On some of our Senior Trailblazers outing, we get more than a workout: we get an education. Today eleven of us set out to visit one of our old hangouts, Galbraith Mountain, which I first visited in 2009 and wrote about
here. If you were to study the map above, you would see that this mountain is criss-crossed with trails of every sort. It's been a mecca for mountain bikers for years, and many outstanding trails are legendary. But alas, all this is in jeopardy. The mountain was owned by Trillium Corporation until the economic meltdown, and then it was sold to Polygon, a corporation that is now logging it in earnest. We intended to start our hike on a well-known trail with the name of Whoopsie Woodle. Here's what we found:
The detritus that is left after a logging operation has come through the area: we had some flags to help us find the now-nonexistent trail, but once we reached a difficult spot, we consulted our maps and decided to retreat. The
WHIMPS (Whatcom Mountain Biking Coalition) is intending to come through here on the 12th and clear this trail so that they and their mountain biking friends will be able to once again visit this trail on bikes. Some of the trails are clear and at present undamaged. But from what I have been able to discover about the future of this wonderful 3,000+ mountain is not positive at all. A coalition has been formed, called
Preserve Galbraith, that is active in trying to fix what is happening to this mountain.
The dedicated groups of mountain bikers have continued to build exciting ramps and bridges such as the one above for the use of mountain bikes, hikers, and horses. But I fear it is all coming to an end soon unless somebody comes up with enough money to make the logging operations less lucrative and the access to the recreational aspects of the mountain more attractive. There are wonderful views to be had, which we saw when we finally stopped for lunch.
From the summit of Galbraith, you have a view of Mt. Baker and the Sisters (on the right). This picture isn't wonderful because the light was very flat, with the partly overcast sky making it impossible for me to get the exact right exposure. But you can see the beauty of the vistas. Galbraith Mountain is covered with lots of trails, but we kept hearing the logging trucks and finally ran into them on our way back to the cars. The future of the area does not look promising. This may be the last time in quite awhile I will have the opportunity to visit Galbraith Mountain.
By the time we reached this spot, near the end of our day's hike, we had covered more than eight miles and ascended and descended around 2,000 feet of elevation. I was tired, glad to finally return to our cars, but disheartened to some degree by the destruction of this beautiful area, and the prospects for the future. We are very lucky to have so many wonderful recreational opportunities here in Bellingham, and I am glad I am not a mountain biker seeing my favorite area going under the knife; we hikers have many other options. Not so the mountain bikers. A beautiful day, marred by politics and "progress."
:-{
that really stinks that they destroyed the trail...and ugh..i hope that coalition does some good...
ReplyDeleteOh DJan - very sad. It's hard to compete with greed, isn't it? Someone wants to get rich, and the nature-lovers lose out.
ReplyDeleteWe had an almost identical view of Mt. Baker and the sisters today as we walked the seawall in White Rock B.C. Similar perspective, but we were further north! Beautiful scenery, and we thank-you for sharing it via photo and in real life.
It really is so sad that they are logging so intently in this area. For some unknown reason, I had thought the logging had stopped or at least slowed down in your area, but I guess I was only thinking what I thought should be happening. This is really sad because we don't need the wood that much. People need jobs but not at this price.
ReplyDeleteThat's so sad, DJan. It's always painful to see nature ruined by man.
ReplyDeleteYou walked up and down hills for 8 miles? Wow! I'm dreading having to walk 8 miles on almost all flat pavement for the Aloha Run/Walk. I'm such a whimp!
Sad! Loggers have no sense for beauty. What a shame!
ReplyDeleteI can't bear to hear of such things happening. So much of Colorado has been developed that we have lost much of our pristine beauty that I remember from my childhood and youth. I hope the coalition is able to preserve this beautiful area.
ReplyDeleteThat makes my heart weep!
ReplyDeleteWe are a species hell bent on destruction and subjugation. I keep praying we will learn and change our ways before we are forced to by circumstances (that we created). *sigh*
It looks like a beautiful hike, though, and scenery to take your breath away. Glad you made the trip when you did! :)
We have the same situation here. It's enough to make you weep. There are hearings for development but they seem like a foregone conclusion and only small modifications are made to the development plan.
ReplyDeleteI am so so sorry. 'Progress' seems to really, really dislike beauty.
ReplyDeleteThe coalition will have a hard time fighting a corporation. That looks horrible what was left behind.
ReplyDeleteYou do have many choices in your hiking adventures, hope it remains that way for a long time.
How awful. It's all about profit. Some companies just don't care. It is sad seeing such destruction. I hope a successful campaign is waged to fight the loss of that beautiful area.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we continue to be a nation of consumers with an insatiable appetite for paper and wood products this kind of thing will continue. It sounds like the bikers and hikers need to unite to form a stronger coalition. The more voices the better.
ReplyDeleteCorporations do things like that because people own corporations and people want more money each month from their investments so they can sit on the beach in Florida and flirt with the pretty boys and girls. It is called "The American Dream" and there are lots of participants. Some have enough money to buy their own mountain and the poorer have to join corporations who can buy the mountain. In the end, the people want the money out of the mountain. If there is gold there I am sure they would still take the wood off and then the top off the mountain like they do in Ohio to get the coal. It is a shame that people are responsible for all this and hide under the cloak of a "corporation" they have stock in. Find out who are the stockholders and write stories for the newspapers about the people who are allowing the mountain to be ruined.
ReplyDeleteIs it home to any endangered species? It is a shame that a business can raze the earth so badly that it takes a generation to recover. I was reminded of the Dr.Seuss book, The Lorax, who speaks for the trees and opposes the Once-ler, who "biggered and biggered" to destroy all of the trees.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lorax
This is very sad that the logging people can just come in and destroy a very beautiful hiking and biking paradise. I do hope the coalition are able to make a difference, however its very difficult to deal with greed and the green bucks.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen such devastation in any of your photos and it makes me feel sad that this corporation of greedy board members don't care. Does nobody come through and clean up and plant new trees?
I wasn't aware that one can just clear cut an area and leave all that behind without a re-plant program - but to just DESTROY and walk away - doesn't sound good for human kind or Planet Earth, eh.
It didn't look like total clear cut to me but maybe it was just the angle of the pics. When in B.C. three years ago I saw mountain that were literally scraped clean. They look like they'd been hit by an atomic bomb.
ReplyDeleteSouth Florida used to be beautiful - until the mangroves were cut down, and much of the everglades was paved over. Now you drive from south Miami to northern palm beach county and it all looks the same....fast food places, shopping malls, gas stations.
ReplyDeleteVery sad. But perhaps activism will be able to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteThe view was beautiful of the mountains..not so much on the mountain side you were on. The lumber companies seem to take huge stretches of forest there..here our clear cuts are small ones managed by the DNR and always replanted. It is sad looking there:(
ReplyDeleteDear DJan,
ReplyDeleteYour commentors have expressed my own dismay. When we will learn to balance taking care of our planet with taking care of one another? If only someone had the charisma to reach out with words and actions to those in our country who justify their actions by reasoning that they are giving jobs to others. We need to find new industries that create jobs without harming the environment.
I so hope the coalition can be successful and that the trails will once again by truly there for those who ride mountain bikes.
Peace.
How sad! I hope something can be done about it, but when money gets in the way... *sigh*
ReplyDeleteOH this is so sad! I hate to see the devastation logging leaves in it's wake. I sure hope the Preserve Galbraith group can make a difference. If there are endangered species in the area, they may be able to use that as a reason to stop the logging??? Will humans ever learn to truly love and appreciate nature rather than ravage and abuse it?
ReplyDelete