Huge Badger Mountain Work Party
It was an impressive sight: more than 100 volunteers turning out on a sunny weekend to help a new multi-use trail on Badger Mountain right on the outskirts of Richland, Washington.
When the trail is finished it will be a great place for folks to recreate, with trails for hiking, biking and equestrian. The views from the summit extend in every direction and include the plains of Central Washington, the Columbia and Yakima Rivers, the Tri Cities, Hanford Reach and the White Bluffs, and distant glimpses of Mt. Rainer and Mt. Adams.
Over 100 volunteers worked on two trails - the Skyline Extension and Sagebrush - and completed over a mile of new trail. This leaves about a half mile to still be completed and will result in a great loop hike when combined with the Canyon Trail, which WTA helped to build in 2005, or hikers could do a through hike by combining with the Skyline trail, which we helped to construct in 2006.
To mobilize this large group of volunteers took the efforts of WTA, the Friends of Badger Mountain, Rattlesnake Ridge Riders chapter of the BCH, Chinook Cycling Club and the Kenniwick REI. The turn-out was so impressive that the Tri-City Herald even wrote an article about the work party.
The route had been flagged out by Jim Langdon, trail master for the Friends of Badger Mountain and a WTA assistant crew leader. The volunteers each laid claim to their own piece of shrub steppe and began to shape trail tread out of the hillside. Those lower down and on the north side of the mountain found easy digging in loess soil, while those nearer the summit and on the south side ran into much rockier soils which made for slower going. All the crews worked hard to join their sections to the ones above and below.
By the end of the day Sunday everyone was pretty tired, but happy. We had managed to complete the Sagebrush trail and made a sizable dent on the Skyline extension! A few more work parties will be necessary to carve out the remaining trail and to fine-tune what has already been built. All of the volunteers should be proud of what they accomplished in a weekend and know that their efforts will be greatly appreciated by everyone who loves to hike and ride on Badger Mountain.
Comments
Moses Lake, Washington to begin negotiations with Columbia Basin Railroad
to secure rail line for trail
The City of Moses Lake has begun negotiations with Columbia Basin Railroad
to purchase rail line and accompanying properties that go through the
middle of town for conversion into a trail
Moses Lake, Wash – At a recent parks and trails meeting in Moses Lake, it
was announced that the officials from the City of Moses Lake and Columbia
Basin Railroad will begin holding meetings to discuss the acquisition of a
segment (Segment 4) of the Columbia Basin Railroad line that runs through
the City of Moses Lake.
Columbia Basin Railroad used to operate the Spirit of Washington Dinner
Train, which ran from Renton to Woodinville for nearly 20 years.
As part of the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad Project, Segment 4 is
slated to be vacated once a new bypass segment (Segment 1) northeast of
Moses Lake is built.
In February, the City of Moses Lake approved sending letters to U.S.
Senator Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, and U.S. Representative
Doc Hastings requesting funding to acquire Segment 4
(http://www.rtands.com/newsf[…]o-acquire-rail-segment.html).
At the recent trails and parks meeting, a copy of the following letter was
provided that Columbia Basin Railroad had sent to the City of Moses Lake
detailing the various properties that were available with the rail segment
(https://docs.google.com/fil[…]jBhLWE0NWMtOGQyYzJiZWFmMzBh).
Once the rail segment and accompanying properties are purchased from
Columbia Basin Railroad, the City eventually wants to convert them into a
trail as well as to provide better access to the waterfront for possible
private and public developments.
Posted by:
don on Apr 15, 2010 07:32 PM