FOOTHILLS RAILS TO TRAILS CALLS ON BCHW in 2006 “So how many people do you think the BCH can put on the project”, asked Don Partington coordinator for Rails to Trails? Tom Faubion answered him, “I don’t know; since it is the day before Easter it may be a difficult weekend for a work party” Since February 1st, at the request of the Rails To Trails, the BCHW crew of Tom Faubion had been preparing for the installation of culverts on the Carbonado-Mt Rainier extension in Pierce County. The material was all packed in on mules and placed in the area of each problem water flow. The word was sent out through the Pierce County Chapter newsletter the Noose that workers were needed for the 10th of April to perform muddy backbreaking work on the culvert installation. The project had its genesis in 2002 when the pioneering work was done to locate a suitable route from the Pierce County Rails to Trails system to Mt Rainier National Park and rough it in. In January of 2003 a work party of 30 people with chainsaws, brush cutters, loppers, shovels, picks, hard backs and strong muscles spent a long day clearing the two mile section for the beginning of a trail. Since then there have been many long days by smaller work parties to fine-tune the trail. Because of the amount of water across the trail it was decided that culverts would be the best way to divert the flow past the trail. Culverts were located and placed on site in preparation for the big work party. On Saturday, 10th of April at 7:00 am the crew began arriving at the several meeting locations. Before 8:30 am forty people in a crew composed of workers from BCHW, Rails to Trails, WTA, and Bicycle groups were going overboard from a landing above the trail with picks, shovels, wheelbarrows, chainsaws, lunches, and mud boots. It was about ¾ of a mile hike to get to the first site. The four culverts were spaced along about a mile stretch of the trail. The crew was divided into four-ten person crews. Crew #1 was led by Carl Fabiani a member of WTA and head of Trails for Mt Rainier National Park. Steve Hoecker Volunteer Coordinator for Cowlitz Valley Ranger District of the USFS led crew # 2. Crew #3 was led by co-team leaders, Don Partington of Rails to Trails and Don Laib of Pierce County BCHW. Ron Downing of Pierce County BCHW and Jack Todd of Western Washington Longears/PCBCH led crew #4 Each of the sites presented it’s own set of challenges. The crews had to adapt the techniques of culvert construction to match the site. At the end of the day all four sites had been dug, cut, scraped and filled in with enough material to make passage possible without getting feet wet and muddy. At on point in the day, Bill Golding called to Tom Faubion over the radio, ”Tom, we need a backhoe down here!” That piece of equipment would have been welcome at each of the sites if it had been portable on Mule-back. As it was, the most prized piece of equipment was Jack Todd’s light wheelbarrow that was somehow packed down the steep slope to the trail and carried to the sites. Every crew was calling for it at some time during the day to make the backfill possible. Jack Todd, John Jensen and Andy Faubion were kept hopping all day with requests to cut more brush and logs from the sites. They are chain saw certified with the Forest Service and their efforts made the project much easier for the crews. Jenny Faubion brought her crew from the University of Washington. Their enthusiasm was infectious and contributed to the atmosphere of cooperation that makes the joint project so enjoyable. The construction of the culverts makes the trail rideable from Carbonado to the Manley-Moore Bridge. With permission of the landowners and acquisition of a little more land the Foothills Rails to Trails will be a reality from Orting to the entrance of Mt Rainier National Park. The project was a great success and an example of what can be accomplished with the combined efforts of many different groups. In spite of the different methods of transportation represented by the crew, everyone enjoyed the day and the camaraderie with new friends.
|
