Living History: Working Pack Animals Still Grace the Trails of North Cascades National Park
By David Snyder
In the pristine mountains of the North Cascades National Park Complex of northwestern Washington, an ancient tradition still thrives. Here, national park staff member Heather Swanson and other animal caretakers lead strings of pack animals deep into the backcountry, supplying trail crews and firefighting teams with the equipment they need to maintain the 680,000 acres of land that encompass a national park and two national recreation areas. Although American Indians discovered the region long ago, modern exploration of this area was initiated by miners and trappers seeking their fortunes in the American West. Wilderness like that of the North Cascades provides a spectacular backdrop to the living history of the so-called "pack strings," which serve not only to maintain 394 miles of existing trails for park visitors, but also to provide those visitors with the unique experience of touching a piece of history that had faded with the turn of the 19th century. Through the work of Heather Swanson and others, it is history that lives on in America's national park system.
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