Hiker Headlines: Wallace Falls Camera, Big Four Closure, Transit-to-Trails Ridership Soars
It’s Oct. 31. Happy Halloween! Trailhead Direct wrapped up its season and reported soaring ridership. There's a new camera telling hikers how full the Wallace Falls parking lot is. The Big Four Ice Caves trail is currently inaccessible. Páatstel Creek gets it's name back. The Recreation Not Red-Tape Act gets a hearing the Senate.
It’s Oct. 31. Happy Halloween! Trailhead Direct wrapped up its season and reported soaring ridership. There's a new camera telling hikers how full the Wallace Falls parking lot is. The Big Four Ice Caves trail is currently inaccessible. Páatstel Creek gets it's name back. The Recreation Not Red-Tape Act get a hearing the Senate.
Here’s what you might have missed while out on trail this week:
Midday on an October Thursday seems like a pretty good time to hike Wallace Falls.
Seattle area hikers embrace bus to trailheads: After King County's Trailhead Direct wrapped up the final weekend of the season, the county reported that ridership increased 75 percent in the full second season. WTA is one of many partners who worked to make the innovative pilot such a success.
Eye on parking at Wallace Falls: Farther north, Washington State Parks added a parking lot webcam to help visitors check how full it is before they head to the park for a hike or picnic. When parking overflows the lot at peak times of year, visitors parking on the narrow county road leading to Wallace Falls’ entrance cause safety issues for residents, drivers and pedestrians alike. Now you can know before you go how crowded the lot is. A camera takes a live photo every minute, which automatically posts to the park’s web page.
Bridge out at Big Four: The Big Four Ice Caves trail is closed until further notice due to erosion damage to the footings of the bridge crossing the Stillaguamish River.
The Darrington Ranger District of the Forest Service, who manages the Big Four Ice Caves trail, said: “The hiker bridge crossing the South Fork Stillaguamish River has been removed. The bridge has been in danger of collapse due to the changing river channel. Access to the snow cave viewing area is cut off until the bridge can be replaced. There is currently no time frame for replacement.”
The Big Four Picnic Area and elevated boardwalks are still open at this time, said Snohomish County Sherrif's office.
Páatstel Creek gets it's name back: The 4.3-mile stream between Lynden and Sumas will officially return to its first name. The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names and Whatcom County Council approved the change this week at the request of the Nooksack Indian Tribe and after a period of public comment. The name honors a historical Nooksack Indian Tribe village near the creek's source.
Take action! Recreation, not red tape: This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will (at long last) be holding a hearing on the Recreation Not Red-Tape Act. It's one of several federal bills that WTA is tracking. This one is aimed at protecting and improving outdoor recreation on our public lands and waters and would benefit hikers and the outdoor community in a number of ways. It would include work to establish a National Recreation Area System to give increased legal protection to popular recreation corridors and modernizing recreation permitting. Take 3 minutes to support of the bill during this important window.
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Comments
Moppy on Hiker Headlines: Wallace Falls Camera, Big Four Closure, Transit-to-Trails Ridership Soars
Hello dog owners. I need help. Today I hiked the Mason Lake trail off of exit 45 on I-90. Encountered 7 dogs, all off leash. This is not an untypical scenario. I assume the owners of these dogs were not on the first hike of their lives. As is true of most trails there was clear signage at the trailhead that dogs must be on leash. What gives here? When you got your dog you knew that was going to be part of the deal if you wanted to go hiking with him/her. There are numerous reasons for this rule. Wildlife chasing. Discomfort of other hikers who may have a fear of loose dogs due to a previous bad experience. Small children/older people who can be knocked down by your exhuberant friend. So I ask again, what gives? I must admit that my first reaction is that you are just a rude, self-centered being. Or a person who lives by the credo, "Nobody is going to tell ME what to do!!" But I don't really want to think that of my fellow outdoorspersons. So explain to me, explain to all of us why you chose not to do this. Thanks.
P.S. Just for the record, having the leash coiled up in your hand doesn't count as having your friend on leash.
Posted by:
Moppy on Oct 31, 2019 09:49 PM
mizrobot on Hiker Headlines: Wallace Falls Camera, Big Four Closure, Transit-to-Trails Ridership Soars
I was at Mason Lake this Sunday and encountered probably a dozen dogs off-leash. Dogs would just dart by us as we were going up, which made me pretty uncomfortable(people also don't seem to yield to the uphill hiker for the most part). I watched someone else's dog run up to a hiker at the lake and startle her. "Oh he just wants to find his stick!" Dog entitlement is a real thing.
Posted by:
mizrobot on Nov 05, 2019 07:59 AM
newnet on Hiker Headlines: Wallace Falls Camera, Big Four Closure, Transit-to-Trails Ridership Soars
The thing that bugs me the worst about dog-owners on the trail are the little poopy bags that seem to get left near the trail. I too wonder what the dog-owner is thinking - "I will get it later on the way back down" ? In-evitably the poo is left en-cased in the little plastic bag potentially for a long time. I even spied a blue bag of dog poo in the middle of a rock below a scenic waterfall on the goat lake trail. Why not just let the dog poop out in the woods and just throw a few leaves over the mess? That would be far more preferable to seeing little plastic baggies of poo near the trail . Thank you if anyone reads this and changes their way.
Posted by:
newnet on Nov 13, 2019 05:41 PM
Tom63 on Hiker Headlines: Wallace Falls Camera, Big Four Closure, Transit-to-Trails Ridership Soars
I also don't understand why people put their dog's turds into bags and then leave it on the trail. Do you think someone comes by and picks them all up?
Posted by:
Tom63 on Nov 13, 2019 07:40 PM
ehiker on Hiker Headlines: Wallace Falls Camera, Big Four Closure, Transit-to-Trails Ridership Soars
I can do your dog story one better. I was hiking in Mt. Rainier National Park and came upon someone with two off leash dogs on the trail..... Just how many NO PETS/NO DOGS on trails signs need to be posted?????? We counted probably no fewer than 5 near the trailhead.... They know pretty much no one with any authority is looking and that they won't get a ticket so they don't care...
As far as the poop baggies go.... they know they are supposed to pick it up (and yes this is better than just leaving it in the woods... dogs can pass parasites to wild animals through their poo, it can contaminate any nearby waterways easily). While you may think that it's just a little poop, just think about how many people take their dogs to some areas and just how much poop that would be.... but anyway back to why you see the baggies on the trail- they know someone will say something if they just leave the poop, so they pick it up and bag it, but then as soon as no-one is looking it gets chucked - yeah, I'm sure you were going to get that on the way back -riiiiiight......
Posted by:
ehiker on Nov 13, 2019 10:04 PM