[pct-l] Chinook Pass to Snoqualmie Pass - How Ugly is it?

[Barry Teschlog]

I feel the need to correct some misunderstandings on this particular stretch of the PCT.

First off, yes, it IS the ugliest section of the PCT in Washington, at least from a mile or so north of Government Meadows to just south of Mirror Lake (the checkerboard clear cut section), of that there is no doubt.  Partially this is a reflection of how high the quality of the PCT is in Washington - what can compare to the Alpine Lakes?  Or the area around Cutthroat Pass north of the North Cascades Highway?  Or Fire Creek Pass on Glacier Peak?  Spectacle Lake?  Goat Rocks?  Flanks of Mt. Adams?  Not much, ANYWHERE on the entire PCT - having thru hiked in 2006, I state this from first hand experience.

Yes, there are checker board clear cuts in this section.

That said, few of the clear cuts are recent.  Many of the older ones are regrowing nicely and while no where near the majesty of old growth forest, they aren't horrible to hike through either.  

On the brush:  Yes, there is quite a bit of it in the former clear cuts, although quite a bit less since 2010.  Having done this section in 2005, 2006 and large sections of it in 2009 to date, I NEVER encountered 15 foot high brush - chest deep, you bet, before the PCTA crew got going, but never 15 foot.  The PCTA volunteer crew in the area, the North 350 Blades working closely with Washington Trails Association (WTA) and the local USFS crew, have been, and remain hard at work clearing the brush south of Snoqualmie Pass.  Of course, most of this brush is huckleberry and blueberry, so ones perception depends on the weather, time of year and how much one cares for fresh berries.  Myself, I say cut it back to a solid 8 foot wide swath and let the berry pickers have to step off the trail to get the fruit for their morning oatmeal. I'd rather not have to push through it on a chilly, dew drop September morning.   ;-)

Since the PCTA group founding in 2010 with the opening of the PCTA North Cascades Regional Representative office, the Blades have cleared approaching 8 miles of trail of brush south of Snoqualmie Pass (and that with only a small group of volunteers).  

Specific areas include from Snoqualmie Pass south to beyond Windy Pass - over 5 miles in that continuous brush free stretch (although the annual growth in Rockdale creek is going to be a bear to keep clear).  Additional areas include a solid mile and a half cleared starting about 3 miles south of Stampede Pass.  On both of these projects, the PCTA and WTA crews tag teamed to create long brush free stretches of trail - WTA clearing about a mile plus in total, the USFS crew doing several days worth of brushing with the PCTA crew clearing a good 5 miles plus.

Another area of significant brush cutting has been near the Stirrup Lake Trail Junction (about 10 trail miles south of Snoqualmie Pass) where over mile of brush has been cleared, with the most recent crew out on the 4th of July cutting back a good 1/3 of a mile.

The Blades have a 3 day weekend project scheduled for August 24-26 for about 3 miles south of Tacoma Pass (call it 30 trail miles south of Snoqualmie) where we'll clear another 1.5 miles of brush over a 3 day weekend.  This project may move a bit to the north depending on the results of a scouting trip planned for Saturday July 14 where a few members of the crew will run between Stampede Pass and Tacoma Pass, while another person does an out and back scout south from Tacoma Pass.  There are preliminary indications of heavy brush in the Snowshoe Butte area and we may shift the work party to that location to tackle the heaviest brush over those 3 days.  There will also be many single day brushing trips organized between now and when it starts snowing via the Blades e-mail list and Facebook page - get on them if you are interested in helping.

As to the comment on the rocky and rooty tread immediately south of Snoqualmie Pass, this also has been a focus area of the Blades / PCTA work.  In fact we've had crews out there on July 1, July 7 and July 12 this year working the drainage and tread issues.  In addition, we had crews at the top of the ski slope south into the woods for several days last fall working the tread, plus another day with a corporate group working right from the trail head to the top of the ski slope.  The very first Blades project in August 2010 was restoring a rocky section of trail near Olallie Meadows (~4 miles south of Snoqualmie).  We have a 3 day work party for next weekend, July 20-22 working tread issues a bit south of there, at Yakima Pass / Twilight Lake, to restore a very muddy section of the trail.  WTA has also put hundreds, if not into the thousands, of hours into tread work south of Snoqualmie these last several years (Windy Pass and near Stirrup Lake Trail
 Junction to name 2 specific locations) - they'll be out again for several days later in the fall working tread issues (exact location TBD).  Check out the pictures on the North 350 Blades Facebook page for some results from the PCTA crew.

All of this needed work on the trail south of Snoqualmie is because it WAS neglected for so long.  That is no longer the case.  It's rapidly being restored to a proper standard befitting it's National Scenic Trail status.  While no amount of work will be able to restore the clear cuts (only time can do that) the TRAIL will be whipped back into shape, so it can be at least pleasant hike, if not the prettiest section of Washington to hike.

All of that said, the local PCTA crew can sure use more volunteers - we need YOUR time.  Don't curse this section of trail - be part of the change you want to see.  We have a helmet for you - come get it.  We have a brush saw and set of loppers waiting for you, come wield them and slay some brush (one of our newer volunteers, an 07 thru, has a new trail name - "Full Throttle" for her style with the brush saw).  We have pulaskis, pick mattocks and shovels - come and put them in the dirt to fix muddy, rocky, rooty tread.  We have cross cut saws - come make one sing while clearing winter blow down, or better yet, be a swamper for one of our newly trained (thank you PCTA) chain saw sawyers.  We have the leadership, training, experience and direction to put YOUR work to a productive end.  E mail the PCTA volunteer coordinator, e-mail the Blades directly (north350blades at gmail.com), join a WTA crew in the area (although in the summer, I'm a PCTA
 volunteer, I also volunteer with WTA when the PCT is snowed under - in the end, I really don't care WHO you join, the WTA or PCTA crew, so long as you join a crew on the PCT) - all the trail wants for is YOUR volunteer time.

Thanks for your consideration.

Barry / TC
North 350 Blades
'06 thru hiker
'01 - '05 Washington Section Hiker