Whitehorse Trail showing signs of rebirth after Oso mudslide

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The intersection of decay and rebirth along the Fortson Mill section of the Whitehorse Trail is hard to ignore.

The crumbling concrete ruins of the old Fortson Mill, a steam mill that powered the once-thriving town of Fortson, are draped with lush vegetation, from ferns to trillium.

It’s spring, so a deluge of water rushes through the abandoned metal dam structure that still creates a pond behind the mill. Buds appear on the tree branches that line the trail and the historical wooden bridges that dot the trail are adorned with brand new, unvarnished boards.

Nowhere is this dichotomy greater than at the site of the 2014 Oso mudslide, just a few miles west of the Fortson Mill area. With the remnants of the giant mudslide — uprooted trees, huge mounds of earthen material — as a backdrop, visitors can now see vibrant green grass sprouting and a fresh gravel trail running across the mouth of the slide area.

Destruction and reconstruction.

I recently stopped and visited the memorial site after a ride on the Fortson Mill section of the trail. Soon, the 1-mile portion of the Whitehorse Trail that was swallowed up by the mudslide will reopen after months of work to repair it. It’s one of the first steps by Snohomish County to turn a 13-acre area near the slide into a memorial site, and is another step in the revitalization of the Whitehorse Trail, which runs 27 miles from Arlington to Darrington.

http://www.heraldnet.com/life/whitehorse-trail-showing-signs-of-rebirth-after-oso-mudslide/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=91e76b4c3d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-91e76b4c3d-228635337

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1. nature wins.