LNT First Principle: Plan Ahead & Prepare

On September 2nd, 2017, a group of boys playing with fireworks started a fire near Eagle Creek in Oregon along a popular hiking trail. Cut off from the trailhead, 153 hikers found themselves trapped. Most of these hikers were visiting a popular swimming hole at the popular Punchbowl Falls, and many were equipped with little more than flip-flops and swimsuits. They were forced 6 miles upstream where they had to camp on bare ground, huddling together for warmth. Forest Service rangers reached them with  limited emergency supplies and in the morning led them several more miles the next day to safety.

The Eagle Creek Fire scenario is a fortunately unlikely occurrence, but it highlights how things can go terribly wrong even on a seemingly easy and simple hike, and how it pays to be prepared. The hikers were lucky they were able to stay together and all of them got out without serious injury, but it could have ended much worse.

The first principle of Leave No Trace is to Plan Ahead and Prepare.

What does Plan Ahead mean?

Know where you're going, and what regulations are in place. Find out who the land manager(s) are for where your are hiking and understand the rules before you go.

Questions you should be asking (not a complete list):

• Do I need any permits for my car or person?
• Is this a wilderness area?
• (For dog owners) Is my dog allowed?
• What is the weather forecast?
• Is it a hunting area and are there hunting seasons I need to know about?
• Is this trail going to be completely packed and busy when I plan to go?

What does Prepare mean?

If you head out unprepared or underprepared, you are risking not only your own safety but the safety of the Search & Rescue folks who would have to go out and save your butt.

The first thing you should do is tell someone where you are going, when you plan to return, and who to contact if you don't check-in at the pre-appointed time. I'm a solo-hiker, so I always tell someone where I'm going. Often, the location is meaningless to them, but at least they know which ranger station to call and forward my info to in case of emergency, and that info will mean something to the right people should the need arise.

There are multiple lists of "The 10 Essentials", "The 11 Essentials", etc. What you need to pack depends on what sort of hike you are planning on. When choosing what to pack, I always think "what is the worst case scenario that could happen to me?" Usually that's eaten by a bear, so then I think "what's the second worst case scenario?" That often involves getting lost or injured, so I like to pack enough I could overnight at least a night in an emergency. If I'm going into an area where there's lots of people I'm not as concerned, but if I think I might be the only hiker out there I want to have enough to survive for 48 hours. What that looks like will vary depending on where I'm hiking.

Instead of 10 essentials, when packing I like to think food, water, shelter, first aid, and navigation/signalling.

• Food isn't just my lunch I'm packing; it's granola bars and jerky that are extra in case I need them. (I also have a compact "survival pack" with a fishing hook and line, but I doubt I'm skilled enough to successfully catch anything...hopefully I never have to find out). 
• Water is dependent on where I'm hiking; if I know I'll have lots of opportunities for refills I won't pack as much. Water purification tablets are good for refills, and I also pack a Lifestraw just in case. The general rule is 2 cups of water for every hour of hiking, but it's good to pack extra if you can afford the weight just in case.
• Shelter for me is extra clothing, rain gear, and overnight survival. I have emergency ponchos and those silver emergency blankets in my pack along with any extra jackets or layers I deem appropriate as necessary. Hats, sunscreen, bug spray, and other protections from the environment I clump in this category.
• First aid is a first aid kit with gauze, bandaids, tweezers, and other little essentials. You never plan on getting hurt, but one misstep and a tumble can cut you up or worse. 
• Navigation/signalling are for finding your way and helping others find you. GPS is nice, but having a map and compass are a good backup for when batteries die. A flashlight (and batteries!) is essential for night travel. Whistles and hi-vis gear will help you be found (a whistle can carry farther than your voice).  A fire-starter of some sort is also helpful, whether it be a lighter or waterproof matches (I've tried to get my sparker to go, but have yet to successfully get a fire going on a test run...if you have that skill then kudos to you).
• The other miscellaneous things I pack are a multi-tool and a knife, because they're lightweight and you just never know when you might need them. (Just a few weeks ago I packed a sandwich with particularly difficulty packaging and required the multitool to get it open.)

Preparing for car camping trip...getting my essentials together!

Exceptions to the rule

No, there are no exceptions to this principle. Be prepared. Safety should always be you number one priority! No exceptions!

Leave No Trace - The 7 Principles

So last year I made a pledge to myself to do more to promote "Leave No Trace" principles in my social media posts. Considering I haven't updated this blog in over a year...yeah I kind of fell off the wagon. My life spiraled into a bi of chaos, a bit of laziness, and I just haven't been writing. I'm going to try and fix that.

"Pic for attention" LOL

I've still been hiking, but I've been having difficulty motivating myself to actually write any trip reports or guides, so I'm going to take a dive instead into Leave No Trace principles. Some stuff is research backed and I'll cite my sources, some of it is my opinion, but I'm going to look at each of the seven principles over the next few posts.

What are they, anyway?

According to the Center for Outdoor Ethics, there are seven LNT principles:

• Plan ahead and prepare
• Travel and camp on durable surfaces
• Dispose of waste properly
• Leave what you find
• Minimize campfire impacts
• Respect wildlife
• Be considerate of other visitors

They're pretty straightforward, and can typically be summed as "use common sense" and "don't be a dick", but in my hiking forums there's a lot of contentious points about some of the LNT principles, especially that last one. You would think that basic principles to help balance preservation with recreation would not cause such an issue, but the various Facebook groups I am in would beg to differ. Those poor admins have locked commenting on countless threads over petty stuff.

So here we go. Over the next few weeks, look ahead as I dive deeper into each one and outline what I believe is acceptable behavior, what is definitely not, and how you can be a good outdoor steward while still getting that awesome Instagram shot. Let's dive down this rabbit hole (but not literally, as we want to respect the wildlife).

PS: I do plan to eventually get back to hiking guides. My life is still a crazy tumultuous tumbleweed right now. I'm using that stress to get these posts churned out, but the light at the end of the tunnel is clearly a glowing neon sign reading "Burnout" so bear with me if I go silent again while I try to bring order to the chaos.

Endless Switchbacks - Beacon Rock

Do you like switchbacks? This trail has 52 of them, according to the Washington State Parks. I only counted 51 on the way down, but what do I know?

I discovered this hike when I was driving back from Portland along I-84. I looked across the river and saw a lonely, rocky spire. I had to check it out!

Beacon Rock State Park is along the Columbia River gorge, just west of Bonneville Dam. It's a gorgeous area even though across the river is currently scarred from last year's Eagle Creek fire. This hike is short, just a mile to the top, but there's lots of other hikes in the park to choose from to extend your stay.

Beacon Rock
Washington State Parks
Parking permit: Discover pass ($10/day or $30/year)
Distance: 2 miles round-trip
Elevation gain: 600'

Parking is in the state park in a turn-off right off Highway 14. There's a decent privy at the trailhead. Follow the signs to the hiking trail; the other trails you see lead to the technical climbing route.

(Fair warning: if you access it from I-84, the Bridge of the Gods is a $2 toll each way. I did not know this until I got there. They accept plastic, but on my return trip their computer was down so I had to pay with a $20 bill and got all my change in $1s.)

As you climb, you'll zig-zag back and forth along the literally dozens of switchbacks, with amazing views the whole way. There's a commemorative stamp at the summit; I brought nothing to stamp so I used my arm but if you want a souvenir bring a notebook or something. There are a lot of switchbacks. And I mean a lot of switchbacks. It's enough to make you a little...crazy.

In fact, instead of my usual blog writing, I'm just going to give you screenshots of my Facebook feed and let them speak for themselves. Enjoy.

Honestly, this was a really easy hike. Despite the climb, the trail is fairly even. Kids could do this hike. Combine it with other hikes in the park and make a full day trip out of it!

Hidden Crossings - Umtanum Creek Canyon

This hike has been particularly frustrating for me. It was one of the first hikes I attempted after moving to the Yakima area. My first attempt was in early spring and it was flooded out. My second attempt came a few months later, where about a mile in I found myself stuck, unable to find where the creek crossed.

This year, I met a fellow hiker who had gotten stuck at the same point. We set out together. It took a bit of hunting, but we finally found the creek crossing! We went until we hit another dead-end. If we were feeling bold, we could have attempted another creek crossing but her toddler was ready to turn around at that point. I believe you can go all the way up the canyon to Wenas Road if you are motivated enough, but that would be a significantly longer hike that would likely require overnight camping.

We were just excited to find the crossing! I'll try to explain where we found it as best as we could.

Umtanum Creek Canyon
FBLM/WA State DNR
Parking permit: $5 FBLM permit
Distance: 4 miles round-trip
Elevation gain: 500'

From Ellensberg, head south on Canyon Road until you reach Umtanum Creek Recreation Area. From Yakima, head north on I-82 and take the exit for Highway 821. Head north on 821 through the canyon until you reach Umtanum Creek Rec Area.

You'll cross a blue footbridge across the river and then go under the railroad tracks to reach the trail.

At the obvious noticeboard, there's an obvious trail that goes to the left and up. Ignore that and hang a right instead, heading up the canyon. There's a lot of open steppe interspersed with tree groves. Later in the year, you may be fighting your way through shoulder-high tall grass that obscures the trail, so spring is probably the best season for this hike.

The banks of the creek are often steep on one side, so you can't just cross wherever you please. It took some hunting, but we found the crossing a little bit after the beaver dam.

A bit after this, the trail begins to braid out in multiple directions, with several dispersed campsites dotting the area. Keep to the narrower path closer to the creek and look for where it levels out with a big rocky shore. Here, we found a few logs that seemed intentionally placed to allow crossing. With a bit of careful balancing, we were able to cross and pick up the trail on the other side.

If you don't cross, you'll come across some old fenceposts and markings of an old homestead. If you hit this, you've gone a little bit too far. If the trail dead-ends in a festering pool of green muck, you definitely went too far.

Remember, there aren't too many places you can cross due to the steepness of the creek banks. The crossing is about a mile up the trail, so keep exploring any accessible bank until you find the crossing point. It's there, but it's difficult to find!

We continued on for another mile until we hit a dead end.

At this point if we were ambitious enough we could have made it across...it's shallow enough and there are enough footholds it wouldn't be too challenging, however we didn't see an obvious continuation on the other side, so we decided to turn around here. There are some nice areas to sit and rest in the shade, so it's a decent picnic and turnaround spot.

There were some flowers, though we didn't hit it at peak flower season, and there were lots of birds, snakes, and other wildlife. One squirrel in particular I think we annoyed, as it didn't seem to appreciate sharing the trail and thought we were following it.

As frustrating as this hike was in the past, it felt great to finally find that crossing and push through the other side. Perseverance and determination finally paid off, especially when two hikers worked together.

Sketchy Bridges - Tieton Nature Trail

I've hiked this trail in two different sections. There are three different creek crossings you may choose from. Two of them are scary, one is not. No matter where you cross, you'll get to enjoy a mix of shade from conifer trees and open shrub-steppe grasslands

Tieton Nature Trail
Washington State DNR
Pass: Discover Pass ($10/day or $30/year)
Distance: ~6 miles round-trip
Elevation gain: negligible

From Yakima, head west on Highway 12. At the junction with Highway 410, turn left to stay on 12. The best place for parking is at the Oak Creek Wildlife Center about half a mile from the junction, on the eastern-most end of the trail. There's a nice metal bridge across the street from the wildlife center you can start at that's very solid with sturdy railing.

Alternatively you can go about 1.5 miles past the wildlife center to a Quonset hut and a suspension bridge; this is where I have parked however the holes in the metal plates required me to carry my dog across as they were too big for his paws.

Be warned that this suspension bridge has a lot of slack in it. And while it looks like there's a handrail there, that's the top cable and you'll have to be tall enough to reach it if you were hoping to hold onto it (on the shore ends, I generally can't reach it with my 5'7" height and have to grab the vertical support bars, but for the bulk of the span I can reach the cable). If you have a group of people I would cross one at a time because of the sway.

If you really don't want to pay for a permit (at $30/year, it's a steal if you're really into hiking, but I digress), there's a limited amount of free parking about 3 miles past the wildlife center, across the street from a slow vehicle turnout. Park across the street; don't park in the turnout! There you'll find a narrow footbridge. It's about two and a half feet wide and there are no handrails which makes it a bit of an unnerving option, but unlike the suspension bridge it's solid underfoot.

Really though, the bridge across the wildlife center is the best. I don't have a photo of it at the moment unfortunately, but it truly is a good solid bridge. If you get nervous around bridges, that's the crossing you definitely want.

Starting from the wildlife center, you'll cross the bridge and immediately head right and go through the wildlife gate. For the first three miles, you'll wander across lots of open steppe. Bring plenty of water in warm weather; you'll need it here.

The trail is mercifully flat, so it's a great hike for a newbie.

You'll pass beneath the Royal Columns, towering basalt cliffs that are a popular spot for rock climbers. Keep in mind there are seasonal closures to protect nesting eagles, however the trail passes just outside the closure area so you're safe for hiking.

From the suspension bridge to the footbridge, you'll encounter more tree cover interspersed with grassy meadow. The trees are not many, but when you're in the thick of it you can almost, almost feel like you're in a real forest. For this native west-sider, it was a breath of fresh air.

The trail will also gain a few slight hills here. In the early spring, I found some mud from recent snow melt, but it was easily navigable.

Beyond the footbridge the trail continues for approximately another mile, though I did not venture out that far.

This trail is best in the spring or fall. In the winter it is snow-covered and snowshoes are a must. In the summer, beware of the high heat. For the shoulder seasons, though, this is a perfect hike that offers a lot of variety in a relatively short distance.

Rocks and water - Ancient Lakes

Long time no write! I've been busy working two jobs. I've been hiking, just not writing. So here we go for a late start to the hiking season!

Back in February I was single, so I took myself and the dog out for a Valentine's Day hike to coulee country. Winter is the time for desert hiking in my opinion. It's cool and there are no rattlesnakes out!

Ancient Lakes Loop
Washington State Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
Parking permit: Discover Pass ($10/day or $30/year)
Distance: 4.6 miles round-trip
Elevation gain: 278 feet

To get to the trailhead, take I-90 exit 149 if coming from Ellensberg or 151 if coming from Moses Lake, and head north on SR-281. After about 5 miles, turn left onto White Trail Road (Rd 5 NW). Wind through farmlands for 7.8 miles and take a left on Rd 9 NW. After a couple miles and a steep downhill grade, the pavement ends and the road becomes Ancient Lakes Road. Follow the road all the way to the end to the trailhead parking.

Even though there are lakes and waterfalls, most of the water is agricultural run-off from all that farmland you drove past earlier. You'll want to pack all the water you'll need for your hike. The valley is a popular backpacking spot; if you decide to camp overnight, make sure you bring plenty of H2O!

As you can see from the satellite, there are several trails that braid off the "official" trail. I ended up following the northernmost one and dead-ending at the lake, then working my way around until I joined the "official" trail. I don't recommend this. The path I took around the lake dwindled to nothing and ended up costing me a lot of energy to finish navigating. 

Otherwise, it was a beautiful hike. There had been a light dusting of snow the evening before. For most of the hike, the sun stayed behind a cloud and gave off some fantastic lighting.

At the easternmost lake, a waterfall in the distance can be seen. There's another trailhead above that waterfall somewhere, with a hike down the cliff. Someday I'll find that trailhead and hit the valley from that angle.

There's also supposedly a route that leads up the blade that separates this coulee from its next-door neighbor. I think I saw the route but couldn't get to it this time, so next time I'm gonna give it a shot.

In the summer, I imagine the heat is sweltering out here. For a February hike, it was nice and cool. I took off my jacket when I hit the sunny spots.

This is a great off-season hike (just check the road conditions, as there's a steep curve to contend with that I wouldn't want to attempt when icy). I'll definitely be returning to this area to access it from the other trailhead and check out Dusty Lake coulee to the south.