Mountain trail bridge built by Schawana Eagle Scout

SCHAWANA – Following in the footsteps of his brother Arill, Jonah Bartrand of Schawana has spearheaded the building of a mountain trail bridge to earn his Eagle Scout badge.

A life scout with Troop 493 of Ellensburg, Bartrand has led a team of boy scouts and adult troop leaders in building a bridge across Salmon la Sac Creek. It is part of the Jolly Mountain Trail in the Cascade Mountains north of Cle Elum.

A section of the Jolly Mountain Trail is scheduled for rerouting for safety and other reasons. A new creek crossing required a new bridge be built. It is now in place.

Last year, Arill Bartrand led this same scout troop in building a new bridge across Silver Creek to make the Kachess Ridge Trail safer (and drier) for hikers, bikers, and equestrians. That was Arill’s Eagle Scout project.

Arill’s project was invaluable experience for Jonah in completing his own Eagle Scout project. Jonah had to confer with Tim Foss of the Cle Elum Ranger District of U.S. Forest Service during the planning of this project.

Jonah made several hikes up the Jolly Mountain trail to assess the terrain and feasibility of bringing in equipment and materials. After locating an optimal route, which shortened the time on trail for equipment, Jonah arranged for a pack string of mules to do the heavy hauling. The scouts of Troop 493 working on the project hiked in, carrying lighter tools.

John Simon and Tim Foss, of the Cle Elum Ranger District, felled on site the trees that were used for the sills and stringers. Permission was granted for Jonah and his dad, David Bartrand, to fell a cedar for milling the decking.

Clinton Mosebar of Cle Elum showed Jonah how to mill the cedar planks and assisted him. Clarence Grilley of Granite Falls provided assistance and experience in hauling the decking by pack string to the construction site.

The sills and stringers were winched into place with the help of Scoutmaster Larry Hudson and Assistant Scoutmaster Paul Zeck. They worked under the direction of Jonah and David Poage of Cle Elum, who provided the trail engineering experience gathered from a lifetime of working on and recreating on Cascade Mountain trails.

The Scouts and adults of Troop 493 and David Poage provided the labor for the ground preparation and bridge building. Besides those already mentioned, the bridge building crew included Arill Bartrand, Beck Bartrand, Anson Bartrand, Nathan Zech, Taylor Hudson, Brian and Sean Timme, and Jared and Kyle McIrvin.

Many businesses and individuals contributed to this project through donations of money and materials. These include Calaway Trading, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Knudson Lumber, Brad & Burke Heating and AC, Smith-Kem, Twin City Foods, Dave’s Ellensburg Exhaust, Old Mill Country Store, Ellensburg Tire, The Home Depot, The Copy Shop, and Ken and Sue Gamon.