Hiker Headlines: St. Helens Permits, Hikers Rally, Snow Sticks Around

It's Feb. 21. Hikers proved, once again, that they're awesome — and a powerful force — at Hiker Rally Day. Mount St. Helens climbing permits go on sale next month. And — probably no surprise — there's still a lot of snow on trails. 

Here’s some hiker news that you may have missed while out on trail this week.

More than 150 Hikers attended Hiker Rally Day to talk to lawmakers about the important of funding for trails. Photo by Britt Lê. 

The power of hikers: Earlier this week, more than 150 hiker advocates traveled to Olympia for WTA’s 10th Rally Day. Hikers heard inspiring messages from keynote speakers Representative Andrew Barkis and Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. Collectively, the advocates attended more than 100 meetings with elected officials to make the case for funding trails to their legislators. Couldn’t attend? You can still add your voice. And, we’ll continue to be in Olympia throughout the session to advocate for our priorities for trails.

In another rally this week, we joined our partners and Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Suzan DelBene to encouraged the U.S. House to take up and pass a federal public lands package, including funding the keystone Land and Water Conservation Fund program.

Climb a volcano: Want to have a blast this year? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Mount St. Helens climbing permits go on sale at 7 a.m. PDT on March 18. This year, permits will be sold through Recreation.gov. Sales are first-come, first-served. To make it easier, create a Recreation.gov account in advance. Permits are required year-round, but from April 1 to Oct. 31 the number of permits is limited. This year there are some changes in the process, so read up before you make your reservation. (It’s also permit season for other areas, including the Enchantments.)

Snow! Yes, we're still talking about snow.  Many areas of the state got a lot of snow over the last couple weeks. If you’re heading out, it’s even more important than usual to be safe and check conditions. And of course, we want to see trip reports and photos. (Also, if you’re still cold? Our Instagram community has tips on keeping warm.)

Trail news is the best news: In trip reports this week,you can actually find snow-free hiking and even backpacking in Washington right now. Yes, backpacking! Also, these clever bird-brains created the outline of Washington state in the air.

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