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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 30, 2005 Trail grant hikes up Kerby Peak By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune SELMA — Throughout the 1930s, teens in the Civilian Conservation Corps hiked the steep trail up Kerby Peak and back each morning to keep their legs strong. In the 1950s, the trail was the only way in and out of Kerby Peak’s fire lookout station until the building burned in the late 1960s and was never rebuilt. The rugged pathway then became an "unofficial trail," unkept by the Bureau of Land Management until a small federal grant created a rebuilding and restoration effort. Completed in 2003, the new-look Kerby Peak Trail now slices up the peak past rare Brewer spruce toward picturesque views of Deer Creek slithering in the forest below. "It’s a neat trail that goes to a beautiful, beautiful area and it’s a historic area," says Jeanne Klein, recreation planner for the Bureau of Land Management’s Grants Pass Resource Area. Advertisement The trail now leads Klein to Washington, D.C., where she will accept an award for helping parlay a little federal money into a lot of new trail for recreation use. The Kerby Peak Trail is one of eight trail projects across the country to win achievement awards for outstanding use of federal Recreational Trails Program money. The Kerby Peak Trail won in the "Maintenance and Rehabilitation" category by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the Coalition for Recreational Trails. Klein will be accepting the award during a ceremony June 5 on Capitol Hill. The BLM received an $8,000 CRT grant and the agency covered the remaining $2,000 worth of work, Klein says. For the money, the BLM was able to refurbish the trailhead, clear and restore three miles of the steep trail to remnants of the old lookout station and extend the trail another mile past the peak. Ken Rosenfeld, director of advocacy at the Rails to Trails Conservancy and one of the co-chairs of the awards committee, says the work represents an enormous bang for the federal buck invested here. "I think it’s a good example of how a real small federal grant can create a great benefit for an area," Rosenfeld says. "I want to visit it." Grants Pass hiking author Art Bernstein has visited the trail before the refurbishing and after. "The first quarter-mile used to be the steepest, worst terrain I’ve ever been on in my life," Bernstein says. "It went straight uphill. Now they have a nice, long switchback that makes it much easier. "I’d say it’s a lot better than it used to be," Bernstein says. Klein says her agency plans on extending the trail another three miles across some Forest Service land to a second trailhead near Grayback Mountain. The federal Recreational Trails Program was established in 1991 to fund trails by using portions of federal gas taxes attributed to off-road recreation. CRT members consist of 21 organizations that work to build awareness about trails and the Rails-to-Trail program. How to get there To get to the Kerby Peak Trail, take Deer Creek Road near Selma and follow it about eight miles to White Creek Road (also known as BLM Road No. 38-6-18). Turn right on White Creek Road and then left onto the East Fork Road a short distance later. The trailhead is two miles up that road. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztechmedia Website Hosting Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Advertisement s