Friends of Capitol Forest

Capitol Forest Festival is right around the corner!

Join us Aug 9-11 as we take over Fall Creek with Race Cascadia for a weekend of racing and hanging w friends.

Need to add to your FOCF branded merch collection? Pop by the festival and donate at our booth!

And don’t forget to purchase your raffle tickets for your chance to win a Cannondale Habit 4 — Go see the bike in person at Big Stump Bikes! Buy tix at the link below:

https://app.galabid.com/2024festivalraffle/items/5e4098eb-9109-4c0b-b90e-b8b6463e8757

Our summer work party schedule is lighter than usual BUT there are still a few opportunities to give back to our trails!

Fall Creek meets the 1st Saturday of the month! Gather at the shelter at 9am 🤘

North Slope is taking its regular summer hiatus — check back in the Fall 👋

PHASE 2 NORTH SLOPE LOT UNDERWAY!

DNR crews will be hard at work finishing the new parking area at North Slope 🥳🥳🥳

ALine entrance and trails on the ALine side of NS will be CLOSED Mon-Thurs so crews can safely work. Closed trails include SCOBY, DNR, LTD, Stormy, and Bowfinger.

KC gate will be OPEN during this time and all trails on the KC side are fair game for riding.

ALL North Slope trails will be open for riding Friday-Sunday.

Please respect these DNR closures and DO NOT make new trails around orange fencing. Our trail lead Bill doesn’t want to spend precious trail work hours fixing rogue entrances to trails after they open back up.

This project is expected to last at least 2 weeks!

Thanks in advance for everyone’s understanding — we can’t wait for a better parking area!

Volunteers are needed for this weekend’s CDC race at North Slope!

Follow link below to sign up and support our favorite race series!

https://signup.com/mobileweb/2.0/vspot.html?groupkey=465402600100

SheRips is right around the corner — Secure your spot as we are already half full!

June 22, North Slope trails, 9a-4p.

$60 members/$65 non-members. All day shuttles, fun games, and TONS of prizes.

For WFTNB riders. Rally your girl crew and come@ride with us!

Link in bio to register.

SheRips is right around the corner — Secure your spot as we are already half full!

June 22, North Slope trails, 9a-4p.

$60 members/$65 non-members. All day shuttles, fun games, and TONS of prizes.

For WFTNB riders. Rally your girl crew and hit the link to register!

https://friendsofcapitolforest.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/friendsofcapitolforest/event.jsp?event=2007&fbclid=IwAR348Q8MpWA32GVpLCMnsuQRk12Q5chyXi-B6h_lTFY-XxCNzcx_e8IZujU

North Slope Parking Area Expansion is HAPPENING!

May 22-May 24 from 5am-4pm, work will be underway to clear trees for the new trail head parking area 👏👏👏

During working hours, the Aline Entrance and ALL trails that end there will be CLOSED. This affects SCOBY, Stormy/Bow Finger, new LTD extension and DNR.

KC gate will be open during the hours above for access and trails like Bones, Low Key, and Slick Jimmy will be open for riding. All NS trails and the Aline entrance will open for access after work finishes for the day.

Questions? Send us a message.

The upcoming North Slope shuttle day May 25 is filling FAST! We have 12 spots left and we anticipate it to fill which means there won’t be a chance for day of walk-ups. Don’t wait to register!

SheRips June 22 is almost half full! And we have some incredible prizes that participants have a chance to win. WFTNB riders welcome!

Visit www.friendsofcapitolforest.org to sign up!

‼️Attention North Slope Goers‼️

Logging trucks will be using A5000 and Aline to haul Mon-Fri! The trails are open during this time BUT you will be pedaling and shuttling the road at your own risk.

Logging operations wrap-up daily by 5pm so the safest time to ride North Slope during the week will be evenings.

We don’t have a timeline/duration for how long this will last but it’s safe to say that it will be at least several weeks — 2 months.

Reminder: Fall Creek shuttle is ON for this Saturday! Weather is looking PRIME and all event proceeds go to FOCF so we can keep doing trail stewardship and advocacy.

$60 members/$65 non-members.

Tap link to register.

https://friendsofcapitolforest.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/friendsofcapitolforest/event.jsp?event=2012&

Happy International Women’s Mountain Bike Day 💪💪💪

We hope all the baddies out there are hitting the trails and enjoying their bikes today!

Let’s hear it for women, femme identifying, and non-binary riders everywhere they pedal 👏👏👏

PC: Cayman Waughtel

BIKE RAFFLE 👇👇👇

Been asking yourself if it’s time for a new bike? Welp, we can’t keep this opportunity from you any longer!

Our generous buds over at Cannondale donated a Habit 4 (size medium) to FOCF for us to raffle off to one lucky winner.

Tickets on sale now. Winner announced at the Festival Aug. 11

$10/ticket or $50 for 6 tickets.
No trades. Winner doesn’t have to be present BUT bike must be picked up locally in Olympia. No shipping.

https://app.galabid.com/2024festivalraffle/items/5e4098eb-9109-4c0b-b90e-b8b6463e8757

🤘🤘May Work Parties🤘🤘

Here’s your chance to give back to the trails before summer vacation!

May 4th — Fall Creek. Meet at the Shelter.
May 18th — North Slope. Meet at Aline/A5000.

Work parties start around 9am. Tools and food provided!

Can’t wait to see you out there!

🐴 Reminder: Trails Open to Horses May 1 🐴

Our beautiful equine pals and their nature-loving riders will be back riding the trails at Capitol in 15 days!

When you come across a horse on the trails, try to do the following: If safe, dismount and move off of the trail. Say hello and talk to the rider so the horse knows you are a person.

Parking lot reminders: Do not park in designated horse trailer parking spots/areas. Please give plenty of space in front of or near mounting blocks. Riders use these to mount their horses.

Most common THs at Capitol for equestrians include Fall Creek, Margaret McKenny, and Mima Falls.

Remember that many of our trails serve multiple user groups so say hello to one another, wave, or at least smile! We are all out enjoying nature together.

Right of way trail etiquette: everyone yields to horses, bikers yield to hikers and horses. Uphill has priority within user group.

More info: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/amp_rec_safesustain_brochure.pdf?q30nrg6&2h8ie3j!

✨✨SheRips Sponsor Announcement ✨✨

We are BEYOND excited to announce our 2024 SheRips sponsors! Thanks to their generous support and commitment, this year’s event is going to be better than ever.

Deschutes River Cyclery is coming in CLUTCH with some yummy morning snacks and coffee for our riders.

And we’ve got some INCREDIBLE prizes donated by our friends at Kula Cloth, Schwalbe, Race Cascadia, Wild Rye, Osprey, Ground Keeper, and Handup! All registrants will have plenty of chances to walk home with awesome gear throughout the day.

SheRips is open to WFTNB riders. All event proceeds go to FOCF.

We will see you there on June 22!

Spots continue to fill — don’t wait to sign up.

Visit friendsofcapitolforest.org to sign up.

PC: Cayman Waughtel

DO YOU LIKE TO SHUTTLE??

Don’t wait to sign up for one (or more!!!) of our upcoming shuttle events. Space is limited and spots are filling!

$60 members/$65 non-members. Reg fees go to FOCF so we can keep bringing you trail miles and smiles! Sign up solo or rally your crew.

May 11 — Fall Creek
May 25 — North Slope
June 22 — SheRips North Slope (women’s+ event)

Register on our website www.friendsofcapitolforest.org

PC: Cayman Waughtel

👀 Be On The Lookout 👀

We are getting reports of continued maple poaching going on in Capitol Forest and we need your help to keep an eye out for and report this illegal harvesting.

The DNR and FOCF do our best to keep tabs on activity in the forest but with over 100,000 acres of forest to steward, we can’t be everywhere. Recent poaching in areas above Bio Char and along KC line (and in other areas) has been increasing.

Coming across large rounds of cut up maple is the tell tale sign of maple poaching. Feel free to report activity in our DMs or contact our DNR Enforcement Officer, Larry Bradeen, at (564) 669-0147. Photos of vehicles/plates, time, and date are most helpful when reporting.

Please share this post — thanks for being the eyes and ears out there!

🌦️🌦️ April Work Parties 🌼🌼

4/6 Fall Creek — meet at the shelter
4/20 North Slope — meet at Aline/A5000 intersection

Work parties get started at 9am. As always, we provide the tools and noms, you provide the muscle.

You won’t regret giving back to the trails you love, we promise!

SheRips is BACK for 2024 and it’s better than ever! Join FOCF on June 22nd for an entire day of shuttles, hangs, and a chance to win some awesome prizes!

$60 FOCF members/$65 non-members.

SheRips welcomes women/femme/trans/non-binary riders to come take over the North Slope trails at Capitol State Forest. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Plus, fun activities to win awesome prizes (think BINGO, trailside treasure hunts, best riding fit, most laps wins, etc 😉).

We aren’t quite ready to drop our sponsor line-up just yet but keep your eyes peeled for that update!

Visit friendsofcapitolforest.org to register!

PC: Cayman Waughtel

Not a member and find yourself asking how does FOCF use membership $$? Well let’s see if this convinces you to take that $35 or $65 plunge🤘

Tool and trailer upkeep takes up a large part of our budget. Last year we made a necessary investment in a brand new work trailer (costing $15k) for North Slope and we replace and repair tools within our two trailers as they wear out and break. Our Trail Leads Bill and Sharon care for our work trailers and their housed contents so our volunteers are provided with the necessary items to have successful trail work days.

Swipe to see the breakdown of tool cost.

Becoming an FOCF member ensures that we will be able to continue the important work on the trails we call home.

Join:
https://app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/friendsofcapitolforest/membershipJoin.jsp

PC: Cayman Waughtel

Are you new to our page? Here’s what you need to know about FOCF!

Friends of Capitol Forest is a member and volunteer run mountain bike based non-profit committed to advocating for and stewarding trails in and around Capitol State Forest. We were founded in 2005 and have been hard at work ever since providing recreation opportunities to our community.

Wanna get involved? Here’s how:

Becoming an FOCF member is one of the best ways to support the work we do.

We host monthly trail work parties! Stay tuned on our social channels for work party announcements and details.

Each year we host some incredible events (including some shuttle days!!!!) where all registration proceeds go to FOCF. The money generated through events help us continue our work of advocacy, stewardship, and building our greater trail community!

Visit friendsofcapitolforest.org to join, register for an event, and learn more!

PC: Cayman Waughtel

We still have spots available for our upcoming Women’s+ Dig Day on Saturday March 9! Comment below or send us a DM with your name and email to sign up.

Come spend the day getting dirty, giving back to the trails you love, and hanging out with new friends 💃

Reg is OPEN for our upcoming shuttle events!

Fall Creek May 11:
https://friendsofcapitolforest.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/friendsofcapitolforest/event.jsp?event=2012&

Northslope May 25:
https://friendsofcapitolforest.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/friendsofcapitolforest/event.jsp?event=1997&

SheRips Women’s+ event at Northslope June 22:
https://friendsofcapitolforest.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/friendsofcapitolforest/event.jsp?event=2007&

Fall Creek work party cancelled for tomorrow due to snow!

FOCF has been hard at work giving our community great trail views since 2005! Our members are at the heart of the work we do advocating for and building trails for our future. Becoming a member today supports trail views for tomorrow!

PC: Cayman Waughtel

🌧️ MARCH WORK PARTIES 🌤️

Come get your favorite trails ready for Spring at one (or all!) of our upcoming trail work events:

March 2 @ Fall Creek. Meet at the Shelter.
March 9 Women’s+ Dig Day @ Northslope (send us your name/email to sign up).
March 16 . Meet at the corner of Aline/A5000.

We get started around 9am. You bring the muscle, we provide the tools and food!

SHUTTLE DATES DROPPING — mark your calendars!

Yea, OK. We know everyone LOVES a good pedal but we are bringing you 3!!! shuttle dates to choose from to kick-off your summer riding adventures. Plus, your participation directly helps fund FOCF so we can keep bringing you great trails, stewardship, and advocacy!

All Riders Welcome:
May 11 @ Fall Creek
May 25 @ Northslope

Women’s+ Event:
6/22 SheRips @ Northslope

Reg. opens March 1st. $60 members/$65 non-members for all-day shuttles, a chance to win some fun swag, and hang out with a bunch of friends. Spots will be limited so don’t wait to sign-up. Come by yourself or rally your crew. We can’t wait to see how many laps you can get in!

PC: Cayman Waughtel

💰💰Open Treasurer position💰💰

Friends of Capitol Forest is seeking a talented and dedicated individual to join the Board of Directors and fill our open Treasurer position! Board members must have a deep passion for trail stewardship and advocacy in Capitol State Forest, attend monthly meetings, and assist in planning our awesome events.

Treasurer responsibilities include but are not limited to:
💵 accounts receivable/payable
💵 true and accurate accounting
💵 providing financial updates at Board meetings
💵 receipt distribution
💵 annual draft budget preparation

Think you’ve got what it takes? Send inquiries to [email protected]

PC: Cayman Waughtel

Have you ever wondered, “Who is Digfoot?” Well, we have some answers…sorta.

Long before organized trail groups, races, and events, Digfoot roamed the woods of Capitol State Forest. He is, by nature, a solitary creature but has come out of his shell a little as more and more mountain bikers and other trail users have infiltrated his calm domain. He makes appearances at FOCF events to cheer on riders, partake in small doses of social interactions, and to keep a keen eye on things. Throughout the years, Digfoot has developed a deep love for Capitol Forest recreationalists and has become the self-appointed protector of those finding enjoyment outside.

We ask that you report any Digfoot sightings to FOCF. And don’t dismay if you’ve never see him — he’s likely seen you as you’ve made your way down some of his favorite trails.

PC: Cayman Waughtel

🙌 MEET CHEF DALE 🙌

Chef Dale is one of many dedicated volunteers who keeps showing up and giving his time. He’s been involved for 8+ years and rarely misses cooking food for the monthly trail work parties.

When asked what he loves about FOCF, Dale said, “One of the things I find impressive is the pride and sense of ownership the volunteers take in the trail system.”

Dale enjoys riding bikes on the Willapa Trail and rural Lewis County roads. He and his wife participate in Warm Showers, an international program to host bike tourists, and have met/hosted cyclists from all over the world!

Let’s give it up for Chef Dale 👏👏👏

PC: and