Happy Trails

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 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 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 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 Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Rob Holmlund, Director of Development Services for the City of Eureka. He spoke of improvements to Opera Ally, creating an arts corridor, and improvements for pedestrians in the Henderson Center shopping district. There is a workshop this Wednesday evening, 5:30pm at the Wharfinger Building. This is open to the public and a chance to see some of these ideas and comment on them. We also touched on the proposed expansion of the Hikshari trail south. More on that next week when Carol Vander Meer and I speak with Miles Slatterly about the Grand Opening Celebration of the Phase A of the Waterfront trail.

This morning Carol Vandermere and I spoke with Miles Slatery the city of Eureka about phase one of the Eureka Waterfront Trail. The Grand Opening will take place this Saturday connecting with this portion of the trail to the Hikshari' trail for 2 1/2 mile segment. When asked when the entire Eureka waterfront Trail is expected to be completed, Slatery responded "October 2017". I also asked Miles about the rumors of the Hikshari trail extending south. He said they are currently exploring the option of extending it all the way to Scotia. Since at this point that is just conceptual, there is no timeline for it, but I for one am very excited about that. Slattery said it right now they're concentrating on the southern part of the Bay Trail. When complete it will connect with the completed Eureka waterfront Trail for a contiguous ride from the southernmost part of Eureka all the way to Arcata.

This morning Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Mike Cherney, trail user, and Josh Smith of the Watershed Center about trails in Hayfork. There is already an extensive, if not well known system of trails in Hayfork, many of them historic. There is also substantial watershed trail development going on right now.

This morning I spoke with Emily Sinkhorn, Erin Kelly and Michael Kauffmann about the Bigfoot Trail. Emily and Erin spent about a month hiking this beautiful trail through some of the most stunning parts of the country.

Jessica Hall and I spoke with Kevin Hoover who just completed an many weeks hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. Kevin spoke of the trail culture and his adventures. He also talked about how he dealt with adversity when a medical issue cropped up with his foot.

Emily Sinkhorn and I speak with Marcella Clem, Executive Director of Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) which has initiated research and work towards a Draft Expenditure Plan for a potential transportation ballot measure. The tax would fund deferred road maintenance throughout the County as state funding for local jurisdictions has been drastically cut and gas-tax revenues have been depleted. This would be a .5% county sales tax and would be specifically earmarked for maintenance.