Secret Trails of the Olympic Peninsula with Tom Sanford

Tom Sanford from the North Olympic Land Trust sits down with Jennie to share his favorite secret trails around the Olympic Peninsula that are never crowded and hold the same treasures as other more famous trails.

North Olympic Land Trust Trail Guide

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Transcript

 📍 Welcome to the Washington State Hiking Podcast. I'm your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, and I'm your co-host Craig Romano. Craig and I are happy to have you here. We provide practical and timely seasonal hiking advice for hikers, trail runners, and potential hikers and trail runners of all skill and ability levels that is helpful, accurate, fun, and inclusive. Our sponsor for the month of April is the Olympic Peninsula Visitors Bureau. Craig and I are really excited to bring you some wonderful episodes about the the Olympic Peninsula this month, and thank you so much, Olympic Peninsula for sponsoring. Hiking on the Olympic Peninsula spans rainforest valleys, mountain ridges, rugged coastlines, and more families can find easy wooded interpretive trails while dog-friendly hikes offer shared adventures on select forest paths and beaches. Coastal hikes deliver beach exploration and dramatic views. Two shorter day hikes for fresh air or multi-day backpacking trips through lush river corridors, over mountain passes and along remote shores where nature sets the pace for beginning and seasoned explorers alike. Start your planning today@olympicpeninsula.org. My guest today is Tom Sanford, and Tom is the executive director of the North Olympic Land Trust. And we are really excited today to wrap up our month of really focusing on the Olympic Peninsula with some lesser well-known land trust trails. So Tom, thank you so much for being here. Welcome. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Yeah. So to start off with, can you share with everybody how you got to the Olympic Peninsula to begin with, and then how you got into this work? My passion for these amazing places really started when I was seven and my parents did the big family vacation down to the, uh, down to the Redwoods and the Redwoods, state parks and the state parks Junior Ranger program, uh, was something that just. Inspired me and my sister. Uh, and we begged our parents to be able to stay those few extra days. So we would, didn't just get the little blue badge, but we got the big yellow junior Ranger badge right on. And, um, that led to a lifetime of excitement, of experiencing the little things. Exper, you know, you're in the Grand Redwoods, but you realize the power of, um. Of, of lichen The power of, yeah. A fungal relationship with algae. You start to see the world come alive and, that led to a lifetime of doing a lot of environmental education work, uh, which, uh, oftentimes when you're a. Decent teacher. The next thing you know is you're, uh, becoming an administrator and,, I wanna say a, a decent administrator. Yay. That led me to Olympic Park Institute, um, the education partner of Olympic National Park. Um, and the education eventually became Bridge. Uh oh, cool. Okay. And so I was the executive director at Nature Bridge in Olympic National Park. Okay. Um, after doing that a while, I was, um. My family was settled here. We loved the peninsula of all, all kinds of things. We'll get into soon. Yeah. But, um, we wanted to stay here. I wanted to try something different. And the world of land trusts suddenly opened up to me about the power of private conservation, the power of what you can do and individuals can do on private land to make a really big difference for our community, our ecosystem, our economy. Um, and so became the executive director at North Olympic Land Trust now 14 years ago. Wow. And just love, love being in this place, one of the most amazing places on the planet. That. That is amazing. That's such a great story. So, um. Tom, can you, can you just talk a little bit about North Olympic Land Trust? Like where is the land that we're talking about? 'cause Yeah, as has come up several times on this podcast, you know, the Olympic Peninsula is so much more than just Olympic National Park, which is obviously mm-hmm. Amazing. Um, so tell us a little bit about where the land,, that North Olympic is entrusted with. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Is, is located. I mean, one of the amazing things about the Olympic Peninsula is it is one of the few round mountain ranges in the world. I'm not sure there are other ones, and it really geologically got formed as this round mountain range. And then when I think about its ecological importance, I oftentimes think of it as a wheel, and you have the core of the wheel that is Olympic National Park in the foresight of Roosevelt and beyond, to help turn that in to a national park. Um, at the same time you have all of these rivers radiating from, from the park that have a lot of deep, deep tribal influence on their ongoing land use, , and conservation opportunities. And then the rim of the wheel, um, and that intertidal zone and, and the forests. And so we really focus on those spokes and along the rim on private lands that are. Just vital to the future of, for example, Orca Whales in Puget Sound are, yep. Primarily subsist on Chinook salmon. Chinook salmon come from, historically really came out of the Stillaguamish River in the Elis River on the Olympic Peninsula. Um, that's, that's, these are vital places to our broader area. So it's working on those private lands between the park and the water. Um, that, make this place incredible. Amazing. Okay, so let's get into some of the great hikes out here for, hikers. So, um, which, where do you wanna start, Tom? Do you wanna go like west to east or east to west, or how do you wanna do it? Let's talk about the Port Angeles area. Okay, great. Port Angeles is such a great base camp, so. That's a good starting point. Thank you. Exactly. Uh, PA is an amazing base camp. Yeah, it really is. Uh, if you are looking for a place to settle in, find a nice. Comfortable place to stay with views of the water and then easy access every morning to head up into Olympic National Park. Yep. Up to Hurricane Ridge. Yep. Or some of the other things I'll throw out mm-hmm. Of places that maybe are a little lesser known Yeah. That allow for you to really experience this place firsthand. No lines. So, um, yeah, I mean, I guess one thing I like to think about, um, I've had. The issue of the last 15 years or so with, uh, with some, some tumor diagnoses that have basically through surgeries and other, um. And, and, and the medications I'm on have really clipped my wings. Mm. As far as being a backpacker mm-hmm. As someone who can go and do deep hikes. Yep. Um, but still have this desire to get out in the natural area, not Yeah. Be swarmed around by others that are simultaneously trying to experience these places. Um, and so one thing the Land Trust is able to do is, um, acquire, purchase a few properties that are. Key for some of our local ecological resilience. Mm-hmm. While also being public access that, . That is, equivalent to what you see with an Olympic National Park. Yeah. Uh, so first I'll mention is the LY conservation area. Okay. So the LY is about 25 miles to the west of Port Angeles, okay. A pretty easy half mile drive down Highway 1 0 1 and then Highway one 12. Mm-hmm. Beyond Joyce. And you turn to the north on Reynolds Road and you end up at the Land Trust 280 acre ly conservation area. The LY river is the drainage of Lake Crescent. So Lake Crescent comes outta the mountains, um, there on the North Peninsula. And then, um, it used to drain out the elah, but due to a landslide, it slowly rose 12 feet and found a new outflow. About 12,000 years ago. That's fascinating. That brought the liar only six miles north to feed directly into the strait of Wanda Fuca. Cool. And the property we own includes a portion of the mouth of the liar. Mm. Now that mouth, the estuary where salt and fresh water combined is a little pocket estuary that the researchers have found. Is a key hiding place for Hood Canal, summer chum. Oh, wow. As they're returning. So the endangered species of summer chum salmon in the Hood Canal are, are really dependent on these little pocket estuaries, like the liar. And as a result, um. A lot of tax dollars were able to come back to the Olympic Peninsula and help the Land Trust acquire this property, which is now a beautiful, approximately one mile hike, starting back and away at the end of Reynolds Road, back and away from the Strait. And you walk through, um. A clearing, well, a now returning forest that was cut in 2013 for a little bit and see all of the bird life that's now in this very young forest. Um, and then you head into an area that was harvested in 1912 and so it's a hundred and twenty four, fourteen, a hundred and fourteen year old forest. Yeah, that is, um. That has been really well managed and Tim McNulty, a local natural history guru, calls this his favorite second growth forest on the peninsula. What? That's awesome. It has all of these amazing. Trees of different ages, um, different species types. Uh, you have light shafts through it. You have, um, the biodiversity of that place is just stunning. And so I, with my issues, I'm a very slow walker and this is a place that comes alive when you slow down and that's look into the cracks. So cool. And look for the evidence of the 1912 Springboard Logging. Yeah. And, and look for the evidence of the trestle tracks that were in there. Yeah. Tom, can you just quickly mention for folks, I don't think we've talked about. The springboard like notches in Oh sure. Trees before could, could you talk about that a little bit? 'cause that's something you see on lots of hikes in Western Washington. That's something you'll see on lots of hikes when you're in, particularly in a second growth forest. Yep. So when the initial cuts occurred more or less in the general early 19 hundreds. Yep. Uh, chainsaws were not. Something you could use. Mm-hmm. Uh, and so oftentimes a double whip saw was used, and that is something with, uh, two people on each end going back and forth. You'll see the ma pa, uh, exhibits at your local law logging show of Yeah. Using the whipsaw, the divorce saw. Yep. Um, and yeah, so what you do is you don't want to cut all the way at the really wide base. So you'd put your axe and you'd cut some notches into the tree, maybe 10 feet up. Put in a long board into that notch so you can now stand 10 feet in the air. Mm-hmm. And saw down the tree at a higher height. Mm-hmm. Um, at that point, the, the stumps were left. Yeah. And so if you walk through these forests today, you see these slowly decomposing nurse, um. Nurse stumps Yes. That today have all of these other plants growing in the midst of them. Mm-hmm. And little notches where those, um, springboards were attached back at the turn of the century. So Cool. Okay. Yeah. Continue on such a, the trail, I just was like, you see that everywhere once you kind of know, once you know to look for it, what you're looking for. Mm-hmm. And they're like these cool little, almost like half moon shaped notches. Yes. In those like huge old stu. The power of going slow,, right. Looking. So also you'll see there's evidence of, native, uh, American and sla and slalom and macaw activity in particular. Yep. Of,, stripping of cedar bark, uh, in order to, for basket making and, uh, and rope making, uh, with the flow of cedar. Yeah. So it's just an incredible forest. Uh, yeah. And then eventually you end up at the Strai and, um, in a very quiet area that maybe on that weekend Madison Falls would have 300 cars in the parking lot. Mm-hmm. You'll find 15 at this area and, um, you end up at the strait. Uh, we did a birding,, walk there over the weekend and saw 39, uh, diverse birds on Saturday. What. In the middle of a rainstorm. That's amazing. And marbled, miette, uh, was the first time I'd ever seen a marbled miette, uh, an endangered species right there in the, in the break. Yeah. And I've been walking these forests for decades and had never seen one, just sitting there right in the surf break. Amazing. The property's also a great surfing spot and there aren't a lot of good surfing access, along the stray of Wanda Fuca. The waves are pretty good. Yeah. But being able to get in there without trespassing is not easy. Yeah. Yeah. And so we've found that this is a really great spot where folks will bike or hike in their surfboards and, and have another, another great, a very nice and rare surf break. That is really cool. Okay. That sounds pretty amazing, Tom. So what else, what else have we got out there? Um, if you were to head further, and I'm gonna stick with land trust lands further out on one 12. Yep. Eventually you leave the Strai and you head up River. So this is further west, the Pysht river, right? This is now going further west. Yep. And you head up the Pysht river and the Pysht is, um, a beautiful small river that doesn't flow outta the mountains. So it's um, it's not gally fed. The, flows change a lot through the year. What you see on the Pyshted is, um. It's a very wonderful land trust property called the P Conservation area. And this is not a great hiking spot. This is a great picnicking spot Aw. As you're heading further west. Um, it is an, an area where we've worked in deep partnership with the lower Elwa, kla and Macaw tribes. Cools a place, um, gosh, I want to say. 20 some engineered log jams on the river. Wow. These are, these are bringing the wood back in the river that creates habitat for salmon. Mm-hmm. And creates the riffles and the little areas that where the salmon can hide while they're spawning or their young can hide on the way back out to the, to the, um. To the straight and feed, and these engineered log jams have been placed all over this beautiful property. And cool to go and see that right up front. It's a really great salmon viewing area, a great elk viewing area, uh, as well as a fabulous place to, um, just sit and reflect. I love that. Now I'm gonna head, uh, a little further west and let's use the for, let's use forks as a base camp. Okay, sounds good. So going and being based in forks as a base camp where you can do your long hikes on the coast in Olympic National Park, you can head up into the whole rainforest or into the Bogachiel, um, up into the national forest. But in addition, there are some amazing little spots along the kalua. River and its tributary. Elk Creek right in Forks. I grew up, uh, in the Seattle area. And I like to call the Elk Creek Conservation area, the Green Lake of Forks. It is a beautiful, lovely spot. Right on the very eastern edge of fork, city limits down Kua Way. Okay. That has a 5K, a 3.1 mile walk. , Elk Creek conservation area that has a beautiful second growth forest, um, also harvested right at the turn of the century, 18 hundreds to 19 hundreds and has this 5K walk where you can be right along Elk Creek. . Quiet has a peaceful little creek running along with amazing salmon,, in it, and cool. The fungal diversity of that area is just astounding. I love going there in the fall and seeing all of the different, different, uh, fungus that are coming up. In fact, this last fall, the Olympic Fungus Festival, , used it as one of their prime sites where they Cool then did massive field trips out there. Yeah. To really, it was just a prime spot where it is easy to be right in downtown forks and then head from there, into the Elk Creek and you're out in the quiet within. Five minutes. That's awesome. I love that It's a 5K, like exactly a 5K. Uh, yeah. The Forks Community Hospital has used it for a 5K fund run. That's awesome. Oh, I love it. Cool. Okay. Wow. These are great ideas, Tom.. Coming back to Port Angeles, , another land trust property that can be really good for folks as you're just being in, um, port Angeles and Quim, , is the Seibert Creek conservation area. Mm-hmm. And, um, if I were staying in, uh, in Swim or Port Angeles at a base camp, I would recommend taking a full day. To really explore and discover the farmland just north of Quim. Mm-hmm. Um, that would include walking along, the dungeness,, levee in the southern dungeness and seeing all of the farmland and the river habitat down there. Especially some great river habitat that is in, um. A restoration phase. Mm-hmm. And then I would go to Seibert Creek. Mm-hmm. Um, and Seibert Creek conservation area is midway between Port Angeles and Quim. Mm-hmm. Right off of Old Olympic. All of this information could be found on the Land Trust website. Awesome. Olympic Land trust.org. And I'll put that in the show notes too. Lower Seibert Creek is an area where the Land Trust has been working for about 20 years. Oh, wow. And in that time, we have been able to help protect the lower six miles of Seibert Creek as it runs out of Olympic National Park. Cool. Um, and in that lower six miles, also amazing habitat area. For local salmon species is the Seabrook Creek conservation area. It's located just off of Highway 1, 1 0 1, down Seabrook Creeks Road, and it features a, a very short hike through a, um. Through a forest in regrowth, uh, that allows you to be right near Port Angeles and swim, have been visiting all of the wineries and all of the, , lavender fields and the farms, and then be able to just go for a quiet walk with your dog, for example. Mm-hmm. Through this beautiful area. It is also a great place to look for evergreen huckleberries, in the late summer. So yeah, uh, a beautiful spot right there in Port Angeles. Perfect. And it sounds like I, something I realized I should have asked you, Tom, of it course. It sounds like all of these trails we've talked about are mm-hmm. Fairly flat. Mm-hmm. Absolutely not a lot of, of elevation gain. Is that true? Okay. Yeah. I, I realized I was like making an assumption of like river walks and sometimes they are steep, so I thought I should double check. Yeah. I mean, I, I, now that we're at it, I, I will throw out yet another,, another land trust adjacent opportunity. Okay. Um, if you go to the Elah River, which I'm sure listeners have heard all about Elah Restoration. Um, and uh, this is a spot which, uh, we locals call right by the Double Decker Bridge, which is on Elwa River Road. Yes. You go, uh, down Crown Z Road underneath the Elah River, uh, double Decker Bridge, and you head, um, north. Across a city of Port Angeles water treatment plant,, open to the public, and you go through a little gate and suddenly you're on, Washington Department, fish and Wildlife Land and, uh, lower Elwa Slalum tribal land that has, uh, a walk available to the public along the Elah River that is very seldom used on the big, big busy weekends. Mm-hmm. That is also the site of, I believe, the largest. Placement of those large woody debris. The, the engineered log jams. Yep. The most. Density anywhere in the world. Oh, cool. And you get to see the elwa in restoration, uh, with a beautiful walk right along the river, in the floodplain. And that is so accessible. And again, super flat, super easy for those of us that can't do the big hikes. Yep. And is just a magical experience. Oh, that's really cool. Sweet. Okay. Tom, before I let you go, I'd love to know what your favorite hike is on the Olympic Peninsula. Today, my favorite hike on the Olympic Peninsula is to go into the lower Dungeness. Mm. And to walk along the Dungeness River. Yep. Between Anderson Road. And the south end of the Dungeness Valley Creamery. Okay. Over the last decade, a restoration effort has been going on where a levee placed against the Dungeness in 1969 has been pulled back, allowing the river, some breathing room, allowing the river to start to have its meanders and, and refine a new channel. That process has opened up. Some of the most amazing habitat for birds, for fish, for, . A crazy, uh, plant species,, and has allowed for a, a walk now along this new levee that starts at the Dungeness schoolhouse right on Anderson Road, on the, mm-hmm. On, on the dungeness and heads about two plus miles south, through, uh, farmland on the outside of the river and brand new habitat. On the east side of the river. Oh, that's really cool. And that new habitat. To watch it change and to go back again and again and just see the return of this ecosystem and ecological strengths is so inspiring and it's really cool. It is, uh, a gift I would say to the community of, of the county, of the Jamestown Slalom tribe. Mm-hmm. Of our own taxpayers who helped make this happen. Mm-hmm. Um, and please, please, please, uh, a walk on the lower Dungeness levy is something to do. Soon and often. I love that. Wonderful. Well, Tom, thank you so much for joining me today and sharing these amazing secret trails on the Olympic Peninsula. It's been an absolute pleasure. I. .. If you are enjoying the Washington State Hiking Podcast, Craig and I would love to have you leave us a rating and a review that helps other people find us. And if you wanna support us financially, you can leave us a tip through the show notes. No account, no commitment, nothing like that. Thank you so much for listening and see you next week.