Happy Trails

This morning Carol Vander Meer, my new Happy Trails Co-Host and I talked with Ben Blom of the Bureau of Land Management about new trail being proposed for the Headwaters Forest along the Elk River corridor. We also talked about mountain biking opportunities at Lax Creek, the trail up at Lighthouse Ranch near Table Bluff, and the Lost Coast Headlands with new trail construction and interpretive signs.

This morning I spoke with Ben Morehead and Tami Trump (no relation) from the Trinidad Coastal Land Trust about all they do for the community by keeping popular coast properties in the public and creating maintaining trails on the north coast. One of the project they are working on is extending the Hammond trail across the little river linking to Scenic drive. This Friday, they are hosting an outdoor alternative to Black Friday shopping. This will be an interpretive hike exploring Trinidad Head at 1:00 with guest leader Michael Kauffman. And the lighthouse on the head will be open for viewing. This event will happen rain or shine (unless it's a torrential downpour). Come enjoy the beauty of Humboldt County.

This morning my co host Michael Kauffmann and I spoke with Bryson Code, the Recreational and Wilderness Manager for 6 Rivers National Forest. This is a position that has been vacant for the past 4 years so there is a lot of catching up to do. Bryson talked about how is passion for trails led him to this job. He also stressed that there is a lot of deferred maintenance that needs to be address before any new trail projects can be looked at.

This morning Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Tony Seghetti, Deputy Director of Engineering for the County of Humboldt, and Arthur Reeve, Deputy Director of Public Works for Humboldt. We looked at improvements on McKinleyville Ave, the speed reduction on Foster Ave. in Arcata, and a new light at Walnut and Fern and realignment of Walnut and Holly, both in Cutten.

This morning Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Hank Seemann, Deputy Director of Humboldt County Public Works and Brian Gerving, Eureka Public Works Director about Measure U which is a countywide measure on the ballot next Tuesday. Measure U would help fund road maintenance and repairs, trail maintenance programs, and help us secure matching funds for future infrastructure projects. As state and federal funds are dwindling, this self help measure will enable Humboldt County to keep its infrastructure functioning. This is a 1/2 of one percent sales tax increase. However, with our sales tax dropping by 1/4 percent in January, this will only be a net increase in our sales tax of 1/4 percent. That means for every $100 spent, you will be taxed an additional 25 cents.

Today, Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Netra Khatri, assistant city engineer for Arcata about improvement projects on old Arcata Road. There have already been some with more to come. And yes, the public will have input on those future improvements at an open house on Wednesday

This morning Michael Kauffmann and I spoke with Gabe Howe from the Siskiyou Mountain Club. This is a non-profit organization dedicated to trail restoration in the Siskiyou wilderness. The group started as just a group of friends who saw a need as so many trails were falling into ruin. The organization now has over 300 members and has thus far restored numerous trails, to a point where they are hoping to move into more of a trail maintenance organization by 2020.

Today Emily and I spoke with Denise Newman, the RCAA Projects Coordinator about Explore The Coast taking place this Sunday, October 9th on the Hikshari Trail. We also discussed this past weekends events, the Cooper Gulch Plan & Play Day and the Chah-Gah-Cho trail Grand Opening.

This morning Jessica Hall and I spoke with Christy Prescott, Community Advocate for Cooper Gulch Common Grounds, a grassroots organization that's been around for about a year to help the park at Cooper Gulch live up to it's potential. This Saturday, October 1st, there will be a big event open to the public called Play and Plan Day at Cooper Gulch from 9am till 4:30. Many events are planned for the day. More info at coopergulch.org

This morning my co host Michael Kauffmann and I spoke with Terri Vroman Little and her work with the CCC and all they are doing with trails here in Humboldt County. We also talked about The Humboldt Bay Marathon, how it started and where she hopes to see it in the near future. And although it was painful to bring it up, how she has taken the tragedy of 4 years ago (on Old Arcata Road) moved forward for positive advancement of trails and the creation of the Humboldt Bay Marathon, part of which goes along Old Arcata Road, in essence, reclaiming that space. Thank you to Terri and The CCCs for their tireless efforts to make Humboldt a better place for all.