The Signpost Blog
Saul to Receive Conservation Award
Not too many people can say they helped to stop a highway from being built across a volcano.
Or, that they helped to name a Roadless Area.
Susan Saul, an environmental advocate from Vancouver, Washington, can put a check in each of these boxes and a few more, too.
This weekend, the Mazamas, a Portland-based climbing club, will honor WTA advisory board member Susan Saul with a Richard Ward Montague Mazama Conservation Award. Their selection of Saul for this award was based on her significant efforts to establish the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, expand two wilderness areas and create four new ones during the Washington Wilderness Act of 1984, found the Gifford Pinchot Task Force, lead the Washington Trails Association advocacy program, champion protection of the Dark Divide Roadless Area, and stop the construction of a cross-monument highway.
According to John Rettig, on the Mazamas Conservation Committee, Saul’s most recent efforts looking at the long-term plan for Mount St. Helens helped the Mazamas to “get on board with this project very quickly.”
The award is named after Dick Montague, president of the Mazamas in the early 1920s and remarkable because he had lost one lung to pneumonia in the 1880s.
Saul will receive the award during an award ceremony and banquet on November 21, 2009.
Resolve to Hike in 2010
Eat more vegetables. Stop procrastinating. Lose weight.
These are your standard New Year's Resolutions. Bo-o-o-ring! When do you ever meet them anyway? Inevitably, you've slipped up by January 10 and completely forgotten it by February. Resolution research conducted by Quirkology found that only 12% of the 3,000 participants in their study actually achieved their goals.
May I humbly suggest making a new sort of resolution? One that you might actually want to fulfill?
Make a hiking resolution for 2010. As the folks conducting the resolution study suggest, "Don’t run with the crowd and go with the usual resolutions. Instead think about what you really want out of life."
Your resolution could be about places you want to go, people you want to go with, or the number of miles you want to cover. Here are a few sample resolution from WTA staff members:
Susan Elderkin, Web Content Manager: "In 2010, I will take my children into the wilderness once a month."
Ryan Ojerio, SW Washington Regional Cordinator: "This year, I really will climb Mt. Adams."
Spend an hour dreaming about Washington's mountains, the forests, and the coast. Then, tell me what your goal is! Leave it as a comment to this post. Or, send an email to editor@wta.org with "resolution" in the subject line. Take up to 200 words to tells us about your hiking goal and how you will achieve it. We'll run as many resolutions as we can fit in the next issue of Washington Trails.
Need incentive to share your resolution? Quirkology's study found that women were 10% more likely to reach their goal if they shared it with someone else. Telling Washington's hiking community should count.
Don't Get Hypothermia
Ironically, the closest I've come to getting hypothermia was during a Wilderness First Aid course.
I was playing the "victim" in a simulated accident scenario, lying still on the cold, damp ground in a pile of wet salal in the Issaquah Alps. It was a cold day in late fall and a steady drizzle fell as I awaited my rescuers. Perfect conditions for hypothermia, I thought, reflecting on the lessons we had been taught earlier that day.
When my rescuers found me, the food coloring that was supposed to indicate my wounds was running down my face in red rivulets and my teeth were chattering. Our instructors wanted the situation to feel "realistic" for the rescuers. I thought it was a little too realistic for the victim.
Hypothermia is a medical condition in which the victim's core body temperature drops to significantly below normal. Normal metabolism begins to be impaired when the core temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. If body temperature falls into the 80s, the condition becomes critical and can even be fatal.
A bout of hypothermia will most certainly ruin any trip outdoors, but it's easy enough to avoid. As Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician Tom Milne writes in our recent issue of Washington Trails, "prevention is your first line of defense against hypothermia."
The avoid hypothermia, you need to pay attention to your body. Eat frequent snacks and stay hydrated. Wear a hat (remember that you lose most of your heat through your head) and layer your clothes so that you can adjust them as needed. Don't wear cotton or other fabrics that don't dry quickly. Instead, choose "wicking" layers.
You also need to remember to rest, but, instead of taking a lengthy nap like you might in summer, you should take frequent short breaks so your body doesn't cool down dramatically.
Winter is full of great recreation opportunities. Stay warm, stay dry and have fun out there!
Four Thousand Miles Later
At this time two years ago, Erin McKittrick and Bretwood Higman were hiking through a squall on Alaska’s Lost Coast, with rain pouring down in sheets and wind whipping sand and sea foam into the air. Between bursts, the sun shined on the ocean, backlighting the boulders strewn across the beach.
In October 2007, this sort of bad weather mixed with beautiful scenery was to be expected, as Erin and “Hig” had already walked and rafted to this point from Puget Sound. And, their journey was far from over, as their ultimate aim was to reach the Bering Sea. That’s four thousand miles along the Pacific and every single mile was muscle-powered, as they traveled by foot, packraft, and skis.
A Long Trek Home, recently published by the Mountaineers Books, recounts this journey and provides a firsthand look at the environmental issues they encountered while on their trek.
Tonight, Erin and Hig will be presenting this story at The Mountaineers Building at Magnuson Park in Seattle. On Thursday, they’ll be speaking at the Seattle REI and, on Friday, they’ll be at Bellingham Village Books. After more stops in Seattle next week, they’ll head down for a few stops in Portland. You can find a full list of appearances here. It’s a great tale -- don’t miss it!
In addition to reading excerpts from the book, their presentation features a slideshow of beautifully crafted images and video clips, including one of an encounter with a grizzly bear. Their unique assortment of hand-crafted trekking gear will also be on hand for folks to check out.
You can learn more about Erin and Hig’s ambitious and adventurous projects at http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org and in the January/February issue of Washington Trails.
Check Out Our Arty Side
On Saturday, September 12, at 2 pm, you'll find Tim Van Beek, WTA's project coordinator, on a trail much closer to home than usual.
As the leader of "A Walk in the Park," he'll be analyzing the trail system
at the Olympic Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle.
This tour is free. Just show up at the Sculpture Park
a bit before 2 pm if you'd like to join in. Ask him about Alexander Calder's "Eagle" or trail drainage. Your choice.
More partnering with museums happens next Saturday, September 19, as I lead my
third and final History Hike for
the Museum of History and Industry. I'll be headed up
the Lime Kiln Trail in Robe Canyon Historic Park, examining the old ruins set amidst the ferns. There are still tickets available.
For our next issue of Washington Trails, hikers with a contemplative, poetic flair are encouraged to submit their Hiking Haiku via email to editor@wta.org. A haiku is a form of traditional Japanese poetry, which, you remember, involves a 17-syllable verse
form comprised of three metric units of 5,7, and 5 morae (which
correspond to English syllables). As a haiku will often reflect a nature-based theme, hiking seems to be a great fit. Send your hiking haiku in by October 1 for a chance to see it in print.
And, one more art project: Northwest Exposure. We are still accepting submissions to our annual nature photography contest. Share your gorgeous landscape or hiker in action with us and we can just about promise you'll see it on this website someday! Eleven images selected by a panel of photographers will appear in the Jan/Feb issue of Washington Trails magazine. Entries are due by October 16. Enter
today!
Autumn Issue Coming Soon
Those of you who have been WTA members for a while may recognize me as a staff member who's been hanging out in the WTA office for the past six years or so, sitting in a few different desks during that time. If you're new to WTA, welcome and hello!
This summer I became the interim editor of WTA's fine membership publication, Washington Trails. I was pretty stoked to have the September-October issue for my first issue because I happen to think autumn is the best time to hike in Washington. Berries and larches top my list of fall's great qualities, but less mosquitoes and more solitude aren't too shabby either.
On top of all that, I've always found autumn hikes to feel like a "bonus." You've knocked about a bit, had a good summer...and then you get one or maybe even two more trips in. That cool, crisp adventure above tree line or last look at the ocean before winter storms roll in is like the perfect icing on a really tasty cake.
If you are a member who receives our bi-monthly magazine, I hope you have as much fun reading the autumn issue of Washington Trails as I had producing it. In it, you will read about the outdoor adventures of a ten-month-old hiker and a rugged alpinist trekking through the high and lonely Picket Range. You will learn about moss and its many uses, You'll hear about two men who envisioned a grand trail through the Columbia Gorge and are making it happen. You'll learn several techniques for crossing rivers and be guided through an array of post-backcountry dining options, and a whole lot more. Plus, you'll get the definitive list of favorite hikes from folks on staff at WTA!
If you're not a WTA member, please join! Membership in WTA includes a subscription to Washington Trails magazine, so you won't have to hear about all this second hand. You'll get six beautiful issues packed with hiking tips, adventure stories, and trail news delivered straight to you to read, enjoy, and save!
Bear Season is Here
This past Saturday was the opening day for bear season in Washington.
I wasn't thinking about that as I turned off Cascade River Road and set out on the Hidden Lake Lookout Trail around 10 am, but I would soon be reminded of it.
As the forest gave way to meadows, about a mile and half in, we came across two people standing by the trail not hiking uphill or down. When we got closer, I saw that the reason they were stopped there was a small black bear, shot dead.
After we hiked a short distance up trail, I stopped to check in with my hiking partner, who was a hunting guide many years ago. He was concerned for our safety and we discussed turning back. In his opinion, these hunters were needlessly endangering the other trail users. Here's why:
- From the number of cars in the parking lot and the reviews we'd read, we knew this was a popular, high-traffic area.
- These hunters were field-dressing the bear just off the side of the trail, which suggests they'd also shot it just off the trail.
- This was a small bear, which was a bad sign to my ex-hunting guide partner. To him, it meant that these hunters either didn't mind shooting a juvenile rather than choosing and harvesting an adult bear or that they were poor judges of size at a distance. In either case -- not too great.
- The brush just beyond the creek where we met the hunters was unusually tall and close to the trail. At several points, we were completely enshrouded by gangly wildflowers and shrubs.
As we looked down the valley from a vantage point further uphill, we could see that the trail continued to switchback in close proximity to the creek. I was surprised to learn that the hunters we saw could have shot that bear from this distance. From this spot, the hikers we saw were indefinite blotches on the landscape and, because of the brush, we could barely make them out on the straight-aways and would just see them as they moved through a switchback.
For me, this incident was a sobering reminder that, as a hiker going out into the wild, you have only yourself to count on when it comes to your own safety. On this hike, I was in a light pink shirt and my partner blended in rather well in a green shirt. We both wished we were wearing something brighter. Nothing on the trailhead bulletin board had caught our eye to alert us that it was hunting season. Land managers don't tend to post signs at trailheads where hunting is allowed. (Generally, that's going to be anywhere except National Parks.) Likewise, you can't rely on the hunters to ensure your safety, as, unfortunately, not all hunters will be following every safe firearm handling mandate (make sure the area behind their target is clear, fully identify the target, properly judge distance and size, etc.). Others may obey all the rules, but not go above and beyond to ensure the safety of others. From what we could tell, these hunters weren't doing anything illegal, but that still didn't make it smart.
Here are the key safety tips for hiking during hunting seasons.
- Find out if the area you are planning to hike in is open to hunting and if it is frequently hunted.
- Be especially careful hiking at first light and at dusk. These are prime times for animals to move toward food and water. Hunters will also be out at this time. Additionally, it can be harder to see anything in this light.
- Wear bright clothes, particularly orange. Avoid wearing brown and black.
- Finally, make yourself known as a person by talking loudly.
At some point, everything moving through the wilderness, from animals to hikers to hunters, will take the path of least resistance. As such, the trail becomes the natural place for encounters, and, potentially, conflicts or accidents to occur. Keep hiking, just be aware of your surroundings.
Mileage Wanted
It's out there. Right at the end of this week. August.
Ever since I started participating in WTA's Hike-A-Thon my perspective on this month has changed. It's no longer 31 days, but 744 hours of hikable time. Taking part in the Hike-a-Thon means that I am collecting pledges for each mile I can hike in August. (So far, I'm up to $2.25/mile and still looking for sponsors). The more I hike, the more I'll earn for WTA and as a "seasoned" participant, I've learned that Hike-a-Thon takes both dedication and strategy.
As someone with a penchant for peaks, I have to revise my typical hiking agenda for Hike-a-Thon success. For instance, I spent this past weekend climbing Mt. Shuksan. It's the tenth highest peak in Washington, but, in the scheme of things, it's really not that many miles. Never mind that on Saturday, tent to tent, I spent a full 16 hours moving over rugged terrain from Lake Ann to the top of Mt. Shuksan. My teammates and I scrambled up the gullies known as the Fisher Chimneys, traversed the Upper Curtis Glacier, crossed Hell's Highway, plodded across the top of the Sulphide Glacier and, finally, climbed the summit pyramid. It was a lot of elevation gain, but, remember, my pledges are PER MILE. This won't do at all.
Clearly, my hiking style has to take a 180 degree turn starting Saturday. (And, really, the timing couldn't be better for a change of scene. I'm ready to move out of the monotone snowfields and talus slopes and into abundantly colorful wildflower meadows!) If I am going to reach my personal goal of covering 101 miles in a single month, I need to stay away from climbs and scrambles. I'll need some trails where I can really pack in the mileage. For maximum efficiency, they shouldn't be too steep, but, then again, August is such a great month to be up in alpine terrain. Looks like they've got to gain some elevation, after all.
So, how to choose? I put WTA's online Hiking Guide to the test. If you have an inkling to hike, but no particular place in mind, this is a great place to get ideas. And, in the "advanced search options," you can put all sorts of parameters on your search. For Elevation Gain, I selected "Moderate 1,500' - 3,000'" and for Mileage Range, "Over 12 miles."
And, voila, I now have 11 great hikes that meet my criteria. According to WTA's hiking guide, here are a few places I should check out next month:
Larch Lakes: "These little-visited gems of the Entiat are a lake-lover’s dream. Tucked away cliff side, they are surrounded by subalpine meadows, and the path to them affords great views of the Entiat Range." That's 18 miles that doesn't sound too shabby! It was also featured in WTA's 2007 Endangered Trails, so it would provide a good chance to see how the trail has fared since the Tinpan Fire.
Royal Basin: I have been here before, so I know this stretch of the Olympics is gorgeous country and a WTA Backcountry Response Team worked here last summer, so I am sure that the tread will be in good shape. I might just have enough energy to tack on another quick hike in the area while I am there.
Lyman Lakes: WTA volunteer crews have spent happy weeks maintaining this 20 mile trail that takes hikers from valley floor, past waterfalls, and eventually up to the emerald green lakes. Might just be time to check it out!
This is a good start, but I am still open to suggestions. Please, post them in the comments! And, if you think of a great high mileage hike that's not yet in our hiking guide, please write it up.
There's just one thing I am worried about now and that is berries. I can be cruising along at a good steady pace, but if a slope full of berries materializes...well, I might just be there until twilight. I am hoping to use this berry addiction to my advantage though. I recently spotted a sweet patch of red huckleberries on Squak Mountain and that's just a short drive from the city.
Let's pencil that in for an after-work hike.
San Juan Park Celebrates the Pig War
Looking for a reason to celebrate this weekend? How about commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the Pig War?
In 1859, the United States nearly went to war with Great Britain. Ostensibly, the cause was one dead pig, but several centuries of bickering between these two nations over access to the bountiful resources of the Pacific Northwest had helped tensions escalate.
You can learn more about this intriguing historical incident by attending Encampment 2009 on San Juan Island National Historic Park – one of Washington five national parks. For this event, historical re-enactors will recreate life on San Juan Island during the mid-19th century. Events and activities run all day, Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26, at English Camp.
Despite being called the Pig War, the park actually considers this a celebration of peace, noting that the occasion “demonstrated that it is possible for individuals and nations to settle their differences peacefully without resorting to violence.” It’s a great story and you don’t have to stay inside to learn about it. Instead, you can take the American Camp History Walk and learn the story right where it took place, complete with fresh sea breeze and verdant scenery.
There’s plenty more hiking to do on San Juan Island National Historic Park. The public shoreline offers a look out at the sea, with numerous marine animals underfoot and overhead. Venturing inland, a network of trails threads through both woodland and prairie. Birdwatchers should note that more than 200 species of migratory birds stop here as they wing their up and down the Pacific flyway.
Hiking on San Juan Island offers an opportunity to connect with both nature and history, exercise and education in one. How great is that?
Extra Credit: If you enjoy your weekend on San Juan, give your elected representatives a call. Express your gratitude for National Park programs like these interpretive trails and events. Thank your representative now for making sure these programs and trails get the financial support they need and, with any luck, our Parks will still be hosting them a sesquicentennial from now.
Does your kid love nature?
DEEEHROP. POHHHHNG. CLIACAK.
The sounds on rainwater falling on drums is hard to capture in words.
It's best if you just come out to North Bend to hear these sounds
resonate through the courtyard outside the Cedar River Watershed
Education Center. Situated amidst the ferns, salal, and other native
plants, these special rainwater drums are soothing and intriguing.
And they are just one of many attractions to be found at the the Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area and Cedar River Watershed Education Center, where Washington Trails Association will host TrailsFest next Saturday, July 18.
While this event is great for adventurers of all ages, TrailsFest
definitely has a lot to offer for kids and for parents looking to build their kids' connection to nature.
At TrailsFest, kids can meet Smokey the Bear at the
US Forest Service North Bend District's booth and a North Cascades
National Park ranger at The Wilderness Society's booth.
At 11 am, families with small children are encouraged to take a hike
Joan Burton, author of Best Hikes for Kids - Western Washington, and
Elizabeth Lunney, executive director of WTA. They will share
"backcountry parenting" tips with the parents, while special guests
Hiker Hillary and Backpacker Ben engage the kids. WTA
will also host a Hiking with Tikes Kids' Activity Booth in the
Education Center courtyard all day long where kids can pop by, grab some crayons and
color!
At 2 pm, Wilderness Awareness School will host a roundtable discussion
titled Fight Nature Deficit Disorder and at 3 pm they will lead Nature
Awareness Games at the Green Trails Map Corral.
At the climbing wall hosted by The Alpine Experience, kids can put on a
harness, rope up and test their footwork on their way to top of the
wall. Older kids can try out paddling a
kayak or a canoe at the paddlesports beach hosted by Delta Kayaks and Outdoors for All. (Please note that there is a small charge for these two activities. Everything else is free.)
Bring your family of adventurers out to TrailsFest on Saturday, July 18, anytime
between 9 am and 4 pm, because kids + nature = a bright green future.
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