Gold Creek Footlog Built in Clallam County, Washington
Back Country Horsemen Peninsula Chapter Participated in the Effort
Have you ever encountered a log footbridge while out hiking? Have you ever wondered how it was installed over that raging creek or river? The next time you come across one during your adventures, stop for a moment and be grateful it’s there. Fording some of our wild creeks and rivers can be extremely dangerous. Without the Footlog bridges, we lose access to many glorious, wilderness trails in our national forests.
In the Olympic National Park, footlogs are installed either by a paid Park trail crew or by volunteers. In the Olympic National Forest, it’s a guarantee it was installed by volunteers because the ONF doesn’t have a trail crew. Most of the time the Backcountry Horsemen are involved because of their extensive knowledge of rigging and the gear they have to move heavy objects, not to mention the horses and mules to get the heavy equipment to the job site.
Last week, on Gold Creek, in the Dungeness area on Forest Service land, we had a fantastic collaboration of the following volunteer groups: Graywolf Crew, a volunteer trail crew led by Mike Bonomo, Backcountry Horsemen Peninsula Chapter led by Tom E. Mix and Del Sage, Pacific Northwest Trail Association’s Quilcene Ranger Corps, a fantastic group of middle school kids from Quilcene who work at trail work during the summer! Their crew leader is Tanner Boggs and Eric Wollborg is Communications Manager for PNTA. Martin Knowles, Paul G. Hornberger, Rod Farlee and others joined the fun.
The teamwork was astounding. The log was moved, prepped and installed. The approaches, the trails leading to and from the bridge, were created to excellent trail standards. This footlog was a long time coming.
We are thrilled the Forest Service finally gave us the go ahead to get it done, and we are proud of the results. Everyone had a great time, no-one walked away without learning something new, and the kids grew so much in their confidence, pride and skills!
Volunteers young and old participated in the construction of this footlog, a bridge designed to carry hikers over waterways that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to cross. Projects such as this require many hands and even more hours to achieve, but the positive results can enhance our forests for many
lifetimes.
How a Footlog is Installed
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Learn more online:
www.bcha.org
