IATC History-Chapter 27 (2007): Manning and Longwell
IATC History--Chapter 27: 2007
MANNING AND LONGWELL
By Doug Simpson
January – March: Harvey Remembered
On January 3, the recently deceased Harvey Manning was honored at Tibbetts Manor in Issaquah. Books, pictures, and other memorabilia were on display, a few speeches about Harvey were given, and a slide show was presented. It was well-attended by friends, associates and admirers. The event was sponsored by the Issaquah Alps Trails Club, the North Cascades Conservation Council and the Mountaineers.
Bill Longwell contributed an essay on Ruth Ittner, whom he described as “the inspiration and guiding force behind the Tiger MountainTrail. She was a noted lobbyist and was also dedicated to trail-building. She is credited with the building of the Iron Goat Trail. According to Manning, “Ruth has long been our patron saint of the trails.”
Trail work projects nearing completion were the new trailhead at Snoqualmie Point, the reconstruction of the West Tiger 3 Trail and various improvements to Squak Mountain trails.
April – June: More Manning Tributes
To participate in Earth Day on April 22, Scott Semans and IATC organized a large work party to work on trails. The club’s trail working efforts continued after a busy 2006. Longwell reported that on 412 days, 408 trailwork trips were made by IATC for 694 worker days and 4228 worker hours. (Note: See the separate article for more examples of Longwell’s meticulous record-keeping.) On Tiger Mountain alone, 125 trips were made to spend 1067 hours working on 23 trails. Squak Mountain had 88 trips and 1174 hours on eight trails.
In a separate article, Longwell praised the trailwork efforts of Jim Cadigan, who was also IATC’s treasurer for several years. Cadigan is credited with “closing the gap,” connecting the Preston, Snoqualmie Falls trail to Preston by finishing the trail into Snoqualmie itself. He is also credited with a major role in building the club’s trail up Little Si.
In a Manning follow up, Brian Boyle, former Commissioner of Public Lands wrote about the IATC leader. Boyle who had hiked with Harvey a few times and later drank with him at the Rolling Log Tavern, stated: “I knew that whatever he said was vested in reality and observation. . . and I would believe it and take it to the bank. . . we learned that people could be trusted to help agencies plan critical for critical resources.”
Ralph Owen announced plans for his second year leading the July 4 fireworks viewing hike, this time from Poo Poo Point. Last year was the first such July 4 outing after a gap of some twenty years.
Governor Christine Gregoire, on official state letterhead, sent IATC a copy of her proclamation announcing Wednesday, January 3, 2007 as a day of tribute and remembrance of Harvey Manning. It included seven “whereas” statements as well as a final “therefore,” citing his “legacy of advocacy and leadership to the people of Washington State.”
July – September: Progress and Honors
Progress continued this summer with the forthcoming completion of the 8.5 acres Snoqualmie Point Park and availability of King County tax levies that would extend the East Lake Sammamish Trail with links to the Bear Creek and Sammamish River trails. The Snoqualmie Park, called “a hidden jewel,” would have besides parking spots, a picnic site, restrooms and a viewing perch.
Efforts were actively underway to solicit funds for a Harvey Manning statue to be erected in downtown Issaquah.
Bill Longwell continued his series on birds prevalent in the Alps, and Harvey Manning added to his series of “Reflections on Cougar” stories.
Ken Konigsmark was honored by the City of Issaquah as the 2007 recipient of the Ruth Kees award for environmental stewardship. Kees said, “I couldn’t approve more thoroughly of a candidate than I do of Ken Konigsmark.” Konigsmark noted how new environmental stewardshlp has progressed from controversial advocacy to a more collaborate, inclusive process.
Longwell wrote a feature story, “Twice Carried Boards,” about IATC’s trail crews bridge-making efforts on Tiger Mountain, sometimes using logs over again as bridges were moved or rebuilt.
October – December: Washingtonian Hikers
A Washington Trails Association report showed that nearly of all state residents went hiking at least once in a year. And one in three persons identified themselves as hikers, backpackers, trail runners or climbers.
Bridge-building continued in the Issaquah Alps with three new ones completed in recent months. The Bear Ridge Connector Bridge linked the Talus community to the Cougar Mountain trail system. On Tiger Mountain, replacement bridges were implemented on the Bus Trail and the Wilderness Lake Trail.
Bill Longwell discussed his efforts to restore some of the views on Middle Tiger which had been lost over the years to tree growth. Unfortunately, due to directional uncertainty and fog, his crew topped some twenty trees only to reveal a glorious vista of a major King-County dump, Cedar Hills land fill, rather than Mt. Rainier the Cedar Hills dump.
With a stable crew of experienced hike leaders, only two newcomers led hikes for IATC in 2007: Kyle Brummert and Jay Wilson.