Endangered Trails Guide 2010
Washington is one of the best places to hike in the country.
2. Mount Si
3. Park Creek Pass
4. Mailbox Peak
5. Bells Mountain
6. Mount Higgins
7. Lake Ethel
8. Golden Stairway
9. Lower Big Quilcene
10. Esmeralda Basin
Hike the ten endangered trails. Click here to see the trails on our map-based Hike Finder.
From moss-draped rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula to brilliant waterfalls and craggy peaks in the North Cascades, our wild lands are experienced and enjoyed by thousands who hike our state's treasured trails.
But many of these trails face deep and longstanding challenges. Some are simply unhikeable after years of neglect. The trail repair backlog in our region mounts into the tens of millions of dollars. Many roads and trails washed out from powerful storms in 2003 and 2006 remain damaged. The recession has resulted in a state budget slashed so deeply that the Department of Natural Resources and State Parks struggle to keep iconic places open to visitors.
That's the reason for this report of the ten most endangered trails in Washington. Each trail provides a unique opportunity for recreation and connection with nature. But each of these world-class hikes is in danger of overgrowing and disappearing off the system, or closing due to funding shortfalls, or being encroached upon by off-road vehicles.
That's why these trails need your help. Each of the endangered trails you will read about below comes with an easy-to-do action item. Please take a moment to speak out for the trails you care deeply for. Then, get out there and hike them.
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The enormous trees in this beautiful wilderness valley will blow you away, and Glacier Peak gets closer with every step. At this time, the trail is for hardy hikers only. Hikers venturing onto the Milk Creek Trail have to be prepared for many miles of road walking or bike riding; the access road is washed out in several places, beginning over ten miles from the trailhead. Once you reach the trailhead, your next adventure begins. The loss of access due to the washouts means that this awesome trail has not been maintained since 2003. It’s extremely overgrown, blowdowns are numerous, and trail structures built to divert water off the trail have failed. A large bridge crossing the Suiattle River a mile in is washed out, and the logged crossing is very tenuous. Still, if you want solitude in a truly beautiful valley thronged with old growth that leads to meadows of wildflowers and eventually to the base of Glacier Peak, Milk Creek is hard to beat.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
Access and a serious backlog of maintenance stand in the way of this pristine area being enjoyed and explored. The Milk Creek Trail, and the classic Glacier Peak Wilderness trails it leads to, have been essentially off-limits to hikers for nearly seven years now. Fierce storms in both 2003 and 2006 wreaked havoc on the west side of Glacier Peak, and washed out the 23-mile Suiattle River Road in many places; washouts remain at mileposts 12.6, 13, 13.5 and 20.8. The Darrington Ranger District plans to repair the road to the final washout at 20.8 miles by next summer, but that final washout, which blocks vehicle access to Milk Creek and the Suiattle River Trailhead, is not in the plans. In the absence of repairing the 20.8 milepost washout, the District would have to pull the Suiattle River Trailhead back, adding eight miles of round-trip road-walking to that trail and to the approach to Glacier Peak, putting much of this mileage well out of day-hike range.
The pending repairs to much of the Suiattle River Road are exciting because several classic trails off the Suiattle River Road will be accessible to hikers for the first time in years. This place has been off-limits to hikers for far too long--indeed many new hikers have never sampled its wonders. But ahead lies the challenge of pulling unmaintained trails back from the brink. Before hikers can truly explore here again, the Forest Service and its partners will have to undertake the enormous task of reestablishing trails such as Milk Creek that have not been maintained for nearly a decade.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Hikers should call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. Urge them to increase appropriated National Forest trail and road maintenance dollars by 10% over last year's levels. Tell them that we can't allow magical places like the Western Glacier Peak Wilderness to languish any longer.
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Mount Si is one of the most popular hikes in Washington state. On a sunny summer day, hundreds of hikers tackle the trail. Some are practicing for a climb of Mount Rainier. Others are getting in shape for a big backpacking trip in the Olympics. For some, Mount Si is their first "hike" before moving on to the Alpine Lakes and beyond. By the end of the year, more than a half-million will have hiked Mount Si and Little Si combined.
Mount Si is a prime example of the importance of the Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) recreation lands to hikers. Other land management agencies showcase stunning views or remote old-growth forests. But DNR provides close-in opportunities to multitudes of hikers who want to squeeze a hike into their tight schedules, or who are brand new to the outdoors. Along the way, it supports the economy of North Bend, funneling hikers through the town’s businesses.
It’s an illustration of the best qualities of public land—an important, preserved wild area, a place where people can connect with the outdoors, and an important driver of our region’s economy and quality of life.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
Mount Si and 21 other DNR recreation sites faced closure in 2010 due to Washington state's major budget upheavals in the economic downturn. These places were saved—narrowly—by the hard work of hikers who fought to preserve funding for their favorite trails. But the problem has hardly gone away, and we're likely to face the same fight in 2011. As it stands now, budget writes face at least a $3 billion shortfall as they grapple with the 2011-13 budget. If trends don’t improve, that deficit could mount to $8 billion in the 2013-2015 cycle.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Help DNR recreation lands like Mount Si get the sustainable funding they need to stay open to hikers even in lean budget years. Please call your state representatives and senator today. Let them know how important these lands are to you, and why they should ensure they’re fully funded. Legislators also need to know that the Non-highway and Off-road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) program must be restored to the grants and direct agency appropriations for which it was intended, rather than being swept into the State Parks account again.
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Update: Bridge Fixed!
A stunning traverse from a deep wilderness valley to the Cascade Pass trailhead—a parking lot prettier than most backcountry peak views—this route offers the best of the North Cascades. Deep forest glades, a thundering creek, views of glacier-clad peaks and wildflower-studded meadows greet hikers taking this trip. Currently, this traverse is inaccessible due to a bridge washout at 14 miles—just before Skagit Queen Camp.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
The bridge spanning Thunder Creek just before Skagit Queen Camp washed out this year, and the depth, speed and steepness of Thunder Creek makes fording impossible. There simply is no safe place to cross, either up or down stream. This bridge washout places this classic multi-day traverse out-of-bounds for even very strong backpackers. North Cascades National Park does not have funds available to replace this bridge, so it will languish for at least another season. Bridges are challenging things. They can require lots of engineering, particularly when they span mountain streams. Volunteers can build many kinds of crossings, but heavily-constructed bridges are beyond the capacity of most volunteer crews.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Let your members of Congress know how important programs like the National Recreation Trails Program (NRTP) are to hikers. NRTP, in particular, awards grants to both agencies and non-profits to do important work and collaborate for the long-term preservation of trails.
NRTP’s future is unknown, since the House and Senate have not agreed on a final transportation funding package. We need to make sure that Senator Patty Murray is hearing from us because she chairs the Senate committee that writes the transportation budget. Please email Senator Murray and urge her to continue her advocacy for this important program as she and her colleagues work through the transportation budget process.
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The path to the top of Mailbox Peak started its life as a user-built trail. It's a grueling climb through thick forest straight up a hillside, some of it on disappearing, damaged tread. Hikers and firefighters alike have long used the steep trail up Mailbox for endurance training, but more casual hikers are using this trail in recent years. Hike with caution - it's easy to lose your footing on the unmaintained trail and sprain an ankle, or lose the trail altogether and find yourself lost. Once you traverse the brutal section and scramble over a huge pile of boulders, you'll break out into a long ascent dotted with heather up the shoulder of Mailbox to the panoramic views this peak is famous for.
WHY IT'S THREATENED
Although WTA crews repaired and improved safety conditions on the first mile of trail in 2008, the most challenging and damaged sections of the Mailbox Peak Trail remain unmaintained at a time when its use is skyrocketing. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the agency that manages this trail, has a clever solution – build an additional route to the top that is less challenging and dangerous, and that could be a relief valve for other heavily-used hikes in the I-90 corridor. DNR applied for a $325,000 grant from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) in 2008 to rebuild the trail, but unfortunately, the project fell below the funding line. This spring, DNR reapplied and hopes to be funded. But given the fact that WWRP funding was slashed to $50 million from $100 million, we're concerned that those dollars will not be available, and Mailbox will continue to languish.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Contact your legislators and urge that WWRP be fully funded at $100 million in the next biennial budget. Please also let your elected officials know that you support the work of the Sustainable Recreation Working Group, which identified several new funding mechanisms for DNR recreations lands, including user fees and a new class of trust lands focused on recreation funding.
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Bells Mountain is a pleasant but little-known hike through second-growth forest with a dense understory of sword fern punctuated by vine maple. Through-hikers pass through stands of burned-over forest with evidence of past and current logging, the path climbs to nice views of Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams. This trail is part of the Chinook Trail, which was awarded National Scenic Trail status in 2005.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
Bells Mountain suffers from illegal ORV incursions on a grand scale. A lack of resources by the Department of Natural Resources who manages this land has let the incursions go unchecked for years. With a new recreation plan on the drawing board, the trail could gain some protection if DNR is successful at closing off the many unsanctioned entry points and enforcing its non-motorized status. Local riders hop on down the road to get on the Bells Mountain Trail, or use it for a conduit for getting onto the expanded ORV system. Recreation managers on the Forest have taken pains to close motorized access points to the trail using structures that create pinch points too small to accommodate an ATV. But within two days of installing those structures, they were torn out by rogue ORV users.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Hikers can weigh in on the new recreation plan by calling Jessica Kimmick, Recreation Unit Manager for the Yacolt Burn at (360) 575-2025. Recreation staff on the forest need the support of the hiking community in order to curtail illegal motorized use, particularly if you've hiked there. Your stories and experiences - and your comments on the Recreation Plan - will help them preserve the hiking experience on these important trails.
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For such a fine hike, Mount Higgins has numerous challenges. The first 0.6 mile of trail passes through a heavily logged DNR landscape. The way is hot and somewhat depressing as hikers sidehill through a very large clearcut. After entering the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the trail heads up to great views at the top of 4,849 foot Mount Higgins, 4.5 miles from the trailhead.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
The most significant issue on the Mount Higgins Trail is the very bad behavior that hikers might encounter both at the trailhead and on the trail itself. Squatters, target shooters and other illegal activity have been reported, and in July 2007, a couple hiking up Mount Higgins were threatened by a target shooter blasting away from the trail about midway to the summit. Law enforcement presence could change the picture here, but putting officers on the roads, at the trailheads and in the woods is an expensive proposition.
TAKE ACTION NOW
One of the best sources of funding for enforcement has been the NOVA program, but the state raided those dollars to keep State Parks open in 2009. Hikers have to advocate for the return of those funds to enforcement grants. Please contact your state Senator and Representatives and let them know that you expect NOVA funds to be returned to the grants it formerly funded in the 2011 biennial budget they’ll be negotiating next legislative session. The safety of places like Higgins depends on it.
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Some trails are about the destination and not the hike. Lake Ethel is one of them. Ascending steeply through land logged by Longview Fibre, and crisscrossed by roads open to dirtbikes, the lakes ahead—Ethel, Eileen, Donald, and further on Chiwaukum and Larch—sometimes seem like a mirage. Once you get there, though, it’s worth the trouble. Some of the most beautiful alpine lakes anywhere sit like gems among heather, larches, wildflowers and looming peaks. Before you hike this trail, please take a moment and read WTA trip reports. Logging operations in this area can cause confusion regarding the trail’s alignment.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
The road leading to Scottish Lakes High Camp, and through the country that the trail traverses, is open to motorcycles, crisscrossing the trail in at least two places. In fact, the road ends at the trailhead leading to these pristine alpine wonders, leaving the door open to motorized incursions in a relatively untouched corner of the deeply-loved and heavily-used Alpine Lakes Wilderness. We’re very concerned about places like this Leaving this door open endangers a truly magical hiking experience.
TAKE ACTION NOW
The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is conducting Travel Management Planning to determine where they will allow ORVs on roads and trails. Please take a moment and contact Travel Management Plan Team Leader Aaron Pratt and let him know that you want Forest Road 6930 closed to ORVs. Taking this action will make sure that these critically important Wilderness lakes are not the scene of illegal use by ORVs. You can reach Aaron at (509) 664-9231.
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This trail typifies why we hike on the eastern slope of the North Cascades. Rolling hills, golden meadows, bursting wildflowers and wide-open views greet hikers who venture onto the Golden Stairway. The summit of Starvation Mountain affords views of the Conconully Reservoir and distant mountains.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
Like many motorized trails, this one is inappropriately located. It’s on an old sheep driveway, which means it barely switchbacks. That steepness, combined with the torque of motorized wheels, loosens soils and allows water to sheet down the trail, causing deep ruts. It’s very difficult to keep waterbars and other structures on a trail like this, since they get washed away. When motorized use creates these kinds of impacts, it drives hikers away. We consider this trail inappropriate for motorized recreation.
TAKE ACTION NOW
The Okanogan-Wenatchee is going through a process—Travel Management Planning—to decide where to allow motorized recreation on the Forest. We expect them to release draft plans to the public for comment in January, which means that there is still time to influence it in its nascent stage. Please take a moment and contact Aaron Pratt, Travel Management Planning Team Leader, and let him know how concerned you are about the ongoing motorization of this and other areas in the Okanogan-Wenatchee. We’re particularly concerned about the Mad River-Entiat, the Chelan-Sawtooth, the Teanaway and the Okanogan Valley areas. ORVs should have places to go, but not on trails that are inappropriately located or are in roadless areas. You can contact Aaron at (509) 664-9231.
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The Lower Big Quilcene trail is a gentle and beautiful forest hike. With a starting elevation of just 1200 feet, its an excellent choice for early-season hikers, but summer visitors get an even bigger reward in the blooming rhododendrons that fringe the trail. This multi-use trail is open to hikers, horses, mountain bikes, and motorized dirt bikes.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
The trail has four significant bridges, all of which are failing. Two of the major bridges are over the Big Quilcene River on each side of Townsend Creek and Bark Shanty Camp, and are well past their expected life span. The more major of the bridges was hit by a blowdown last winter, cracking one of the three stringers and increasing the bridge lean. This bridge is currently closed to stock and motorized, and is being evaluated for hikers and bicycles. A ford is possible for stock, but it would be a tenuous ford for the other three groups.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Call your federal Member of Congress, and let them know how important Title II is to funding critical Forest Service projects like bridges. One of the best sources of funding for bridges is Secure Rural Schools Act, or Title II dollars. These are funds distributed to counties in lieu of taxes that might have been generated on timber operations. A portion of these funds are distributed by Resource Advisory Committees to trail and road projects, and a great many bridges have been funded by Title II funds. Title II runs out in 2011, so please take a moment to voice your support for it.
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Esmeralda Basin in the stunning Teanaway valley climbs gradually along a rushing creek and dazzles with its fireworks display of wildflowers and commanding views of the Stuart Range. The resting point at trail’s end is fine enough as it is, but side-trips beckon, both to Lake Ann and Lake Ingalls.
WHY IT’S THREATENED
Esmeralda Basin lies in a roadless area, and the fact that this area has no permanent protection is very troubling. Back in 2001, the Clinton Administration instituted the wildly popular Roadless Area
Conservation Policy (Roadless Rule), which banned road building in 58.5 million
acres of unroaded National Forest land across the country. The Bush administration abandoned the Roadless Rule by not defending it against legal challenges,
casting the fate of these unroaded acres into the legal unknown. The rule has been appealed numerous times, and a ruling
supporting roadless areas by the 9th Circuit Court is currently under
appeal in the 10th Circuit. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration has approved more
than a dozen mining and logging operations in roadless areas, which
undermines their stated commitment to protect roadless areas. The future of the Roadless Rule is in jeopardy, and we may be facing a renewed battle to permanently protect these areas.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Contact U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to urge the Obama Administration to fulfill its stated commitment to preserve roadless areas by not approving projects that require road-building in Inventoried Roadless Areas. You can reach Secretary Vilsack by mail at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250.
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