Rock Creek Trails Update

Just a quick note on the trail conditions at Rock Creek.

I rode there this weekend and ventured out the Tarbell Trail in search of Hidden Falls (exiting at the back of the campground). We didn't make it to the falls (must have missed a trail point) but we did travel for a long distance on the Tarbell Trail which was in great condition. There were a few sloppy spots, but nothing that made the trail impassable.

There was quite a bit of fresh rock and drainage that has been put in. Thanks to whomever is working so hard to maintain these trails!

We also went up the opposite side of the Tarbell Trail, across the road and through the clear cut. That trail was also in great condition. We didn't travel quite as far on that one but what we did ride, we didn't find any issues.

It did look though that the Bells Mountain trail is closed? Does anyone have any information on that? I've got a couple emails out and will update everyone when/if I find out more.

Happy trails!

Stub Stewart State Park

I'm staring out my window right now so thankful that this weekend is going to be nice and there's an end in sight to this rainy weather.

Warmer weather inspires me to look for new trails and this one looks like fun!

I've not been to it, but after watching the video (below), I'm hooked! I can't wait to saddle up and head out.

Has anyone been there? If so, let us know what you thought!

http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_255.php

Vital Stats:
Park open year round.

Map:


View Larger Map

Video below is borrowed from the state park site.

Happy viewing and see ya'll on the trail!

Rain & Snow Delay Opening of Capitol Forest

The information below is from a DNR press release issued last night. For the full release, check out their site.

ORV and horseback riders and campers longing to get out and play in Capitol Forest this April will have to wait another month. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which manages the forest, has permanently changed the opening date to May 1.

The decision to move the date back one month came about last year as a result of discussions with representatives from user groups in the area and feedback from the recreating public. This new season brings Capitol Forest’s season in line with the Yacolt Burn Start Forest season, which was changed five years ago at the suggestion of user groups.

“We know from the Yacolt Burn season change that there will be an immediate positive impact on the protection of natural resources,” said Brian Poehlein, a recreation manager with DNR’s Pacific Cascade Region.

DNR staff also expect the season change will reduce the amount of maintenance needed on the trail systems in Capitol Forest by keeping traffic off saturated soils during the typically rainy month of April. This, too, was a lesson learned from Yacolt Burn.

The new season open and closure dates had unanimous support from the user group representatives. The closing date was moved back one month to December, which still offers seven months of outdoor recreation opportunities for ORV users, horse riders, and campers. Trails in Capitol Forest are open all year for non-motorized use, except for horses.

For more information about recreation in Capitol Forest, contact Brian Poehlein at 360-575-5021 or brian.poehlein@dnr.wa.gov.

Trail Closures

It seems that the bad economy is hitting everywhere and everything. Even Washington State Parks are not immune.

In poking around their website, it looks like there is a potential budget reduction of $23 million which means some parks might need to be mothballed (closed). For more information and to have your voice heard, check out their site.

Here's a snippet:

With our state and nation in a deep economic recession, the Governor and Legislature are faced with a budget challenge. Washington State Parks must do
its part in reducing expenditures in the 2009-11 budget to help meet the
challenge.The Governor's budget proposal, announced in December, was based on a revenue forecast that predicted a 5.7 billion revenue shortfall. The Governor’s
budget requires State Parks to take a 10 percent budget cut (approximately $10
million in general fund). More recently, the state’s revenue forecast was
predicted to have a revenue gap of more than $8 billion. As the Legislature
creates its budget for the Governor to sign in late spring, this greater
challenge may require State Parks to make even deeper expenditure reductions
that will affect parks and services. Legislators have asked State Parks to
prepare a scenario that would reduce the State Parks budget by approximately $23 million. The Legislature will adopt and the Governor will sign a final budget
into law in late spring, then the Commission will implement the final budget.

Public comment may be sent to pao@parks.wa.gov. All comment received from
the public will be shared with the Commission.

Trail Classification Comments

I received this info from BCHW -

DEADLINE APPROACHING!
This letter is based on BCHA's response to the latest U.S. Forest Service ruling regarding the trail classification issue. This issue is extremely important to the BCH mission and keeping access to stock on FS lands; please help by doing this.

The comment deadline is this coming Monday,12/15/08. The letter is in MSWord so you can personalize it or use it as is. PLEASE STAY POSITIVE & RESPECTFUL! You could also email or print out some extras for friends and other stock users to comment.

If using email send them to: Jstephens02@ fs.fed.us
If using snail mail the address is in the header of the letter.

Questions? Read everything at the BCHA website: www.backcountryhorse.com

Download the Letter

WTRA Activities

Barbara Thomas of WTRA recently sent a quick update on WTRA activities. Thought I'd share here so that people are aware of the activities going on to support our local trails.

Donated $220 for herbicide spray recommended by Clark County Weed Program for use at Battle Ground Lake to control the blackberry vines that tend to grow over the horse trails.

Donated $200 to Milo McIver Park for gravel to repair equine trails.

For more information, contact Barbara Thomas at pineywoman1@aol.com.

Trailhead closures

Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Dickerman and Lake Twenty-two Trailheads Closed for Improvements The Mt. Dickerman Trailhead parking area closes Sept. 29 through April, 2009. Construction will increase the parking lot from 20 spaces to 70 to add parking for the Perry Creek Trail. A connector trail will be built from the Perry Creek Trail to the Dickerman Trailhead, and when it is finished, the Perry Creek Road will be closed. Mt. Dickerman Trailhead is located on the Mt. Loop Highway at milepost 27.3, east of Granite Falls.

Lake Twenty-two Trailhead parking area will close approximately Oct. 13 until the end of the year. The parking lot will expand from 30 to 48 spaces, gain new toilets and signs. Some parking will be available across the highway in the nearby Hemple Creek Picnic area. Lake Twenty-two Trailhead is located on the Mt. Loop Highway at milepost 13.2, east of Granite Falls.

For information about road and trail conditions go to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest site at: http://www.fs. fed.us/r6/ mbs/.

Bob Pickens
DNR Recreation Manager
Pacific Cascade Region
360-596-5145
bob.pickens@ dnr.wa.gov

Hunting Season Schedule

This was passed around BCHW and it's a good thing to know!

Check out the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife link below for a complete schedule of the hunting season and locations.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/seasons.htm

Remember to be safe on the trails this time of year!

Trail Clearing - 3 Corner Trail

Just thought I'd share. Here's an excellent opportunity for all of us that use the trails in the area to pitch in and offer some support to maintain them. Note, this is happening on Sunday.

Click here to see the Trail Map

Hello Friends & Neighbors,

Coming up this weekend we are having a trail clearing and clean-up on the 3 Corner Rock Trail. The plan is to stage two groups, one will start at the top and work down to the 1440 and another start at the 1440 road crossing and work down towards the trailhead; this means that it will all be working downhill. The bottom has already been started and cleared, so now it’s a matter of connecting the top to the trailhead. The work will include removing blow down, brushing; tread maintenance, culvert clearing, and trailhead maintenance. If you plan on coming out please bring work/hiking boots, long sleeves/pants, H2O, lunch, and favorite tools that could help in the trail maintenance. DNR will provide hard hats, gloves, shovels and various other tools that we have.

We will be meeting at 9:00am at 3 Corner Rock Trailhead for staging and getting materials.

So get your self up and drag some friends up to the trail on Sunday and help clear the way from the top down. Thank you for your all of your help and I look forward to seeing you all there.

Sincerely,
Nick Cronquist
Community Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator
Pacific Cascade Region
(360)274-2016
Nick.Cronquist@dnr.wa.gov

Beacon Rock Trail Open

This came through BCHW and I wanted to share:

Good Afternoon, Beacon Rock State Park's multi-purpose trail access is now open through the Equestrian Trailhead. This includes horse, bike, and foot traffic access throughout the backcountry trails.

Thank you for everyone's patience during the process of this project. We have had many calls and visits from park users inquiring about the reopening of the trails, so if you know folks who have also been waiting please pass it on.

Contact the park if you have any questions.

Have a great day,
Breeanne Jordan
Office Assistant
Beacon Rock State Park
509.427.8265

Beacon Rock - Hamilton Beach Trail Update

This came through from the BCHW group who had contact Beacon Rock State Park for a status update. Below is their response.

"... we are making progress. The road washout repairs are in the bidding process, so that is moving along. I believe work will be starting sometime next month, by then we'll have a better idea on the timeline for completion. The bridge contract has been awarded, but awaits the road repairs before anything can happen."

BG Lake - Trail Maintenance

An amazing amount of work and dedication go into maintaining our local trails, keeping them rideable, open, and awesome so that we can all enjoy them.

But did you know that no one person is responsible for these efforts? Local clubs and organizations (such as the Washington Trail Riders Association - WTRA- and the Back Country Horsemen - BCH) pick up a lot of this work, but really it's all of our responsibility to keep these trails going.

Right now the WTRA, in coordination with the park rangers and the WSU Small Acreage program, are working on the Battle Ground Lake Trail.

Perhaps you've noticed the new trailhead at the end of the parking area. This was built as the new trailhead and next to it, they are putting in some manure bins. The bins will ensure that the droppings left by our horses is set up to compost and therefore become a usable by-product for our community.

Once the bins are in place, you need only grab the wheelbarrow that will be there, pick up your manure, and dump it into the bins.

Doing this one small thing will really help keep the parking area clean and usable for other groups that share the space. For some reason, non-horsey people are not all the keen to step in horsey poop. Go figure.

In addition to the opportunities to help with the bins, you can also help keep the trail clear and rideable. Generally the WTRA schedules a couple work parties to cut back weeds, blackberry bushes, etc. but this year has been a bit hectic so they need our help to keep the trail clear. Barbara Thomas, president of the WTRA, said she will be scheduling a work party shortly (look for more info on that soon) but in the meantime, there's no reason why all of us can't be helping out as we're working our horses.

And think, it's a great training opportunity to make your horse stand still as you cut back some blackberries!

For more information on how you can be involved in the Battle Ground Lake Trail project, contact Barbara Thomas at 360-896-7123.

NOTE: They are currently looking for strong, strudy individuals to help place the 12x14 posts for the manure bins. If you or someone you know might be able to help for an afternoon, please contact Barbara ASASP!

Washington and Oregon Fire Updates

Here is a great link you should bookmark if you do any trail riding.

InciWeb is an up-to-date site that lists the fire locations as well as the current status of the fire. It's a very useful tool to keep checking out if you're heading out on a trail.

Washington - http://www.inciweb.org/state/49
Oregon - http://www.inciweb.org/state/38/

Happy trails!

Horse Camps - Gifford Pinchot National Forest

I just found this map online and thought I'd post here. It lists the horse camps in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Pretty neat resource!

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/trails/documents/horsecampmap2006.pdf

Goat Rocks Trail Update

Got this today from Back County Horseman.

USFS has got Trail #96 cleared from Berrypatch Trailhead (Chambers Lake area) to Snowgrass Flats. Bypass Trail #97 has also been cleared - connects #96 to 2000 (PCT). Snow levels are preventing stock passage on the PCT after Snowgrass Flats.

The PCT in the Cispus Basin has some serious problems. The trail is washed out at the falls and not passable for stock. Pacific Crest Trail Association will be working on the washout the 3rd week of August.

Here's a map I found online. If someone has a more up-to-date map, please feel free to provide a link.

And a few other helpful details (from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest):

Southeast of Seattle and Mt Rainier near Packwood, the Goat Rocks Wilderness is a 105,600 acre wonderland. The Goat Rocks Wilderness is a portion of the volcanic Cascade Mountain Range in southwestern Washington between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams.

The Goat Rocks are remnants of a large volcano, extinct for some two million years. This ancient volcano once towered over the landscape at more than 12,000 feet in elevation, but has since eroded into several peaks averaging around 8,000 feet. The cluster of rocks and peaks have become known as Goat Rocks because of the bands of mountain goats that live here.

Goat Rocks Wilderness features mountainous terrain with elevations from 3,000 feet to 8,201 feet on Gilbert Peak. Much of it lies above timberline, providing out-standing alpine scenery. Many high-elevation trails remain impassable, due to snow, until July and snow can return as early as September.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
GPNF (360) 891-5000; WA Tourism (800) 544-1800.

SEASON:
Jun. - Sep.

RATING:
Moderate

BASE CAMP:
NFS Walupt Lake Campground

Email me if you have any additional information on this ride. I haven't been but sounds like a good one to check out!

Kalama Horse Camp Update

I just received this and thought I'd pass it along.

Kalama Horse Camp Trail Status - As of 7/21

The camp is open and was full last weekend.

The trails to Kalama Falls are open and clear.

Cinnamon Trail is blocked by snow on the East end, and has only been cleared for about two miles from camp. Fossil Trail is blocked by snow within a couple miles of Kalama HC, but cleared up to that point.

Kalama Ski Trail/Blue Horse Trail/Toutle Tail Loop (about ten miles of trail) from the horse camp is passable, but you will encounter some blow down and snow.

The Northern sections of the Toutle Trail and Blue Horse Trail (North of Blue Lake) still have deep snow.

The Toutle Trail is still blocked by deep snow on the steep hillside section from McBride Lake to Red Rock Pass, so you cannot make the Blue Lake / Red Rock Pass loop - there has been no maintenance in the upper trail sections yet.

Check out the Trail Map from the USGS.

Beach Riding Update

I just got a great email from Mani that has some fun stuff to check out at the beach. Take a peek and let us know if you have any other ideas!

I think Long Beach, Wa is definitely the best riding beach out there. It goes on forever, is really straight and flat, and there are several places that accommodate horses.

If you want to spend the weekend there are several boarding options right in the city of Long Beach. Go to http://www.funbeach.com and look for horses under activities.

We have stayed at the Red Barn Arena, you have to ride through town to get
to the beach.

If you are are just going for the day I would head up the peninsula to the Ocean
Park beach access and unload horses there. There are fewer people then there are right in downtown Long Beach.

Have fun, Mani

Mt. Adams Horse Camp - Fire Update

I recieved this information today and thought I'd share.

The Mt. Adams Horse camp is still closed due to the Cold Springs fire that started on July 13. It has consumed about 8,000 acres of National Forest, Yakima Reservation, DNR, & private timberlands. The NF and Reservation took the biggest hit. They presently have about 45 miles of firehose laid out and are trying to build a 300' fire line around the burned area. There are 14 Hotshot crews still assigned to the fire and about 1000 firefighters were involved. Some demobilization is taking place.

The trails near camp (# 54,# 38, # 39, # 51 and the lower Loop-no number) were not affected. Gotchen Trail # 40, Cold Springs Trail # 72, Snipes Mt. # 11, Pine Way Trail # 71 suffered heavy fire so it will be a while before they are opened up.