The importance of outside funding and volunteer labor
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In October of 2016, the Pasayten Wilderness Trails Trust provided funds for the fiscal year 2017, and has been providing funds each year since then.
For details, see Gift Conditions |
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grants constitute the bulk of trail maintenance funding for the Methow Valley Ranger District. In order to receive this funding, the district must provide matching funds, which can include outside funding and volunteer labor hours. The district typically must match at 50% to receive RCO funds. Volunteer labor and outside funding is absolutely critical to receiving the grants.
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2017
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Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail
Middle Fork Pasayten River Trail |
The Methow Valley Ranger District used the 2017 for two purposes. The first was funding three Forest Service seasonal trail crew members to work one pay period (10 days) on a section of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail between the Pasayten River and Bunker Hill. The crew was able to complete approximately 2 miles of trail clearing including logout, minor brushing and some tread work.
The second purpose was to fund a Forest Service seasonal employee to work with a WTA youth crew on a section of the Middle Fork Pasayten River trail. This work involved replacing two rotten puncheon bridges with culverts and fill, then re-benching a section of tread. The section was previously a hazard to stock users accessing the Tatoosh Buttes trail from the Middle Fork Pasayten. Clark Simpson, Trail Program Manager |
2018
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Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail
Sheep Mountain Trail Ashnola River Trail |
The Methow Valley Ranger District used the 2018 funds for two purposes. The first was funding seven Forest Service seasonal trail crew members to work one pay period (10 days) on a section of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail between the Pasayten River and Bunker Hill, the Sheep Mountain trail, and a portion of the Ashnola River. The crew was able to complete approximately 12 miles of trail clearing including logout, minor brushing and some tread work.
Patrick Riggan, Trail Program Manager – Detail |
2019
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Larch Creek Trail
Robinson Creek/Middle ForkTrail West Fork Pasayten Trail,Clutch Creek Trail, Windy Creek Trail Tattoosh Buttes Trail Andrews Creek Trail |
The Methow Valley Ranger District used the 2019 funds for trail log out and maintenance in the Pasayten and packing in the trail crew to Stub Creek Cabin. Haylee Darby helped log out Larch Creek to Larch Creek pass. Helena Wilson and Nicole Masurat logged out Robinson Creek/Middle Fork to Boundary Trail. Robert Messick was on the crew that logged out West Fork Pasayten to Holman. This work was important to not only get the feeder trails open for people to access the Pasayten but to allow stock to take gear in for partners and Forest Service alike to make headway on clearing and maintaining the Boundary trail and the Devil’s Ridge trail.
Bretz Dawson worked on the Tonasket side of the Pasayten to assist log out of Clutch Creek, Windy Creek, Deer Park and the Albert Camp trail. He also logged out a portion of the Boundary trail. Kurt Langlois, MVRD packer, packed in the trail crew to Stub Creek cabin on Hidden Lakes trail so they could open up the Tatoosh Buttes trail and the Hidden Lakes trail to Big Hidden Lake. He also worked on Andrews Creek trail to fix a turnpike that was blowing out and did some brushing in much needed areas of overgrown brush. The brush had been pushing hikers and stock to the edge of the trail, causing trail damage. Dana Kimbell, Trail Program Manager (Detail) |
2020
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Andrews Creek Trail
Larch Creek Trail Robinson Creek Trail |
The 2020 season for the Methow Valley Ranger District Trail Crew brought challenging new obstacles. Borrowing tactics developed by FS fire crews, the MVRD trail crew implemented a module-as-one approach to find ways to work safely during a pandemic. These tactics include daily self-checks and temperature readings, isolation from others not on the crew and mask wearing in close quarter. Starting several weeks past their normal time, the crew decided to concentrate on the feeder trails of the Pacific Northwest Trail that runs through the heart of the Pasayten Wilderness. Five crew members funded by the Hofbeck trust worked three 8-day hitches logging out Andrews Creek Trail, Larch Creek Trail and Robinson Creek Trail. With the funding match from the Districts of Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office 50 miles of trail were cleared of logs. Lena Wilson, Haylee Darby, Allen Jircik, Colin Slide, Matt Sturgess and Connor Smith worked on these three trails.
Phillip Warlord, Trail Program Manager |
2021
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Andrews Creek Trail
Boundary Trail Tattosh Buttes Trail |
The 2021 field season presented more challenges to the Methow Valley Ranger District (MVRD) trail crew.This was the first season in many years that the trails supervisor role was not filled for most of the summer. Three crew leads, Allen Jircik, Colin Slade, and Ray Beaupre were tasked with filling the responsibility of the supervisor. The beginning of the season was spent catching up on in-person trainings that had been canceled in 2020. These trainings lasted through June, and the crew did not begin 8-day wilderness hitches until late June. In early July, two large fires broke out on our district. These fires and their associated closures shaped the majority of the crew’s schedule during July and August. Despite some major closures in the Eastern Pasayten, we were still able to accomplish a lot of work in the Central and Northern Pasayten.
This season the Hofbeck Trust gift funded 5 seasonal trails employees and one assistant stock packer for a total of 64.5 days. The five trail crew members worked with 4 other crew members and one SCA intern to maintain Pasayten trails. Specifically, the gift funded log out on the Andrews Creek trail, sections of the Boundary Trail, and the Tattoosh Buttes trail. The packer, Paul Goodrich, supported our crew and partner crews by bringing food, tools, and camp gear to worksites deep in the Pasayten on mules.
Rosemary Seifried, Methow Valley Ranger District Recreation Manager Text by Forest Service Trail Crew Lead Allen Jircik |
2022
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Robinson Creek Trail
Pacific Northwest Trail Eureka Creek Bridge |
This season the gift from the Dianne and Joe Hofbeck Pasayten Wilderness funded five trail crew employees worked alongside one SCA trail intern to maintain trails within the Pasayten Wilderness. Specifically, the gift funded logout of Robinson Creek Trail #478 along the Middle Fork Pasayten River from Slate Pass to the Pasayten Airfield. This section of trail historically has a heavy log load due to the 2006 Tatoosh Complex Fire as well as beetle kill. The crew was also able to logout a 1.5-mile-long section of the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) east of the Pasayten Airfield. The packer, Paul Goodrich, packed in supplies for the cabin at the Pasayten Airfield. These supplies were used all season by our trail crew until the NW Pasayten Complex wildfires forced crews out of the area.
The Dianne and Joe Hofbeck Pasayten Wilderness Trails Trust funded the construction of the Eureka Creek foot log bridge. The crew did an excellent job of flattening the log, helping with setting the abutments, prepping and assembling the hand railing, and helping the trail crew construct the approach ladder. See Construction Crew for a list of FS employees, experienced volunteers and packers who completed the project. Nick Fedele and Julien Bacon spent a day logging out, brushing and improving tread on #484 Monument Creek trail. This allowed for more suitable stock travel to bring in supplies for the bridge. Joe Hofbeck’s vision and blueprints, Allen Jircik’s rigging expertise and the hardworking nature of many volunteers and FS employees made the foot log project come to life this season. See Karl's Story for more on this project. |
2023
Hidden Lakes
Trail |
This year the gift from the Dianne and Joe Hofbeck Pasayten Wilderness Trails Trust supported the efforts of a crew of six Methow Valley Ranger District employees and one SCA intern for 8 days out on the Hidden Lakes trail with pack support from Forest Service packers Trent Peterson and Kiley Kemmer.
What an 8 days it was! It was hot, it was dry, water sources were low, and challenges were numerous. Beginning with a radio debacle and ending with a storm that pushed us to safer ground, this was probably the most difficult (mentally and physically) and most chaotic of all hitches. On par for August on the trail. We are eager to be able to completely clear this popular trail and this year we were able to make another push towards the lakes and keep from falling further behind. The 2017 Diamond Creek fire burned heavily through this drainage leaving in its wake an amount of fallen and falling logs and a massive windstorm in the winter of 2021/22 piled an epic number of trees down across the trail! Cutting started approximately 9.5 miles in. We cut 430 logs in 1.5 miles and didn’t quite make it to Deception Creek before we had to leave due to weather. Taking advantage of our early exit backwards, we spent some time heavily correcting approximately 80 feet of tread and corridor issues that were hazardous to those coming through with stock. |