Scott Paul Deserves the Best

How cool would it be to have a trail named after you? I mean, I would settle for a bench...heck, even a port-o-potty (reference to an old story of mine) but having your own trail puts you in the big leagues. So I did a little "research" -- which is simply asking AI nowadays -- on why Scott Paul got his own trail. 

"Scott Paul was a dedicated Forest Service ranger, visionary trail builder and coordinator for the Mt Baker district." No shocker there. But what I was surprised to read was that the Scott Paul Trail is a secondary tribute to his name. His main memorial is a plaque at the 240 feet suspension bridge at Drift Creek Falls in Oregon, where Scott lost his life while helping build it. 

A private construction company finished the bridge after the tragic accident - and get this; the company was owned by Scott's close friend and fellow trail builder, Carroll Vogel. Around the same time, Vogel's crew secretly put an official looking sign renaming the Sulphur Moraine Trail to the Scott Paul Trail, and the Forest Service kept it.

Sammie says, "Take a right!"

 

Unfortunately, Scott Paul has to share his trail with the HIGHLY popular Park Butte Trail. At only about a tenth a mile you make your turn to get on the Scott Paul, though hardly anyone does. You will have another chance at the two mile mark with one more intersection, but the masses continue on to the left...either to Railroad Grade (and maybe a Mount Baker summit) the Park Butte Lookout, or even all the way to the ocean if you are doing the Pacific Northwest Trail. 

But I would encourage anyone and everyone to get off the well beaten path and try out this beauty of a trail for themselves. The only hiccup with doing the full 8 mile loop is that a pretty important suspension bridge is gone.  

After hearing Scott Paul's story, this seems...I know ironic is not the right word, but I can't think of one that fits. So I'll just say it seems wrong. I don't think he would be too happy with having his trail missing a bridge that could possibly put someone's life at risk. (Some years it gets put up, some years it doesn't...although one of the supports is gone, so that will need to get fixed before it gets put up again.)

One of the few people I saw on the loop

I was thankful the water was low enough this day that I could cross without incident, but I would recommend you try and ford it earlier in the day; which means going clockwise. But I would also suggest that this trail would be just as good as an up and back...maybe even better. 

In fact, next time I do it, that's what I plan on doing. Make the early turn, avoid the crowds, get up to those amazing two miles at the top where Mount Baker is in your face the whole time, then turn around well before the missing bridge and enjoy those views for the second time before heading down.

IN YOUR FACE!

I think this would only be a mile longer than the traditional loop - and I think it would be more enjoyable. I rarely do trails more than once, but I can actually see myself doing this one multiple times, I was that impressed by it. Thank you, Scott Paul; and I hope that bridge gets put up again soon. Happy "well named" trails. 

Backpacking the Duckabush with my Sis

I've hit the double digits! Ten backpacking virgins are now under my belt. Taking someone for their first time is one of my greatest joys - but this trip was extra special. I'm still pinching myself that my sister actually came with me! 

Vicki has been toying with the idea for quite some time. Our walking holiday on the Cotswold Way proved to us both she could hike 11 miles in a day; but could she do it with a full pack?

Gotta have at least one pic of Sammie

 

Though maybe even more importantly, could she face her fears? Getting mauled by a bear or attacked by a cougar, slipping and breaking an ankle, tripping and falling off a cliff - or even getting impaled by your trekking pole - these are all real possibilities. Albeit they are unlikely, our minds like to fixate on them. We play out the whole scenario and imagine every detail so we can be prepared...just in case. 

I learned a long time ago (lesson #55) that this is a mistake. Of course we should have knowledge about survival; but the disaster movie that we play in our head is something else entirely. It takes time and practice to tame the imagination beast. You just need to get out there and have experiences that didn't include the misfortune you were worrying about, and eventually sleeping in the woods becomes a new normal. And the struggles you did encounter during your adventure...well, you got through them...and felt proud of yourself for doing so. 

I'm so pleased that Vicki got out there; and even if she was afraid during the night and slipped and scrapped her knee on day two, I know she still had a great time. It's important that you moderately set your goals when you first start (my first backpack was a whopping 7 miles total) so you can have the feeling of accomplishment that is so vital to overcoming fears and having a good experience. Thankfully Vicki declined my first suggestion of doing 30 miles on the Sunshine Coast, as I tend to get a bit overly ambitious these days. 

Instead we both agreed the Duckabush River Trail was a perfect fit. Number one reason was no smoke (we are really getting hammered with forest fires here in the PNW) but also it's well maintained and relatively easy to get to. The entirety of the trail is 22 miles (later miles are not well maintained FYI) to Marmot Lake (where you can keep going on other trails) but if you are doing an up and back like us, you can do however many miles you want. 

I'll give our specifics below, but end here with this encouragement: the outdoors are for everyone. And though us humans enjoy making goals and pushing ourselves to do ever increasingly difficult things, being in nature doesn't need to involve any of that. It can simply be enjoying the beauty around you with the people that you love. Happy "from your first to your hundredth" trails!

TRAIL LOG:

Day 1: A little over 2 miles to our camp with around 400 ft elevation gain. I originally wanted to go to the camp at 5 miles in, but I'm happy Vicki insisted she would rather play it safe with the earlier spot. There are three along the river; the first one being the best.

It was taken, so we continued to the third, which is the largest. It does not have a river view though, so we went back to the middle one. FYI, I did find a single spot close to the river that is behind the last largest spot when I went exploring the second day; you just have to search a little for it.  

We loved our spot

Day 2: We left our camp set up and did an up and back to the 5 mile camp for a total of around 7 miles and 1600 ft gain. You have to go over what is called the "Big Hump" which feels more like two humps,  and then back down to the river before turning around to do it again.

Five Mile Camp is very nice, but not as private as our spot was. When we were just above Five Mile Camp, I was too far ahead of Vicki for her liking and she called out to me, "where's the fire?"

I saw the men sitting below us having lunch look up at us with concern, and sure enough asked "what fire?" when we arrived. We explained, but they teasingly chastised us for using that word in the backcountry. Everybody is a bit on edge about fire at this time; which is understandable. 

Having a little fun with AI on my IG story

Day 3: Out the 2 miles back to the car with around 400 ft gain. We left camp at 8:30 am and were through the pot hole maze (driving the road was the hardest part of this day) by 10:30 am. This was perfect because we made it to Harbour Public House just before the noon rush, and that place is POPULAR. 

Scored a great table outside

Then we took a little detour to visit Pia the Peacekeeper before getting on the ferry and heading home. There are 4 other Trolls in Washington, so now we have a new goal! 😉 

Mount Rainer looking ethereal from the ferry