THE CHAPTER STARTED off like gangbusters. Or should I say trailbusters, as the 40-member-strong group forged through backcountry forest trails on the West End, clearing pathways of stormy debris and downed trees.
Its people? Members of the Mt. Olympus Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of Washington. Started in 2017, members were focused on packing and camping with horses and mules in the high-country trails of Olympic National Park and Forest, and, of course, maintaining trails on the Peninsula’s West End, including Mt. Muller, with Littleton Horse Camp and the Bogachiel Rain Forest Trail.
And boy, were they an enthusiastic group!
Core charter members included Dave and Becky Seibel, Meghan Adamire and Jen Coyle-Bond, along with Larry and Sherry Baysinger.
For the first few years, it flourished, with lots of trail rides, educational programs and fervent work parties.
“We’ve done so many things and had such a great time,” Sherry said, but in 2020, after “Dave and Becky moved to Ohio, we lost a lot of momentum.”
Membership numbers, and those available to do trail work, kept on dwindling as more moved away and others got too busy raising families.
More members were lost after they could no longer afford their horses due to inflation. And now the chapter is closing.
Last supper
Its final meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. It will be a potluck dinner at Black Diamond Community Center, 1942 Black Diamond Road, Port Angeles. RSVP by email to rainforestrider@gmail.com.
The Baysingers are not quitting the BCHW, but at 77, they are, naturally, slowing down. They plan to continue to be as active as they’re able.
They do find it disheartening there’s no horsemen on the horizon to continue their work. They’ve dedicated many years to maintaining, and improving, Mt. Mueller trails and Littleton Horse Camp, including its seasonal water system, with a 1,000-gallon tank in place for rural fire control and fire education.
“People today just don’t have a passion for being out on the trail in the back country, where it is so gorgeous,” she lamented. “By this time of year, Larry and I have usually gone up the Hoh River Trail to Five Mile Island at least three times, just to see all the leaves coming off the trees. It’s just like walking through a golden path, it’s so beautiful.”
She said Larry still has “quite a bit of grant work and grant money still coming to him for all of the work that he’s done.” He’s giving about $6,000 of it to Washington Trail Association so it can continue some of his trail maintenance work on the Mt. Mueller and Littleton trails.
There are also plans to donate chapter money for better signage there. She said USFS Recreational Ranger Liz Cusanelli is working with her on getting bids for the signs. The chapter is donating the money because there’s no Forest Service funding to support any seasonal work or signage.
Have you ever been on a trail after a storm and found it blocked by downed trees? I have. It’s always a major disappointment to have to turn around to go back the way you came. Note to equestrians: when turning around on a narrow mountain trail, please do remember the horse’s head faces the downside; the butt faces the uphill side.
To that end, are you aware what a valuable service the Back Country Horsemen, along with groups like Washington Trails Association, provide by maintaining existing trails? Did you know it’s no longer in the Forest Service budget to hire seasonal trail maintenance crews of its own?
In simpler terms, without volunteers to keep clearing the trails from post-storm windfalls, and horses to compact the trails, trails can quickly become impassable. And that makes it possible for the USFS to decommission it, closing it to the public.
It’s a win for Forest Service administrators trying to stay within their diminishing budget, but it’s a huge loss to the public.
Happens all too frequently these days. Crying shame, ain’t it?
Promise me the next time you hear a trail user complain about seeing horse poop, a quickly composting natural fertilizer, on the trail, you’ll remind them it’s for a good cause.
And when on the trail, remember to practice Leave No Trace principles.
Oh, and yield to horses. They do have the right of way.
Rescues
With winter upon us, the need is greater than ever to donate money to help with the feed and care of rescued animals. A favorite longtime rescue of mine is OPEN (Olympic Peninsula Equine Network). They’ve long partnered with Fox Bell Farm to help train and rehome some of its rescued horses. In fact, Fox-Bell has several horses from OPEN who are now an integral part of its riding lessons. Donate to OPEN at Olympic Peninsula Equine Network OPEN NetworkOPEN — general donations page.
An update on area dog shelters: After closing its dog shelter’s doors in July, Olympic Peninsula Humane Society held a meeting Nov. 14 stating its plan to reopen its Bark House in January. While the facility off Old Olympic Highway in Agnew was designed to hold a maximum of 40 dogs, it normally had many more — at one point holding 108. The reopening plan will start with 10 dogs and then not to exceed 25 dogs.
To see a slideshow overview of the plan, and a virtual tour of the facility, see its Facebook page, Olympic Peninsula Humane Society; Nov. 14 post.
In the meantime, Martha and Shelby Vaughan’s Fox-Bell Humane Society remains on track to open its facility soon.
I asked Martha if she was still opening the Fox-Bell facility after OPHS announced its reopening of Bark House.
“We are still proceeding with ‘Dog Town,’ and we have taken in quite a few surrendered cats at this point, too, that will be up for adoption in the near future,” she said.
As for Bark House reopening, “We need all the rescues, as there is much work to be done together.”
Both OPHS and Fox-Bell’s dog shelters are nonprofits.
Even with both open, shelters will still be in crisis mode due to the large number of unwanted and abandoned dogs, making the need just as urgent for owners to spay or neuter their animals. Please, no more “planned” breeding until this nationwide crisis is under control.
From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 31 will be Fox-Bell’s Formal New Year’s Eve Ball — a benefit for the Fox-Bell Humane Society, to be held at Fox-Bell’s Wedding and Event venue, 137 N. Barr Road in Agnew. Enjoy a night of live music by Tuff Puffin, a scrumptious taco bar by Little Devil’s Lunchbox and a complimentary glass of champagne for a toast at 9 p.m. (midnight Eastern time) all included in the ticket price of $125 per person. Margaritas and additional drinks will be available for purchase, as well as professional photos and a silent auction.
For more information, contact Shelby at 206-399-7683 or Martha at 206-954-1667.
Purchase tickets at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/fbhs-new-years-ball.
Can’t make it to the Ball? Donations to FBHS are tax-deductible and can be made through:
• PayPal: foxbellhumane society@gmail.com.
• GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/245611ab.
• Or mail a check to:
Fox-Bell Humane Society
PO Box 276
Carlsborg, WA 98324
________
Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also call her at 360-460-6299.
Mt. Olympus chapter members getting ready for a Horseback Easter Egg Hunt. (Photo by Sherry Baysinger)
Mt Olympus Chapter trail ride in a more robust year. (Photo by Sherry Baysinger)
