A mixed summer message: Visit the Olympics but stay away from the goats
Olympic National Park is enjoying a burst of popularity, its wildness drawing people from across the country, with nearby residents coming to understand that a once-controversial park now drives a recreation industry.
The popularity is leading to a mixed message these days.
With some fanfare, at the start of the month, REI and Patagonia announced a "Destination Wild Olympics" recreation map. It is available at REI retail stores and can be downloaded from the www.wildolympics.org website.
The map covers beauty spots and trails at the periphery of the park, such as a gorgeous old-growth forest on a ridge above Lake Quinault. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., are sponsoring a "Wild Olympics" bill that would protect 126,000 additional acres of wildlands around the park.
"We've been at the forefront of diversifying our local economy and promoting our world-class outdoor recreation and stunning natural beauty," said Terri Jeffreys, a county commissioner from Mason County, long known for logging, mills and shellfish.
The second message can be called a shaggy-goat story.
It comes from Olympic National Park headquarters in Port Angeles but applies to high places across the peninsula: Stay at least 50 yards away from mountain goats.
The goats are increasing in population even as the human visitor population increases. They are unpredictable and dangerous. One visitor was gored by an ill-tempered "problem" goat on Hurricane Ridge in 2010.
"Mountain goats are wild animals and capable of causing serious injury or even death. People should always maintain a distance at least 50 yards from any park wildlife," ONP Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum said Friday.
The goats are not native to the peninsula. They were introduced for hunting nearly a century ago, predating creation of the park. They devour native vegetation, generate bare, dusty places, and have been the bane of park superintendents.
Superintendent Maureen Finnerty, in the early 1990s, gave an exuberant interview advocating eradication of goats from the park. Defenders of Wildlife and other animal-rights groups immediately launched a protracted defense of the shaggy animals. The debate over killing or neutering goats devoured scarce park dollars.
Superintendent Bob Chandler was tuckered out after climbing the notorious trail -- it gains 3,400 feet in two miles -- into Lake Constance. Chandler dozed off with his head outside the tent. He awakened to a tickle: A goat was licking the salty sweat off his scalp.
The problem can be seen in the "Destination Wild Olympics" posting on Patagonia's website.
It shows the famous, gorgeous Puget Sound/Hood Canal view from near the top of Mount Ellinor, a popular (and stiff) hike outside the park.
Mount Ellinor is, however, notorious for a summit goat population and human-goat encounters in the fog. Read a delightful vignette in Timothy Egan's "The Good Rain." Inside the park, Appleton Pass has a goat population. So does the famous Seven Lakes Basin. So does Mount Angeles.
So, the Olympic visitor is advised to steer clear of the goats. As well, be sure to take a detour when coming across a bear gorging himself (or herself) on berries at O'Neil Pass.
The two-legged visitor can take delight at support for the "Wild Olympics" proposal, now endorsed by 555 businesses, with 12,000 people signing a pro-wilderness petition. The outpouring is similar to grassroots backing that persuaded President Obama to designate a San Juan Islands National Monument.
After hearing the same old saw in years past -- how Franklin D. Roosevelt "locked up" the Olympics -- it is refreshing to hear Hoquiam Mayor Jasmine Dickhoff speak to "our shared love of the land and our desire to permanently protect the most special parts of our spectacular backyard."
Puff up to the summit of Mount Ellinor, but be wary of shaggy four-legged creatures. And never, ever fall asleep with your hat off.
By: Joel Connelly
Source: Seattle PI