Celebrating 50 Years of Wilderness A Publication of Washington Trails Association | wta.org Northwest Exposure! An Unexpected Guidebook Weekend at Mount Rainier Jan+Feb 2014 Hacking Your Hot Chocolate Snowshoe Trails Near You Washington's Leading Hiking Resource, and the Nation’s Largest Volunteer Trail Maintenance Program Jan+Feb 2014 Washington Trails Association is a volunteer-driven nonprofit membership organization working to preserve, enhance and promote hiking opportunities in Washington State. We engage and mobilize a community of hikers NW Explorer as advocates and stewards for our trails statewide. Through collaborative partnerships and grassroots advocacy, WTA focuses on state and federal issues, including trail funding, hiker safety and wilderness protection. WTA is Wilderness at 50 committed to leaving a rich legacy of trails and wild lands for future generations to enjoy. WTA kicks off a special year-long series on the history of the Wilderness Act, and how it has shaped the landscape WTA was founded by Louise B. Marshall (1915–2005). Ira Spring (1918–2003) was its primary supporter. Greg Ball for recreation and preservation. » p.16 (1944–2004) founded the volunteer trail maintenance program. Their spirit continues today through contributions from thousands of WTA members and volunteers. The Unexpected Hiking Guide Hiking brothers Nathan and Jeremy Barnes share their experience of turning an online hiking log into a guidebook about hiking Washington's history. » p.20 Board of Directors Trail Programs President WENDY WHEELER JACOBS Program Director REBECCA LAVIGNE NW Weekend » Snowshoe Mount Rainier VP, Advocacy STEPHEN TAN Field Programs Manager ALAN CARTER MORTIMER Field Programs Manager TIM VAN BEEK Spend your days tromping around the slopes and ridges VP, Board Development CRAIG MCKIBBEN NW Regional Manager ARLEN BOGAARDS at Mount Rainier’s Paradise, and your evenings warming VP, Communications & Tech ROB SHURTLEFF Programs Assistant Hannah schumacher in rustic lodges in Longmire and Ashford. » p.22 VP, Finance ANDREA BAINES Puget Sound Reg. Crew Leader Zachary MCBride VP, Fundraising STEVE PAYNE SW Regional Manager RYAN OJERIO Secretary CAROLE BIANQUIS Volunteer Coordinator JULIE CASSATA 16 LISA BLACK BRUCE BURGER News+Views PERRY BURKHART JEFF CHAPMAN Communications & Advocacy WTA welcomes new staff » p.8 AMY CSINK JOE GREGG Communications Director SUSAN ELDERKIN DAMIEN MURPHY BILL POPE Communications Associate ANNA ROTH Digital Content Manager LOREN DRUMMOND Trails plan for the new St. Helens Ranger District » p.8 TITTI RINGSTROM KATE ROGERS Editor & Art Director ELI BOSCHETTO GAO report highlights trail maintenance backlog » p.9 ADAM RYND MASON WHITE Interim Advocacy Manager KINDRA RAMOS WTA at Work Administration & Fundraising Washington Trails Volunteers Executive Director KAREN DAUBERT Copy Editors JIM CAVIN, REBECCA KETTWIG Trail Work » Table for 2,000 Bookkeeper Ilona Fauver Illustrators REBECCA JENSEN, WHITNEY MAASS Ever wondered what goes into the planning of WTA’s Volunteer Development Manager LISA UNSOELD-CHANG Proofer MITZI SUGAR Vacation menus? It’s probably more than you thought. » p.10 Finance & Operations Director MARJORIE KITTLE Gear Team KRISTEN SAPOWICZ, JOHN SOLTYS Information Services Manager CHARLIE KAHLE Regional Correspondents TAMI ASARS, NATHAN & JEREMY BARNES Youth & Family » WTA’s Future Leaders Membership Assistant AARON BRACKNEY KELSIE DONLEYCOTT DAWN ERICKSON, DAVID HAGEN Fostering youth in the outdoors. » p.14 Membership Manager KARA CHIN LINDSAY LEFFELMAN BRITTANY MANWILL, ASHLEY MORRISON Office Administrator KIM BROWN MIKE MORRISON AARON THEISEN, HOLLY WEILER Action for Trails » Be a Trails Advocate 20 24 What you can do to support trails. » p.15 Youth Program Washington Trails Association Business Office: 705 Second Avenue, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98104; (206) 625-1367; wta.org. Editorial submissions and Outdoor Leadership Coordinator ANDREW PRINGLE advertising inquiries should be directed to [email protected]. Member renewal Youth Programs Manager KRISTA DOOLEY and address changes should be directed to [email protected]. For more information Trail Mix Youth Programs Coordinator ANDREA MARTIN about WTA or to become a member, visit wta.org, or call (206) 625-1367. Gear Closet » Kids’ Stuff We put kids’ boots to the test. Plus bags and packs. » p.24 Nature Nook » Snowy Owls, Elk and More _ Birds, beasts and blooms in the Northwest. » p.26 facebook.com/washingtonhikers twitter.com/wta hikers pinterest.com/wtahikers Camera Bag » Winning Shots Tips from the winners of Northwest Exposure. » p.27 * Camp Kitchen » Hacking Your Hot Chocolate Washington Trails Vol. 49.1 , Issue 1 Flavorful additions for winter warm-ups. » p.28 Owner & Publisher WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION Bookshelf » Beyond the Bear Inspirational tale by a grizzly attack survivor. » p.29 Washington Trails (ISSN 1534-6366) is published bimonthly by the Washington Trails Association, 705 2nd Avenue, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98104. Annual membership dues, which include a subscription to Washington Trails Hike It! magazine, are $40. Single copy price is $4.50. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, WA, and at additional mailing locations. *Due to a years-old error in the sequencing of Washington Trails, all Winter Snowshoes POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Washington Trails Association, 705 2nd Ave., 2014 issues will be labeled as Volume 49.1 in order to get back on the 30 Six snowy routes to get you out this winter. » p.30 Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98104. correct track with Volume 50 in 2015. 2 Washington Trails | Jan+Feb 2014 | wta.org Washington Trails | Jan+Feb 2014 | wta.org 3 FRONT DESK Editor’s Choice SIGNPOST Karen Daubert Eli Boschetto Have Soup [email protected] Will Travel [email protected] The fun of winter outdoor adventures—from “ The mountains are calling and I must go.” — John Muir an Artist Point snowshoe to a frosty walk The Importance of Partners along the Hoh River—comes, in part, from defying the cold. Here are three insulated thermos options perfect for hydrating with a The Joys of Wilderness Having a hiking partner who understands my pace and my priorities hot drink on a chilly winter outing: is important for a successful adventure together. Having a volunteer Having grown up in Southern California, some of my oldest memories partner on the other end of a crosscut saw who understands my level of For a durable, high-performance thermos to are of wilderness: camping trips to the Kiavah, Owens Peak and Domeland expertise (not much) is important for a successful and safe work party. fill with tea, coffee, hot cider or a savory broth, wilderness areas in Sequoia National Forest; winter snow play in the San Gabriel both the Hydro Flask and Klean Kanteen’s and Pleasant View Ridge wilderness areas (mere miles from the dreaded San Similarly, WTA values strong partnerships. I am very proud of the Andreas Fault); and family vacations to the iconic Yosemite and Sequoia–Kings organizational relationships that we have cultivated over the years. This colorful insulated bottles are well worth Canyon wilderness areas. is especially important when it comes to advocacy issues, where open their moderate weight (around 10 ounces lines of communication increase our collective impact. For instance, WTA for a 20/21-ounce bottle). Leak-proof with a As a youngster, these places represented freedom from the toils of the recently took the lead authoring two letters that included key partners standard loop cap, both bottles keep the heat world—namely gradeschool. They were places where I could run down trails on issues as wide-ranging as the Northwest Forest Pass and a state trails in with double-wall vacuum insulation and in the woods, swim in chilly rivers, skip stones across placid lakes, gape at mile- funding program. The result is a strong, united voice that is greater than 18/8 food-grade stainless steel design. high mountains and sleep under a million stars (where I was constantly on the the sum of its parts. watch for Darth Vader). The outdoors is where I belonged. In our kitchen and field tests, both performed I believe so strongly in the importance of partnerships that, in addition admirably, though the Hydro Flask took top Wilderness even played a part in my college years while studying geology. to my day job, I am a member of the Mountains to Sound Greenway slot when it came to keeping hot beverages Field studies in the Black Mountain, Mojave, Mecca Hills, Joshua Tree and board, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition board, and truly hot after more than five hours. We also Orocopia Mountains wilderness areas opened my eyes to all-new aspects of the Mountaineers Advisory Council—all organizations that, like us, are like Hydro Flask for being a Northwest-based the natural world, and how these unique landscapes came to be. This increased working hard to create more places for hikers to recreate in Washington. (Bend, OR) company. my appreciation for these pristine areas of rock and ice and trees and water. It also instilled in me a desire to help protect and promote these areas for the When it comes to challenging statewide advocacy issues, our partners If a mug is more your style than a bottle, treasures they are. include Back Country Horsemen of Washington, The Mountaineers, then go with the Avex Highland AUTOSEAL Washington Wild, The Wilderness Society, Washington Wildlife Stainless Travel Mug. It doesn’t hold in the Now, as a writer, photographer and editor of Washington Trails, my profession and Recreation Coalition, Pacific Crest Trail Association, American heat quite as well, but you can click, sip and allows me to promote awareness, appreciation and advocacy for all these Whitewater and Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. We may not agree special places. And when I visit these places—from the PCT in the Goat Rocks toss it in your pack without fear of drenching on every topic, but we communicate regularly and work hand in hand on Wilderness, to the granite spires of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, to the rugged everything in hot coffee.