FSPW shares summer plans for Scotchman trail

Last summer’s fires and troubles with mountain goat encounters of the close kind conspired to keep Scotchman Peak Trail No. 65 closed for much of last summer and fall.

The popular trail at the south end of the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness was closed in mid-August when fires began on the mountain’s east flank in the West Fork of Blue Creek. When the fire season ended, the trail was kept closed because of several incidents in which mountain goats acted aggressively toward hikers. The goats, habituated by human interaction that included hand feeding and letting the animals lick perspiration off of arms and legs, had become somewhat of a danger to humans and themselves.

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, in partnership with the Forest Service and Idaho Fish and Game, are endeavoring to keep Trail No. 65 open this year by providing education about mountain goats on site. Over a dozen volunteer “trail ambassadors” will be hiking Scotchman on weekends and holidays to help teach humans how to — and how not to — interact with goats. They will also be sharing information about Leave No Trace and the Scotchman Peaks proposal.

Jay Sicilia, newly hired FSPW mountain goat education coordinator, will hold a training day at Scotchman Peak Trail No. 65 trailhead on Saturday, June 18, beginning at 10 am. “I have plenty of volunteers already,” Sicilia said, “but anyone who is interested is welcome. The purpose of this program is to educate the public on mountain goat behavior and to help ensure that human interaction does not further alter the natural behaviors of these animals.”

FSPW is also planning this summer to finish a one-mile trail construction project replacing the beginning stretch of Trail No. 65 with a more user-friendly section of tread.

“The first third of a mile of the old approach was basically a hike up the fall line,” said FSPW program coordinator Sandy Compton. “The new track will be much easier on the heart going up and on the knees coming down. And, it’s prettier, to boot.”

FSPW trail crews finished the first half mile last summer and decommissioned the fall-line section of the old approach. The plan is to finish the new tread this year by the end of September.

“We have five workdays on Trail No. 65 this summer,” said Compton, “including a two-day event on September 23 and 24 to celebrate National Public Lands Day. We plan to finish and dedicate the new portion of trail that weekend.”

To learn more visit www.scotchmanpeaks.org/stewardship/events-schedule