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Page A—38 Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, April 16, 2020
1
THE TRAIL
Moss-clad alders and maples line the dry river channels that crisscross t
Olympic National Forest. Journal, photo Mark Woytowich ‘
he Hamma Hamma Bottoms, making for excellent dispersed camping in the .
.q mm.
How to stretch your legs without stretching the law.
et the record show that
on the afternoon of April
9, 2020, a warm, sunny
Thursday, as I stood alone be-
side the highway at the public
dock in Hoodsport, a long pa-
rade of shiny, expensive motor-
cycles throttled by.
Perhaps totaling 20 motor-
cycles, with most carrying two
riders, I watched with wonder
as they motored north into th
social distance. '
A smaller gang of motorcycle riders
were already in town, walking about
in pairs or fours along the store fronts,
and milling close together by the out-
door tables at the burger joint and
ever-popular walk-up window at the
ice cream parlor.
Outside in wonderful weather, I
was looking for places along Hood Ca-
nal where a person could get fresh air,
exercise, and still maintain all those
CDC precautions they’ve been drilling
into my head like catechism lessons
from 1962 the same year, by the
way, when elementary school kids in
America were assured that “duck and
cover” drills beneath their desks Were
going to save them from a direct hit by
an atom bomb.
“Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme
chose.”
The more things change, the more
they remain the same.
at
LEGAL EXERCISE
Let’s see, where to legally move my
legs along Hood Canal?
Potlatch State Park is definitely
closed. The campgrounds are empty
and spotlessly manicured, as I suspect
are many of your front yards.
Up the road, past the Lilliwaup
bridge and north side of the bay, the
staircase at the pullout for Craigs
Beach did NOT appear to have any
By MARK
WOYTOWICH driftwood, as well as oysters
signs, fresh postings, or other
warnings that this Discovery
Pass fee site was off-limits.
So, with public access some-
what uncertain, let me say
simply that the beach below
stretches north for nearly a
mile. At low tide it is an amaz-
ing but rocky place to
find old bottle glass, unusual
(to a lesser degree). A precious
few sandy spots are good for
picnics, light romance and sun tans.
In case clear signs are posted pro-
hibiting Craig’s Beach use, try parking
at the abandoned building just south
of the Lilliwaup bridge, then walking
the dead-end road that parallels the
southern shore of the inner bay. Less
than a half mile, it meanders by shal-
low, subtle Lilliwaup Creek, ending at
the high, wooden wall separating you
from Lower Lilliwaup Falls —— priVate
' property.
Finch Creek'Road, in Hoodsport,
offers another sweet, half-mile road
walk along a similar, scenic course.
Park in the no-man’s land between .
the Post Office and the Visitor Center,
crossing the footbridge over Finch
Creek to find the road. ‘ A r
If you choose either of these neigh
borhood strolls, remember all the
beauty you see is someOne else’s prop-
erty.
Don’t make loud coughing sounds
—— I’ll get complaints.
MAN OH MANZANITA
For top quality legal “hikercise,” in .
the Hood Canal region, the network of
trails at the end of Manzanita Drive,
' in Union, are long-time local favor-
ites. Much of the network is Green
Diamond Resource Co. forest trails,
off—limits to motorized vehicles, but
friendly to walkers and joggers.
Park at the end of the road, then go
through either of the closed gates to
start your exploration. The yellow gat-
ed trail meanders and splits off, mak-
ing it easy to get lost, but most routes
follow the slope down to the canal,
where you can connect with the Har-
mony Hill trail system, for instance.
Follow the orange gated trail
downslope for about a third of a mile
before the first branching trail leads
into the woods on your left.
Both trails are favorites of dog own-
ers. Be prepared for off-leash —— mostly
joyful —4 canine encounters.
GETTING WORSE? DISPERSE
‘ While all developed trailheads, day-
use areas and campgrounds are closed,
dispersed camping, as well as road
walking, bicycling and off-trail hiking
is still permitted in the Olympic N a-
tional Forest.
A good general rule, if you choose to
car camp (dispersed camping) in the
National Forest, is to camp only with
the same people you are homebound
with.
The whole idea behind all park clo-
sures is that far too many people were
gathering at the same locations out-
doors, which was defeating the “social
distance” mandates.
If you can stay to yourself or with
your immediate loved ones, then some
of the best car camping spots are up
the Hamma Hamma Recreation Area,
starting just before the Lena Creek ,
Bridge. Set your odometer the mement
you turn off US. Highway 101 onto
the Hamma Hamma Road, bear right
at the Y in 6.4 miles, and at 8 miles
you are at the bridge, and in the mid- '
dle of a great dispersed camping zone.
Continue past the bridge (now
unpaved) and drive slowly, keeping
a watchful eye to your left.'As this
week’s photo depicts, the huge upper
river basin —— known as the Hamma
Hamma Bottoms offers a network of
dry river channels which make great
campsites for hike-in or four—wheel-
drive camping.
Please, when you hike or camp,
keep it quiet, intim , (1 above
all, clean. Buryinfigahwvmste; no one
should 1(an you were there.
GETTING TRASHED?
Want to take back the forest? Or at
least clean it up a little? Want to visit
hard-to—find waterfalls and cool sWim-
ming holes?
Come meet new friends who are
passionate about hiking, the wilder-
' ness and doing good for our environ-
.
merit!
I am lining up several “TrashMash”
litter pickup events this summer. Two
events will involve cleaning up the
trails to several waterfalls not well
known to the public, and another will
be a trash pickup at both the High
Steel and Vance Creek Bridges.
' Think of it as part hike, part Eas-
ter egg hunt, only the eggs are mostly
Miller Lite cans.
Lots more details to come, including
the dates and the names of the agen-
cies and businesses helping us with
supplies.
These litter pick-up events will
start in July (pending the lifting of
COVID-19 social restrictions).
Check out my website, “wherewa-
terfallsare.com,” to sign up and learn
more.
I Mark Woytowich is a writer, pho-
tographer, video producer and author
of “Where Waterfalls and Wild Things
L Are.” He lives in Potlatch with his “0n
the Trail” column appearing every oth- '
er week in the Journal. Reach him at
his website, www.wherewaterfallsare.
com, or by email at eyefiv'e@hctc.c0m.