On Site Visit with Washington Trails Association (WTA)
Alan and Bob discuss terrain on North Side.
Sunshine, good fortune, and Apple Pie. On Monday October 21, 2013 we walked Heybrook Ridge with Alan Carter Mortimer, the WTA’s state-wide lead trails planner. Our goal was to familiarize Alan with the land itself, and with possible trail routes. Under sunny skies, we hiked up the western part of the Park’s north (town) side, along the ridge-top, peeked over at the south side, then to the “Fernald Lookout”, and back down the eastern part of the north side. Kem invited us to his place for some of Etta’s apple pie a-la-mode, and on the way there we fortuitously ran into Alex Ray, the WTA’s Skykomish-based trail crew leader, whom we hope to engage in trail building in April, 2014, before his regular season starts up in May. Hanging out at the Hunters’ gave us a chance to talk to Alex about FOHR and HRCP. He is a great, enthusiastic, can-do sort of guy. AND he has just moved into Index, hoping to get a job at Stevens Pass this winter. If you get a chance to say Hi, plz do.
Challenging but “Do-able” Alan’s takeaway from our hike… He said that the terrain is very challenging, building trails is do-able and worthy, but it would be the most challenging trail system ever for them, which did surprise us a bit.
Trails on Heybrook Pass “Strategic Screening” Alan also told us that WTA had a high-level planning meeting last week in which they did their “Organization Strategic Screening”, and that FOHR made the cut as an acceptable organization for their work.
All photos by Ann Darlington.
Kem walking eastward along an old power line maintenance road that approaches the actual ridge-top. Note the fog rolling in from Monroe, and the Index Wall on upper right.
Note here that Heybrook Ridge itself extends eastward to Heybrook Point (top right, w/snow on cap) and Gunn Peak in the center.
View of Canyon Falls from the Fernald property – a likely addition to Heybrook Park land.