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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
By ALLEN THOMAS Columbian Staff Writer

The U.S. Forest Service says it hopes to have a management plan for the popular Cape Horn trail at the west end of the Columbia River Gorge ready by Sept. 30.

Greg Cox, assistant manager for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area office in Hood River, told a public meeting in White Salmon last month that a Cape Horn trail plan is scheduled for completion by the end of the federal fiscal year.

Staff from the Forest Service have been meeting informally with the Cape Horn Conservancy citizen group and the Friends of the Columbia Gorge to discuss the route.

Stan Hinatsu, scenic area recreation manager, said a public meeting is likely this summer to get additional comment.

The route in western Skamania County has been built by volunteers over the years on land acquired by the Forest Service. It incorporates an old wagon route, abandoned logging roads, Prohibition-era bootlegger trails and a path built originally to serve a navigation beacon on the bluffs along the Columbia.

The trail offers a panoramic view to the east from atop the bluffs at Cape Horn and passes underneath a waterfall on the south side of state Highway 14.

While not on official maps, the trail is getting more and more use as it is close to the urban area and is snowfree almost all year.

But the route has some issues, too.

South of Highway 14, the existing trail conflicts with nesting peregrine falcons, said David Anderson, a biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“It puts you underneath where birds nest,’’ Anderson said. “If the trail comes close enough, human disturbance will cause nest abandonment.’’

Anderson said he has spooked falcons while walking on the trail.

Unfortunately, the nesting location is near the waterfall, which is the focal point of the trail south of state Highway 14, he said.

“It all has to do with location,’’ Anderson said. “You could route a trail south of the highway.’’

The biologist said there also has been discussion of a trail that begins near Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge east of Washougal, crosses state Highway 14 and joins with the Cape Horn trail atop the bluff.

That route does not pose conflicts with wildlife, he added.

Dan Huntington, a Skamania County resident and advocate for the trail, said excluding the public from the portion south of state Highway 14 would be “a tremendous loss.’’

“With the railroad in a tunnel and the highway far above, the section of trail by the river and the waterfall connects hikers with nature in a way you won’t find elsewhere in the Gorge.’’ Since the banning of DDT in 1972, falcons have thrived in the presence of humans, he added.

“Five pairs nest inside Portland city limits, including a pair on the Fremont Bridge,’’ Huntington said. “It would be surprising if the falcons at Cape Horn did not readily adapt to the presence of hikers.”

The state Department of Transportation is planning safety improvements on state Highway 14, and the Forest Service would like pedestrian underpasses for the Cape Horn trail, if possible.

Joanna Lowery, assistant area engineer for the Department of Transportation, said the state does not have money in its budget for underpasses, but would be willing to incorporate them if outside financing is available.

A proposed underpass at 17th Street in Washougal is projected to cost about $2 million, although underpasses for the trail would not need as fancy a tunnel and should cost less, she added.

Susan Saul of the Washington Trails Association said her group is eager to help the Forest Service by providing volunteer labor to do trail construction at Cape Horn.

WTA already has a week-long work party scheduled for Cape Horn in September.

“WTA is optimistic that the Forest Service will get the decision documents completed in time to start work this fall,’’ she said.