The Signpost Blog
Snoqualmie District Closes 7,000 acres to Target Shooting
As thousands of hikers and campers head up to the mountains this weekend, those looking for respite in the I-90 corridor will find an extra measure of peace and quiet: this week the Snoqualmie Ranger District has initiated an emergency closure of 7,000 acres north and south of the interstate to shooting.
For many years, hikers have had to contend with random gunfire near roads and trails in the area a situation that can spook even the most seasoned hiker. While target shooting safely--into an appropriate backstop and away from roads, trails and developed sites--is not a danger to hikers and other trail users, the proliferation of unmanaged target shooting poses serious risks to all forest users.
Recently, Forest Service staff and contractors have raised serious concerns about their safety and that of the public. District Ranger Jim Franzel has taken this first-in-the-nation step as an emergency measure to stop irresponsible target shooting in the near term and to create breathing room to plan for a safer and more sustainable approach to target shooting on the District. WTA applauds this step as a necessary and measured approach to ensuring public safety.
On the south side of I-90, the closure comprises lands between the interstate and the Tinkham Road from Ollalie State Park to the Summit. On the north side, the closure is between the interstate and the 9030-9031 road from Asahel Curtis to the Ira Spring Trailhead.
Of course, this development must be met by a commitment from the Forest Service and Interior Appropriations budget writers to significantly improve enforcement of wildland-urban interface areas such as this. WTA will continue to work at the state and federal levels to ensure safer trails for everyone who loves the woods--firearms enthusiasts included. If you have encountered irresponsible target shooting, please take a moment to report the incident using this form. If you have other questions or comments about our Safer Trails Campaign, contact me at (206) 625-1367 or by email at jonathan@wta.org.
Amp Your Camp
Has this week's burst of sunny weather got you thinking more and more about sleeping out under the stars?
If you're looking to camp more often and enjoy it more, too, come to TrailsFest! Throughout the day, you'll be able to pick up tons of ideas on what to bring, where to go, what to do, and what to eat to make your nights camping out into some of the most memorable you'll ever have.
You can start by taking up a "campsite accomodation improvement initiative" the minute you walk into TrailsFest. How? Purchase raffle tickets at the TrailsFest Info Booth and throw them all in for the Camping Grand Prize, featuring a Sierra Designs 2-person tent, Sierra Designs sleeping bag & a Mountaineers Books Backcountry Coooking Deck. (Or, wait...you can even purchase your raffle tickets in advance! How organized would that be?)
Keeping your fingers crossed that you will win some new camp gear, you can then wander around visiting booths at the Lakeshore. You'll probably pick up some good camping tips doing this, but, to really up your camping know-how, you'll want to visit the REI Outdoor Classroom or the Cedar River Watershed Education Center for a class or two.
At 11 am, John Kruse, of Northwestern Outdoors Radio, will give a talk on Outdoors Adventure in the Evergreen State. Don't miss this enthusiastic Wenatachee outdoorsman as he divulges some great, but not neccessarily well known campsites in Washington.
Sarah Kirkconnell, the foodie, blogger, and diva behind Trailcooking.com, will present a class appropriately scheduled for lunch hour, from noon to 1 pm, at the REI Outdoor Classroom. Hot dogs are great and all, but they aren't the only camping food out there. Sarah will share recipes as well as preparation tips for camp meals that will impress your dining companions, no matter how discerning, gourmet, or frugal they may be.
Or, join The Wilderness Society and North Cascades National Park at 1 pm. They'll help you plan a green stay-cation in North Cascades. From hikes and paddling trips to ranger-led workshops and volunteer stewardship activities, there’s something for everyone in the North Cascades.
Come out to TrailsFest on July 18 anytime between 9 am and 4 pm and we promise you'll go home a happy camper!
Hot Right Now: The Big Four Ice Caves
According to WTA.org reader "JeffBOT300", who was kind enough to post a Trip Report on June 29, the ice caves at the foot of Big Four Mountain have not yet started forming. That inconvenience hasn't stemmed a wave of enthusiasm for this extremely popular day hike, whose main approach has been closed since floods in November of 2006 washed away the bridge over the South Fork Stilliguamish River.
Since news of the bridge replacement and reopening of the trail was posted on WTA.org's Facebook page, more than 70 people have taken the time to express their approval. News of the trail's reopening has also made it into the Seattle Times, the Everett Herald and here on WTA.org's News page.
Obviously, this trail generates deep well of enthusiasm among Washington hikers. Among the most popular day hikes in the entire state, the Big Four Ice Caves can see up to 50,000 visitors a year who make the easy trek which includes beaver ponds, lushly forested areas, a river crossing and finally, impressive views of Big Four Mountain.
The star of the show, the ice caves, are formed as avalanche debris accumulates at the permanent snowfield at the foot of Big Four Mountain. As snowmelt increases on the mountain, tumbling water carves out the caves, which are best viewed July to October.
The public is invited to the ribbon cutting and grand opening for the Ice Caves Trail Bridge at 10 a.m. July 10. Park in the Big Four Picnic Area parking lot, 25 miles east of Granite Falls on Mountain Loop Scenic Byway.
Note: The Big Four Ice Caves are extremely dangerous to approach, enter or climb on. Tons of unstable ice may come crashing down at any moment. Please exercise extreme caution in this area.
Will Washington Trails Be in Your Mailbox?
In a few days, the new issue of Washington Trails will be hitting the mailboxes, just in time for the Fourth of July weekend. WTA members can toss that July-August issue it in their packs this weekend and read some great hiking articles, including:
- Ken Konigsmark's account of an awe-inspiring trip to the central Pasayten Wilderness
- A great feature on accessible trails: How disabled hikers are increasingly looking for trails, and whether our state's trail system meets those needs
- Allison Woods' review of four unique tent designs that are shaking up the sleepy world of shelters
- How to prevent blisters before they form
And not to mention cute pikas, trail work parties in Eastern Washington, and an inspiring story of hiking guidebook author Ira Spring. Some of this content is available in on our website. But some of it is exclusive to the magazine.
How can you find all of these great hiking features your mailbox every two months? By becoming of a member of Washington Trails Association. For only $35 per year, you'll receive 6 issues of Washington Trails and you'll support all the great work WTA does for trails, including:
- Leading more than 80,000 annual volunteers hours fixing trails
- Maintaining and updating WTA's great web site, a resource for more than 40,000 hikers each week
- Speaking up for trails and public lands funding in Olympia and Washington D.C.
Want to join the thousands of hikers in Washington who anticipate the arrival of another issue of Washington Trails in their mailboxes? Join WTA today.
WTA Introduces Form to Report Problem Shooting
- Shot-up computer monitors litter a trailhead. Irresponsible shooting causes resource damage and can threaten other Forest visitors.
You've probably heard gunfire in the woods plenty of times, but WTA has increasingly been getting reports from hikers of encounters with target shooters that were uncomfortable or downright threatening. If you've had such an experience, we want to know.
To make it easy for you, WTA has created a target shooting reporting form. You can view and download the form here. We're asking people to report incidents of dangerous target shooting they encounter. Please don't go looking for target shooting and don't confront anyone you see shooting in an irresponsible fashion. Leave the area.
Target shooting has been growing on National Forest lands for the past several years, leading to some dangerous incidents and growing awareness by Forest staff that unmanaged shooting endangers forest visitors and staff and causes resource damage. Target shooters who use a safe backstop, such as an earthen berm, who do not shoot across roads or trails, and who do not fire at glass bottles are not violating any laws and are not endangering others.
When target shooters do not follow these rules, they endanger other
forest users. We need to know where and when that's happening so that
we can work with the Forest Service to prevent it and keep it from
growing worse.
For more information about target shooting and WTA's Safer Trails Campaign, contact Jonathan Guzzo at jonathan@wta.org
Completing America's Great Trails
- Indian Head Peak from the Pacific Crest Trail. Photo by Jonathan Toren
Imagine a 2,700 mile trail that is on public land for its entire length. Now forget about it, because it's not possible. All of our great National Scenic Trails, including the PCT, the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail traverse private lands at some point on their length. Not all of the private landowners on those routes have granted easements for passage across their property, which means that there are significant breaks in many of our National Scenic Trails.
HR 1912, sponsored by Representatives Connolly (VA), Blumenauer (OR) and Lummis (WY), would give a tax credit to private landowners who agreed to provide easements for trail passage across their property. This approach requires no direct expenditure from the government, could help some struggling rural landowners and increases long-term connectivity for our National Scenic Trail System.
Please take a moment to contact your Member of Congress and ask him or her to sponsor HR 1912. You can find your Member here.
Dedicated Volunteers at Mount Rainier
One really cool trail project WTA volunteers have been working on for two seasons is the Glacier Basin Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. This trail was severely damaged in storms of 2006, and since that time, dedicated volunteers have been working incredibly hard to rehabilitate this beautiful trail. This work has been made possible thanks in part to generous funding from The Boeing Company. Boeing is supporting WTA’s multi-year restoration efforts at Mount Rainier in coordination with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and the National Parks Conservation Association.
There are some truly dedicated volunteers who have made this project a very personal mission. One of those volunteers is Lynn Kittridge from Duvall. She and her family have been working out at Glacier Basin almost every weekend. Here are some of Lynn's thoughts on the trail...(it's a little long, but it's an inspiring read!)
"The Glacier Basin Trail is our family’s favorite. We have been hiking it every summer since 1989. Johanna, our now 12-year-old daughter, literally took her first steps on the trail in Glacier Basin in 1997. We saw our first bear on that trail. As the kids grew, they named many rocks, trees, creeks and forests: the “blown up tank” rock, the infamous “resting log”, “frog heaven” creek, “get splashed” creek, the “Ewok forest” (also named “Sherwood forest” and “Spooky forest” depending on their moods) – you get the idea.
We knew the devastation from the 2006 storm was huge – but attempting to hike it in 2007 – seeing all the familiar landmarks dislodged, destroyed, or simply gone – was personally devastating. I just stood there and cried. It was almost impossible to comprehend the force that could change so completely what I thought was so permanent a landscape.
But by the end of the 2007 season, there was a glimmer of hope – pink flagging tape marked the newly surveyed re-route. We knew we wanted to be part of this reconstruction project in whatever way we could.
In 2006 we had shared an Indian Bar campsite with Randy King – now acting park superintendant. I e-mailed him and he put us in touch with Kevin Bacher, the park’s volunteer coordinator. Kevin suggested our best opportunity to help on the new Glacier Basin Trail re-route was to sign on with WTA, which is what we did. Neil (our oldest son) and I started volunteering every weekend in 2008 – signing on for other White River area trail work, waiting for the various permits to be put in place so work on the GB trail could begin. And sure enough, on Saturday August 9, 2008, we were lucky enough to be on hand for the official “ribbon cutting” and start of work on the trail.
Since then, some member of our family has worked just about every WTA weekend on the trail.
Work has been varied and exciting – from cutting the first duff, helping to “buck out” after the chain saw rangers moved through, digging out many rocks and stumps – and more rocks and more stumps. Hauling equipment and materials up and down. Helping construct lots of different trail structures from drains to rock walls to turnpike. Rigging high lines and come-alongs to move the more stubborn stumps and the bigger rocks. And the best so far: the boulder buster. As a special treat for my birthday on Saturday, the ranger let me assist with the charge that blew a piece of the bedrock near the drain we were building! Best birthday ever!
One pair of outstanding volunteers – and now our friends – are Jim and
Carol Miltmore. They make volunteering for the park and for WTA their
avocation. They have more experience working on trails in that side of
the park than I think most of the rangers! They also help with just
about every WTA weekend work party – and come back on their own during
to the week to put in additional time. They quietly, humbly, with no
fanfare or presumption, and usually on their own, accomplish the work
of ten mere mortal volunteers.
There are many others I’ve worked with – really hard workers who come back again and again.
Equally fun to work with are the “one time only” – at least so far – volunteers. There was a nuclear engineer last year who spent all of one lunch entertaining us with a story about the difficulty of of disposing a ball point pen that became contaminated with nuclear waste. There was a group of young men, civil engineers, who put their engineering experience to work moving huge boulders with just a rock bar. And the geologists who patiently answer all my questions – “what kind of rock is that?” “How about that one?”
We’ve worked with some great crews from other organizations too, this year, the Washington Conservation Corps crew. Last year, the SCA volunteers and Mount Rainier National Park Associates. And this year, getting to camp out with the WTA Volunteer Vacation crew in our own private national park campground! Amazing experiences and great memories!
The two WTA crew leaders we’ve worked with on the trail – Ethan Hyland last year, and Yarrow Hinnant this year --are equally phenomenal! As strong as two men, patient, friendly, knowledgeable, unflappable, great teachers, and great role models for our kids -- we couldn’t ask for more from our “fearless leaders”
And our own children are pretty inspirational volunteers. We always allow them to decide whether to come out with us. More often than not, they uncomplainingly get up at 5 a.m. on their weekends, ride 2 ½ hours one way to show up and work through rain or heat, mud and bugs – and still have time and energy to make the work fun -- and agree with us that there is no better way to spend a day!
There aren’t many opportunities for a teacher from Duvall to help
construct new trail in our favorite national park. It is truly an
honor and a privilege to be part of this project. We owe WTA a lot of
thanks for letting us volunteer!"
WTA has many trips at Glacier Basin scheduled this summer. To join at trip or find more info, click here.
Starbucks VIA vs. Vietnamese 3-in-1 coffee
Much has been written about coffee on the trail. With the introduction of the long-awaited new instant coffee from Starbucks (it's called VIA) it’s time to have another look. Touted as instant coffee that tastes like real coffee, Starbucks VIA is microground coffee in two flavors, the milder Columbian and the stronger Italian. I thought I’d like the Italian better, as I’m normally an espresso drinker, but it’s got a bitter edge to it, and I actually prefer the Columbian. Both formulations provide a good, honest kick of caffeine, and the flavor of VIA is relatively convincing. I would say it’s the best instant coffee I’ve ever tried. But alas, it is still instant coffee. Nothing tops the real thing. One thing about VIA that’s a bit perplexing—it leaves quite a bit of sludge in the bottom of the cup. VIA’s quite expensive, running about a dollar per 8 ounce serving.
Vinacafe is one of many “3-in-one” instant coffees available from Vietnam. These handy little packets come presweetened and creamed. There are dozens of brands out there, but I like Vinacafe because there’s enough “stuff” in the package to make a proper cuppa joe. These 3-in-ones are very inexpensive, running about 4 bucks for a huge bag of packets. What they have in convenience, they tend to lack in good old caffeinated kick, so I typically add a little bit of freeze-dried espresso to each cup. I like Nescafe Dolco (with carmelized sugar in it, yum!) or Medaglia D’Oro. Vinacafe+instant espresso is very good and cheap, but it’s more trouble and a less authentic cup of coffee.
For a list of stores in Washington that carry Vinacafe, click here.
In short, for the most authentic coffee flavor from instant coffee, the Starbucks really can’t be beat. For a tasty, cheap, caffeinated treat, 3-in-one with a boost of powdered espresso will start your day right.
To read more on coffee in the backcountry, check out this archived article from Washington Trails magazine.
Lost Hiker at Sahale Arm Found Safely
Great news today: a hiker lost on Sahale Arm near Cascade Pass made it back down safely after spending four nights in the woods.
According to the Seattle Times, 22-year-old hiker Mark Albrecht had completed his two-night solo trip up Sahale Arm when became lost in very dense fog on the descent. What he did next is a case study in what you should do if you get lost on a hike.
He stayed put, pitched his tent, hung out in his zero degree-rated sleeping bag, rationed his remaining food and waited for the weather to clear or rescuers to stumble upon him. He spent four nights waiting for the weather to break, and on Sunday, the sun came out and he could use his map and compass to take his bearing and then follow a drainage downhill. Albrecht reached the Cascade River Road, where he met a hiker who knew that rescuers were looking for a lost hiker. Albrecht was cold and hungry, but fine.
In addition to carrying adequate supplies and keeping his wits about him, Albrecht had also filed a detailed itinerary, greatly increasing the chances that search & rescue would have eventually found him.
It's great to hear news stories like this (although of course, not great that the hiker was lost). It proves the value of doing things like packing the ten essentials, leaving a detailed itinerary with a friend, and staying put if you become disoriented or lost. A big thanks is due to search and rescue volunteers--who was also busy with this weekend looking for two additional lost hikers on Mount Pilchuck (who returned safely).
Take care out there and hike prepared.
Appease Your Creaky Knees
It's not easy to admit, but age happens - to all of us. We get older. Our joints get stiff, our back gets sore, that backpack just ain't as light as it used to be. There's really nothing we can do about getting older. That's just the way it is. However, if we can remain active; if we can continue to enjoy the outdoors; if we can get out and hike, perhaps the ravages of age will be a bit gentler.
Over the years, Seabury Blair Jr., has done more than his fair share of hiking in Washington. Longtime outdoor columnist at the Bremerton Sun and the author of "Day Hike! Olympic Peninsula" and "Day Hike! Columbia Gorge", Seabury's newest guide book, "The Creaky Knees Guide Washington: The 100 Best Easy Hikes", addresses the inevitable - where to hike when our knees, lungs or aching back say, "No way!"
Blair instructs readers where to go and what to expect when searching for that perfect low-impact hike. Divided by region, all the hikes are profiled with driving directions, hike distance, hiking time, elevation gain as well as Blair's description of the hike. These are short-distance, low-impact hikes, but that doesn't mean Blair's hike selections lack excitement. He's specifically chosen hikes that do not scrimp on views, scenery, flora or fauna. You should have no trouble tracking down a copy of "The Creaky Knees Guide" in bookstores or online. Now get out there and keep hiking!
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