unmanaged recreation have particular have flocked to Coyote Wall, leading damaged the environment and sparked conflicts to a profusion of user-created trails. Some of the between trail users here. A recreation plan was trails cross private lands and sensitive habitats. approved last year, but opposition by Friends of the Gorge, among others, forced officials at the Catherine Creek tends to be more popular U.S. Forest Service back to the drawing board. with hikers and equestrians, but as Coyote Wall Their revised recreation plan seeks to appease becomes more crowded, mountain bike use in the various stakeholders who cherish this area, the Catherine Creek area has increased slightly. as well as local private homeowners impacted Under the current management plan, off-trail by a growing number of visitors. exploratory hiking is allowed, but social trails have developed with the increasing number of Located midway between the wet western hikers visiting the area. Columbia River Gorge and the drier east side, this area is home to a multitude of unusual The new recreation plan will eliminate user- and rare wildflowers. Ice age floods scoured built trails in sensitive habitats and on private away the soil that has since gradually rebuilt lands, and it will identify official trails that atop a basalt foundation. What looks like a will be upgraded to Forest Service standards. dried-up, neglected lawn during the summer It is not yet clear if the areas will be multi-use months is actually a very diverse and unique trails or if mountain biking will be prohibited plant community bursting with life and color in Catherine Creek. Another sticking point in the spring. Rare plant species in this area is equestrian use in Catherine Creek. The include Barrett’s penstemon, Thompson’s lupine, preferred alternative described in the Forest marigold navarretia, Columbia kittentails, and Service’s environmental assessment allows smooth desert-parsley. limited equestrian use in Catherine Creek and prohibits mountain biking entirely. Instead, Farther up the Catherine Creek drainage, mountain biking would be focused at Coyote away from the effects of the Missoula Floods, Wall and Burdoin Mountain to the west. But the oak-pine forests, cliffs and talus fields provide Forest Service may bow to pressure to open up habitat for the California mountain kingsnake, the Catherine Creek trails to mountain biking Western gray squirrel, Larch Mountain sala- during drier months. mander and other rare animal species. The public comment period ended in July. A Catherine Creek and the adjacent Coyote Wall decision is expected by winter. t also serve many kinds of trail users, includ- ing hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians and —Ryan Ojerio www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails News+Views « 9 Land and Water Conservation Fund Could Receive Full Authorization

On July 30, 2010, the House passed the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act CLEAR Act (HR 3534). This bill is intended to pro- vide greater efficiency and accountability in the administration of federal mineral and energy resources, and it has a particularly important aspect for hikers. Section 207 of HR 3534 calls for permanent full authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The LWCF provides criti- cal funds for the purchase of lands and waterways, as well as easements across lands for the benefit of the public. As of our press date, the CLEAR Act had been referred to the Senate, where it will be taken up upon their return from recess. This current bill is quite notable, as, in LWCF’s 46-year history, the program has only received its full $900 million authorization twice before. More importantly, this bill makes full authorization permanent. LWCF funds have preserved landscapes across Washington. The Cas- cades Conservation Partnership used LWCF money to purchase critical Thompson to Receive National recreation and habitat lands in the checkerboard and the National Park Award for Primitive Tool Use Service has used it to fill in gaps in North Cascades National Park. LWCF dollars also helped preserve of 31,000 acres of the Columbia River Gorge In October, Rusty Thompson, trails technician National Scenic Area. for the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest, Permanent full authorization of LWCF would be tremendous news will travel to Washington, D.C., to receive the for Washington hikers as many significant trail projects currently await National Wilderness Award for Traditional Skills approval. For example, the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) has and Minimum Tool Leadership. This award requested LWCF dollars to purchase Plum Creek timberlands south of I-90 recognizes his dedication and accomplishments and adjacent to the Pacific Crest Trail. working with traditional tools, such as the cross- WTA encourages you to take a moment and call Senators Murray and cut saw. As someone who not only uses these Cantwell and ask them to support full funding for LWCF. Let them know tools but also trains others to use them, Thomp- how important our wild landscapes are to you as a hiker and urge them son has inspired a contagious enthusiasm for to commit the funding this important program in perpetuity. You can the use of primitive tools among trail volunteers reach them via the Capital switchboard at (202) 224-3121. t throughout Washington. “Rusty’s able to do more with a shovel than most people could do with a power tool,” says WTA’s Tim Van Beek, adding, “He uses his body as tool, Plans for National Public Lands Day? and that’s about as a primitive as it gets.” Anyone who has hiked the Little Wenatchee Trail Celebrate through service on September 25 in the Central Cascades knows Rusty’s work, as does anyone who has hiked along Buck Creek Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, San Juan Islands—take Trail, into Spider Meadow or on dozens of routes your pick! You’ll have plenty of volunteer opportunities on September in the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest. 25, as Washington Trails Association celebrates National Public Lands Rusty oversaw the temporary (seven seasons Day (NPLD) at seven locations across the state. Help build new trail on running) reroute of the PCT and his rock work on Guemes Island. Work with volunteers from the Mount St. Helens Institute trails leading into the Enchantments has carried to help care for trails on the monument. Put finishing touches on a section scores of backpackers into that high basin. t of the Glacier Basin Trail in Mount Rainier. Anywhere you can pitch in, you will make a difference. National Public Lands Day, held annually on the last Saturday in Sep- Give to Trails » tember, is the premier event celebrating service and recreation on public lands. Many public lands entry fees are waived on this day to encourage Support the trails and wild places you people to get out and enjoy their favorite recreation areas, and numerous love with a gift to Washington Trails volunteer events are planned. In 2010, more than 1,800 volunteer events Association this fall. The hiking season across all 50 states will highlight the importance of service and recreation may be shifting into lower gear, but on the full spectrum of public lands, from city parks to national monu- we’re not. You may soon receive a letter ments. To encourage a connection with the next generation of environ- requesting a special contribution. Please mental stewards, NPLD events often encourage youth and families to help us reach our $15,000 goal by October participate. 30 by sending a gift or making your donation online at www.wta.org/donate. Sign up for one of WTA’s work parties or check the website of your fa- vorite recreation area. NPLD activities range from planting native vegeta- Thank you! tion, picking up trash and pulling weeds to working on trails. t 10 » News+Views September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Trail Book » Trail Briefs » From Fish to Forest by Stephen Tan

Gregoire Declares First Life, death, renewal. It’s a principle Roadless Recreation Week we’re introduced to at an early age and one that aspiring earth scientists To encourage Washingtonians to get out and learn, with increasing complexity, enjoy Washington’s 2 million acres of roadless again and again. Food chains evolve forest, Gov. Gregoire joined several other gover- into energy pyramids, which give nors across the country in proclaiming August 7 way to nutrient cycles and ecological through 15 as Roadless Recreation Week. Stew- networks. ardship events held during the week highlighted the importance of the Roadless Area Conserva- The connections between living tion Rule, a policy that protects nearly 60 million things in even the simplest of eco- Salmon in the Trees acres of pristine forests across the country. t systems can be stunningly intricate. by Amy Gulick So when in the late 1990s a research ($29.95, 2010) scientist from the University of Alaska discovered high levels of marine- derived nitrogen in trees standing miles from the sea and a thousand yards from any stream, she might have conjured some fanciful hypothesis to explain why. But the reason proved simple: salmon feed the forests of southeast Alaska. Plucked by predators from the tributaries of the Chilkat, Taku, Stikine and Unuk Rivers and hundreds of other streams, they are carried into the forest and dropped there, often intact but for the skin, roe and brains favored by bears. The nutrients their flesh releases to the soil reemerge in the foliage of the western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and western hemlock that dominate this biome. Fish to forest in a single step.

Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest (Braided River, April 2010) draws its name from this discovery. While it offers im- State Trails Conference to ages of mountains, glaciers, bears, and eagles and elegant accounts of Explore Connection Between natural history that would be expected from any photologue of the Alaska Backyard, Backcountry panhandle, its richness arises from its willingness to look beyond natu- ral splendor and from its ambition to paint an accurate portrait of life in The 2010 Washington State Trails Conference will this region, particularly human life. How tempting it might have been for be held October 22-23 in Tacoma, Washington. photojournalist Amy Gulick (who lives in North Bend, Washington) and her collaborators to ignore the 75,000 people who live and work here, to The conference’s theme is “From Backyard retreat with camera and journal to the remote forests, ice fields and fjords to Backcountry and the Trail Between” and and the hundreds of uninhabited islands of the Alexander Archipelago. In the event is structured into three tracks. The so magnificent a place, they could hardly have gone wrong. “backcountry” topics include sustainable trail construction methods and planning for heavy That book has, of course, been photographed and written before. recreational use. “Backyard” sessions focus on Whether in Alaska or anywhere else some sliver of unspoiled terrain still active transportation, trail projects that get remains, someone has managed to capture it on film, erase any sign that people from home to work and school. “The Trail humans have been there, and package what’s left with the musings of Between” sessions focus on those issues that philosophers and poets. relate to all trails, whether they are paved urban routes or dirt paths in the wilderness. Vast, remote, ecologically intact and exceedingly photogenic, the Tongass would appear ready-made for this approach. But while this 17 million-acre temperate rainforest may dazzle, it bears the scars of misuse, WTA’s youth programs coordinator, Krista mismanagement, and exploitation. The serial plunder of its resources—fur Dooley, will be one of three presenters leading a in the 1700s, gold in the late 1800s, fisheries and timber in the 1900s— session titled, “Listening to Young People: What has given way to new threats. And although we might like to imagine Brings Them Outdoors and onto Trails?” it differently, its human residents don’t always live in harmony with the natural environment, or, for that matter, with one another. The conference draws trail advocates, planners, funders, builders, recreationists and volunteers. Yet amidst this tumult and imperfection, and in part because of it, lies Anyone “with a zeal for trails and the opportuni- something vibrant and beautiful. This vitality is clearly revealed through ties they afford” is invited to attend. t Continued on p.46 www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails WTA at Work « 11 WTA at Work Inside WTA » Planning Makes Perfect WTA’s newest board members and a new strategic plan in the works

It’s easy to be grateful for trail crews when continues as our youth committee chair. you hike a trail that has been cleared of downfall logs. And when you hike in a pristine Three outstanding individuals have just wilderness area that’s been protected for both joined the WTA board: Peter Barrett, Karen today and the future, you know there have to Daubert and Jerry Keppler. Peter is a retired be dedicated trail advocates to thank. Weyerhaeuser executive and avid hiker. He has previously served as board president of KUOW. The work of another set of trail stewards— Karen has over fifteen years of experience in WTA board members—deserves your thanks trail and parks policy, advocacy and funding, as well. As the governing body behind all of most currently as the Executive Director of the WTA’s activities, their impact ripples through- Seattle Parks Foundation. She also serves on out the state, affecting trails from Cape Disap- the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board pointment to Mazama. At our July 2010 board and Seattle Park Board. Jerry Keppler serves as meeting, WTA said goodbye to four members, principal and CFO at Alexander Hutton, offer- welcomed three new members and elected new ing clients financial expertise. WTA is tremen- board leadership. dously excited to welcome their expertise and energy to our board. As our board president for the past two years, Craig McKibben shepherded WTA’s Perhaps the most important task for any board to a new level of professionalism. He’s board is setting strategic priorities for their been instrumental in building WTA’s youth organization. With the help of these new program. He was also responsible for ensuring trustees, our board is currently undertaking a WTA’s smooth transition to a new executive di- robust effort to chart our future direction and rector, a task few of our presidents have faced. identify opportunities to improve our perfor- Craig officially handed the board president mance through strategic clarity. We’ll be taking reins over to Rob Shurtleff (who you heard this opportunity to hear from a cross-section of from on page 5) in July. Everyone has tremen- our membership and other stakeholders around dous respect and admiration for the profession- the state and expect to continue this strategic al, dedicated leadership that Craig provided, work through the remainder of 2010. Look for a and Rob knows he has big shoes to fill. He is member survey in early September. excited to begin. Our mission at WTA thrives today because of Other board leadership changes include the great work of past board members, and we electing Stephen Tan as chair of the advocacy will thrive tomorrow because of the great work Peter Barrett, Karen committee, Carole Bianquis as chair of the being done by this latest generation of volun- Daubert and Jerry fundraising committee, and Craig McKib- teer stewards. To read more about WTA's board Keppler all joined ben moving into the role of board develop- of directors, visit www.wta.org/trail-news/ the WTA board in ment chair. Doug Breckel will continue as our about/board. t July. finance committee chair, andTodd Dunfield Caption.

12 » WTA at Work September + October 2010 » Washington Trails

Trail Maintenance » Partnerships Bring More Outdoors WTA collaborates with conservation organizations on trail work projects

All across Washington, conservation groups Area is the crown jewel of a larger conserva- are playing an increasingly important role in tion network of private and publicly held lands developing new recreation opportunities. Rang- on Guemes Island totaling 534 acres. With a ing from small, volunteer-run land trusts to goal of providing hiking access to the top of organizations staffed full time, these nonprofits the mountain, the Skagit Land Trust turned to are picking up where state and federal agencies WTA for our expertise in trail development and leave off as they work to protect smaller parcels maintenance. On September 18, WTA will em- of land or connect two or more existing public bark on our first new trail construction project lands. These lands often end up seeing a lot of in the San Juan Islands. repeat traffic from local hikers, and that is great news as hiking near home can both introduce WTA will be starting from scratch on the people to the outdoors and help them stay con- Guemes Mountain Trail, so don’t expect to see nected to a natural place for a lifetime. trip reports filed anytime soon, but do be sure to check out the Guemes Mountain work party Over the past year, WTA has collaborated opportunities on our website. If you like to see with a number of conservation groups, and the new trail emerge from brush, trees and rock, projects that have taken place as a result have you’ll love working on Guemes Island. Once the served hikers all around the state. trail is complete, those who hike will be treated to majestic views of the San Juan Islands, Diane A New Trail in the San Juans Mount Baker and the Skagit Valley from atop Bedell The Skagit Land Trust currently holds land the Guemes Mountain Conservation Area. Program on top of Guemes Mountain, and in conjunc- Development tion with the San Juan Preservation Trust and Safer and More Sustainable Trails Out- Manager Guemes Island residents, they are working dili- side Spokane [email protected] gently to preserve this unique prairie habitat. WTA volunteers have been tackling back- The 70-acre Guemes Mountain Conservation logged trail maintenance in the Salmo-Priest Caption.

www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails WTA at Work « 13

Wilderness, along the Salmo-Priest Loop and Shedroof Divide Trails, and we couldn’t do it without the network of volunteers from Conser- vation Northwest to help round out our work parties. Conservation Northwest has been working for more than twenty years to expand Partnerships Bring More Outdoors protections available to land in the Inland Empire. Most notably, through collaboration WTA collaborates with conservation organizations on trail work projects with diverse groups, they have come up with a management proposal for the Columbia High- lands that includes proposed new wilderness and new trails.

This summer, WTA sent a Backcountry Response Team out to work on the Shedroof Divide Trail. This volunteer crew reestablished tread on more than 750 feet of trail where over- grown brush obscured an adjacent cliff, making it a very dicey proposition for stock users. The North Idaho Mule Club expressed their admira- tion for our work on a recent ride, as they rode through and gave our volunteers a thumbs-up and praised them for turning the “worst section Volunteers cross-cutting a log on the Shedroof Divide Trail. Photo by of the trail into the best!” Leif Jakobsen.

And last fall, a group of WTA volunteers cut new trail in the Big Rock area near Spokane after the Dishman Hills Natural Area Associa- tion acquired the land in a long-awaited land swap. With the acquisition of the Big Rock area, the Dishman Hills Area now encompasses more than 1,300 acres in conjunction with Spokane County’s Iller Creek Conservation Futures Prop- erty. At Iller Creek, WTA has relocated trails outside sensitive riparian zones and helped to create a sustainable trail system throughout the area.

Huge Volunteer Turnout Near Richland In March, WTA partnered with Friends of Badger Mountain as we helped orchestrate a two-day work party that constructed more than a mile of new trail within the Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve. Friends of Badger Moun- tain rallied more than 100 volunteers, who in turn contributed 780 hours on trail in just two days. These exceptionally large work parties Above: Building the Badger Mountain Trail. At left: Enjoy the view are unusual for WTA, but in some locations, from Guemes Mountain on work parties beginning on September 18. they can work well. Badger Mountain seems to be one of the rare sites where we can succes- extend our reach in northwest Washington into fully lead such large work parties. Whatcom County Parks this coming fall.

More Partnerships in the Future Whether they are working to acquire new As you can see, WTA has partnered with lands for preservation or helping to restore many important Washington-based conserva- lost access to public lands, the organizations tion organizations recently, and we have been described here, and many others, have achieved in contact with other groups that we hope to significant trail gains for hikers in Washington. partner with in the near future. So where are As collaboration and partnership are two cor- we headed next? One potential project is a nerstones of WTA’s trail maintenance program, partnership with the Chuckanut Conservancy; WTA looks forward to helping support these WTA would help this conservancy to build a groups’ work in the future. t new section of trail near Raptor Ridge as we 14 14» WTA» WTA at atWork Work September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Join a WTA Trail Work Party Sept. 1 - 2 Elliott Creek (Goat Lake) Sept. 3 Grand Ridge Sept. 3 - 5 Glacier Basin Sept. 3 - 4 Evergreen Mountain Lookout Sept. 7 - 9 Mount Pilchuck Sept. 10 Grand Ridge Sept. 10 - 12 Glacier Basin Sept. 10 - 11 Tonga Ridge Sept. 10 - 12 PCT - Snoqualmie or Windy Pass Sept. 14 - 18 Lake Serene Sept. 15 - 16 Heather Meadows Featured Trail Project » Liberty Lake Loop Sept. 18 - 19 Hidden Lake This spring, Spokane County Parks land managers discovered that they Sept. 18 - 19 Guemes Island had a problem with a popular trail in Liberty Lake Regional Park. An Sept. 21 - 23 Stirrup Lake industrious band of beavers had reclaimed the area for their own needs Sept. 24 Cougar Mountain and had flooded a popular hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking trail. To accommodate all parties, the county determined that the trail Sept. 25 Olympic Peninsula could be rerouted to a location that left the beavers undisturbed. Sept. 25 Mount Baker Sept. 25 Mount Rainier For the reroute, they called on WTA volunteers in the Spokane area to Sept. 25 Mount St. Helens help construct the new trail. Jane Baker, a WTA chief crew leader, laid out Sept. 25 North Bend a new hillside trail and found an appropriate site upstream of the beaver Sept. 25 Spokane activity for a bridge and a horse ford spanning Liberty Creek. Over five days in May and June, volunteers worked diligently to construct nearly Sept. 25 Guemes Island half a mile of new trail and build a 15-foot bridge. After brushing and Sept. 26 North Bend - TBD logging out the trail corridor, these volunteers benched the trail into the Sept. 26 Horseshoe Basin hillside. They also built beautiful rock walls where the trail needed addi- Sept. 26 Spokane County - TBD tional support. At the same time, they prepped the log stringer, sills and handrails for the new bridge. As the logs used were a fair distance from Sept. 26 Guemes Island the bridge site, WTA enlisted the assistance of the local chapter of the Sept. 28 - Oct. 1 PCT Windy Pass Backcountry Horsemen who helped move the logs up the trail and then across the creek. It took all hands to get the bridge in place on its sills. By Saturday, September 25, is National Trails the end of the fifth day, the industrious WTA crews had completed the Day. Celebrate by joining one of WTA’s seven requested reroute to the delight of hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers work parties that day. and beavers. Congratulations on a job well done! —Alan Carter Mortimer Work parties will continue all fall and winter long. Please see our website for the October Hike It» schedule. Liberty Creek Loop Trail Liberty Lake County Park Distance: 7.5 mile loop. Map: USGS Liberty Lake. Getting there: From Spokane, take Liberty Lake exit off Interstate 90. Travel east on Appleway for 1 mile and go south on Moulter. After another mile, turn east on Valleyway. Road name will change to Lakeside Road; follow signs to Liberty Lake County Park. For a complete schedule, visit www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails WTA at Work « 15 Youth & Families »

TakeHead a ferry up Lake in Chelan toto check Hart out trail work done Lake by WTA crews

Would you like to camp with your family and just before Rebel Camp replaced deteriorat- amidst the golden splendor of larches? Would ed puncheon with two new puncheon bridges. you like to see some of the work done by WTA’s From the lakes, you’ll see Lyman Glacier, a Hike It» Youth Volunteer Vacation crews in person? Yes beautiful sheet of ice that is quickly receding. to both? Make your way to Hart Lake this fall. Day One: Take the Lady Back at your Hart Lake base camp, you can of the Lake Ferry from As this destination is reachable only by enjoy fishing, swimming and hummingbird- Fields Point Landing to water, your journey begins with a ferry ride watching. In fall, the bugs should be gone, so Lucerne. Take the bus up Lake Chelan. As you cruise up the third- you’ll have some peace as you absorb views of to Holden Village, hike deepest lakes in the United States, your cares Bonanza Peak, the tallest nonvolcanic mountain in to Hart Lake and set will melt away. Next up, a 12-mile bus ride will in Washington. up camp. Hart Lake is bring you to the base of the Copper Mountain 4.5 miles from Holden and into the heart of the Cascades. Hiking out, save some room for ice cream at Village, 900 feet of Holden Village. They don’t serve it every day, so elevation gain and 100 Hiking in to Hart Lake, you will experience if luck’s not with you, you can pick up a treat feet of elevation loss. autumn hues and see narrow waterfalls spilling at the village gift shop instead. Arrive back down the valley wall, as you move in and out of early enough, and you can explore the village cottonwood trees. You will pass a pond on your or enjoy a hearty lunch in Holden’s cafeteria ($7 Day Two: Venture left that you swear a moose should be wading per person). You could also set off on one of the farther into the valley to in. many shorter trails just outside of the village, visit Upper and Lower such as the Ten Mile Falls Trail or Monkey Bear Lyman Lakes. Return to It is a flat journey through the valley bottom Falls Trail. WTA crews have worked on both of your base camp at Hart for about 3 miles. Your path will get steep as these paths. Just be sure you’re back in plenty Lake. you approach the lake, but the impressive wa- of time to load the 1:30 p.m. bus to Lucerne. terfall flowing out of the lake will keep you mo- Day Three: Hike from tivated to move along the trail. WTA brushed For an unforgettable long weekend, explore Hart Lake back to the trail going up to Hart Lake earlier this sum- the delights of fall in Eastern Washington with Holden Village. Take the mer, so you can concentrate on the scenery. your family and admire the work that Wash- bus downhill to Lucerne ington Trails Associations youth crews accom- and the 2:30 p.m. ferry t The next day, venture 4 miles deeper into this plished this summer. back to Fields Point, valley to visit Upper and Lower Lyman Lakes. where you’ll arrive A WTA crew working a mile beyond Hart Lake around 5 p.m.

For the current ferry schedule, tickets and information, visit www. ladyofthelake.com or call (509) 682-4584. To reserve space on the bus to Holden Village, send a note via email to registrar@holdenvillage. org.

Past WTA crews have improved the trail leading to Hart Lake. This summer, WTA youth crews worked on the stretch up to Lyman Lakes. Photo by Arlo Smith. 16 » WTA at Work September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Action for Trails » Recreation: A Core Public Service To keep trails funded, let our state government know how you feel

Here’s a fact: in the face of a massive eco- nomic downturn that is depleting state coffers at an unprecedented rate, Washington Trails Association managed to keep 22 critical Depart- ment of Natural Resources (DNR) sites open last year. Those sites include Mount Si, Rattle- snake Mountain and Lake Spokane. Every hiker who wrote or called their legislators or turned out for Hiker Lobby Day in February deserves thanks for the success of that effort. Had it been me alone in Olympia, we would not have prevailed. Our continued work to preserve hiker access to these landscapes depends on you in a very real way.

Here’s another fact, and one that is a little less heartwarming. The state is expected to face another $3 billion deficit in the 2011-2013 budget cycle. Less certain is the possibility of an $8 billion deficit in the 2013-2015 cycle. If we truly enter a double-dip recession that delays recovery, we’ll be in trouble. If recovery gains steam, then we’ll probably still face a deficit, but one that’s significantly smaller. All of that adds up to another fight to save recreation areas in the next budget, particularly on DNR Rattlesnake Mountain is one of the popular lands. DNR’s available dollars to maintain trails areas managed by the Department of Natural and campsites have never been adequate, and Resources. Photo by Dave Nobles. given the relative closeness of many of their recreation lands to urban areas, the need to maintain them has never been greater. With the Here are some simple tasks that you can do transfer of Nonhighway and Off-Road Vehicle to make a difference for trails on state land: Activities (NOVA) program funds to State Parks, DNR’s ability to maintain trails has been signifi- • Call the governor’s office and urge her to cantly hampered. restore NOVA funds to the grants and direct agency allocations for which it was intended. That’s why we need to redouble our efforts at You can reach her at (360) 902-4111. the legislature this year. I’ll be there, working • Call your senator and representatives and the halls, talking with legislators and respond- tell them that you care about recreation on ing to upcoming legislation. But WTA will need state lands and that you consider it a core pub- your help as well if we’re to keep trails main- lic service. Please use those words. Given the tained, facilities in good repair and trailheads importance of recreation to the state’s economy safe. The run-up to the session has commenced and the quality of life of all Washingtonians, even as you receive this issue of Washington we can no longer relegate it to the status of an Trails. The governor is holding public meetings amenity. You can find your legislators at www. on the budget around the state, and advocates leg.wa.gov. Jonathan for basic health, pensions, law enforcement— • Finally, if you haven’t already, take a mo- and trails—are showing up in force to put the ment and sign up for the Trail Action Network Guzzo heat on the executive branch to fund their pro- on our website—www.wta.org—so you’ll receive WTA Advocacy grams. If you turned out at one of those packed breaking news and action alerts as we move t Director halls, thank you. into the real wrangling during the session. [email protected] September + October 2010 » Washington Trails WTA at Work « 17

Membership News » Giving at Work You, too, can protect trails on the job

Once in a while—more often on those pre- Corporate workplaces: Many local busi- cious sunny, summer days—you might wish you nesses include EarthShare Washington in their had our job. Then again, in late October when workplace giving campaigns. Find EarthShare we’re spending yet another cold, wet day work- Washington on your payroll deduction pledge ing on trail, you might be glad you have yours. form and write in Washington Trails Associa- Here’s another reason to feel good about your tion as a specific designation. day job: the opportunity to give back to trails through your workplace giving program. Government workplaces: If you work for federal, state, county or city government or a This fall, hundreds of hikers like you will public university, Washington Trails Association support Washington Trails Association through will be listed in your campaign catalog. Look their employer’s workplace giving program. for Washington Trails Association as a member Why? Because payroll group of EarthShare pledges are an ef- Washington or alpha- ficient, reliable and betically in the index. cost-effective way to Write WTA’s code protect the trails and number on your payroll wildlands you love. deduction pledge form. Your automatic payroll contributions allow United Way cam- WTA to spend less paigns: If EarthShare time fundraising and Washington is not yet more time serving the listed by your employer hiking community. in your workplace giv- ing campaign, you can Many workplace giv- designate Washington ing campaigns begin Trails Association in in September. If you the “Specific Organiza- haven’t yet designated tion” or “donor option” WTA in your cam- section of your United paign, we invite you Way pledge form. You to start this fall. While can also ask your you’re at work, WTA City of Seattle employee Jim Hansen has sup- campaign coordina- will use your work- ported trails through workplace giving for tor to consider adding place gift where it’s the last decade. This year, he joined WTA for a EarthShare Washington needed most. Payroll day of trail work on the Pratt River Connector organizations as a giv- contributions are a Trail. Photo by Paul Bestock. ing option. vital portion of WTA’s annual operating Find out if your income. In 2009, workplace donors contributed workplace has a giving program that includes an impressive $113,000 to Washington Trails EarthShare and WTA by visiting www.esw.org Association. To each of them, and their employ- and clicking on “Workplace Giving.” To learn ers, we say thank you! more about how to give to the environment at your workplace, please contact Greg Flynn at You can make a pledge to WTA or to Earth- EarthShare Washington at [email protected] Share Washington, an alliance of leading con- or (206) 622-9840. t servation and environmental organizations that Rebecca includes WTA. More than 70 local businesses WTA’s Workplace Giving Codes and government agencies partner with Earth- King County: 2522 Lavigne WTA Development Share to make workplace giving simple and Combined Federal Campaign: 83126 effective for their employees. Director State of Washington Combined Fund Drive: 0315053 [email protected] 18 » WTA at Work September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org Celebrate Hike-a-Thoners! On the Web » Everyone is a winner in this year's Hike-a-Thon, es- pecially the trails. More than 100 participants made their miles count during WTA’s seventh annual Beyond Trip Reports benefit event, running the month of August. A little surfing goes a long way on WTA’s content- We'll be celebrating all of our successes at a Hike-a- rich website Thon celebration party held in late September and hosted by ExOfficio. Did you know that there is much more to wta.org than Want to know who will be packing Hilleberg's our Trip Reports and Hiking Akto or Mountain Hardwear's Drifter 2 tents on Guide? Yes, we know. You their next backpacking trip? See all the winners love the Trip Reports, and and their winnings at www.wta.org/hikeathon and you dig the content in our make sure to check out the Hike-a-Thon Hall of Hiking Guide from The Moun- Fame while you're online! taineers Books. But the next time you visit the website, stroll around a bit. WTA's seventh Annual Hike-a-Thon was presented by Mountain Hardwear - Seattle Store. Thanks to What will you find? all our generous event sponsors.

Hiking suggestions, for one. Every few weeks we put together features on hiking Meet Our Members! themes. Fire lookout hikes. Best hikes for kids. Mount St. Holly Weiler Helens hikes. We highlight A self-proclaimed “wilderness junkie,” Holly popular trails, but also search Weiler demonstrates her love for trails by vol- for the hidden gems that you unteering on trail work parties and by hiking may not have heard about Look for special features, such as “Fire for WTA’s Hike-a-Thon. She first heard about before. This fall, look for a Lookout Hikes,” on WTA’s website. WTA when she found that opportunities for new hiking feature on where Photo by Dave Nobles. trail work through Conservation Northwest in to find fall color. Check it out the Spokane area were cut back and decided in Find a Hike/Seasonal Hikes. it wouldn’t be as interesting to work on advocacy for trails if she wasn’t going to be Do you have children? A whole section of our website is devoted to marching around with her crosscut saw quite kids and youth. Learn about why you should hike with kids, where to so often. hike with them and how to keep them happy on the trail. Joan Burton, author of the book Best Hikes with Kids: Western Washington and the She signed up for Hike-a-Thon in 2009, Cascades (The Mountaineers Books), pens a quarterly feature for WTA hiking over 250 miles and raising nearly $500 on where to hike with children. Discover these great tools in WTA for trails. “It’s a great way to Kids/Families Go Hiking. raise awareness about the state of our trails and for an If you’re looking for information pertaining to hiking, we have an organization that does a ever-expanding section of the site devoted to hiker information. We lot to help our trails.” offer various how-tos—Hiking 101, Backpacking 101, Hiking with Dogs and much more. This is also where our resource guide to ranger station Holly had so much fun information lies—phone numbers and links to road, trail and camping hiking for Hike-a-Thon info. Go to Hiking Info on the drop-down menu. last year that she signed up in 2010 too. All sorts of important hiker news can be found on wta.org as well. We post to the Signpost Blog nearly every day—it’s a great way to stay See how she did informed. Also take a look at our Advocacy section and you’ll see how at www.wta.org/hikeathon. busy WTA is advocating for hiking trails all over the state.

Finally, don’t forget about signing up for volunteer trail maintenance work parties. We have many great locations lined up for September and October, and its so easy to sign up on the website.

Have fun surfing! t —Susan Elderkin September + October 2010 » Washington Trails 19 On Trail

In Pictures » Sahale Arm A walk amongst the sea of peaks

Sahale Arm draws me like a beacon. In his classic tome Hiking the Great Northwest, Havey Manning de- John scribes the views here as “the most extensive and impressive of any trail in the West.” When I read that, many years ago, I knew that I had D’Onofrio to go. A writer/photographer/ And guess what: Harvey was right. multimedia artist living in Bellingham, John’s Mountains upon mountains, fading into the distance: the proverbial essays have appeared sea of peaks. There are many dramatic vistas in these northern moun- in Adventures North- tains, but Sahale Arm is transcendent. Sure, the hike is a major grunt: west, Cascadia Weekly 4,000 feet in 5.5 miles, but once aloft, that effort is forgotten, replaced and other publications. by a sense of wonder and awe. Johannesburg is close at hand and its His photography has north face is pure mountain poetry, serrated ridges slicing the sky. Be- been exhibited in gal- yond it a world of icy summits stretches to the horizon, culminating in leries in Washington, the majestic massif of Glacier Peak. Turn around and contemplate the New York and Califor- Sahale Glacier—all that separates you from the summit of Sahale Peak. nia. Visit his website at www.jdonofrio.com. 20 » On Trail September + October 2010 » Washington Trails

Sahale Arm North Cascades National Park Hike It» Distance: 12 miles round trip. Elevation Gain: 2,200 feet. High Point: 7,200 feet. Map: Green Trails Cascade Pass 80. More Info: Day Hiking: North Cascades (Craig Romano, The Mountaineers Books). www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails On Trail « 21

As the old adage goes, it’s not the destination that matters—it’s the journey. On a visit to Sahale Arm, it’s both. The trail to Cascade Pass is beautiful, easy—and usually crowded. Cascade Pass well deserves its status as a holy place for thousands of pilgrims who come to experi- ence the majesty of the North Cascades. But impossible as it seems when you’re at the pass, the best is yet to come. Beyond the pass, a stiff grade will have you huffing and puffing—all the more reason to stop and smell the flowers. The view down to the austere basin of Doubtful Lake is classic. In autumn, the meadows are ablaze with the rich colors of fall. Don’t hurry. Linger in the meadows, sharpening your senses so that you can absorb both the tiny details and the grand panorama. In a long lifetime, there won’t be many days like this one. 22 » On Trail September + October 2010 » Washington Trails

The campsites here, ringed with rocks against the sometimes ferocious wind, are the highest trail-accessible camps in North Cascades National Park—and for my money, the most scenic. If at all possible, plan to spend a few days in this throne room of the mountain gods. After the toil of the ascent, it would be a shame to leave too soon. If so inclined and properly equipped, climb the glacier to the penultimate catbird seat of Sahale Peak. Or wander the colorful moraines below the glacier. Tiny rock-scoured tarns invite a dip. Feast your eyes on the splendor of sunrise and sunset. Savor the rarified air of this high and wild place. Count the stars—and your blessings. September + October 2010 » Washington Trails On Trail « 23

A welcoming committee of moun- tain goats, eager to share your dinner, may come to visit. Resist their entreaties. If the sun’s out, bask in it. Count the peaks. If not, contemplate the mystery of what is hidden by cloud. Between the distant thunderings of unseen avalanches, the only sounds are a thousand melodious variations on falling water, punctuated by occasional rockfall as the moun- tains rearrange themselves. The constant here (like everywhere else) is change. Endless, relentless, inescapable change.

When people ask you why you take the time and suffer the effort to climb into the mountains, some- times it’s hard to find words that express the peace and joyousness of the high places. A few days on Sahale Arm might not help you articulate this idea any better, but they will fill your sensory cup to overflowing. And maybe, when all is said and done, the experience is the only answer. t 24 » On Trail September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Special Feature » Finding Feasts Foraging nourishes both mind and body

Why go wild?

After all, foraging takes time. Lots of it. Put in a long day of picking and still you might look down at your harvest and think a simple trip to the grocery store would have yielded a lot more. And perhaps that is true in terms of quantity.

But you get a lot more than food when you gather.

Flavor, for one. You won’t find a berry quite as small and pert as the red huck- leberry at the store. You might find chanterelles in a store, but they came from the wild. Efforts to cultivate chanterelles have never been successful, as these wild mushrooms have complex relationships with the forests in which they grow. Why not go to the source yourself?

Foraging is also a great motivation to hike. Seeking out a new delectable is one more reason to traipse through woods, explore an open field or walk the shoreline. Tasting wild plants is a way to engage all your senses as you hike.

And in the end, there’s even a little food for thought. As you venture into the natural world to forage, you can comprehend the complexity and majesty of an environment in a new way. As author Alan Detwiler suggests, foraging “adds to the perception that the world is a good place that is to be enjoyed.” In this piece, we’ve highlighted four edibles that you are likely to find on rambles in Washing- ton’s wildlands. Learn to identify them on your next hike. As you gather wild edibles for their deliciousness, you’ll cultivate your own connection to nature.

Miner’s Lettuce Claytonia sibirica, Claytonia perfoliata* Early March through late June Several different varieties of this beautiful spring lettuce grow in Washington’s moist and shady forests. Their leaves can vary from light and delicate to thick and succulent. Also called Western spring beauty, winter purslane or Indian lettuce, Claytonia Early Spring Salad perfoliata is native to the western United States and is particularly abundant in the Recipe by Langdon Cook Pacific Northwest. One of the first spring greens to emerge, this is the best-known species of miner’s lettuce. Claytonia perfoliata’s flower stalk emerges from the center of its spade-shaped or roundish leaves. Think “perforate.” • Miner’s lettuce • Beets, cubed and cooked Claytonia sibirica (also known as Siberian spring beauty, Siberian miner’s let- • Crumbled goat cheese tuce, candy flower or pink purslane) is native to both Siberia and western North • Roasted walnuts America. On this species, the leaves are lanceolate; they taper to a point like the • Vinaigrette head of a lance. Miner’s lettuce leaves are reminiscent of spinach yet with a wild, but not overpow- ering flavor. Either plant works well as the base for a spring salad. Toss all ingredients together and serve fresh.

*This plant is alternatively known botanically as Montia perfoliata or Montia sibirica. September + October 2010 » Washington Trails On Trail « 25

Red Huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium Early July through late August Tasty Hikes Found widely throughout Pacific Northwest lowlands, the red huckleberry shrub is an airy arrangement of delicate bright green leaves and petite red berries. This Miner’s lettuce abounds on low-elevation river shade-tolerant plant prefers soil rich in decaying wood and can often be seen trails such as the Big Quilcene River Trail. sprouting from stumps or fallen logs. You’ll also find it in botanically rich places, like the trail along Catherine Creek. Red huckleberries offer a nice tart flavor and crisp flesh. They can be enjoyed raw as you hike, or you can gather them for use in pies, jams and jellies, or even a wine. Red hucks are easy to find on many hikes, from The berries can be dried, mashed or pressed for juice. Red huckleberry leaves are also edible and can be used fresh or dried to make tea. Tiger Mountain to Old Robe Canyon. You can also look for them in the rain forest. Try the Historically, red huckleberries were harvested by virtually all tribes within the Graves Creek Trail, as it winds it way along the range of the plant, including the S’klallam, Lummi, Makah, Quileute, Quinault, Quinault River. Skagit, Skokomish, Snohomish, Swinomish and tribes throughout western British Columia. After you’ve learn to properly identify them, look Here are two tips for harvesting red hucks. You can place a basket or open bag for chanterelles on the trail to Goat Lake in the underneath a laden branch and then give the branch a shake. The berries will fall North Cascades or Rachel Lake in the central easily from their stem. Or you can build a customized picking bucket by securing Cascades. a length of string, cord or strong ribbon to any reasonably sized plastic container. Wearing this contraption around your neck will give you two hands free for pick- Looking for bull kelp? Reach the beach via the ing. You’ll be more efficient, and efficiency, in this case, is really delicious. Freshwater Bay Trail outside Port Angeles. Another good bet on the northwest coast is the Salt Creek Recreation Area. Red Huckleberry Tartlet Recipe by Langdon Cook Tart Dough • 1/2 cup flour • 3 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut up • 2 tbsp. confectioner sugar • 2 tbsp. cold water

Combine flour, sugar, and butter in a food processor. Pulse until grainy. Add the water a tablespoon at a time to food processor while running. Pulse until dough forms. Use your hands to finish combining any dough the processor missed. Roll into a cylinder, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes minimum, up to a day.

Sweet Cheese Filling • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces • 6 tbsp. sugar • 1 large egg yolk • 1 1/2 tbsp. flour • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract • lemon zest of half a small lemon Berry Patches Combine cream cheese and sugar in food processor. Whir until smooth. Add flour, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest and whir again until creamy. You can find berries on many of Washington’s mountain trails, but there are only so many places where you can pick them to your heart’s Berry Topping content. If you are looking for bountiful berry • 1 cup wild berries • 2 tbsp sugar patches, try these hikes. • 2 tsp cornstarch Shedroof Divide, Salmo-Priest Wilderness, Colville National Forest Schriebers Meadow, Mount Baker National Briefly cook berries with sugar and cornstarch until juices are syrupy. Recreation Area PCT near White Pass, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Slice chilled dough into a dozen disks. Flatten disks into 3-inch diameter rounds National Forest, near Glacier Peak on a lightly floured surface before pressing each into a muffin tin and forming into Granite Mountain, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie a cup. National Forest, near Snoqualmie Pass Give each tartlet a dollop of sweet cheese filling followed by a spoonful of cooked Naches Loop Trail, Mount Rainier National Park red huckleberries. Add a few fresh blackberries or blueberries if you have them. Lemei Lake Trail, Indian Heaven Wilderness, Bake the tartlets for around 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Gifford Pinchot National Forest 26 » On Trail September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius September – November Cream of Chanterelle Soup Chanterelles come primarily in white and yellow. The classic Pacific golden chan- Recipe by Langdon Cook terelles are Cantharellus formosus and the white version is Cantharellus subalbinus. Other chanterelles do live in this area, including the rainbow chanterelle (Canthar- 6 tbsp. butter ellus cibarius var. roseocanus) which has a pink cast and a fluorescent tint to its 1 med. onion, diced folds, but these are much less common and thus harder to find. 1 lb. fresh chanterelles, diced (frozen dry-sauteed is also acceptable) 1 to 3 ounces dried porcini, rehydrated in 1/2 to 1 Yellow and white chanterelles grow in forested areas on either side of the Cascade cup hot water crest. To find these mushrooms, plan on venturing into logging country; the yellow 1/4 cup flour chanterelle is particularly prolific in second-growth Douglas-fir and hemlocks in 4 cups beef stock the western Cascades. Chanterelles start fruiting when the soil temperature hits 45 1/4 tsp. white pepper degrees. Their season peaks in mid-October, and it typically lasts until the first hard 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg freeze hits. salt to taste 1 1/2 to 2 cups heavy cream Many folks are wary of picking mushrooms, quite understandably, as eating the wrong kind of mushroom can kill you. You can read up on the mushrooms’ defin- Melt butter in large pot. Add onions and cook over ing characteristics and look at photographs of them before you head out, but medium heat until caramelized. always go with an experienced “mushroomer” first and get their on-the-ground Add chanterelles, raise heat, cook 5 minutes, stir- advice and feedback. Chanterelles are a good mushroom for novice foragers; it ring. is hard to confuse them with anything that can seriously harm you, although the woolly chanterelle (Gomphus floccosus) is inedible to some people and can upset Pulverize porcini into dust with food processor your stomach if ingested. When trying any new mushroom, only try several table- and rehydrate. spoons and wait twenty-four hours to ensure that you do not have an individual Blend in flour with sauteed mushrooms and on- reaction to the mushroom. ions. Add stock slowly. Add porcini mush and any leftover water. Once you are ready to go out and collect, you need to follow a few regulations. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer 5 minutes. Any chanterelles you collect must have a cap diameter of more than 1 inch, and Add spices. the total amount you can gather varies depending on where you are. In Olympic Lower heat and add cream. and Mount Rainier National Parks, the limit is 1 quart; there is no mushroom col- Serves 4 to 6. lecting allowed in the North Cascades National Park complex. Each national forest district has its own quota, ranging from 1 to 5 gallons, and permits are sometimes required. For the specifics, consult thePuget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS). They have compiled all the rules for every park and forest service district into one document. Find it online at www.psms.org/MushroomRules.pdf.

Unless your mushrooms are very dirty, it’s best to just brush them and pick off any dirt. If you feel you have to wash them, do so immediately before use rather than storing wet mushrooms. If you find insect larvae nibbling on your chanterelles, dunk the mushrooms in salted water for a few minutes before cooking.

Tough and mild, chanterelles have a slight spicy edge, and they work well in a range of dishes. Add a splash of olive oil and garlic and serve them as appetizers. Sauté them for use in risottos, pastas and soups or to top meat and fish.

Learn more about Pacific Northwest mushrooms (and taste them, too) at the PSMS’s annual show held October 16-17, 2010, at the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle.

CAUTION: If you are unsure about a mushroom, please contact [email protected] before trying it to find an identifier who can help you. www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails On Trail « 27

Bull Kelp Nereocystis luetkeana Best May and June, available year-round The range of this kelp stretches from Southern California to Alaska's Aleutian Islands and it thrives in the turbid waters. Hike any rocky shore along Puget Sound or the Pacific Ocean Kelp Pickles and you’re likely to see clusters of bull kelp just offshore, Recipe and harvesting advice adapted from Alaskan growing in the subtidal zone. Harvest Bull kelp can grow from a tiny spore into a 200-foot-long plant in just one summer; it is the fastest growing seaweed in the • 5 quarts bull kelp stipe, cut into rings • 2 cups onions, thinly sliced world. • 5 cups vinegar • 5 cups sugar People refer to this seaweed by a number of names—bull • 1 clove garlic whip kelp, ribbon kelp, bulb kelp, giant kelp, sea kelp, horse- • 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric tail kelp, and sea otter's cabbage—to list just a few. Native • 1 tsp. ground cloves • 1 tsp. celery seeds people used dried kelp stipes (its “stems”) to make fishing • 2 tsp. mustard seeds line, and kelp bulbs were used to hold fish oil. Today, kelp extract (algin) is used industrially to thicken ice cream, salad dressing, hand lotion, and even paint. Chop kelp into the size of pickles you would like. You’ll get the best pickles from the kelp’s bulb May and June are the prime harvesting months for bull kelp, and stem (stipe). but you can find it year-round in many places along the coast. Avoid kelp with white splotches, as this indicates old age. Combine everything but the kelp and onions in Rinse it well; you do not need to peel or soak it. Cut the “hair” a large soup pot, then add the vegetables and off the heads. bring to a boil. Curious about seaweed, but not quite ready for a salad that Pack them into sterilized jars and then process just washed up on the beach? Try kelp pickles first. Their zingy for 10 minutes in boiling water. Alternatively, you taste is reminiscent of those made from cucumbers or other can pack your jars and then use a canner and fol- familiar dirt-grown garden vegetables. low the canner’s instructions for processing. Let stand for about a month for the best flavor before eating. Makes about 8 pints.

Illustrations by Niki Sherey Text by Lace Thornberg and Langdon Cook

For more recipes that make use of foragables, see p.36.. FORAGING RESOURCES

Agencies and Organizations Puget Sound Mycological Society, www.psms.org GET FAT Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing For more recipes by Field Guides author and forager Langdon Cook, read All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western his book, Fat of the Mushrooms by David Arora Land: Adventures Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora of a 21st Century North Pacific Seaweedsby Rita M. O’Clair and Sandra C. Lindstrom Forager, and follow Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British his blog, http:// Columbia & Alaska by Jim Pojar fat-of-the-land. blogspot.com. Suppliers Foraged and Found Edibles, www.foragedandfoundedibles.com 28 » On Trail September + October 2010 » Washington Trails

Northwest Explorer » Traveling Through Time Exploring the John Day Fossil Beds in Central Oregon

The Painted Hills, Early last summer, finding trails clear of snow pretive displays showcasing fossils of North as seen from the in the high country of both Washington and American horses, rhinos, cats and camels, as Overlook Trail in the Oregon was a challenging endeavor. Many of well as various plant species, many dated over John Day Fossil Beds the locations that my wife, Mitzi, and I wanted 40 million years old. A short “tour through time” to hike were still inaccessible or under multiple gives a glimpse of what the plants, animals and feet of snow. As we started looking eastward, environment of Oregon may have looked like at we zeroed in on Central Oregon and the John various points throughout the ages. Day Fossil Beds. With no snow in the high des- ert, we set out for a long weekend. At the information counter, we asked the ranger for a hiking recommendation. “You abso- The John Day Fossil Beds National Monu- lutely want to do the Blue Basin Rim and Island ment spans three distinct locations, each with in Time trails,” he suggested. “But not today.” its own unique geological or paleontological characteristics: the Sheep Rock Unit near Day- “On days as hot as today, we refer to the ville, the Painted Hills Unit near Mitchell, and Blue Basin as a clay oven,” he continued, ”What- Eli the Clarno Unit near Fossil. We began our ex- ever the temperature is here in the valley, it’s 20 ploration at the easternmost unit, Sheep Rock. degrees hotter in the basin.” Boschetto The day we arrived it was over 100 degrees in the shade, a good excuse to get acquainted He suggested we come back in the evening Eli is an outdoor with the area at the air-conditioned visitor or try the next day, when the forecast predicted photographer and center. lower temperatures. Northwest Map & Trail Correspondent The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center We collected more info for suggested hikes is a working research facility that houses the in all three areas, then still trying to escape for Backpacker. monument’s extensive fossil collection. Enjoying the blistering heat, we made our way across the cool, crisp indoor air, we browsed inter- the street to the Cant Ranch Museum. We www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails On Trail « 29 viewed the more recent collections of artifacts to moisture and to dramatically change color, highlighting the valley’s first white settlers as depending on time of day, season and climate. farmers and ranchers, explored the old barn, and took the short walk to an overlook of Sheep We continued our tour with Leaf Hill. This Rock and the John Day River. single mound sits near the southwestern edge of the unit, and is notable for its abundance Deciding to save the longer hikes for the next of plant fossils—hence the name. We walked day, we headed west to Mitchell where we the flat, quarter-mile path around the hill, were staying at the Oregon Hotel, which proved spotting leaf and fern to be quite pleasant. However, food choices in fossils in the fragmented Mitchell left us wanting, with only two little ca- claystones and shales. fes—both closed by the time we arrived in town Nearby, at the end of that afternoon. We wandered into the small the public road, a lonely general store, found ice cream, and settled onto red hill dominates the a shaded bench on the store’s porch. Later, landscape, aptly named after a picnic dinner in the small park across Red Hill. There is no the street, the day finally started cooling off trail, but it was nice to and it was time to explore the nearby Painted view this brightly col- Hills Unit. ored formation from the roadside, as the fading We started at the Painted Hills Overlook, sunlight illuminated it where the sculpted volcanic hills are striped beautifully. and striated, colored in shades of reds, yellows

Above: Red Hill glows at sunset

Left: Stroll the boardwalk through the Painted Cove

Hike It» Painted Hills Unit John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Central Oregon Painted Hills Over- look, 0.6 mile Carroll Rim, 1.5 miles Painted Cove, 0.25 mile

and oranges. We walked the easy half-mile Daylight was beginning to fade, but with a that leads to the viewpoint that showcases the full moon on the rise, we headed back to the Northwest unusual formation. overlook area and hiked the moderate, mile-plus Explorer articles trail to Carroll Rim. From the top, the view describe back- Next, we headed over to the Painted Cove— opened up over the entire Painted Hills area, packing trips in a location often featured in the guidebooks, and the combination of sunset and moonrise the Northwest where a boardwalk trail weaves among bright painted the already colorful hills into a scene of and beyond. red contoured hills. We took our time walking unearthly grandeur. When the wind picked up, Want to write the short loop through the low hills, get- we headed down by moonlight and drove back about your trip? ting close-up views of the unusually textured to Mitchell. E-mail editor@ surfaces. The heavily eroded claystone here is wta.org. known to shrink and expand with exposure The next morning, we awoke early and 30 » On Trail September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

headed back to Sheep Rock and Blue Basin. proceeded up the trail, viewing fossil displays Starting clockwise on the Blue Basin Overlook of turtles, oreodonts (prehistoric cud-chewing Trail, we gave the rattlesnakes a wide berth as mammals) and saber-toothed cats along the we approached Turtle Cove’s erosion-sculpted way. At the end of the trail we found ourselves green walls. The day warmed quickly as we surrounded by the fantastical blue-green rock climbed switchbacks to the basin viewpoint, we had observed from above, immersed in the stopping for a snack in the shade of an ancient unusual landscape. But it was hot, oh-so-hot, juniper tree. Reaching the crest of the rim, we and it was time to go. took a short spur trail to the overlook and cast our gazes downward onto an alien terrain. Back in the air-conditioned comfort of our vehicle, we headed north for the last section Blue Basin is a deep cleft, reveal- of the John Day Fossil Beds, the Clarno Unit ing the vivid blue-green rocks of near the town of Fossil. With the mercury again the Turtle Cove Formation, over topping triple digits, we decided that this last 28 million years old. Under the heat section would require a return visit, as we of the July sun, we ate our lunch, wanted to walk the trails around the Palisades, pondering the prehistoric conditions a 44 million-year-old mudflow formation, and that created the unusually colored the Trail of the Fossils where plant and nut fos- rocks, and the erosive forces that sils can be seen in the surrounding rocks. We sculpted the canyon below us and steered our car westward, heading for home. adorned its walls with various spires and pinnacles. With the noon As we traditionally do with all our trips, sun beating down on us, we backtracked to the Mitzi and I compared our favorite aspects of The John Day Fossil trail and continued along the loop, rounding the the last few days visiting the John Day Fossil Beds National Monu- south side of the rim, then switchbacking down Beds. The otherworldly, geologic uniqueness ment spans three to the junction at the bottom. of each of the areas was at the top of the list— distinct units, each simply amazing colors and shapes carved out with unique features We veered up the canyon, now on the Island of the volcanic landscape. Mitzi, a huge fan of and each worth a in Time Trail, seeking shade under juniper well-done visitor centers, especially enjoyed the visit. trees. That ranger wasn’t kidding about his fossil and interpretive displays. We both agreed description of the canyon’s heat. It was warm that the fossil beds are on our list of places to on the rim, but it was sweltering in the can- revisit—though next time in a cooler time of yon—a shimmering, tangible heat. We quickly year. t

Hike It» Sheep Rock Unit John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Central Oregon Blue Basin Over- look, 3 miles Island in Time, 1 mile

For more information, visit the monument’s website: www.nps.gov/ joda

Trail to the end of the Island in Time, Blue Basin September + October 2010 » Washington Trails 31 Backcountry The Gear Closet »

Meet WTA’s New Gear Team

WTA’s new gear team members, from There’s a heap of outdoor gear out there. Some of it good, some of it great. Our mission is to left to right: Cheri bring only the best to your attention: the most fully featured items, the best values, the clever- Higman, Eli Boschet- est innovations and the most stylish designs. to, Cherie Bevers, Patrick Leahy and Matt Thyer. Likewise, there are lots of people who like getting outside and lots of people who like buy- ing gear. People who build their lives around outdoor recreation and take the time to find the outdoor gear that best meets their needs are harder to come by. But, as we introduce this new gear team, we’re confident that we’ve found five people who are both a shade more aggressive in their approach to the outdoors and a shade more obsessive about the features of the gear they wear and carry. See what you think. Washington Trails Association would like to thank Allison Cheri Higman Woods for her years Some women maintain a menagerie of purses. gear hound, she will hunt down deals for the of volunteering as In Cheri’s case, it’s packs. She has her go-to gear she needs, and pick up gear she may need Washington Trails pack, which is a 45-liter from Black Diamond, someday if she spots a deal that’s too good to gear editor. and then a 65-liter pack for longer trips (or short pass up. trips with lots of gear), a 30-liter for day hikes Catch up with her or ski trips, and, of course, an 18-liter summit As a kid, Cheri hiked all the trails off the online at www. bag that doubles as a stuff sack. Et cetera. Mountain Loop Highway; these days, she’s allisonsadventures. And inside those packs? A sweet collection of partial to the northeast Cascades where she wordpress.com. the lightest, most useful gear there is. A true can crag climb, hike and mountaineer—all in 32 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

the same weekend. An economist by day, Cheri “both front pockets are fleece-lined for added is looking forward to putting her creative side warmth and comfort.” Still listening? You’ll find to work while writing gear reviews. She’s a out that he’s a fan of the PrimaloftECO insula- Washington Alpine Club climbing class instruc- tion in his Mountain Hardwear jacket because tor and has earned her “green hat” volunteering it is as warm as down, warmer than other on the trail with WTA. similar synthetics, and still insulates while wet—something you need to think about in the Eli Boschetto often damp Pacific Northwest. Readers who recognize Eli’s name from several recent features in Washington Trails A backpacker since his preteen years, Pat- (including the piece on the John Day Fossil rick has coursed trails all across the country. Beds in this issue) will know that he’s an avid Washington must have called to him more backpacker with a keen need to explore new than most places, though, as it lured him out places. What you may not know is that Eli also of the Midwest about six years ago. In addi- follows outdoor industry news, knows where to tion to backpacking, he’s a cyclist, trailrunner, find great gear deals and even posts reviews on mountain biker, climbing class instructor and his personal blog. snowshoer.

Among his many trips, Eli took a thirty-day, Matt Thyer 224-mile hike on the John Muir Trail earlier this So, what kind of outdoorsy guy is Matt? The summer. He’ll be out snowshoeing all winter kind who will run up to the Pacific Crest at four long. in the morning, just to see the sun rise. Without thinking that’s weird or special or anything. Cherie Bevers (See a sample trip report on p.41) Cherie hikes every day, cruising up a nearby logging road for her exercise routine, and On the application for this gear review team, regularly heads out on longer hiking trips with we listed nine muscle-powered outdoor activi- friends and family in tow. So committed is she ties that one might participate in. Matt checked to sharing her love of the outdoors—and the each and every box. It must be those hours right gear for getting out—that Cherie has even before sunrise that allow him to hike, scramble, purchased hiking shoes for two friends who mountaineer and run in the summer, snowshoe didn’t know what a difference the right foot- and cross-country ski in the winter. Matt’s pen- wear could make. chant for quality gear comes from six seasons of working as a backcountry wilderness guard “The emphasis in stores that supply outdoor in Colorado in the 1980s, and he’s been perfect- gear is on the young and fit,” says Cherie, who ing his gear list ever since. describes herself as proof that overweight Therre’s no question people are active, too. She’d like to change the Matt’s also keen to give back to trails. As that quality gear perception that these folks aren’t out exploring a Hike-a-Thon participant, he racked up more can help keep you our beautiful state and also encourage manufac- than 160 miles in August 2009 and raised more safe and happy in turers to design more gear for those outside the than $2,000 for WTA along the way. He par- the great outdoors, lean-and-mean frame. ticipated again in 2010, and you can check his as Patrick Leahy final count by visiting WTA’s Hike-a-Thon Hall demonstrates here Cherie hikes, backpacks and is looking for- of Fame online at www.wta.org/support/hike-a- on the summit of ward to snowshoe lessons this winter. With a thon/hike-a-thon-1. Mount Baker. background in materials engineering, her eye is trained to look for those crucial differences in gear From a mountaineer who thinks “car-to- design and construction. car” is the best way to summit Washing- ton’s highest peaks, to a trail runner who Patrick Leahy Ask a normal hiker about often wakes up in the wilderness and his insulated jacket, and runs downhill before heading to work, he might respond with “It’s warm. It’s comfy. I like it.” the folks on this team will be pushing the Ask Patrick about his favor- gear they test to its limits. If they’re happy ite jacket and you get more specifics. He likes that he with the gear they carry out on epic runs, can “quickly cinch both daily hikes and rigorous climbs, chances the neck and hem with one-handed drawcords and are good that you’ll be happy with that also lock down the wrists gear too. t with Velcro tabs” and that www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Backcountry « 33 Your Day, Your Pack Packs for two different kinds of days out on the trail

Great Pack for Day Trips and Families A Trail Runner’s Day Pack Review by Brian Windrope Review by Wendy Wheeler-Jacobs

Between my trail miles and my retail When I’m looking for a backpack for trail experience at REI and Marmot Mountain Works running or adventure racing, I start by in Berkeley, I have more than a bit of pack- considering how much capacity I need, which fitting experience. Recently I’ve been using a changes with the number of hours I plan to be new pack from Deuter that has impressed me out on trail. Next, the features I focus on are thoroughly with its form and function. Deuter’s those which minimize the times I will need to Spectro 32 stands out right away for its slender stop to get in the pack or make adjustments. frame that provides both weight-bearing aid Easily reachable pockets, where I can stash as well as extraordinary ventilation. I used gels, a camera or a GPS, are always top on my this pack to hike Marmot Pass and Mount list. The pack should also have straps that can Townsend in the Olympics on two successive be tightened with a quick pull. As I empty my weekends, and neither time did my back get water reservoir, I like to be able to take up the sweaty. Wow, that’s a nice thing. However, slack so I don’t have to run with a bouncing that frame means that this pack is not ideal for pack. when you need to compress it for travel. That’s My current all-around favorite is the Gregory a key trade-off here. Sungem. This versatile pack is designed The pack is lightweight at two pounds, eight specifically for women, with a better fit across ounces and has many easy ways to store and the chest and a slightly shorter torso length. access gear. The entire back panel zips open to (The men’s equivalent is the Rufous.) A sliding access all contents, and there are nice external chest strap and on-the-fly internal compression pockets for quick stowage. The chest strap is system spare me from chafing on longer runs. on an easy slider (gotta love these innovations), A 70-ounce bladder (not included) fits snugly in and the waist belt is comfortable. Forward- this pack, and it has a Velcro strap to hold my pulling waist belt adjustment straps are very drinking tube in place. It also comes with two nice to use, and what a big difference such a bottle pockets. I use these to hold an electrolyte small thing can make. As a father of two young drink or filter bottle. When not holding bottles, boys, I often go on family hikes, and this pack these pockets are a great place to stash things is large enough (1,950 cubic inches) to carry that I access frequently, such as sunglasses or jackets and lunch for a family without being a gloves. I also appreciate its two small interior full backpack. pockets where I can put my keys or phone Final verdict: this pack is super comfortable, so they aren’t bouncing around. At 480 cubic easy to pack and convenient to access. It is inches, this pack is big enough to carry a out right now on my wife as she trains for a jacket, lunch and a dog bowl. Light yet roomy, Looking ahead, longer backpacking trip later this summer. It I find myself reaching for this pack when what gear do you has become the new favorite for day hikes in heading out on two- to six-hour runs. want to see re- our family. viewed in 2011? Send an email to editor@ WTA’s executive director, Brian, can always be A WTA board member, Wendy typically puts wta.org. found out on one trail or another. in 200 to 300 trail-running miles a month. 34 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Nature on Trail » Chinook Salmon The life cycle of one of the Northwest’s iconic species

All salmon migrate from freshwater rivers to the ocean as juve- niles before returning two to five years later as adults to spawn. I like to think of them as river travelers who grow up in the high seas.

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshaw- ytscha) are the largest of the five species of Pacific salmon, hence the name “king salmon.” They average 15 to 30 pounds at maturity, with some reaching weights of over 60 A late-summer hike along a streamside trail pounds. Chinook salmon can be identified by a may lead to a chance encounter with Chinook dark gum line and large spots on both lobes of salmon at work. Triggered by declining water their tail. temperature, a female salmon selects a site on a shallow gravel bar having suitable current. The center of abundance for Chinook salmon With her tail, she will dig a gravel nest, called is the Columbia River, where population size a redd, and then deposit up to 5,000 eggs. The was as high as 10 million fish before overfishing footprint of some redds is as large as a compact in the late 1800s. Human development activi- car. ties further reduced runs to about 2 million fish today, most of which are of hatchery origin. Fisheries scientists count the number of This species is also distributed widely in rivers redds present in a stream or river to get a rough of the Puget Sound and Washington coast. measure of population size. These surveys are performed visually on foot along coastal Chinook salmon are separated into runs streams or with the aid of low-flying aircraft based on time of adult entry into freshwater. in larger bodies of water such as the Hanford Spring-run salmon prefer to spawn in the upper Reach of the Columbia River. A fall hike to the reaches of small streams, while most fall-run White Bluffs overlook provides a view of where fish spawn in large rivers. Summer-run fish several thousand salmon return to spawn in the are intermediate in their migration timing and Hanford Reach National Monument. Dennis distribution. Pacific salmon die after spawning. Their Dauble Salmon return to their natal stream or from muscles deteriorate, fins fray, and patches of where they were hatched. This behavior is sores form to provide an almost clownlike ap- called homing. One theory proposes they Dennis is a retired pearance. In a weakened state, spawned-out “imprint,” or become sensitized to an odor or fisheries professional salmon are easy prey for predators like bald substances present in the water during their and a member of the eagles and black bears. Their carcasses slowly early rearing period. It’s this memory that helps decompose to become part of the aquatic food Northwest Outdoor guide salmon back upstream to spawning chain needed to nourish the next generation of Writers Association. grounds. river travelers. t www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Backcountry « 35 How to Do It » Stay Safe in a Storm How to choose the best course of action when bad weather rolls in

Spend any significant amount of time in the make an attempt to get out of there before mountains, and you can plan on getting caught visibility deteriorates further. Fall and winter in a few storms. In my years of hiking, camp- snowstorms can last for long periods of time ing and working as a mountain guide, I have in the Cascades; choosing to stay put in a high been knocked off balance by the wind, spent camp and wait out an approaching storm, the night shoveling out tents in a blizzard, which could last for more than a week, may be and watched nearby trees explode after being unwise. struck by lightning. Although certainly danger- ous, storms can also be a beautiful and exciting Here are two key questions to ask yourself— part of the mountain experience if you play it how far away is relative safety and what is the safe. terrain like? If you can dash down below tree line quickly, go for it. If the safety of a lower The first rule to staying safe in a storm is valley is far away and there is tricky terrain to simple—pay attention. Monitor the forecasts for negotiate, it may be best to wait it out. your destination closely for several days until your departure. Once you’re in the backcountry Getting caught in a storm is a risk that we and forecast updates are no longer available, all accept when we enter the mountains. This try to gain a sense of what is happening by article merely provides an introduction to the paying attention to the skies. When a front is topic; true knowledge will come from years of approaching, lens-shaped clouds often form experience, watching the weather and learning over high peaks and the sky will fill with cirrus not to press your luck. Remember, the best way clouds. Check out a book on mountain weather to stay safe in a storm is to not get caught in to learn about these and other signs of an ap- one in the first place. t proaching weather system.

Occasionally, no matter how careful you are What to Do When Lightning Strikes about checking the weather and watching the If you are camping in a group and there are light- skies, you will get caught in a storm. Whether ning strikes in your area, separate. Try to space it’s a summer thunderstorm or a winter snow- individuals at least 30 feet apart, but stay close storm, the best course of action is to descend. enough to communicate after each nearby strike Descending to a lower elevation leaves you so that you can check to see that everyone is okay. less exposed to the fury of the storm. You are If one member of the group is struck, another less likely to be the tallest object around in the member can perform first aid. event of a lightning storm. Another bonus to coming down is that if you descend far enough, say, all the way to town, you can get beer and Get rid of objects that conduct electricity. Keep food. all metal objects, like trekking poles and ice axes, away from the group. In some cases, however, it’s simply not pos- sible to pack up and descend. You may be at a Squat or kneel down, preferably on some sort high camp and already caught in the weather, of insulation like your sleeping pad or an empty or perhaps you are in exposed terrain and feel pack. If possible, avoid being the tallest object in that it would be unsafe to descend on rocks the area. The ideal position is one in which you are now slick with rain. Your choice of whether or squatting with only the soles of your shoes touch- Todd not to descend depends on your circumstances, ing the ground. Admittedly, it can be extremely but there are several factors to consider. strenuous to hold this position for a long period Miller of time, so kneeling or squatting on your butt and First, if you choose to wait out the storm, feet are acceptable alternatives. The main idea is Todd is an accom- how long are you prepared to wait it out? The to minimize contact with the ground and keep plished climber and worst part of a summer thunderstorm will your vital organs as protected as possible from typically last only a few hours. However, if any electrical current. Do not lie down. professional moun- you are up high in the fall and a winter storm tain guide. is approaching, it may be best to pack up and 36 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Trail Eats » Found and Made

Nettle Pesto Pasta

Take: In a sandwich bag: 8 ounces pasta of choice (cook time under 7 minutes)

In a quart freezer bag: 1/4 cup toasted finely diced pine nuts or walnuts 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic

Photo by Kirk Kirkconnell In a snack bag: 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese Blackberry Green Beans In a leakproof container: 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil Take: 0.42-ounce package freeze-dried green beans Pick along the way: 1 packed cup stinging nettle leaves (Urtica In a snack size bag: dioica) 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 1/4 tsp. onion powder Directions: 1/4 tsp. kosher salt In your pot bring 1/4 cup water to a boil, 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper add your nettle leaves, cover tightly and let steam a couple minutes (lower your stove’s Pick along the way: flame). Drain off any water left, then chop the 1 cup Pacific blackberry (Rubus ursinus) leaves as finely as you can. Add the olive oil to the nut bag, then add the nettles. Stir well and Directions: put aside. Find and remove the oxygen absorber from the green bean package, add 1 cup boiling water and seal tightly. Let sit for 10 minutes. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in your pot, add the pasta and cook for time on package. Drain Drain off any remaining water carefully. Sprinkle in the seasonings, carefully. Add pesto to pasta as desired; top gently toss. Very gently fold in the berries, let sit for a couple of min- liberally with the cheese. utes for the juices to release. Serves 2 to 3. Serves 2 as a side dish. Note: Notes: When picking nettle leaves, be sure to Find Mountain House brand green beans at most outdoor shops, wear gloves and a long sleeved shirt. A clean including REI. freezer bag is a good picking vessel. While Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) is more prevalent and its berries can be substituted, do try to find our native trailing berry. Its small, sweet berries are worth the effort; their taste is unparalleled.

CAUTION: With all wild foods, consult a knowledgeable guide for picking, follow all rules on picking and do not give wild foods to preg- nant women or small children. Photo by Sassyradish Recipes by Sarah Kirkconnell, www.trailcooking.com September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Backcountry « 37

Trip Reports from Hikers »

Photo by Take a Hike! Dale Blair. Search more than 24,000 trip reports online at www.wta.org.

3

10 11 2 1 6 4 7 8 5 9 Safety 12 13 Notice

Neither Washington Trails magazine, the 14 16 Washington Trails As- 15 sociation, nor their personnel accept any liability for accidents or injuries in connection with articles, trail or North Cascades Mountain Loop Highway promised logging road reports published trucks, but they must be confined to week- in WA Trails magazine. days as we saw none on a Sunday, which was The reports provide fortunate, given the width of Forest Road 2080. updated informa- Forest Roads 2081 and 2086 held no promise of tion of interest to the logging trucks, and they were even narrower. region’s trail users; The only gravel visible was a narrow track for readers are cautioned to supplement the the right tires and another for the left—all else reports with other was grass, but the only car we met was conve- sources of information niently near a turnout. when planning a trip. Some translations from the 100 Hikes guide- Additionally, readers book are in order: “Relentless switchbacks” should be aware that 1 Peek-a-boo Lake means 28 switchbacks on the 1,200-foot eleva- reported conditions Green Trails Sloan Peak 111 tion gain to the high point of the trail and “the may change, that there July 25, 2010 by Hike-of-the-Week Club trail deteriorates to a boot-beaten path as it de- may be errors in the re- ports, and that certain scends to the lake” means the trail makers gave hazards are inherent The temporary signs at the turnoff from the up on the switchbacks and just went straight in backcountry travel. 38 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

down the hill. numerous snowfields getting down to the lake Still a nice subalpine lake, nice meadows from the ridge. None of these is a big deal to on the way in and a grand view across to navigate, but I was glad to have my trekking the Swauk and White Chuck valleys to White poles along. The trail is snow-free for the first Chuck Mountain (follow the obvious path on 50 yards or so after dropping from the ridge. the south side of the meadow to the viewpoint). After arriving at the first major snowfield stay A good hike if you like solitude, as we encoun- high and to the right to connect with the trail tered a grand total of eight other hikers in four on the other side. Routefinding after this is hours on the trail, and this was on a sunny, straightforward with only small snowfields to 80-degree day in the middle of July. negotiate. The lake has completely thawed with Snow is all gone, which means there were only patches of snow around the edge. Some of some flies and mosquitoes. Flowers are transi- the campsites are affected by snow, but there tioning from the early-summer marsh marigolds are some available that are snow-free. in the meadows to arnica and Sitka valerian, This is a really nice hike with a combination with plenty of queen’s cup and bunchberry in of great views and a nice lake at the destina- the shadier woods. tion. Lost Creek Ridge runs east-west, provid- ing wonderful views from Mount Daniel in the 2 south to Mount Baker to the north with many Round Lake peaks in between (Sloan, Bedal, Pugh and Green Trails Sloan Peak 111 White Chuck among many others). July 31, 2010 by Grasshopper 3 Excelsior Peak The road to the trailhead is in good shape. Green Trails Mount Shuksan 14, Mount The trail to the viewpoint above Round Lake also is in good shape and is free of snow. There Baker 13 were three minor tree blowdowns that were July 31, 2010 by love2hike easy to step over or duck under. There are We did a car shuttle with two others today. Dropped one at the Excelsior Trailhead and Thanks to WTA’s Corporate Partners! then drove with the two others to the Welcome Pass Trailhead. The trail to Welcome Pass is Rainier - $25,000+ steep, but well maintained. We counted about 70 switchbacks, short and long, to the top. Once on the ridge, it is a fairly easy hike along the ridge to Excelsior Mountain. Saw several tents in the meadows and won- dered why people were camping there. Glad to discover they belonged to a group of WTA trail workers who were doing a fine job making the trail safer. The trail is snow free. Lovely wildflowers in the Welcome Pass area, but very little in the Excelsior Mountain area because this area just became snow-free very recently. Some bugs on Olympic - $10,000-$24,999 this overcast day, but not bad. Could tell the views had much potential, but not the best StockCharts.com today with the dark clouds rolling in. Started raining as we descended from Excelsior to the Cascade - $2,500-$9,999 trailhead to pick up our car.

Alpine - $1,000-$2,499 Aveda, Hilleberg the Tentmaker, lululemon athletica, The Mountaineers Books, Orthopedics International, Outdoor Research, Seattle Outdoor, Therm-a-Rest® and MSR® To find out how your company can support WTA’s work for trails, please call us at (206) 625-1367 or e-mail [email protected]. www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Backcountry « 39

take the right fork (Forest Road 9737) and drive Central Cascades the dirt road until it ends at the trailhead, elevation 4,243 feet. This trail also accesses Ingalls Lake, but the signage is good for the turnoffs to reach Longs Pass at 6,250 feet. Once at Longs Pass, the descending trail toward Ingalls Creek is 50 feet to the left. It starts out with tricky footing but gets better as you descend. There is a log crossing at Ingalls Creek, but it is not for the 4 faint-hearted. You may want to bring wading Smithbrook, Lake Valhalla shoes for the ford. We then took the Ingalls Green Trails Benchmark 144 Creek Trail downhill east for a quarter of a mile or so. The start of the trail toward the Casca- July 22, 2010 by Janice Van Cleve dian Couloir is just past a large stream with a broken bridge at about 4,900 feet. The trail is Smithbrook Trail provides easy access to on the left and is well used. When you get out Lake Valhalla, Lake Janus, and beyond. The of the trees and see the mountain, the route road leading to the trailhead is well marked continues up broken rock to the left of a black in both directions on U.S. Highway 2, just 4 rock buttress seen on your right. miles east of Stevens Pass where the highway The route dropped us at a snowfield, where divides. The trailhead has an ample parking lot we finally changed into our boots and removed but no outhouse. our ice-axes from the The trail climbs 800 feet in easy, well-main- packs. The snow was tained switchbacks to Union Gap, with one old easy to kick steps into, broken blowdown close to the trailhead. At the and our crampons re- Gap, the trail runs almost flat to the junction mained stowed away. with the PCT. There is one big mudhole along We crossed the ridge the way. For Lake Janus, turn right. For Lake at about 9,000 feet. It Valhalla, turn left. The PCT to Lake Valhalla is important to remem- is relatively easy and well maintained but ber the landmarks for there are several mudholes along the way and where you cross this patches of spring snow. Lake Valhalla boasts ridge as it will be a a nice meadow, running stream, a beach with challenge to locate on real sand, and many fine campsites and places the down climb. to sit and picnic. Mount Lichtenberg forms Once across the a spectacular backdrop to the scene. It was ridge we lost about 30 shrouded in clouds today, but it will be a blaze feet of elevation before of color in the fall. This route to the lake is only following the cairned about 5 miles round trip. route to the top. There is a fair amount of 5 Mount Stuart traversing left and Green Trails Mount Stuart 209 don’t be tempted to gain elevation quickly or you will be on un- Mount Stuart, as July 24, 2010 by Mike Collins friendly rock. If you are on Class 4 rock, you are seen from Ingalls off-route. The true summit only grants use of Lake. Photo by Du- Mount Stuart is the tallest peak in the Alpine one person at a time. The summit register is in gan Lange. Lakes Wilderness area. The Mount Stuart an attaché-sized box placed by the Cascadians batholith is a hotly debated topic in geologic of Yakima. circles. A microplate tectonic model proposes, Opposite page: Our descent varied from the ascent route. View from Excelsior in what is called the Baja-B.C. hypothesis, that We wanted to avoid the slabby rock and, with the granite of Stuart had its origins at latitude Pass. Photo by Dave climbers above us, the risk of rockfall in the Hower. ~31 degrees in the Baja region. The rock was Cascadian Couloir. We took the next gully driven on a subterranean plate and surfaced as drainage to the east. Where the gully steep- an accreted terrane at its present location. The ened through a rock course, we angled right only movement of rock we experienced was and teased our way through trees and talus to the occasional rockfall in our Cascadian Couloir reconnect with the Cascadian Couloir trail. The route. Randy Busch and Craig Beaver were my sun had thankfully dropped below the ridge- partners for this ambitious day-trip. lines and gave us a shadowed route for the We drove Interstate 90 east and turned north grind back up to Longs Pass. toward Wenatchee at Route 970. We were on Distance traveled: 13 miles. Elevation gain: this for 5 miles and turned left at the sign for 8,200 feet. Car-to-car: 13 hours. Teanaway River road. At 13.5 miles is a road junction at 29 Pines Campground. At this “Y” 40 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

Snoqualmie Pass Area 6 Johnson Ridge Green Trails Monte Cristo 143, Bench- mark Mountain 144 August 2, 2010 by austineats

What a great way to kick off my Hike-a-Thon miles! We went looking for wild flowers and although a little early we weren’t disappointed. Valerian, lupine, columbines, tiger lilies, false hellebore and even a blanket of glacier lilies at the summit where the last of the snow is fading 7 Gold Creek away. Green Trails Snoqualmie Pass 207 The trailhead is no longer signed nor requires a trail parking pass, but was otherwise easy August 1, 2010 by Solo Steve enough to find. The first mile of trail is an old road bed; this was quickly done with as the Woohoo! I started Hike-a-Thon 2010 with a trail takes no detours as it winds up the spine great work party on the Gold Creek Trail. of the ridge. Coolness prevailed in the shadows I had taken family to Gold Creek Pond years once the trees were reached. Except for an oc- ago, but hadn’t hiked the trail before. It’s really casional meadow of flowers, the trail sticks to nice and lush. Our work site was about 1.5 the woods. Great sweeping meadow views are miles in, in a huge avalanche chute with trees off to both sides, there’s a brief hump named toppled over like so many matchsticks. Gor- Sunrise Peak, and before you know it you are geous waterfall. And lots of vine maple! We overlooking Joan Lake 400 feet below and the cleared a little over 100 feet of trail on a reroute summit just above. to get hikers out of the valley and back to the A very pleasant hike with no difficulties or tree cover. Crew leader Alexis and Aassistant exposure. Looks like a great place for blueberry Crew Leaders Kevin, Pam and Liz are the best! pancakes on a cool September morning. Thanks for a wonderful day of trail building!

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Shop our complete line of map products at www.ngstore.com or your local retailer. 1.800.962.1643 www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Backcountry « 41

Note: The road to this trailhead is gated near the Gold Creek Pond parking lot, so day hikers Olympic Peninsula will have to add about 2 miles of dusty gravel road to their trip.

8 Melakwa Lake Green Trails Snoqualmie Pass 207 August 2, 2010 by granitemountain

This is one of my all-time favorite hikes due to its variety of terrain: woods, open valleys, waterfalls, alpine lake. Trail to the lake is in great shape. The water in Denny Creek is low and crossing is easy even without the long-gone bridge. I continued on beyond the lake up to Melak- wa Pass. This really adds to the hike. Head toward the grove of trees up from the upper 10 Ozette Triangle: Cape Ala- lake. Pass through the middle of it along a trail that runs on the sides of the creek goes through va - Sand Point Loop it. At times, you need to walk on the boulders Green Trails Ozette 130S in the creek. Once thrugh this, head up the July 18, 2010 by thebrink boulder field towards the upper grove of trees at the top of the valley. Go to the right of the Seven of the Sound Steppers Volks- rock face jutting out the bottom of it and con- port group did the Ozette Triangle tinue up a trail that goes halfway up the side this weekend (Lake Ozette to Cape of this grove, then turns into the trees. Follow Alava, up the beach to Sand Point it up to a saddle. From there, you can look (or and back to Lake Ozette). The drop down) into Chair Peak Lake. Walk a way weather and tides were perfect for along the saddle, upwards, and you can see the hike, as we did not have to wor- both Melakwa and Chair Peak Lakes. ry about doing any scrambles over the high headlands, and the temper- 9 ature was in the mid-60s. I had back- Snow Lake packed several times on the beach Green Trails Snoqualmie Pass 207 years ago and nothing has changed out there—a A family of hikers August 3, 2010 by Matt Thyer good sign. We did see a lot of net floats. Other than walking on loose sand and slippery rocks, hanging out near Ozette. Photo by Breaking news: I’m still running this year’s the other obstacles were downed trees on the Colleen Ponto. Hike-a-Thon. Bit of a family “hiccup” kept me beach that you either went under or around, from making it to the trail until this morning. which meant going through some deep, slippery But that’s more or less taken care of for the seaweed. The trail through the forest is great. time being, and I made it up to the crest last Most of it is boardwalk. night and ran a sunrise route this morning. I ended up choosing to do what the WTA trail guide calls a “wilderness superhighway” for two reasons. First, it’s a pretty hike that I suspected would have a good view of the sunrise. Second, no one else would be hiking it at four in the morning, so I’d get the whole thing to myself. I drove up to the pass after taking care of some last, last, last minute deliverables at work. The sun was going down and I was pretty tired so I decided to conk out for a bit and make it a morning run. I made dinner and slept in Zeno in one of the Alpental parking lots, setting my alarms for oh’dark thirty. Headlamp on, I hit the trail at about 4:30 a.m. and climbed steadily to the pass into the Snow Lake basin. I’ve been exceptionally happy today. 42 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

11 Grand Ridge Mount Rainier Green Trails Hurricane Ridge/Elwha North 134S July 31, 2010 by Munin

The road from Hurricane Ridge parking lot to Obstruction Point Trailhead was dusty but in great shape. The road is wide enough to inspire the confidence to drive up to 25 miles per hour most of the time; however, keep your attention on the curves. One 90 degree hairpin turn is a bit of a surprise around mile 5 toward the trail. At 3 p.m., the Obstruction Point park- ing lot was full with room on the road (not an issue). However, we passed few groups once we began hiking. The first half-mile of trail has five sections of snow 100 feet in length that are 12 easily traversed, though well-treaded boots and Spray Park, Seattle Park, trekking poles and/or good balance is required Green Lake, Ipsut Pass as the trail is on a steep slope. Do not let this Green Trails Mount Rainier West 269 section deter you, just come prepared for a hike with some snow. Our twelve-year-old daughter August 1, 2010 by MachoMtMatt loved it. The rest of the trail to Elk Mountain is snow-free. We saw three marmots up close, and In all honesty, this is usually a multinight heard many more whistling away in the valley hike for the average Joe. I did it in one day, my below. Ground squirrels and small butterflies new record for longest single-day hike at 31 are in abundance, as are deer at the trailhead. miles. A wide variety of flowers are in bloom and In any case, I started at the Carbon River carpet the tundra. No bugs at all. Views of the entrance and went up the road to Ipsut Creek Olympics, the valley below, and the Strait of Campground. The trees are massive along this Juan de Fuca are, of course, amazing. stretch. A few washouts have a nice trail work- As we left this gorgeous area, our preteen ing around them. Five miles of flat, easy hiking Spray Park. Photo daughter solemnly said “Do we have to leave goes by quickly. I continued up the Carbon by Rob Lohr. here?” River, crossing at 2 miles to the east side of it, as the last mile before the suspension bridge is washed out on the west side of the river. Found a few huckleberry bushes with ripe berries that I filled up on at this stretch. After crossing the suspension bridge, I was soon working my way up the cataract valley. In about 1.5 miles, I reached Cataract Valley Camp, which is in good shape. I chatted with several campers there while refilling my water. In ten minutes, I was already on my way up into Seattle Park. The flowers were beginning to bloom in large quantities, and I was blown away by the beauty of this park. Eventually, after a couple snow patches and one sizeable snowfield (but no routefinding issues), I made to the gap between Seattle and Spray Parks. This is where I finally began seeing people hiking. Working my way down into the park (which is beyond awesome right now with the flowers), I passed many people enjoying the day. It was about as busy as Mount Si, so get there early! A short but steep series of switchbacks (from Spray Park) brings you down to the junction for Spray Falls. Make sure to take this short (0.2 mile round trip) to the falls. If not, you will be missing out severely on some amazing falls! From Spray Falls to Mowich Lake, the trail is www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Backcountry « 43 easy, gradually going up and down, back and RAMROD bike crowd). forth. Do make sure to check out Eagles Roost This is a great hike but I would recommend viewpoint for an outstanding view of Mount using a high-clearance vehicle for the road. Rainier. Eventually, you arrive at the lake, Parts of the road are just bedrock and very where I again refilled my water while enjoying bumpy. the majesty of this lake. Soon, I was back on the trail on my way up to Ipsut Pass. The trail isn’t too steep, and I made great time to the pass. The view from the pass is remarkable! South Cascades You can see all the way down the valley and from side to side with towering cliffs. Don’t forget to look down, too. Why, you ask? Well, if you’re not going any farther, you can be thankful. If you are continuing, prepare your knees for a beating! The trail is very steep, rocky and overgrown in places. Add to that the cliffs directly above you to the left that loom menacingly overhead, and it is a challenging trail, if not physically, then mentally. Working your way down, the trail shallows out a bit, and you’re back in the cool forest. I did encounter a couple of logs down on the trail, but I reported them, so hopefully they’ll be taken care of. Back at Ipsut Creek Campground, I was 14 making great time back to the entrance, so I Truman Trail-Pumice decided to go for the 4-mile round trip to Green Plains, Boundary Trail Tra- Lake. Too bad you can’t camp there. It’s a nice lake. The trail to Green Lake is beautiful too, verse with a few very old and large trees that fell Green Trails Spirit Lake 332, Mount St. above the trail with plants growing on them Helens NW 364S that you walk underneath. Pretty cool. Anyways, finished the 31 miles in just twelve August 01, 2010 by UniverseUnfolding hours, thirty minutes with a 27-pound pack on. I think I’m ready for the Wonderland Trail in a It’s hard to believe that Mount St. Helens in couple of weeks! July would offer much more to a hiker than hot breezes and grit, but we’ve hiked the Bound- ary and Truman Trails this time of year every 13 year because of the incredible abundance of Noble Knob - Dalles Ridge wildflowers. The entire pumice plain literally Green Trails Lester 239 turns purple. We’re always so surprised that we July 29, 2010 by Alpine Art never see anyone down there this time of year and it finally dawned on us that it may be be- cause you can’t see the flowers from up at the A magnificent day for a magnificent hike. The Mount St. Helens observatories—there are so many that the color views and flowers were superb and the road under a cloud lens. just sort of blends in. I would seriously say (FS 7174) was rocky, tough and steep. Five of Photo by Don Geyer. us including Loping Linda walked to the Knob that the wildflowers along this trail rival those Summit enjoying the flower show and views of mountains surrounding the ridge and Noble Knob summit. We saw, in no particular order: lupine, columbine, tiger lily, Indian pipe, Indian paintbrush, and others, including an azalea-like shrub with white flowers I cannot identify. Mount Rainier was in partial view with towering cumulus from the east obscuring the view. Weather reports noted the possibility of thundershowers but none happened in our area or were close as far as I could discern. We ran low on fuel on our drive up and got to Greenwater, where the only gas station was out except for 1 gallon. We bought that gallon and got to Enumclaw, where there was plenty of gas. Alpenglow on the mountain was great, and we had a nice dinner at Cafe Panini in Enumclaw (an Italian restaurant favored by the 44 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

at Rainier. The atmosphere is a little different (no shade!), but they are definitely worth the Inland Northwest walk. Be sure to leave very early in the morn- ing aso you’ll be back out by the time it gets really hot—and then you’ll have your chance to hang with the elk, too. Bonus: no one parks at Johnston Ridge at 7 a.m. There are no reliable water sources on this hike, so be sure to bring enough water.

15 Killen Meadows - Adams Creek Meadows, High Camp Green Trails Mount Adams 367S July 23, 2010 by kjs

Hiked up to High Camp and spent the night. Trail is largely snow free until you reach the junction with the PCT. Mosquitoes were brutal on the way up starting at around 5 p.m. but were not bad at all in the midday heat on the return the next day. From the PCT junction, the trail is almost entirely snow-covered up to High Camp. Still easy to find one’s way up 16 there though as there is an easy to follow boot Oregon Butte path. High Camp itself is more melted out with USGS Oregon Butte Wildflowers and several available dry campsites. Day hiked July 4, 2010 by dusty_boots streams in Killen on snow up to the small pond at the foot of Meadows. Photo by the Adams Glacier. A truly beautiful area and This year’s outlandishly wet spring season Arlo Smith. highly recommended. has one benefit: lush foliage and carpets of wildflowers. The Oregon Butte area of SE WA is in prime season now to experience this. Hurry and get there before the trails turn to dusty tracks and the foliage fades to shades of taupe. We stopped for lunch in the lovely town of Dayton, gateway to the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. To reach the Oregon Butte area, you head southeast on Fourth Street about half-a-mile, and turn left on the street marked with the white sign indicating “Skyline Dr.” This well-maintained road (mostly gravel) takes you up to the mile-high “Kendall Skyline Road” that traverses a long ridge, often with stunning views from both sides of the narrow ridge. We pitched camp at the Godman Camp- ground (notable for its unique fire pits) for the night, which is just a short distance from the trailhead. There is a sign posted there that says this currently free campground is unlikely to Stop the invasion stay that way for long. Be sure to check the U.S. Forest Service website for updates. Even on Protect Washington from invasive species the Fouth of July weekend, plenty of campsites were available. On normal weekends, this area is largely deserted. The trail to Oregon Butte starts from the Teepee Trailhead, about 4 miles by road east of the Godman Campground. This is another great place to camp if you want an early start for a longer trip. It has a lovely view down into a To report invasive species, call 1-877-9-INFEST deep valley, a vault toilet and picnic tables. You will need a Northwest Forest Pass to park here. Report online or find out more at www.InvasiveSpecies.wa.gov The trail follows West Butte Ridge and treats www.wta.org September + October 2010 » Washington Trails Backcountry « 45 you to 4 miles of thick forests, meadows, spec- Great Outdoors Initiative tacular views and flowing springs before you reach a trail junction. The main trail (the Mount Continued from p.7 Misery Trail you are currently on) veers to the Will the federal agencies that manage our north and dives deep into the wilderness area public lands heed the advice gathered from the for a memorable multinight trip. A right turn public and passed down from the administra- at the junction will take you the short distance tion? south to the summit of Oregon Butte and the Here in Washington, at least, there is reason active fire lookout. to believe they will. As North Cascades Nation- The highest point in southeast Washington al Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins explained, affords super views of the Blue Mountains and “The people I work with in the National Park the Seven Devils of Idaho, and we were lucky Service take discussions and dialogue with to even glimpse a very distant Mount Adams. people seriously. They like to listen to what We pitched our tent at one of the several estab- people are saying and consider this in the lished sites along the ridge, hung our hammock, complex framework of laws, regulations, poli- and explored the area all afternoon. There is a cies, funding and professional judgment.” He vault toilet nearby as well. Talk about Five-Star adds, “Prsonally, I was struck by some of what I luxury camping! heard out of the youth summit ... about finding There is no water at the ridgeline; the closest ways to enable NGOs to make use of federal water is about a third of a mile back down the land, in a mutually sustainable way, to engage main trail at the Oregon Butte spring that you youth in education, internships and job oppor- passed on the way up. There is another spring tunities.” about a one mile further north on the ridge Finally, what impact will the economy have from the trail junction, along the Mount Misery on federal, state, local and NGO budgets over Trail. the next few years? Most people dayhike this trail, and it’s a It is easy and perhaps even reasonable to great excursion if you are visiting Walla Walla speculate that our still-lagging economy could and need a day to cleanse your palate. With leave large-scale projects on the back burner. plenty of spare time and the desire to enjoy the Then again, as one participant argued during glory of a wilderness sunset, we made it into a the breakout session I attended, the economy lazy one-nighter. t may well be hurting, but more often than not, the amount of money we’re looking at for conservation efforts is just “budget dust” or a “rounding error” in the overall scheme of the federal budget. As avid recreationists, we shouldn’t think it is impossible to see this level of funding, and we shouldn’t settle for it either. WTA is hopeful that listening sessions such as the one held in Seattle will ultimately result in better-funded and better-managed public lands. We will track this initiative over the com- ing years and keep you informed about further opportunities to engage in public lands conser- vation. As Jenkins notes, “I think there is a need for us to be developing relationships that transcend a public meeting but help inform our thinking over time.” If you’d like to submit comments, email ago@ ios.doi.gov. t —Lace Thornberg

Support WTA with a workplace gift to 46 » Backcountry September + October 2010 » Washington Trails www.wta.org

From Fish to Forest Continued from p.10

the essays and the profiles of Tongass residents. Their stories and perspectives differ, but one es- sential aspect of their lives binds them. All live close to the land, as much by design as by necessity. Whether naturalist, seaplane pilot, miller, fisherman, guide or biologist, their livelihoods are rooted in this place and tied inextricably to the natural resources that seem, impossibly, at once inexhaust- ible and imperiled.

Abundance and vulnerability are reflected as well in Ms. Gulick’s photographs, the most satisfy- ing of which do not depict grand vistas or wildlife in action but images more elemental: the fresh imprint of a grizzly paw, a deer skeleton on a gravel bar, a salmon carcass draped over the trunk of a fallen tree. More startling than awe-inspiring, these images reveal the primeval nature of the Ton- gass. They assure us that there are places on earth that, despite our best and worst efforts, remain untamed.

Salmon in the Trees doesn’t fully realize its goal of a true-to-life portrait, however, because it sidesteps one dimension of southeast Alaskan life that can’t fairly be ignored. Today, 9 out of every 10 visitors to Alaska’s capital come by cruise ship. In a mere three decades, the cruise industry has transformed the region’s economy. In southeast Alaska alone, the industry now generates $1.35 bil- lion in annual offshore revenues and is directly responsible for nearly 15,000 jobs. Like the extractive industries that previously drove the regional economy, it has also had impacts on the environment and, more noticeably, local culture. Concerns about these impacts led residents in 2006 to pass a ballot initiative imposing new fees and taxes on cruise operators. Hundreds of towns, cities, cham- bers of commerce and civic groups opposed the initiative. Their fears that it would cause tourism revenues to stagnate appear to have been well-founded as the State projects a 14 percent drop in cruise passenger travel this year, with losses in visitor spending of $150 million.

However Alaskans decide to meet this challenge, another will almost certainly rise to replace it. It seems the nature of this place that life here is uneasy and precarious. In a letter to contributing illustrator Ray Troll that closes the book, novelist John Straley proffers this hopeful plea for the Ton- gass: “Long may it last: the big old trees still standing, the bugs, the fish, the bears, and the flawed and saintly people who want to live a sensual life in this everything place.” For those who have ever wondered about that life, Salmon in the Trees offers a taste. t

Stephen Tan is WTA’s vice-president of advocacy.

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A conifer that turns color in the fall and drops its needles? Are you pullin’ my, er, limb?!

In Washington, fall color doesn’t stop with deciduous trees—it stretches from ground cover to the alpine tree line. The west- ern larch (Larix occidentalis) is native to the eastern slope of the Cascades from British Columbia to Oregon. This tall, narrow tree is composed of graceful limbs and delicate needles. And yes, these needles turn gold in autumn, then drop off the tree.

As with deciduous trees, it’s the decreasing hours of sunlight that trigger the needles to stop producing chlorophyll, which gradually fades away, leaving the “true” color of the needles.

Carne Mountain is one fantastic place to see this phenom- enon at work. Here, the larches’ brilliant gold can rival aspens. Against a backdrop of blue autumn sky and indigo mountains, they are a dazzling sight.

You’ll experience this color riot in earnest when you reach Carne Basin, after a short and spirited 2,600-foot climb over 3 miles. From here, it’s time to soak in the dashing colors, wan- dering along in the blazing yellow of the larches and the red and orange ground cover. A saddle at 6,900 feet affords great mountain views all around, including a stunning look at Clark Mountain. The trail to Carne Mountain is a “must-hike” from late September to early October for a late fix of color before the onset of the inevitably grayer winter days.

—Cindy and Carl Clark

Hike It» Carne Mountain Trail. Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest

Distance: 8 miles round trip. Elevation: 3,600 feet to 7,085 feet. Map(s): Green Trails Holden 113. More Info: Day Hiking: Central Cascades (Craig Romano, The Mountaineers Books). Permits: Northwest Forest Pass. ISSN 1534-6366 Periodicals c/o Washington Trails Association U.S. Postage 2019 Third Ave., Suite 100 PAID Seattle, WA 98121 Seattle, WA