» News+Views April 2008 » Trails www.wta.org Hiking News » Cleaning the Coast A volunteer’s story of flotsam and friends at the annual Coast Cleanup

How to Photo courtesy Washington Coast Savers. Join the A volunteer packs up trash during the 2007 Coast Cleanup. Last year, over 800 volunteers pulled 23 tons of trash off Washington’s beaches. You can help by joining the cleanup on Sat. April 26. Cleanup Do you crave the sound of waves on pristine wooden planks of the Cape Alava Trail. We The Washington ocean beaches? More time in the out-of-doors? then hiked north on the beach to the site of an Coast Cleanup Sharing stories with others who share your ancient whaling village buried in a mudslide. Day is Saturday, values? The 806 volunteers who worked on the We were drawn to this site by the memory of April 26. Trips April 2007 annual Washington Beach Clean seeing the beach dotted with archeologists range from back- Up—from Cape Flattery to the Columbia—voted during a 1975 hike. The excavation started country camps yes with their feet as they hauled more than in 1970 when a member of the tribe to day trips from 23 tons off Washington beaches. Over the last invited Richard Daugherty, an archeologist from the car. seven years, these volunteers have kept more Washington State University, to look at the site You can sign up than 187 tons of winter storm debris from foul- opened by tidal erosion. Before the site was and find more ing beaches and endangering wildlife. closed 11 years later, over 55,000 artifacts had information at We were lucky. We happened into this ad- been identified, including a gill net that was www.coastsavers. venture after seeing a poster advertising the 300 to 500 years old. Now, there was no longer org. cleanup day. Since we already had reservations any hint of the 11 long houses buried to protect at the Chito Beach Resort, close to one of the them from scavengers—human and otherwise. organizing points for the pick up, we signed up. The next day we became part of the official April at the ocean. The time when whales clean up. We put on our rain gear and headed migrate north for the winter. One of the owners out for the 8 a.m. orientation at the Makah of Chito Beach resort, Pat Ness, a naturalist, Tribal Center. Two other volunteers joined us Sharon advised us to be on the lookout for feeding on the five minute drive to our assigned section Winn whales. She told us they were returning to of coastline. Sharon Winn writes health after almost being destroyed by a winter Our little cove, just to the south of Cape Flat- about journeys of storm. As a result, we were only mildly sur- tery, was accessible only by walking through a discovery from prised to look out the bay window of our cozy private yard. A handsome Makah elder said we cabin and see the blowhole of a whale less could use her yard to get to the beach. Bainbridge Island, than 100 yards away, joining us for breakfast. In only two hours, our trash bag pile looked Washington. We drove to Lake Ozette and hiked the like a beached elephant seal. As I dropped my www.wta.org April 2008 » Washington Trails News+Views « third heavy bag onto the mound, a smiling each month, including Mary’s regal face officiat- Makah man drove up on his riding lawn mower. ing over the month of May. We reluctantly left He told us he would take the trash to the dump this haven of generosity with calendar in hand, Cool Gear » so we didn’t have to spend our time and gas coffee in our bellies and the sounds of Indian doing so. Almost obliquely, he mentioned that songs and drums in our ears. he was Lester Greene, the chief of his clan. More surprises were on their way. We still We returned the cove to pristine condition in had a good part of the afternoon left to visit about three hours. Ten trash bags and one old the Makah Museum in Neah Bay, a three mil- tire later we were invited in for coffee. Cold, lion dollar tribute to the Makah culture. As dripping wet, we hemmed and hawed until we entered this curvilinear museum, the deep our new friend the Makah-chief-on-the-riding- warm baritone sound of an Indian wedding mower said: “It would mean a lot to Mother if chant filled the halls. Could it be that this was you came in for coffee.” We shed our wet shoes the wedding chant of our new friend? Yes! And and raincoats and settled into an overstuffed the wedding was a special one: the 82-year-old couch with our steaming hot mugs of coffee. widowed Richard Daugherty, the archeologist Bell Lester Greene filled the next hour with who had led the Makah excavation decades stories, drumming and songs. We admired the ago, was marrying his co-author, the widow Plantations pictures of his sons, Patrick and Wade, on the Ruth Kirby. PB2 Powdered wall. We learned that songs are owned in the After our visit to the museum, we attended Peanut Butter Makah culture, just as we own land. These a free barbeque dinner for clean-up volunteers. $16 for 4 jars three men had entertained at potlatches and We told our stories about the muscular dili- If someone told educational functions up and down the coast gence required to move refrigerators, truck me there was a and across the United States, always singing at tires and car engines washed ashore. Some of powdered peanut the invitation of the clan that owned the songs. us returned to our free campground spaces, butter on the This magic interlude came to a rather abrupt donated for the evening to the volunteers. We market, and that halt when a phone call reminded him that he returned to the Chito Beach Resort, remember- it actually tasted had less than an hour to prepare for his next ing the sound of waves crashing on pristine good, I’d tell them singing engagement, the opening song of a lo- ocean beaches, our time in the out-of-doors, they were out cal wedding ceremony. and stories shared with others who share our of their minds. As a parting gift, Mary Green, the chief’s values. Now, thanks to 90-year-old mother, gave my husband a wall The latest research says volunteering is good the wonders of calendar with pictures of tribal members on  for your health. I can see why. science, such a product exists. In multiple taste Photo by Don Nelsen tests, everyone loved this stuff. It Hikers Discover is lower in fat than traditional peanut Massive Landslide butter, and this changes the texture slightly. Near Columbia Gorge But it’s delicious, Sometimes huge catastrophic events happen and tastes just in the mountains, and no one’s around to like the real stuff, witness them. probably because Such an event happened sometime this win- the only ingre- ter on Greenleaf Peak about three miles north dients in PB2 are of the Columbia Gorge, near Beacon Rock State peanuts, sugar, Park. Apparently, an enormous chunk of the and salt. mountain—about 30 acres in size—went careen- PB2 is not yet ing about a half mile down the valley, dropping available in stores some 1,000 feet. It took everything with it, in Washington, including firs up to 6 feet in diameter. but for $16 plus According to an article in the Vancouver shipping, you can Columbian, hiker Don Nelsen investigated score four jars the slide, which is off trail within the Table directly from Bell Mountain Natural Resource Conservation area, Plantations. Point managed by Washington State Department of your web browser Natural Resources. Nelson shot some photos to www.bellplan- and told the Columbian, “It’s so big, it really tation.com and gives one pause as to what could happen. It get yours now. could potentially cut loose a big enough slide to —Allison Woods do serious damage.” 