The Fall Creek Shelter is Complete!
About the Shelter
FOCF volunteers completed the new Fall Creek shelter in Summer 2021. The shelter is a gem of Capitol Forest. It's open to all users and features a 30' x 30' covered area, a fire pit, ping pong table, and bocce ball court. It's conveniently located at the Fall Creek trailhead, where the Greenline, Wedekind, Lost Valley, and McKenny trails meet. To see a storymap that Jeff Barrette created, visit: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/77fbfbdf640d4f4ab589c747aff9d795
Thank you to all the volunteers who contributed their time and energy to the project. Those hearty volunteers dedicated thousands of hours in 2020 and 2021 to designing and building the shelter. Thank you especially to David Snyder and Jeff Cook. Jeff was the lead designer and was instrumental in engineering and permitting. David Snyder, the "Mayor of Capitol Forest," was the lead builder. David worked at the site nearly everyday for months, often into the evening. His dedication was heroic. Also deserving of praise are Jeff Barrette of Olytrailrunners, John Wooley, Janetta Taylor, Sharon Abegg, Dennis Kerr, Ken Claussen - and so many others!
Thank you to the FOCF community, whose members donated over thirty thousand dollars to fund the shelter construction. Due to the generosity of Bill Scheit and Melody Meyer, a friend of theirs was able to make a substantial matching donation to the shelter fund. Bill and Melody were longtime members of the Olympia mountain biking, gravel riding, road riding and racing communities. They were also dedicated hikers, climbers, birders, and conservationists. We will be forever thankful to Bill and Melody for this generous gift offered in the spirit of being outside in the natural world as much and often as possible.
Thank you to the local businesses who donated materials and money: Builders FirstSource Olympia and Western Interlock paving stones, Joy Ride Bicycles, and Port Blakely. Thank you to other recreation user groups who made donations: OlyTrailrunners, Club Oly Road Runners, Pacific NW Endurance Riders, and MPR Eatonville Shredders.
