Confucius said that, but it might just as well have been Lisa Goorjian of the Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Department  or Troy Pierce of Clark County Public Works. They are the project managers for a trail that one day, it is hoped, will run 33 miles along the county-owned railroad right of way from near Vancouver Lake to Chelatchie Prairie.

So far, the steps have been slow, deliberate and mostly invisible to the general public, save for those few who have attended public meetings and open houses.

But, the painstaking steps also are necessary. The next two will be a June 19 county Planning Commission hearing and a July   Clark County commissioners meeting, presumably for approval of final design and engineering on the trail’s first leg of 2.7 miles.

This past Wednesday, county commissioners were briefed on that first segment. It will begin on land now owned by the state Department of Natural Resources at what would be about the intersection of Northeast 167th Avenue and 233rd Street. That’s just south of the southwest corner of Battle Ground Lake State Park. From there, the trail will be built to the northeast corner of the park, and then in the opposite direction to Fairgrounds Park in Battle Ground, 2.7 miles overall.

Trails are a wonderful public amenity. They provide recreation, solace and exercise to walkers, runners, bicyclers, skaters, bird watchers and equestrians at little maintenance expense. Their popularity is indisputable. Just this month, up north, the Port of Seattle and King County Council  finalized a deal to bring a 42-mile rail corridor east of Lake Washington into public ownership, at least 26 miles of it for a trail.

“Its a long process, but we are excited about it,” said Goorjian, who is intimately familiar with all the hoops to be jumped through and hurdles to climb over in community outreach, financing, permitting, designing, etc.

We’re excited, too. Bring it on.