Wilderness Through the Backdoor

So, there I was standing on a gorgeous remote Olympic Beach after trudging for over 10 miles on slippery rocks and soft sand-waiting out tides-gingerly skirting around rocky headland cliffs-and now I had a beautiful wilderness beach all to myself! Well, not exactly- Three people were camped on the beach and they were quite comfy-no scrapes, aching backs, nor tired legs after a hard day hike. And then suddenly a couple appeared on the beach fresh as the morning dew-no sweat-no signs of struggle -no problems getting to the beach that I toiled all day to get to. You see, there is a secret trail (actually not so secret thanks now to the Internet) that allowed these folks access to this wilderness beach by driving a maze of logging roads then following a bootleg path a mere mile (if that) to this special place. I felt robbed. Now, don't get me wrong-the folks I met that evening at the beach were nice folks-and some of them have gotten to the point that they can no longer backpack great distances-so getting to this beach would have been impossible for them the way I did it. But, still I felt that part of the allure and attraction of hiking the Olympic Coast is the wilderness aspect and that you needed to actually work to get to it. There are plenty of nice beaches in the Kalaloch section of the national park that are easily accessible to anyone. And while these folks I shared the beach with that evening were wonderful and the types of people you'd be glad to share a campsite and nature with-I know that judging by spent beer cans on the beach, that the types of folks you don't' want on a wilderness beach make their way here too-and surely they wouldn't if it involved actually hiking to this spot. Now, I have friends in Forks who cherish these secret trails and they take care of the land and this allows them a quick access to the natural beauty that they live so near. I would not want to deprive them of their simple getaways. But, then again the Olympic National Park is a wilderness coast that is one-of-a-kind and I know that all good things in life are worth working for. Can we have it both ways? What are your experiences here? Your thoughts?

Too much snow in the Mountains?

Head to the Coast-It's a Shore Bet!

This spring's cold and wet weather may finally be making an exit, but it'll still be some time until many my favorite high country trails will be snow free and accessible. Of course, this doesn't exactly help me out with my impending deadline on my Backpacking Book. I still have 22 trips to research and I need all the time I can get. The snowy hills however did force me to head to the coast to research the wilderness beaches of Olympic National Park. I have long wanted to hike the entire coastline and after two consecutive trips, I have pretty much hiked all of the Olympic beaches now from the Queets River to Shi Shi. Which beach is the prettiest? Hard to say, they're are so many special and gorgeous places along the entire coast. And which section of the coast is the most difficult to hike-Again hard to say because each section has its challenges, be it rounding headlands, traveling over slippery rock, across deep sands, fording creeks, or negotiating sand ladders up and over steep bluffs. I'll have all the details in the new book. In the meanwhile, if you are itching to get out and do some snow free hiking, my Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula book has plenty of good day hikes to Olympic Beaches--and to some pretty nice beaches along the southwest corner of the state, too. Check them out-and then perhaps in a few weeks I'll see you in the high country!

(photo-evening at Toleak Point)

Quinault, Queets, Hoh, Bogachiel

What's your favorite Olympic Rainforest Valley?

There are only three places on the planet where you can find temperate rainforests. Southern Chile, New Zealand and Washington-British Columbia. And nowhere is the temperate rainforest more ingrained in the identity of a region than in Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

I have explored tropical rainforests in Peru and Paraguay and they are lands of incredible bio-diversity. But in Washington's Olympic rainforests it's all about biomass! Nowhere on the planet is there so much living (and dying and decaying) matter than in these saturated valleys. You feel as if you're breathing biomass (you are!) and if you stay stationary for the shortest period of time, you'll sport mosses, lichens, ferns and other epiphytes (and you probably will!). And while the rainforest valleys of the Olympic Peninsula share the same characteristics when it comes to ecology and biology--their historic and cultural backgrounds, and aesthetics are unique. And a trip into each one will provide different experiences and perceptions. Of course, I love them all--but that doesn't stop me from favoring one valley over the other. What's your favorite Olympic Rainforest and why?

(photo-mossy maple along the East Fork Quinault River)

Winter in the Olympics!

No, not the Vancouver Winter Olympics, although they are definitely worth writing about. Great to see the good ole U S of A is bringing home some medals-and some great skiing and snowboarding from my New Hampshire, Vermont and Quebec brethren. We eastcoasters can ski! When you learn how to ski in New England, you can ski anywhere including the slop on BC's Cypress Mountain. And cheers too to our speed skaters-someone has to keep those Koreans working hard. And great to see the Canadians score well on their home front!

But still, as much as these Olys are fun, nothing beats Lake Placid in 1980 when we fought World War III and sent the Russians back to Moscow to pound their skates at the Kremlin and ask, "Who will bury whom?!"

Anyhow-if you are a fan of me on Facebook you probably have noticed that I just posted a bunch of great news on our Olympics-the Olympic Peninsula that is-compliments of the Peninsula Daily News of Port Angeles. Check out this good news when you take a break from watching Shaun White orbit the planet-

1. North Olympic Land Trust turns 20 years old!
2. Hurricane Ridge Road is getting close to reopening
3. More fishers are reintroduced to the Olympic National Park
and
4. Olympic National Park may add some acreage near lake Ozette.

All good news indeed for one of the finest regions/places on the planet!

Giving Hunters a bad name!

Story in the Seattle Times today about a poacher (notice I didn't say hunter) caught bagging an elk in Olympic National Park. You make me sick you piece of merda (Italian for excrement). It's garbage like you who give real hunters a bad reputation. Real hunters are stewards of the land, not plunderers. Real hunters adhere to our laws and respect the fact that hunting is not allowed in our national parks. Heck, nearly 90% of the public lands in Washington state are open to hunting-so it's not like there aren't any decent places to track down an elk. Poaching is a real problem on our public lands as well as illegal harvesting of plants. These are our lands and we should be alarmed over the selfish, greedy and stupid people that plunder them. His sentence was light--but I'm glad he got bagged. There's a real need for more law enforcement on our public lands. Will our elected officials slash these budgets too? It could spell even more problems on our public lands if they do so. In the meanwhile, report any illegal activities you see and help protect our public lands!

Lovely Lena

(Upper not lower!)

Those of you within my hiking circles know that I don't think too highly of Lena Lake and just can't figure why it is so darn popular-other than the fact that it is easy to drive to and easy to hike to-but then again so is Talapus Lake and you won't catch me hiking there either. I definitely go the extra mile both driving and hiking most of the times so that I can have a decent backcountry experience. Now, don't get me wrong-I never mind sharing my favorite backcountry haunts with fellow hikers-it is not the numbers of hikers out there that usually concerns me-it is the types of people that are out there.

Places like Talapus, Merritt, Barclay, and Lena attract too many yahoos and less-than-enlightened "hikers" who often bring with them trash, noise and unruly dogs-and often leave a degraded environment on their way out. So if you want to see what serious erosion looks like from cutting switchbacks-and how many beer cans, candy wrappers, and cigarette butts as well as piles of doggie-doo you can find on a hike-consider a hike to Lena Lake. But if you want to experience a beautiful well-visited lake without the yahoos-head to Upper Lena Lake. This place is gorgeous-especially right now during our Indian Summer. The hike will cost you-it is no easy stroll like the one to Lena. The trail to Upper Lena is 7.8 miles long (don't believe old descriptions that have it less) and will require nearly 4,000 vertical feet of climbing. Plus-much of the climb is straight out of the Appalachians-that is, it is rocky, rooty and straight up! It's not an easy hike-but oh so well worth it. And once you get there-plan on spending some time for there are lots of explorations you can do-like the easy hike to Milk Lake-or a more involved cross-country route to Scout Lake-or a fun scramble to Mount Lena. You want more info on this place? It's a featured hike in my upcoming Backpacking Book. Enjoy the rest of Indian Summer, the winter rains are coming soon enough.

Expanding Washington's National Parks

Restricting Freedom vs Better Protection

Hope the title didn't mislead you. I am a huge fan of the National Parks System--a system that began on March 1, 1872 when Congress established Yellowstone as our first national park. Republican President Ulysses S Grant mired in a country deep in post civil war reconstruction signed the bill. On August 25, 1916, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act creating the National Park Service. The whole concept of national parks is a truly American ideal that countries around the world have emulated and embraced. The park system has expanded greatly to not only incorporate our crown jewel national parks, but also national seashores, national historic sites, national monuments, and a whole slew of other designations to include properties in every state except Delaware (could Joe Biden's boyhood home change that? Nope-he was born and raised in PA, home to many park units!) and several of our territories. There are currently 394 units within the park system and we continue to expand our park system with each administration. The latest additions to our national parks (the main parks) were under George W Bush in 2003 and 2004 when South Carolina's Congaree Swamp and Colorado's Great Sand Dunes were elevated from national monuments to national parks to become our 57th and 58th national parks.

I have been to 32 of these gems-hiking, camping, and bicycling in them. I would love to see more parks and many of our parks expanded. Here in Washington I would love to see Mount St Helens transferred from the Forest Service to the park service and I would love to see Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks expanded. There is currently a movement afloat to expand the North Cascades National Park; and while in theory I support it-I have some reservations about this proposal. First and foremost in our real world of political sacrifice, compromise and unlimited capital-the North Cascades proposal is of the least importance compared to other national park expansion issues within the Evergreen State.

Let me explain in order of importance (as I see it) issues pertaining to expanding national parks in Washington.

1. Highest Priority-Expand Olympic National Park. Too much of this park's periphery (particularly along the coast, Lake Ozette and along Hood Canal drainages) borders along industrial forest lands and neglected national forest lands where poaching of resources (illegal plant harvesting by illegal immigrants and illegal game hunting by native born riff raff) and illegal activity (squatting and meth labs) threatens the park's visitors and resources. And a constant threat exists that many of these industrial forestlands will be subdivided and developed further compromising the park.


2. Expand Mount Rainier National Park's Boundaries. Especially along the Carbon River Area and near the Clearwater Wilderness where as stated above, illegal activity and marginal industrial forest lands compromises the park's integrity and the safety of park visitors.


3. Transfer Mount St Helens to the Park Service. Under a better funded park service and one with a clearer objective (preservation vs multiple and often conflicting use) than the disgraced and underfunded Forest Service, St Helens would be elevated to a higher status with better protection, funding, and better and expanded visitor facilities-like perhaps a campground and better maintained trails. Also, St Helens' borders should be adjusted to help better manage it and incorporate periphery areas that should have never been left out when the monument was established-like the old growth forests of Quartz Creek.


4. Lastly, expansion of the North Cascades National Park. While it sounds noble, it is mostly unnecessary. Nearly all of the lands bordering North Cascades National park are federally protected wilderness areas and are under no threat. Perhaps the only exception would be north of Rainy Pass along the PCT in which case national park status or even better-an expansion of the Pasayten Wilderness would be better suited. Why waste political and real capital on an area that is under virtually no threat when other areas in the state are in dire need of protection?

Besides-one of the beauties of the North Cascades complex outside of the National Park lands is the freedom to camp and travel (mostly) unregulated. While I support permitting by the park service as necessary in highly visited areas, why bring this cumbersome and often frustrating process to areas that don't need it-areas that are far more wild and untrammeled than within the park's boundaries. And while I support keeping our park's free from dogs and hunting (another argument that I can address in a separate post) expanding North Cascades National Park into adjacent forestlands where these activities are currently allowed would lock out these users-whom I don't believe should be locked out (yes, they would be locked out) of these lands where they can now freely roam. My biggest reasons for supporting any national park expansion are for better protection and better visitor services. In the case of the North Cascades National Park periphery I don't believe there is much of a resource threat or need for visitor expansion. In Rainier, St Helens and Olympic, I believe otherwise, and I believe it would be wise for conservationists and politicos to concentrate on expanding and improving these crown jewels of Washington State instead. Your take?