I've given my own name to a particular ridge segment in the Horse Heaven Hills. I call it the Horse Heaven Hinge in reference to the fact that the trend in the main ridge in the Horse Heaven Hills makes a sharp bend at this spot just south of Benton City. The USGS calls the high point on the ridge Chandler Butte, but the bend in the anticline begins a bit east of the high point.
Shaded map showing bend in the ridge
Row of hills to the northeast is the Olympic-Wallowa Lineament
The bend in the ridge creates a bit of a promontory enhancing the view up and down the Yakima Valley. The ridge line provides a great running site and distant views of Washington State's two highest peaks. This ridge as well as few others made long distance running training more fun than training.
Mt. Rainier
Mt. Adams
From left to right: Chandler Butte, Adams and Rainier
Benton County has the ridge in their long term plans as a recreational and scenic area. The land itself is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM has been going through a Resource Management Planning process for these lands blm.gov/or/districts/spokane/plans/. This process is a bit slow with lots of public input as well as budget constraints as well as both local and federal politics. The Ridges to Rivers Open Space Network may play a significant role in steering local community input and planning. Their plans and schemes are like a trail map to my old running haunts.
No comments:
Post a Comment