Lower Burnett Bridge looking toward Buckley (this year's leg 4). Photo by Russ Matthews.

It is fitting (some would say about time!) that this new section of trail begins the final connection between Buckley and Cascade Junction, where the RR from Tacoma past So. Prairie branched north to Buckley and south to Wilkeson, Carbonado, and Mt. Rainier. After all, the town of Buckley is where Dr. Tait and his friend, Fred Hart, conceived the idea of the Foothills Trail and where the first piece was built. There still remain two sections (one on either end of this new one) to connect the trail to Buckley and So. Prairie, but with the construction of this middle section, there is no longer any doubt that it will soon be accomplished.

Wouldn’t it be fun to run the newly finished trail across these beautiful bridges? That’s just what we are going to do. Instead of going down Gale Creek, which is not possible until a reroute is built around the worst washout, we will run the old Spiketon Road from Wilkeson to Buckley (leg 3), then down the historic The Bow Tie to So. Prairie (leg 4). Since that adds an extra leg, we will drop the leg from the Mountaineers’ lot and start the race at Fairfax near the Manley Moore Bridge. Markus and I have always wanted to add a water crossing to this event, and now we have, because Spiketon Road crosses So. Prairie Creek as a ford, about knee deep. As the saying goes, we have turned lemons into lemonade!

Another exciting change is that the debris blocking the trail behind the Carbonado cemetery for many years has recently been cleared away. With the permission of the town of Carbonado and Mr. Ricks, two of the current owners of that section of right-of-way, we will be running and walking on the old RR bed the whole distance from Carbonado to Wilkeson!

Other changes you can look forward to are on legs 10 and 11. The Fife exchange has been moved to the levee trail across from Saddle Creek along the Puyallup River, lengthening the challenging run on sandy trail by about 3/4 mile, but shortening the overall distance of leg 10 by almost 2 miles. No longer will runners have to negotiate miles of sidewalks on leg 11 because it will continue on the sandy trail along the river and then on the dirt road on the levee all the way to Lincoln Avenue, where it crosses the Puyallup River on the pedestrian walkway. Along the way, runners will pass under a couple of RR trestles and two freeways then around a huge, new wetland, constructed last year between SR509 and Lincoln Ave. - a beautiful run along the river.

Levee road along the north side of the Puyallup River (leg 11). Photo by John Selby.

Further along leg 11 is another significant change. Runners on Puyallup Avenue will turn right on D Street after the transit station, cross the new bridge over four RR tracks, then descend onto Dock Street. After passing under the stay bridge of SR509, runners will turn right onto the expansive esplanade along the Thea Foss Waterway and hand off at the Tacoma exchange on the Museum of Glass plaza. Leg 12 continues along the length of the esplanade before rejoining Dock Street. Due to a wedding at the MOG, runners after 4:30 PM will stay on the sidewalk past the museum.

Again this year, the Rainier to Ruston promises to be “an adventure in your own backyard!”

See you on National Trails Day, June 6, 2009.