Small Town News

They keep the trails happy

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Backcountry Horsemen and their trusty mules volunteer over hill and dale

As outdoor recreation budgets tighten for local, state and federal agencies, leading them to seek help with maintenance burdens, many are finding a solid partner in the Pierce County Backcountry Horsemen.

Part of a national organization, the local chapter performs trail maintenance duties for agencies as diverse as the National Park Service at Mount Rainier and the Washington Department of Natural Resources in the Elbe Hills. They are also assisting the county in the development of the Foothills Trails outside of Eatonville.

In addition, the Backcountry Horsemen have maintain a 30-mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail, the iconic pathway than runs from Mexico to Canada across the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.

Performing this work is a group of 100 horse lovers, many retired, who have the time and personal resources to spend up to a week in deep wilderness. They pack in their food, tools and supplies, and then get down to the business of rebuilding bridges, restoring eroded trails and clearing fallen trees.

Although much of the work is on horse trails, the Back-country Horsemen also participate in trail repair for hikers, especially in the national forests and at Mount Rainier. where the Horsemen pack in tools and supplies for the trail rangers and provide other logistical support.

At its lively monthly meeting in August, members of the chapter explained two important facts that belie its name. First, the membership of Pierce County Backcountry Horsemen is equally composed of men and women, including in leadership roles. And secondly, mules are preferred over horses for many of the tasks the group undertakes.

"Mules have more stamina and can pack more, and they are more surefooted," said Bill Golding, president of the local Horsemen and owner of seven mules but only one horse.

"Mules can relate to humans better, too," Golding added. "They're very friendly," a view borne out by a visit to Golding's Graham ranch, where his mules surrounded him like very large but gentle puppy dogs whenever he entered their paddock.

Despite its yeoman's work securing trails, me Horsemen may be best known locally for parking cars at the Pierce County Fair. Using the height advantage of being mounted on horseback, a rider can best spot an empty parking place in a sea of parked cars and help maximize parking space.

Also, the Backcountry Horsemen participate in festivals, and were part of the Rodeo Parade that launched the Puyallup Fair last week.

But perhaps their most important work is participating in search and rescue operations, as they did , in September 2009 when three trail riders became lost in rugged terrain southeast of Eatonville.

Correspondent Bruce Smith can be reached at dispatchnews@yahoo.com



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© 2011 The Dispatch Eatonville, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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