DISCOVERY BAY — As the Larry Scott Memorial Trail route of Olympic Discovery Trail slowly turns south and heads toward the 8-mile mark, Jeff Selby and other Jefferson Trails Coalition volunteers are seeking more trail-clearing help in preparation for a June fundraiser.
Called the Longest Day of Trails, the dawn-to-dusk event will benefit the Jefferson Trails Coalition, the Quimper Trails Association and the Pacific Northwest Trails Association.
“This is the summer solstice, and the event will encourage runners, walkers and cyclists to accumulate as many miles of travel on the trail as possible during daylight hours,” Selby said.
In the Longest Day of Trails on June 20, participants — walkers, strollers, runners, cyclists, wheelchair-users, and all other types of trail-users — will solicit pledges for miles traveled and collect money from donors.
If at least 35 participants have not registered by June 1, the event, which charges a $10 entry fee, will be canceled.
Meanwhile, Selby is seeking volunteers to clear trails.
He hopes to organize a work party some time this month to clear vegetation that has grown into the footpath volunteers cut near Douglas Way, south of Discovery Road where the trail runs to Discover Bay Golf Course.
“We’re looking for projects, and we’re looking for volunteers to do them,” Selby said.
Monte Reinders, Jefferson County road engineer, said Public Works will begin widening about 1.25 mile of trail to federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards — 10 feet wide with 2-foot shoulders on each side — beginning in June.
It will match existing widened trails, such the link from the terminus at the Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven to Cape George Road south.
The stretch to be improved extends from Douglas Way, west of Discover Road and swings north to Edwards Road.
Reinders said that work to add an aggregate base to the widened trail will start in mid-July and finish by the end of August.
The $250,000 project is mainly funded through the state Recreation and Conservation Office and Jefferson County.
The work will improve the trail to about the 6-mile mark.
The right of way acquisition for the next stretch of Larry Scott Memorial Trail is almost done.
That stretch is from the east side of Discovery Road south to Milo Curry Road, near where Four Corners Road meets Discovery Road.
Work on that section could begin next year, if all rights of way are acquired from private property owners and transportation and recreation funding is available.
Further south to the head of Discovery Bay, trail work is in the conceptual stage.
North Olympic Salmon Coalition and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife are working with Jefferson County and trails representatives to enhance fish passage and remove the old railroad causeway north of U.S. Highway 101 where the trail may run.
The old causeway is a large berm that runs near Salmon Creek, which recorded larger coho salmon returns last year than before.
The salmon coalition has studied how a trail could traverse this lowland area and provide interpretative content without taking from their fish enhancement efforts, according to Daniel Collins, Olympic Region coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Trail Association, who reported on progress in the associations newsletter, The Nor’Wester.
Three options are being considered, Collins said. They are:
• Remove the causeway that includes three timber trestles, two of which span the Salmon and Snow Creeks, and all of the railroad bed, then replace it with an elevated boardwalk.
• Replace with clear span bridges just the timber trestles over both creeks and the old tidelands channel and widen the bridge abutments for better tidal and river flow while using the existing causeway.
• Remove all trestles and the railroad grade and causeway, then construct a trail that will hug Highway 101 and have two bridges built adjacent to the highway bridge.
Besides the Discovery Bay link and the segment from Four Corners south to the head of the bay, the stretch west along Highway101 through Gardiner remains to be completed to the county line at Diamond Point.
The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail will ultimately include the trail in Jefferson County from Port Townsend to the head of Discovery Bay, where it will then split off of the future Olympic Discovery Trail course.
The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail will then run south into Olympic National Forest, as planned, running west across Olympic National Park to Forks to the Olympic Coast, and north along the coast and ending at Cape Alava west of Lake Ozette.
It is a separate hiking route from the Olympic Discovery Trail, which is a non-motorized route that accommodates foot, bike and equestrian traffic.
For more information about the Longest Day of Trails, see http://tinyurl.com/2ctvgvn.
Volunteers for trail work can phone Selby, who has been grubbing out the trail for three years, at 360-385-0995.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
