The Mountaineers
Seventeen Mountaineers members from our Seattle, Everett, Tacoma, and Foothills branches joined the Mountains to Sound Greenway on August 27 to help disassemble social trails around popular rock climbing crags on the Little Si Trail. The Greenway staff were impressed at the efficiency of our Mountaineers - from hiking to getting work done, they said we took four hours to accomplish what it would take a normal group to accomplish in a full eight-hour day. When Mountaineers get involved, we show up in force!
As many of us know, the Little Si trail is one of the most visited trails in the state. This area was established as a Natural Resources Conservation area in 1987 - the very first in Washington State. As rock climbing increases in popularity, Little Si has seen significant increase in usage, increasing the appearance of small paths that form near the climbing crags known as “social trails.”
One of our main projects for the day was restoring a patch of social trails that have formed near the widely used World Wall. Our group had a lot of climbers on hand who were able to offer their unique perspective on how they typically approach routes, as well as lend smart ideas for alternative routes that would have low impact on the surrounding vegetation.
A team of six spent the day moving a few very large boulders and constructing a new set of stairs, while the rest of the crew broke up in teams to transplant mountain ferns and scatter logs and large branches. If you’re heading up that way soon be sure to enjoy these new steps and distinct new trail boundaries!
We were excited to continue our partnership with the Mountains to Sound Greenway through this Mountaineers-only stewardship event. We also partner with the Greenway in advocating for National Heritage Area designation for the Greenway and other stewardship projects.
