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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
April 2, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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April 2, 2020
 
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THE TRAIL Thursday, April 2, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-45 "TFF' -. I Early symptom of virus was rush for the woods ‘, bad news. How about the good news first? I’m_very excited to be sharing direc- tions to a brand new waterfall. , The bad news? You can’t go there until after the virus says “goodbye— )5 I'llS . I ’ve got some good news and some. Be patient, as this is a real beauty, one of the most photogenic and rewarding falls to explore. It’s a bit tricky to get to the bottom, however, , . as it’s tucked in a ’ mini—canyon that By MARK is steep, mossy and WOYTOWICH slippery in the final ‘ . approach. V We used a rope. It was a cinch, ha-ha. As you can see by the photo, this yet-to-be-named waterfall is kid-safe, with adult supervision. SPEAKING OF SUPERVISION Now we need to cover the bad news of my story. As fast as you can say, “Stay safe, Stay Home,” all four major public lands agencies released closure announcements last week regarding their separate domainsof supervision. First, the Olympic National Park announced the closure of all its lands, roads and facilities. ' Earlier the Washington State Parks had announced partial clo- sures; at first it was only camping, day-use and picnic facilities, but soon‘ authorities expanded the social dis- tance radius to include full closure 1 of all properties, including trails and beaches. , This broader ban was marked by locked gates at park entrances. Right after that, the Department of Natural Resources launched its own ban to include all lands under their jurisdiction. Sorry, equestrian, dirt bike and quad riders. Finally, coming late last Friday, the National Forest Service released its own COVID-19 closure statement: “All Olympic National Forest developed recreation sites will be closed through April 8, 2020; or until such measures are lifted. Recreation Closures include trailheads, day use areas, campsites, cabins and picnic sites.” ' 7 HUMAN-TO-HUMAN CONTACT I’d like to offer an alternative in- terpretation of “human~to-human” contact here. For the sake of this par- ticular column, let’s think of human contact as communication between two human beings. Despite the giant parental “N0!” of government closures or, for that mat- ter, any socially restrictive rules of engagement, there are human beings behind such rules and closures. These human beings sometimes have very human-behavior-based reasons for issuing their guidelines. One such human being is Yewah Lau, district manager for the Nation- a1 Forest Service Hood Canal Ranger District. My “take” on her, alter an exten- sive interview during the initial out- break of COVID-19 in Washington, is that this park administrator does not want to rain on the parade of law-‘ abiding, social-distancing, outdoors— Starved citizens. However, in the weeks prior to the park closures (when the Chinese, European, and for that matter, the Kirkland-centered outbreaks were already news, with social distancing already being recommended) Lau and her fellow forest officials found themselves looking on, somewhat powerless, as huge, swelling waves of humans, many already in crowded cars, started showing up at National Forest trailheads. Though barely a month ago, this ‘phenomenon already seems like old times. But in early March there was a public rush to the outdoors. Locally, Big Creek Trail had five times the L normal visitors. To me,.this only made sense. Faced with the prospect of self-quarantine, Americans were suddenly taking in the great outdoors as never before. “Very early on I began to feel that this might be too much of a good thing,” Lau says. “‘I thought to myself, are you re- ally social distancing if you approach an overflowing parking area, know-' ing that there are already plenty of people on that particular trail?” Forest trailheads aren’t exactly like the doorway at Fred Meyer, with an attendant ready to hand you an alcohol towel. And if you’re thinking that the Los Treasure of Toilet Paper is hidden inside a National Park or Forest pit latrine — well, that’s the LAST place 'you’re going to find toilet paper. “From the start we were facing our own challenges with staff limitations,” Lau says. “We weren’t equipped or prioritized to receive disinfectants or other supplies to sanitize our rest— rooms and picnic areas.” Indeed, as you might expect, the flood of new visitors also brought a new wave of troubles. Because many folks were not conscientious and practiced stewards of the wild, huge amounts of litter and trash began overflowing all available containers, as well as becoming a massive eyesore along forest roads. ’ Some folks blew out tires because they weren’t familiar with potholed roads. Others thought it was a perfect day to “visit” Mount Ellinor, when, in reality, deep snow stopped them far down the forest road from the lower trailhead. Or, famously, as a 26-year-old hik- er proved in a late February incident, breaking an ankle and then crawling on all—fours for eight hours until he got a cell signal on the Duckabush : Trail —— you can count six rescuers in the photo of the crew that carried him by stretcher to the helicopter, where yet others came into close contact to save his life. “We are saddened to temporarily restrict recreation,” says Olympic National Forest Public Affairs Officer Susan Garner, “but the larger picture is that we must do our part to reduce the coronavirus curve. We are simply asking the public to help us prevent the kinds of accidents and incidents that would involve bringing rangers or first responders into close contact Two young friends from Olympia pump victorious fists ’ -, in the air after roping into the 7 gorge at a yet- , to-be-named waterfall near Jorsted Creek Road. Journal photo by Mark ’ Woy’towich with others. “We’d like. volunteer cooperation under temporary conditions,” Garner * says, “to help us in not placing further stress on law enforcement, first aid or medical personnel.” ONWARD, FALLS! Well, I, admit it makes good sense. Hey, and this is coming from none see TITAIL, page A-46 ALLYN Case Inlet DATE HIGH (FEET) A Ea Wei . Your local Titles For the week oprriI 2 through April 9 lOW (FEET) SUN MOON AM PM m : -0.1 12.5 11:01 13.3 11:39 T ' ' .1 12:25 1.3 [OW (FEET) ii M PM 8:57 10:02 0.1 11:01 -0.1 : "’ L 0.0 4:09 5:09 6:07 14.0 7:0’4T144 8:02 14.6 SHELTON |OakIand Bay DATE HIGH (EEET) AM PM 3:10 11.0 ' 4 4:12 133 T 2:28 11.1 13.8 3:42]11.7 14.3 4:47 12.5 6:01 14.8 5:47 13.3 6:32 15.1 T 14.0 7:04 15.3 7:42 | 14.4 7:30 15.3 14.6 UNION l Hood Canal DATE HIGH (FEET) AM are ' SUN MOON IOW (FEET) AM PM Tide tables have been transcribed and may contain errors. Nol intended for navigational use. Tidal Information Courtesy US Harbomom L, dim, ,_._~,,N ,_._.._w v- ___r .Weekly Tide Tables Sponsored'by —~ VERLE'S Your mam Complete Outdoor Recreation Store SINCE 1948 (360)