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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 9, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 9, 2020
 
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ON THE TRAIL By MARK WOYTOWICH ow lucky to be, a child growing up in the upper Skokomish Valley. Of course there’s the Olym— pic Mountain Ice Cream plant, hidden away on one of the most color— fully named lanes you will ever come across — there are quite a few great names up here —— and the Richert Farm produce stand, so kids can balance that bel- . lyful of salted caramel swirl with some fresh veggies from their neighbor’s farm. Heirloom apple trees line the Skokomish Val- ley Road in places, some dropping fruit around mailboxes at the end of farmers’ driveways, with some apples roll- ing into the road where car tires make apple sauce. Cows, horses and llamas roam the fields, eagles and buz- zards fly above and not strange at all to the locals salmon in the fall swim across the road when the South Fork Skokomish River runs over its banks. Come every July with its hot weather and dropping stream levels, the children growing up here prob- ably begin to behave a bit like salmon them- selves, exploring Vance Creek and the wide, sprawling, sediment- laden bends of the Skokomish, crossing the knee-deep, clear waters as they forge upstream in search of cliffs and swimming holes, and in the case of Vance Creek, to Where they can look up at the Vance Creek Bridge spanning 347 feet above them. No doubt some chil- dren from the 19605 are still around as adults today, a bit creaky in the knees, gray stubble on their necks and chins, and they can tell you stories of looking up at the Vance Creek Bridge as one of those final loads of logs came shuddering across the steel beams, hauled off to the Simpson mill until logging operations ceased in the 1970s. Old-timers’ stories about the bridge (and her nearby sister, the High Steel Bridge) are plentiful, colorful and Painting a new p strain the bounds of credibility. Personally, I believe most to be true. I especially love the one told to me by Dale Hubbard, owner of KMAS 1030 AM Ra- dio before selling it to iFiberOne. He said he and his friends used to rig up go-karts to fit the rails and ride across the bridge on them. As if the two high- est railway bridges in the United States aren’t enough to keep you entertained in your Skokomish Valley back- yard, I learned recently from another gray-whis- kered Valley resident that a fairly large wa- terfall is tucked some— where up there as well. Indeed, I have the scratches, sore muscles and fir needle tips down my collar from my efforts to find the falls. They are huge and high, spilling into staggered tiers of shim— mering pools separated by chutes of flowing cataracts. But I’m going to save all of that for later. Right now, we need to focus on the Vance Creek Bridge. FINALLY, FAMILY FUN I never thought I’d be recommending the Vance Creek Bridge as old-fashioned fam- ily fun, but my most recent visit, over the July 4th holiday, has me changing my rating from “Jaws” to “Finding Nemo.” Employees of Green Diamond Resource Go, owners of the bridge and surrounding land, have gone out of their way to make the bridge accessible. In addition to policing and main— taining a large parking area, they’ve regraded the entire walkway to the bridge (about 0.7 miles), replacing cul- verts and eliminating that last wet gulley you had to climb in and out of. It’s now a wide, smooth, super-groomed walkway, allowing COVID-prOper distance between those com- ing and going from the bridge. The walkway is lined with thousands of wildflowers: white-pet- aled daisies as tall as your chest; yellow dan- delion and buttercup; white, pink and purple foxglove cones; and for the herb collector, stands of yellow-petaled St. John’s Wort, which draw big, fat bumble- bees, drunk on pollen. . Thanks to a moist early summer, both sides of the walkway icture o n- fVa ngc reek Thursday, July 9, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal — Page A—39 ~ Bfidgel i Think of graffiti as coronavirus in a can, a spray can. Along with litter, spray painting is a human- ‘ sourced assault on natural, historical and recreational treasures in Mason County. These youths, who did not spray graffiti, were nevertheless trespassing on the Vance Creek Bridge, a criminal offense carrying a $150 fine. Journal photo by Mark Woytowich are sprouting long, low vines of native black- berry. Many thousands of red, juicy jewels are about a week away from darkening to edible. Get here soon and you can eat your way to the bridge. A short spur trail leads to a “gorge-ous” View of the bridge. (Re- turn the same way; do not meander off on the amateur trails along the bluffs.) NEW PAINT JOB? Finally we approach the bridge. I had been worried that officials at Green Diamond were employing a strategy of “a thousand cuts” as a way of slowly disman— tling the bridge. After all, around 2015 the company had pulled up the first 100 feet or so of railroad ties as a means of discouraging climbers from crossing the span. I was worried there would be no railroad hasn’t changed. Ample railroad ties and weird, twisted steel rails still beckon the viewer. It’s still the same dreamy and all those years ties left next time I vis- greenish hulk of steel since, with teens and ited. holding out its tempting young adults who’ve Well, that status palm, its gangplank of crossed those timbers with racing hearts, with mixed fear and wonder, spaced timbers leading off to memories going back as far as 1929 when it was first built see TRAIL, page A-40 ALLYN Case Inlet our SHELTON |Oakland Bay your. local lines For the week of JULY 9 through JULY 15,2020 HIGH (FEET) LOW (FEET) SUN MOON lO ‘1 m-mmmmmm ‘2 9m fl ‘ wmmmmmwmmmmmn ‘4 mmmmmmm wmmmmmwmmmmmn DATE HIGH (FEET) [OW (FEET) SUN MOON UNION [Hood Canal AM F‘M A M PM mmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmnmmm 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DATE HIGH (FEET) LOW (FEET) a SUN MOON Tide tables may contain enors. Not intended for navigational use. Tidal Information Courtesy US Halbosscom AM PM A 3‘?) 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