When I first heard the news about a $430,000 project to fix the trail leading up to the summit of Spencer Butte, I was shocked. My first question was how in the world could a trail cost such a staggering amount, and also why do we even need a new trail?
I just hiked up there last week and it was easy for me. Yes, after I got out of the tree line I had to find my own path up to the summit, but so what, right? Anybody can climb a few rocks and step over a few bushes; I mean come on, it is called a hike for a reason.
As I started researching the project I realized that I had only been thinking about it from an arrogant, young college student’s perspective. I wasn’t thinking about the unique plant life that I could be disturbing, I wasn’t thinking about people causing unnecessary erosion and I wasn’t thinking about the safety of other hikers.
Trevor Taylor, project manager and natural areas restoration supervisor, has three main goals for this project: habitat protection, safety and accessibility.
“The rocky outcrop at the top of Spencer Butte is an extremely unique and very fragile habitat, not just for plants and animals, but there are also a lot of rare species of lichen,” Taylor said. “One wrong step on the rocks can step off decades old lichen population.”
Every day there are as many as 300 visitors hiking the butte and once the marked trail ends, the hikers trudge their way up to the top however they can. While it is relatively easy for many of us to make it to the summit, some cannot.
“There isn’t a clear route to the top and people often aren’t expecting it to be as much of a scramble as it is,” Taylor said. “Several times a year we have search and rescue go and do helicopter rescues up there.”
Through public surveys and forums the city got input on the project, giving them a pretty good direction of what people wanted to see. The current project plans call for the rebuilding of about 300 feet of trail that is in the forest immediately below the tree line and then 733 feet of new trail to be built from the tree line to the summit. The new trail will provide a clear route to the top and will have short sections of constructed rock stairs.
Kianna Vestuto, a freshman social science major, enjoys the challenging hike to the summit as it is.
“I would rather there not be a trail up there, I like how the rocky part is fun and adventurous,” Vestuto said. “Once the trail ended everyone just found their own way along the rocky path, even older people could do it.”
Carrie Morton, a graduate student in arts management, understands why some people need a better trail to the top.
“Personally, I like the steep rocky part because it’s challenging and it’s a thigh burner,” Morton said. “But I can see how a new trail would help some people, especially those who aren’t as mobile.”
The entire project is now expected to come to a total of $528,000. The funding comes from a variety of different sources, one of the biggest being the Recreation Trails Program Grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
There is not a set date for building to begin because a contract has not yet been finalized. Current plans for the project call for building to begin sometime in March and are expected to be completed by the end of July. Constructing the new trail will be a challenge due to the lack of accessibility for large equipment. In order to preserve the existing ecosystem, the current rock will stay in tact and all the rocks needed for the project will be imported using helicopters.
“This is a new territory for us, we have been learning a lot about other projects like this,” Taylor said. “The only other place where this kind of work happens is high elevation national parks; there aren’t very many contractors that do this.”
Although the project does seem to cost a good amount of money, what restorations and renovations don’t? I mean the University of Oregon just spent $50 million on the new student recreation center. We should welcome such an awesome revamp to one of the best hiking trails in Eugene.
Follow Tanner Owens on Twitter @T_Owens21