backcountry

Spending more time working and camping in the backcountry this summer. Same valley, Sol Duc, different section of the trail leading up to the High Divide and views of Mt. Olympus. Lots of rock moving and dirt hauling. Evenings around the fire sharing stories and picking on each other. Some food we share, most of it we hoard to ourselves. Watching our pile of canned beans and tomatoes turn into a pile of cans burned clean by the fire. Drying wet clothes when the weather allows. It's a different kind of fun, the kind you feel damp, gritty, and worn out during, and romanticize weeks later. In reality it's just a half decent way to get paid to be outside.

Mt. Olympus, from the High Divide. Clouds blocked the view moments later.

Choaty and Horse fitting rocks into turnpike.

"Show me your rock-work face."

Camp, afternoon light filtered through the canopy.

My plastic house and dirty laundry. Discarded packaging of a good meal.

Sol Duc River. Bathtub and faucet.

wildnesser

Two weeks ago three hundred WCC service members descended upon Cispus Learning Center just west of White Pass for elective training. I chose Introduction to Wilderness Survival put on by Alderleaf Wilderness College. Some of the more interesting things we went over were making fire with friction, debris shelter construction, water filtration, and wild edibles. I spent one damp night in my sodden shack and learned how you can't have too much insulating material. While I shivered through the night I learned how great fire is. I also learned that fire ants must have the same chemical composition as Shock Tarts. I doubt I'll ever find myself in a situation where I need to set up a new life for myself in the woods, but now I pack extra matches.

Taylor, an empowering moment.

Sam, hunkered down for the night.

Tripod filtration, grass, sand, charcoal, mixed with Oregon Grape to combat Giardia.

Looking for protein packed grubs.

Fire ants, squish the head, these guys bite back.

Cucumber of the woods, Indian Plum.

schooner adventuress

During the week of Martin Luther King Day we take a break from our normal routine of river restoration to do some work in the community. This year we spent a day working with Sound Experience on the Schooner Adventuress in Port Townsend. The Adventuress was built in Maine to catch a whale in Alaska, never caught that whale, joined the pilot fleet in San Francisco Bay, then a coast guard ship during World War II, and ended up in Seattle around 1952 where it eventually became a vessel to teach youth about sailing. Every winter it spends time out of the water for maintenance. The crew was hyped on the work we accomplished, and we were hyped to switch it up and spend time away from the woods.

From the stern, dry docked for the winter.

Ryan and Chelsea, painting the hull.

Blocks and hull, to be sanded and repainted.

 Matt was bored in Virginia and came out West to work on the ship.

On the deck, fresh varnish on the wood.

Salty seas are rough on the hull. Scaffold zone.

Zach, first mate, stoked on his job.

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lake mills

Winter means we're back on the Elwha project. The goal is to get plant regeneration off on the right foot by putting thousands of native plants in the ground. Constructing access trails for hiking plants to revegetation sites is critical. With dam demolition nearing completion, and the park getting ready for the hordes of visitors that will come to view the newly drained reservoir, we're beginning to transform access trails into pathways ready for the public.

Hiking out to the planting site.

Clear, cold days. The worksite got two hours of sun.

Two sentinels, watching the old lake bed from their posts.

Only 30 feet left to demolish. These upper pieces will remain as a memorial.

Filling turnpike before covering with top dressing.

Taylor, posing with the tool of choice, demo site in the background.

One big chunk of cedar equals five cedar beams.

Shane, chief gravel coordinator.

Hot lunch.

Sam, scoring logs embedded in the fine sediment.

Brand new trail with a brand new feature. Three years ago this photo would be ten feet under water.

Elwha River, Lake Mills, Mt. Fitzhenry, and Mt. Carrie.

nursing the elwha

Throughout the year, 106,000 plants will be propagated, packed in bags, and hauled out to the former reservoirs of Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills to be planted. The Matt Albright Native Plant Center, the production facility for this effort located in Sequim, WA, was created to nurse the Elwha River back to health. Here's a day of cleaning roots and loading bags.

Potting shed.

Taylor, Chelsea, and Jenny, just getting going.

A devoted volunteer and revegetation crew leader Marisa Whisman sharing stories to pass the time.

Staging bags of plants in the greenhouse.

Thimble Berry and Salal, ready to go.

Rubus Leucodermis, Black Cap Raspberry.

Taylor, waiting for more plants to prep.

Aaron and Mike, still waiting.

Arbutus menzeisii and Sambucus cerulea, Madron and Blue Elderberry.

Populus balsamifera, Cottonwood.

Pseudotsuga menzeisii, Douglas Fir.

Symphoricarpos albus, Snowberry.

Pinus strobus, White Pine.

spraying

Large swathes of land adjacent to the Elwha River are exposed as the reservoirs are lowered. Some native grasses and trees are doing their thing, but there are also some invaders taking more than their share of resources. Reed canary grass seems to be leading the charge, so we apply herbicide.

The spray zone.

Glyphosate, courtesy of Monsanto.

Don't spill.

Three gallons ready to go.

PPE: sunblock, solar shades, nitrile gloves and long sleeves.

Wading through cottonwood.

Sam, givin' some.

JZ, style points on the raincoat.

Bending the reed canary grass away from the trees.

Elwha Dam canyon and natural regenerates.

Reed canary grass skeleton.

Natural willow tree regeneration.