Cars lined up along Bennett St. – or the old airport loop road – on Nov. 14. My footsteps crunched on the gravel as I walked past the cars.
A few Wrangellites, city and federal employees stood around in a parking lot at the Sháchk Kináa Deiyí trailhead – or the Mt. Dewey spur trail.
The opening day for the new recreational trail has finally come on this cold autumn day. The trail connects to the mountainside trail that reaches about 300 feet in elevation to almost the top of Mt. Dewey.
“I have a favorite pet here,” Wrangellite Rosemary Ruoff said. She’s at the trailhead with her dog. “Anything that will get Wrangell people off their duff and out into the fresh air and the sunshine and the rain and doing something physical.”
She said the new trail represents health and gets people off their phones.
She said it’s all part of eating right, exercising, drinking lots of water and getting out in the fresh air.
Hikers took a sneak peak before
Andrea Gillen is also an outdoor enthusiast. She’s was at the opening with her three-month-old son, Jackson.
“I love these trails, especially with him,” she said. “[I] actually already done this one the other day.”
Shortly after, Parks and Rec Director Lucy Robinson welcomed everyone at the trailhead.
“This will be the first time we’ve ever taken steps on it, right? Nobody’s hiked it,” she said. People start laughing and one person said she’s hiked it. “I know, we’ve all hiked it. Today we’re here to celebrate something truly special and it is the opening of a new trail that connects us even more deeply to this incredible land we call home.”
She said the trail plan originated in 2012. It took 12 years for the trail to be approved, designed, funded and built.
“This is years of planning, hard work and a shared commitment to creating spaces that everyone in our community can enjoy,” Robinson said. “Whether you’re out for a casual walk, a challenging hike or just a bit of time in nature, this place is pretty special. It is a beautiful trail.”
Robinson said it’s more than a path through the forest and muskeg though.
“It bridges across generations, connecting us to those who have cherished this land long before us and to those who will carry on that legacy long after we’re gone,” she said. “It’s also a testament to the power of community created by many hands, countless hours and a shared vision of making our outdoors more accessible to all.”
Mt. Dewey Spur Trail in Wrangell on Nov. 17, 2024. The trail extension goes through muskeg and the forested mountain side. (Colette Czarnecki/KSTK)
Standing near the middle of the bright green ribbon in front of the trailhead and holding gigantic scissors, Mayor Patty Gilbert thanked the borough and Parks and Rec staff. She said grant money does not come free.
“Comes with a lot of – what do you want to call? – strings that you have to pull,” she said. “It’s not an easy process, nor is it a quick process.”
“Some ribbons too,” Borough Manager Mason Villarma said.
“Yeah, and some ribbons too,” Gilbert said. “And quite appropriate, green [ribbon] instead of red.”
Wrangell Cooperative Association – or WCA – tribal member Virginia Oliver shared a few words on the spur trail before the mayor cut the ribbon. She acknowledged her teachers who came up with the trail name – Sháchk Kináa Deiyí.
“The name they came up with was The Path Over the Meadow, and you could call it The Path Over the Muskeg, or The Trail Over the Swamp,” Oliver said. “Those words are Sháchk Kináa Deiyí. Sháchk is the muskeg. Kináa is over and Deiyí is the trail.“
And with that, the mayor cut the ribbon and the trail officially opened.
Future trail plans
The city is working on a sign to install at the new trailhead.
They are also talking about putting in an audio button where people can learn the trail’s Tlingit name.
The city received approximately a million dollars from federal highways for the project, with a 9% match from WCA and the U.S. Forest Service. The city used its Commercial Vessel Passenger tax fund to match the remaining balance.
Mt. Dewey’s trail extension doesn’t end on opening day though.
There’s future plans to extend the trail system even further to the historic Petroglyph Beach, about a mile outside of town.
