THE WTA
I literally would be lost without the Washington Trails Association. They started out as a grass roots magazine, a place for hikers to share back country trail adventures and conditions. Their mission has evolved into political activism, giving hikers a voice in Olympia including a much bigger piece of the pie from the NOVA tax to go to trail maintenance. The invaluable website they have is the only reason I can do what I love with it's detailed descriptions of hikes, how to find the trails and which way to go at the forks. In 1993 they began getting a volunteer workforce like these folks here repairing trails or circumventing the ones damaged beyond repair, in 2015 they recorded 140,000 hours in labor. It is now the largest program of it's kind in the nation. Last night I put my money where my mouth is and have become a member and have vowed to volunteer at least once this year. I stumbled upon about twenty volunteers here on a much deserved break above the ape caves. Thank you from the bottom of my heart WTA for all that you do.
(if you've not seen it before, that is the south side of Saint Helens, she still looks great from there) :-) (you may also notice that this was taken on the same day as the previous post, that was one LONG day of driving......) :-)
THE WTA
I literally would be lost without the Washington Trails Association. They started out as a grass roots magazine, a place for hikers to share back country trail adventures and conditions. Their mission has evolved into political activism, giving hikers a voice in Olympia including a much bigger piece of the pie from the NOVA tax to go to trail maintenance. The invaluable website they have is the only reason I can do what I love with it's detailed descriptions of hikes, how to find the trails and which way to go at the forks. In 1993 they began getting a volunteer workforce like these folks here repairing trails or circumventing the ones damaged beyond repair, in 2015 they recorded 140,000 hours in labor. It is now the largest program of it's kind in the nation. Last night I put my money where my mouth is and have become a member and have vowed to volunteer at least once this year. I stumbled upon about twenty volunteers here on a much deserved break above the ape caves. Thank you from the bottom of my heart WTA for all that you do.
(if you've not seen it before, that is the south side of Saint Helens, she still looks great from there) :-) (you may also notice that this was taken on the same day as the previous post, that was one LONG day of driving......) :-)