Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Iron Goat Trail

Be aware that the construction on the seven mile “Grand Loop” has not been completed and the current connection below Windy Tunnel requires a short but difficult hillside scramble with route finding. Scheduled for completion for the 2007 season this promises to be one of the most visually dramatic railtrails in Washington. Great walls line the trail where massive two track snowsheds once stood. Informative signs provide history and explanations for these surreal structures. Numerous tunnel entrances are also accessible but only to the signed barriers. Cautions about tunnel dangers are not overstated and many present a dark, damp, and dangerous vision of jagged rock and timber that now obstruct passages. Keep this trail in mind whenever traveling on Hwy 2 (across from the historic town of Scenic) or even as its own destination. Later season hikes include the upper elevations but only after the threat of snow and rock slides have ended. Check current conditions and explore more history and information at http://www.irongoat.org/

Thursday, April 19, 2007

From Sarajevo #2

Hello again from Sarajevo! Last time I took you on a walk out of the city and back again. This time we're headed for the mountains. Any guidebook will tell you that you never...repeat, NEVER...do this without a guide. In more than a decade, the country has yet to be cleared of mines, except around the cities, towns, and settlements. In the forests and countryside you will see weathered yellow do-not-cross tapes and red signs bearing skulls with crossbones. But, these warnings can't be totally relied upon because with time and weather mines shift around.

So, when my friend Kit came from London and wanted to hike, we called Green Visions, a local, ecologically minded outdoor group with a special Rent-a-Guide option. We rented Sebastien, originally from France and living here for the time being. Our request: Something in the mountains, not too far from town, 5-6 hours, with stellar views, please. Green Visions suggested Skakavac (SKAH-kah-vahtz) Falls, maybe six miles away. Getting to the trailhead involved taking the #69 bus past the Sarajevo Zoo where we could see a lone black bear circling its miniscule cage, and not much else. The zoo area was the frontline during the war, so any hiking that's done has to take place safely past there. Not long afterward, we were let off at the foot of a dirt road and started walking toward where a real trail would begin.

Just before that, we stopped at a mountain hut where Dragon and his son raise goats and sell homemade herb tea and the famous Bosnian plum brandy. We opted for the tea and it was fantastic. The trail...along mountain ridges, through forests, past springs that were the source of small rivers, and across the occasional snow field...was beautiful and offered the stellar views we had requested. So close to the city, and yet we could see nothing but wilderness.

The highest part of the climb found us at another mountain hut, this one larger and with a small restaurant serving local specialties such as a chicken soup featuring baby okras. From there we headed across a vast snow field and Sebastien noted with pleasure the occasional set of tracks left by rabbits or deer. During the war, most game was eaten by the starving populace, but it is making a slow comeback.

Just before the Falls, we passed a burned down mountain hut. It had belonged to the Serbs when they controlled the area, but as the Bosnians moved in to reclaim it, the Serbs burned down everything they thought would matter. The Falls themselves are long, narrow, and...like everything else around...quite beautiful. Returning to the #69 bus, we stopped again at Dragon's hut, where Kit and Sebastien happily sampled the superb brandy and I was treated to a second version of his tea. And nothing but sunshine all day!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Hiking in Bosnia

Mel has invited me to contribute to the Club blog and I'm delighted to give it a try. If you look in the photo section, you'll see some pictures I submitted as evidence that I'm not around to pay my dues. That's me in the blue jacket...oh wait...almost all of us are wearing blue jackets. Well then, just take your pick.
I'll tell more about those hikes next time. First though, I'd like to introduce you to Sarajevo, where I am until the end of June, by taking you on a hike right from the city. I start from my apartment, a fourth floor walk-up (I get to count the stairs as part of the hike because there are 80 of them.) Within five minutes I've come to the Mljacka River which runs through the city and right in front of me is the Latin Bridge where the Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife Sophie were assassinated, triggering the events that led to World War One. Next up is...or was...the national library. This is the first building the Serbs bombed to start the 1992-1995 war. After 11 years, the renovations have scarcely begun, so it's a sad looking remnant of earlier, happier days. Right across the river from the library is the restaurant Inat Kuca, or Spite House. When the library (originally a city hall) was to be built in the late 19th century, the one person who refused to move was the owner of a very nice restaurant. He demanded that his building be transported, piece by piece, across the river. His demand was met and the restaurant, to this day, serves excellent local food.
Now, we're leaving the city behind as we follow the river on our right, through a wooden archway with its sign: Path of the Ambassadors. All along the pathway are scraggly trees with accompanying plaques telling which ambassadors from which countries donated them. During the war, most available trees in Sarajevo were chopped down as the Serbs managed to cut off electricity and fuel supplies. Thus, there are a lot of scraggly trees around, trying to make a comeback. Soon, on my left, I can see incredible cliffs, some of them used by rock climbers with all the usual gear...except helmets. Occasionally runners in jogging suits pass by, unless they've stopped for a smoke. (Rock climbing helmetless or smoking while running is probably no big deal to people who have survived war and genocide.)
The end of my hike (or maybe it's just a walk) is at the Goat Bridge. The bridge is at least 450 years old and was once the starting point for a pilgrimage to Mecca.
For most of the way back, I retrace my steps, but just past the entrance to the Path of the Ambassadors, I tire of being on the flat and cross the river on a bridge whose railings have pretty much given up any functionality and floated off downriver. On the far side are stone stairs leading eventually to a Moslem cemetery that overlooks Inat Kuca and the library. The first time I went there, I was struck by how many graves were from 1996 and 1997. I asked someone about that, noting that the war was over in 1995. "Post-traumatic stress," he said. "We had a saying: Once we realized we had survived the war, we died of it."
If I have timed my hike just right, I'll come down from the cemetery when the nearby mosque starts its call to prayer, the sounds echoing across the city as other mosques join in. It is actually eerie to listen to and one of my favorite city experiences. From there it's back to the apartment, back up the 80 stairs, with a total of about six miles.
Next time, a "real" hike.