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Washington Trails Association is coming to your backyard this summer.
With more than 67,000 hours of volunteer trail maintenance scheduled this year, WTA crews will be working on hiking trails from one end of the Cascades to the other, including a full schedule of work parties in Southwest Washington. As you heard at the Trails Club banquet, WTA's volunteer trail maintenance program is growing steadily, bringing out more and more volunteers to help keep our wildland trails in Washington available for everyone, no matter where they live.
WTA crews in Southwest Washington will be working on National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Yakama Indian Nation and Washington State Parks trails in 2006. Volunteers are building three miles of new trail at Beacon Rock State Park that will create several more backcountry loop hikes with spectacular views up and down the Gorge. They are maintaining the Bird Creek Meadows trail system at Mount Adams and doing repairs to trails at Mount St. Helens.
Come join us! It's alright if you've never done trail maintenance before. WTA specializes in introducing new people to the joy of trail work. We know that by investing our time in helping you to learn and have fun, you'll pay us back by showing up again.
Work Party Perks:
First work party: Get your free One-day Northwest Forest Pass (only on Forest Service projects)
Second work party: Earn your free Annual Northwest Park Pass (only on Forest Service projects)
Fifth work party: Get your own personalized WTA hard hat
and
Every work party expect free soda, cookies and the chance to acquire new skills and new friends
For a detailed list of upcoming work parties statewide, as well as the week-long Volunteer Vacations, visit www.wta.org. You may register for an outing online, or by calling the WTA office, (206) 625-1367.
Exciting News! The PCTA and AmeriCorps are joining together for a significant trail rehabilitation project on the PCT in Oregon and Southern Washington. Twelve work parties are scheduled from June through October, 2006, ranging in length from four to nine days each. The six work parties in The Mt. Hood Chapter area will be in September and October and will all be four day trips, Friday to Monday.
Here's your chance to make your plans early. The schedule for our area is listed below. You can sign up for 1, 2, 3, or all four days of any or all of them. Five to ten volunteers are needed to work with Americorps teams on each work party. Information on the projects in South and Central Oregon can be found at PCTA.
AmeriCorps teams will be setting up the camps and supplying training, tools and all food. All you need to bring is your overnight gear if you wish to camp. To sign up or get more information, contact us at jjk-jsk@comcast.net or (503)579-2841.
September 15-18, 2006
Breitenbush Lake area (AmeriCorps and PCTA) . Trail re-construction near beautiful Breitenbush Lake. Work in a slide area re-doing rock structures and trail tread. AmeriCorps team will provide training, tools and all food. Not a backpack trip; camp with AmeriCorps team at Breitenbush Lake Campground. No experience needed. Sign up for some or all of the 4 days. Crew leader: AmeriCorps.
September 22-25, 2006
Olallie Lake area (AmeriCorps and PCTA) . Trail re-construction in the Olallie Scenic Area. Repair major wash-out damage by re-building trail and installing drainage structures. Americorps team will provide training, tools and all food. Not a backpack trip; camp with AmeriCorps team at Olallie Lake Campground. No experience needed. Sign up for some or all of the 4 days. Crew leader: AmeriCorps.
September 29-October 2, 2006
Olallie Lake area (AmeriCorps and PCTA) . Trail maintenance in the Olallie Scenic Area. Repair ruts and other damage, plus brushing. AmeriCorps team will provide training, tools and all food. Backpack in approximately 3 miles with the AmeriCorps team and camp on the PCT. No experience needed. Sign up for some or all of the 4 days. Crew leader: AmeriCorps.
October 6-9, 2006
Table Mountain area (AmeriCorps and PCTA) . Trail maintenance in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area (southern Washington). Trail re-construction and drainage structures. Americorps team will provide training, tools and all food. Not a backpack trip; camp with AmeriCorps team near the trail south of Table Mountain. No experience needed. Sign up for some or all of the 4 days. Crew leader: AmeriCorps.
October 13-16, 2006
Panther Creek area (AmeriCorps and PCTA) . Trail maintenance in the Wind River District of the Gifford Pinchot NF. Brushing, tread work and water drainage. AmeriCorps team will provide training, tools and all food. Not a backpack trip; camp with our team near the trail in the Panther Creek area. No experience needed. Sign up for some or all of the 4 days. Crew leader: AmeriCorps.
October 19-22, 2006
Panther Creek area (AmeriCorps and PCTA) . Trail maintenance in the Wind River District of the Gifford Pinchot NF. Tread maintenace, water drainage and brushing. Americorps team will provide training, tools and all food. Not a backpack trip; camp with AmeriCorps team near the trail in the Panther Creek area. No experience needed. Sign up for some or all of the 4 days. Crew leader: AmeriCorps.
St. Helens to reopen for climbing
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
By ERIK ROBINSON, Columbian staff writer
Did you like Monday's steam and ash blast at Mount St. Helens?
Soon, adventurous hikers will be able to get close enough to smell the magmatic gases, feel the earth rumble and watch the ash rain down like confetti.
Hikers have been banned from climbing above the Loowit Trail encircling the mountain since the volcano reawakened with a series of tiny earthquakes in September 2004.
"We've decided we are going to open it," Tom Mulder, manager of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, said Tuesday.
The U.S. Forest Service expects to open the climbing route to the south crater rim soon after the snow melts from Forest Road 81, the route to Climbers Bivouac. From there, climbers face a 4,500-foot climb over 5 miles, described on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest's Web site as a "nontechnical scramble," to the summit of the 8,363-foot volcano.
Mulder said the agency is continuing to work out details, such as how to circulate word if the U.S. Geological Survey detects swelling, seismic activity or other warning signs that the volcano may switch its relatively placid eruption into something more violent.
"The USGS told us they think they could give us some advance warning," Mulder said.
Earlier this year, Forest Service officials said they were considering reopening the volcano to climbers. In February, they even began accepting reservations for the 100 permits issued daily during the summer climbing season -- although reservations won't be honored until the Forest Service officially reopens the Monitor Ridge climbing route.
The snow should melt from Forest Road 81 to Climbers Bivouac, at an elevation of 3,700 feet, within a matter of weeks.
Although the volcano has spewed several spectacular ash and steam columns since the eruption began 19 months ago, it has yet to hurl rocks -- aptly dubbed "ballistics" by scientists -- outside the crater.
On Monday, shortly after 9 a.m., a large rockfall from the latest distinct lava spine sent a white plume 16,000 to 20,000 feet skyward. The plume dropped a dark coating of cold ash along the mountain's northeast flank.
Northerly winds would carry similar clouds toward climbers peering down from the south crater wall.
"You might get a little bit dirty, but that would be it," said Dan Dzurisin, a geologist with the David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver.
On the Web
For more information, visit fs.fed.us
STRANGE BUT TRUE
Strange, but True: Camping and Backpacking Decline in Popularity
Tom Banse
KUOW Radio
Two activities long identified with the Northwest summer appear to be going out of style. Tent camping and backpacking are classified as "heritage activities" in a recent study for the outdoor retail industry. Here's another sign. The Forest Service is preparing to close dozens of little-used campgrounds and trailheads. Correspondent Tom Banse reports from outside Bend, [Oregon] that the falloff in camping started well before gas hit three bucks a gallon.
A RETIRED COUPLE FROM LAS VEGAS IS DELIGHTED TO HAVE AN ENTIRE FOREST SERVICE CAMPGROUND TO THEMSELVES ON A LOVELY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. CHARLES RHODA IS UNSURE WHY THEY'RE THE ONLY GUESTS HERE NEAR LA PINE, OREGON, BUT WHEN PRESSED OFFERS A THEORY.
CHARLES: "I get a senior discount. But the average guy, paying $20 a night just for the privilege to park his RV on the lake on public property. It rubs people the wrong way. So I think that has discouraged a lot of people."
WIFE MARSHA RHODA LISTENS AS SHE CHOPS GARLIC TO ADD TO THE PIZZA SHE'S PREPARING IN THE COUPLE'S NEW R-V.
SOUND: [chop, chop in r-v kitchen]
SHE SPECULATES THAT OLDER GENERATIONS ARE HAVING SPOTTY LUCK PASSING THE CAMPING TRADITION ON.
MARSHA: "Our grandkids are very involved with the video games and they don't want to come out here with us."
A SPRINGFIELD, OREGON COUPLE SERVES AS THE OFFICIAL CAMPGROUND HOSTS. KENNETH AND MICHELLE HATHORN SAY THE PLACE FILLS UP ON HOLIDAY WEEKENDS, BUT THIS DAY'S LOW OCCUPANCY IS MORE TYPICAL.
KENNETH: "(The) younger generation isn't into the outdoors anymore."
MICHELLE: "I think the price of fuel is a lot of it. Most of the people we get are from Bend, La Pine, Redmond area, which is not very far away."
THIS TREND HAS BEEN DEVELOPING FOR A WHILE THOUGH. OVERNIGHT STAYS IN THE NATIONAL PARKS HAVE DROPPED MORE THAN 20 PERCENT OVER THE PAST DECADE. WASHINGTON AND IDAHO STATE PARKS AND THE NATIONAL FOREST CAMPGROUNDS IN THE NORTHWEST ARE RECORDING 3 TO 7 PERCENT FEWER STAYS. THE FOREST SERVICE TAKES THE FALLOFF SO SERIOUSLY, IT'S COMMISSIONED POLLS AND ORGANIZED THREE FOCUS GROUPS. CHUCK FRAYER AT THE REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS IN PORTLAND SAYS THE MOST COMMON EXPLANATION PEOPLE GIVE IS THEY HAVE MORE CHOICES AND LESS FREE TIME.
FRAYER: "They're trying to do a lot more with their precious weekends. Ten years, 15 years ago, it was: 'Ok, let's load up the kids, and let's go out, and we're going to spend three days out there.' And we're not seeing that today."
FRAYER AGREES HIGH GAS PRICES MAY KEEP EVEN MORE PEOPLE AT HOME NOW. HE'S STARTED A FOREST-BY-FOREST EVALUATION THAT COULD RESULT IN THE CLOSURE OF UP TO 10 PERCENT OF THE NORTHWEST'S CAMPGROUNDS AND REMOTE TRAILHEADS.
FRAYER: "We are looking at decommissioning sites that have very low occupancy levels -- like 1%, 2% ,3% occupancy -- and are very expensive for us to operate and maintain."
SEPARATELY, A NATIONAL TELEPHONE POLL PAID FOR BY THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY FOUND FEWER OF US STRAPPING ON A BACKPACK FOR A LONG DISTANCE HIKE. PARTICIPATION IS OFF BY A QUARTER SINCE 1998.
SOUND: [show 'n tell of lightweight sleeping bag]
THE CO-OWNER OF THE ALPINE EXPERIENCE OUTDOOR STORE IN OLYMPIA SHOWS OFF LIGHTER SLEEPING BAGS, ULTRA-LIGHT BACKPACKS, STOVES, COOKWARE, AND BOOTS. JOE HYER SAYS THE NEW LIGHTWEIGHT GEAR ON THE MARKET IS ONE WAY TO SUSTAIN ENTHUSIASM FOR THE OUTDOORS.
HYER: "Our baby boomers are getting up in their 50's now and the knees aren't like they used to be. They can't carry 50 or 60 pounds backpacking. So products to lighten up their loads are vital to maintaining them in the sport."
HYER SAYS IT'S NOT THE CASE THAT WE'RE ALL BECOMING COUCH POTATOES. HIS SALES SHOW OTHER OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ON THE UPSWING AS CAMPING AND BACKPACKING DECLINE. IF YOU'VE TAKEN UP CANOEING, KAYAKING, SNOWSHOEING, TRAIL RUNNING, OR ATV RIDING, CONGRATULATIONS. YOU'RE A TRENDSETTER. PARTICIPATION IN THOSE PURSUITS IS UP SIGNIFICANTLY. I'M TOM BANSE REPORTING.
© Copyright 2006, KUOW
Where have all the backpackers gone?
Posted by: Andrew Engelson, Washington Trails Association, at 2:29PM on Jun 09, 2006
According to the report y esterday on Seattle's NPR station KUOW, backpacking and car camping are in serious decline.
Tom Banse's article cites an unnamed outdoor industry poll, which claims that the number of people who participate in backpacking has declined 25 percent since 1998. What's particularly disturbing about the article is something that Chuck Frayer, an official with the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest regional office said:
"Frayer agrees high gas prices may keep even more people at home now. He's started a forest-by-forest evaluation that could result in the closure of up to 10 percent of the Northwest's campgrounds and remote trailheads."
But that's not the whole story. A phone call to the Outdoor Industry Foundation got us a sneak peak at their annual survey, and yes, it is true that backpacking participation has declined nationwide, from 16.3 million participants in 1998 to 13.5 participants in 2005 (a 17 percent decrease by my calculations). But what's interesting is that in the West, (including Washington state) the percentage of the population that says it backpacks at least once a year actually increased from 9 percent of the population in 1998 to 10 percent in 2005.
And as for all "hiking" in the Western region, well, that's an even bigger jump: the number of folks in the West who say they hike at least once a year jumped from 37 percent of the population in 1998 to 46 percent in 2005.
So, let me repeat that to the Forest Service: nearly half of all residents in the West hike at least once a year, a significant increase in the past 7 years. And ten percent of folks here take overnight hikes. Maybe that's why places like REI and Alpine Experience in Olympia are still selling tons of backpacks, tents and sleeping bags. Not to mention day packs.
So, as appetite for all forms of hiking increases in the Northwest, closing 10 percent of "remote trailheads" sure looks like a stupid idea to me.
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Washington Trails Association
Pacific Crest Trail Association
Mount St. Helens
Strange BUT True
Where are the backpackers?
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