[webmaster]

This is from one of the forest rangers from that district who likes to ride. Les and I are going to make it to volunteer and ride the area one of the weekends - haven't decided which weekend yet. It is far enough away from a metro area that the trails are pristine and the views are breathtaking. It is near the Mt Saint Helens Volcano in southeast Washington state.

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I am inviting trailriders to volunteer either or both of these weekends to
help repair trails on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I work with
other volunteers every year on these trails. We need more help. The plan
is to camp out at a campground, ride up some difficult trail and do some
tread repair. We have some extra tools and packs to carry them but if you
have a way to bring a shovel or pulaski, that would help. Small folding
shovels will not work, the tools need to be full size and heavy duty.

The July 22-23 campout will be at Lower Falls Campground. The trail to be
repaired on Saturday is trail 2. Dualsport or haul bikes to the trailhead.
Fun ride on Sunday. This weekend is more for riders from the Longview to
Vancouver area. It is a very long way for Puget Sound riders to travel but
that would be great if people from up north want to join us.

The August 12-13 campout will be at Tower Rock Campground. There is free
camping along the Cispus River. The trail to be repaired on Saturday is
trail 1, access at Yellowjacket trail. Go up the 28 road, to the 2810 road
to the trailhead. The trailhead will be marked. Leave the campground at
9:00am. Fun ride on Sunday. There are several riding options. This will
be determined by who shows up.

There is more information about the campgrounds and trails on the Gifford
Pinchot web site. Tower Rock takes reservations, although they are
probably not needed. Lower Falls is first come, first served. These are
the closest campgrounds to the trail work. I can be reached at
360-891-5176 for more info.

These trails are in the Dark Divide Roadless area. The trails are very
difficult and the scenery is outstanding. These trails have been in place
for many years and were not constructed to ORV standards. They were
originally pack trails made to service Fire lookouts. Some preservationists
feel the trails should be closed to trailbikes, one reason being they have
not been maintained to a suitable standard. The Forest Service trail crews
and the regular volunteers are having trouble keeping up with the
maintenance. When new motorized trails are proposed, the usual comeback is
"we can't maintain the ones we have, why build more?". So can we maintain
them?

I am posting this announcement on the NMA web site.


Tom Savage
Landscape Architect
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
360-891-5176