Hiking Washington's History by Judy Bentley

Author:Judy Bentley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: 2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE HIKE

Before beginning your hike up the Cowlitz Trail from the Soda Springs Campground, check out its namesake. Take a short walk back along Forest Road 4510, find a post with the words “Soda Spring,” and follow a short trail downhill. Water burbles out of the ground and turns rocks bright orange as it flows into Summit Creek. Generations of Indians bathed at the spring until settlers fenced it off and charged an entry fee. Operating in the 1940s under the names Tumac Mineral Springs (named after a mountain at Cowlitz Pass) and then Mount Rainier Mineral Springs, local entrepreneurs tried to bottle and sell the water. Their slogan was: “Be healthy, be happy, be wise, and let Tumac help you normalize.” Unfortunately for the entrepreneurs, the water darkened when bottled and exposed to the sun, which made it a hard sell.

For the ancient Yakama-Cowlitz Trail, head east from the Forest Service campground and trailhead parking lot. The trail starts close to Summit Creek but soon moves up the ridge, roughly following the creek but not always in sight or sound of water. The Indians typically followed water upstream but traveled along ridges when possible to avoid the dense undergrowth. Trail 44 is a constructed trail, not just a beaten path. The words “Historic Route of the Yakama-Cowlitz Trail” on the sign seem carefully chosen, not claiming that this is precisely the trail used by the Cowlitz and Yakama people. They may have fanned out over the landscape. You can see areas down the hillside that also look like possible routes.

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