LANKOW SUCCESS - As I reported last time, George and Carla
Lankow's gift to the public of a pedestrian easement and parking area
on their property connecting directly to the Licorice Fern/Far Country
Trail and Cougar Mt. Park has been officially recorded. It is good to
hike the Licorice Fern Trail knowing it's a done deal, and seeing all
the recent official signage go up. Thanks to Scott Semans and his
trailworkers and to the official County crew for all the work on this
trail.
East Village development update - This development is now
known as
Talus. The documentation and planning stage is largely over, with
generally favorable results for trails. Connections should emerge
between the development and the Precipice and Shangri La Trails, along
with signage directing hikers between them. However, we all need to be
watching in the field to see what materializes. Keep me posted.
THE PRECIPICE - The club is continuing to advocate for the protection
of the Precipice area NE of Cougar Mt. Park, ideally for inclusion
within the Park boundaries.
In 2001, the Trails Club surveyed the Precipice trail system 3 times
by GPS, and this data has been added to King County's database, a good
step.
Guide to Trails of Cougar Mountain, 2000 edition - This completely
updated version of Harvey Manning and Ralph Owen's classic and
authoritative guidebook (last revised in 1991) is now available from
the Issaquah Alps Trails Club and is also available from REI. All of
the trails of the Wildland Park, plus Bellevue and Newcastle trails on
the north and west sides of the mountain, plus a host of other trails
along the Park periphery, are featured. Author Charles McCrone (who
redid the 1999 Trails Club Cougar map) has done 2 years of fresh
research and revision on all the original trail descriptions, taking
into account reroutes, changes from development, and all the new maps
of the Park. The guidebook is an excellent way to learn the history
behind the Park and the evolution of its trails, and to get involved
in the life of America's largest urban wildland. The 2000 edition also
features an all new foreword by Harvey Manning, chronicling the
amazing story of how this land was saved in the 1980s to become Cougar
Mountain Regional Wildland Park.
NEWCASTLE TRAILS CLUB is our new partner on the Cougar scene, pushing
for trails and open space on the west side of the mountain. One of
their current projects is establishing a permanent connection to the
Park along the De Leo Wall from Newcastle. They could use our help, so
consider joining their club or going out. |