-------------- You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. - Dr. Seuss
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-------------- You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. - Dr. Seuss
A letter about the history of the Bogachiel Guard Station from long-time Olympic National Park volunteer Backcountry Ranger "Bogachiel Beth" Rossow. It was located 6 miles up the Bogachiel Trail, just past the Indian Pass Trail junction.
"Hi Rod,
"Just read the April 2008 discussion that included questions about the 1990 washout of the Bogachiel Guard Station. It was undercut by the river on Thanksgiving weekend of Nov. 1990. A former boyfriend of mine was actually there at the time, watching the river suck down the barn shelter, most of the grove, and all of the meadow. He informed the Park. The Rangers from the Hoh came and moved valuables, like the Guard Station Log Book, to higher ground. The Trail Crew came later, before I got there that next spring, to dismantle the cabin which was in tact but the porch was hanging over the river. They stacked the lumber and covered it with a tarp. There was talk of using the wood to build a platform ranger station in a different location. After a few years of the river coming ever closer to thje tarped pile of wood, it finally got to a point one winter when the whole lumber pile was awash at high water. I burned it all to prevent all the mess it would have been if it all got away. I then began a decade of packing out all the last remnants of those structures and the trash that emerged from the new cutbanks that constantly revealed new strata of former Guard Station historical trash burials and privy holes that were now being exposed. It was an ongoing and huge job, but I've had the time to do it over the years of my privileged stay on the Bogachiel. Spring of 1990 was my first year as a volunteer on the Bogie...
Bogachiel Guard Station
Bogachiel Horse Barn
"I hiked through from the Dose to the Bogachiel in late August this year. The trail was almost cleared at that time. I think they got it all by their last Tour. It looked fantastic. I hope this winter is not too bad so I can return next spring to enjoy a trail that is not covered with hundreds of more logs.
"The clearing of South Snider Jackson was done by Dave Skinner with one Volunteer in tow. Dave also singlehandedly cleared the North Snider Jackson. The SSJ has been mostly maintained since we cleared it as a team of 4 in 2004. Dave has been keeping the whole Snider Jackson Trail in good shape yearly and he will continue that routine as long as he can physically do it. He is an awesome one- man- show who is responsible for the great work you see on many of the side trails of ONP. His team of 2, carries all fuel, food, tools, etc, without stock support, and gets as much done as the regular trail crew. He is an amazing, and graceful entity in our ONP family. He deserves a lot of appreciation from us all.
I bumped into her one day on the trail years ago- I was going up, she was coming down, swinging a D-ring at the sword ferns along the trail while wearing a pack.
I saw in a previous post that it was said the the Olympic Recreation Company (owned by my grandfather, Ignar Olson, and great uncle, Elvin Olson) was paid by the National Park Service (NPS) when their lodges, the Graves Creek Inn, and Enchanted Valley Chalet were taken.
There was $35,000.00 appropriated by congress for this acquisition, however the money was never paid!!
In this day and age that certainly is not surprising, is it? My father, John Olson, never even realized this until he went back to Washington D.C. back in the 80's when the NPS was making a big push to take our property on the south side of the Quinault Valley. He went to the National Archives looking for documents related to the creation of the Olympic National Park. It was there that he found the actual appropriations document. That is as far as it went. There was no money transferred to the Olympic Recreation Company at any time.
We still live under the shadow control, not only by the NPS, but also threats by both county and tribal entities.
Our Motto isn't "Remember the Alamo", but "Remember the Queets". It'll take force to take control of our property and homes!
hey, RodF...
this just occured to me after I re-read my previous post in the history forum:
do we have any record of the dates these shelters were originally constructed, and by whom?
Ranger Bruce sent me a CD of Olympic NP photos to share, and I've been remiss in not sharing these sooner. Herb Crisler built Castle-in-the-Cat shelter in Cat Basin, near the north end of the Bailey Range traverse, in 1944. Here are Bruce's photos documenting its demise.
I love this thread! Can anyone recall what happened to the Gold Creek Shelter? The photo from 1996 shows a substantial structure; there isn't much left except the footing logs and some others by the river. An assumption would be a flood wiped it out or perhaps heavy snows. I know this wasn't an ONP shelter but is of interest to me.
It's a bit sad to read about vandalism being a contributing factor in the demise of so many shelters. I know it happens, but I'll never quite understand it.
On a similar note, how many recall the East Crossing (Dungeness) campground? I was by there in 2001 when it was a ghost campground. Didn't have a camera but was struck by it nonetheless. Was back in '08 and all signs of the campground were gone except for the flat areas that used to be for roads and parking. We camped there when we were kids in the late 70s and early 80s; a beautiful location with so much of the river to play in. What a shame the road was never recovered after the slide.
I love this thread! Can anyone recall what happened to the Gold Creek Shelter?
Sorry, I don't, but hope someone might chime in. (I'm sure it wasn't flood - the site is well above both Dungeness and Gold Creek - likely either a large windfall tree or heavy snow - note there is presently a 2-1/2 foot windfall Doug fir log lying across the north edge of the site which might have clipped the back corner of the shelter?)
However, on a happier note, the site is outside of wilderness and Olympic NF seems receptive to the idea of rebuilding it, if a group of volunteers were inclined to make a proposal. It would require approval for felling, which is uncertain, and a commitment of several hundred manhours... but it is possible...
Gold Creek Shelter, 1996, by Don Abbott
johnson37 wrote:
On a similar note, how many recall the East Crossing (Dungeness) campground?
I agree, it was quite a loss. By the way, there is a beautiful old abandoned trail from East Crossing along the east bank to Dungeness Forks, mostly intact. Slides cut it in 4 locations, the worst 0.4 miles above Dungeness Forks where it appears blasting would be required to re-establish a trailbed. The rest is hikable, with short scrambles across three slides, and could potentially be reopened with a chainsaw and pulaski in a few days work. It is an interesting trail to explore.
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I know it happens, but I'll never quite understand it.
