Grayback Mountain (Simcoe Mts.) 5-23-20

[adamschneider]

How long was the hike to the summit from where you started? looking to head out here this weekend, and it looks like a lot of the track as described by mountain bikers is long and flat. We would like to make it to the summit, but not sure that is realistic from where we can park.

It's about 5.5 miles one-way from the parking area shown in the first photo.

If you go a little farther north on a dirt road that forks off to the left, it's about 4 miles each way.

[Gray Jay]

According to Susan Van Leuven, manager of the Klickitat Wildlife Area, it is not legal to hike the road to Grayback Mountain. I contacted her after I read Matt Reeder's book "Off the Beaten Trail," which includes Grayback as a hike, because I had heard elsewhere that it was not legal to hike the Grayback Road.

Here is Susan's response on March 21, 2019:

"It continues to surprise me that various backcountry horseback riding guides and hiking guides are getting published without input from public land managers, as well as private landowners. You would think that would be standard protocol.

The property that has to be crossed to reach the summit of Grayback Mountain is owned by Western Pacific Timber, LLC. WDFW has an agreement with them to allow the public to hunt on their property provided that people go onto the property via nonmotorized means. This agreement is specifically for hunting. There is no agreement regarding other forms of recreation. Western Pacific Timber could, if they wanted to, press charges for trespass against people who are on the property for reasons other than work/business (such as gathering cattle) or hunting.

I’ve hiked on the road that goes up to the summit, and there are people who ride their mountain bikes up there. Some people ride their horses up there too. This activity has been occurring at a low level without an adverse response from the landowner. However, if it becomes a more popular thing and it appears that people think they are entitled to go in there, I guarantee that WPT will slam the door. (I’ve worked with them for a number of years and they are very protective of their private property rights.) Furthermore, if authors reach out to WPT after having published the book, it will not set well with people at WPT."

For more information, contact Susan Van Leuven at [email protected] or call (509) 773-4459.

[adamschneider]

So maybe someone should call Western Pacific Timber and specifically ask them if they're OK with hikers?

[bobcat]

I'll try to contact them. The KWA manager is specifically calling out guidebook authors (Curious Gorge would be another one) while acknowledging that "low level" hiking, biking, and horse riding is tolerated. If WPT were truly concerned, they would have put up specific signage at the gate barring activities other than hunting (which I would have respected, of course). Obviously, it's one of those nebulous situations where they're O.K. with other public use right now, but don't want it published in a formal guide and they reserve the right to shut the door at any time (like the SDS properties near White Salmon).

[bobcat]

O.K. I don't need to contact them. Western Pacific Timber has a posted Rules and Recreation Policy, which even allows camping! It's pretty clear, from the source itself.

[Charley]

O.K. I don't need to contact them. Western Pacific Timber has a posted Rules and Recreation Policy, which even allows camping! It's pretty clear, from the source itself.

Whew. That's good to hear.

Regarding the KWA managers email: it's weird to me when land managers have rules that are more lax for higher impact activities. To me, at least, a hiker would be less likely to leave the road, less likely to start a fire, less likely to get injured, and less likely to "leave trace," or in this case, remove resources, than a hunter. So why would hunters be welcome and hikers not?

That said, I wasn't super surprised at the advice in her email, even though it does seem weird, and that's because I think of the cultural differences driving this kind of management difference. Hikers are foreigners from the big city, while hunters could be locals who know the loggers and the land managers better, and/or might be assumed to have better wilderness sense. I'm not sure any of that is true, but I can see that as an operating assumption.

One legitimate difference, though, might be the worry that inviting "hikers" would open the door to Instagram masses, while, because hunting numbers are supposedly down, and rural communities are often shrinking, the land managers might assume that hunting pressure wouldn't be that great, or at least wouldn't be suddenly larger, after a spectacular photo appears online. Some wild public areas are really suddenly more busy, thanks to insta-hikers.

Anyway, that's apparently not the case, because the recreation and policy page doesn't prohibit hiking, but I do wonder if the assumptions built into the KWA manager's email are based on these cultural and demographic factors.

[bobcat]

The KWA manager had a formal agreement with Western Pacific Timber for public hunting to extend to their land. She assumed it was exclusionary to all other use (misinformation). She was not the person to ask, anyway. It's not her jurisdiction.

Her letter focuses on guidebooks listing Grayback Mountain. WPT may be annoyed about that, expecting it a courtesy for guidebook authors to contact them and get their permission/advice. It's a gray area, I think. Restaurants, hotels, etc. don't give permission to people to write reviews, including bad ones, or be included in a guidebook. Access here is not a commercial venture, since it's free, but once you open an area up to the public, it sort of goes with the territory that it will be advertised as such (and you certainly can't pick and choose who out of the public gets to take advantage of it)!

Anyway, we should all appreciate WPT keeping their lands open to the public and do our part to make sure this privilege is not abused.

[adamschneider]

Anyway, we should all appreciate WPT keeping their lands open to the public and do our part to make sure this privilege is not abused.

SDS/SLC/Broughton are cool too. Weyerhaeuser can take a flying leap.

[romann]

Thanks for the information Bobcat! Such a cool area, nice to see it's open for camping. It's a long drive, but with overnight stay it should be worth the trip.

SDS/SLC/Broughton are cool too. Weyerhaeuser can take a flying leap.

Exactly. Should be model for Weyerhaeuser too, rather than letting in only rich people (even high fire danger activities like dirt bikes/ATV's), who pay hefty money for their "recreation passes".