In Remembrance of Ralph Owen

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Ralph Owen, a true pillar of our club and community for over four decades. He was 87 at the time of his passing in March.

It is an honor to write about the contributions Ralph Owen made to the Issaquah Alps and the whole Mountains to Sound Greenway over several decades.  Ralph and Peggy lived on Cougar before Harvey Manning invented the phrase “Issaquah Alps.”  Harvey would work on the trail guides he was writing along with his advocacy for the North Cascades National Park and related causes in the mornings and would get out in the afternoons to do his on-the-ground research for his Footsore series of day hikes.  I’m not sure how Ralph and Harvey connected, but I do know that Ralph was key to getting Harvey to actually discover his own backyard.   A backyard full of mine holes, artifacts, wetlands, creeks, diverse geology and all best described as the “Wilderness Within.”

Ralph and some old-timer miners such as Fred Rounds and Milt Swanson opened Harvey’s mind to the whole “Wilderness on the 210” (old metro bus that served Issaquah.)  Ralph shared maps and routes with Harvey that got published in his books and picked up by the Seattle papers and published in their Friday “what to do on the weekend” supplements.

Ralph had extensive knowledge of what is now officially recognized as the Mountains to Sound Greenway.  In 1990, the club sponsored the Mountains to Sound March from Snoqualmie Pass to Elliot Bay in downtown Seattle.  The five day “March” was announced before the final route had been determined.  Day 3 on Tiger, Day 4 over Cougar and Day 5, Newcastle Beach to Elliot Bay were pretty well understood.  Day 1 from the Snoqualmie Summit to Rattlesnake Lake was a real challenge as was the route from Rattlesnake to Preston.  Ralph and others did a great deal of exploring and actual route finding/building (couldn’t say it was a trail in some places).

 

Ralph Owen and Stan Unger, chief pathfinders for the 1990 Mountains to Sound March. They were awarded (fake) coonskin caps for their valiant route-finding efforts. (Photo by Larry Hanson.)

 

The work that Ralph and others did made the March a huge success and triggered visioning well beyond anything the Issaquah Alps Trails Club was capable of taking on. Jim Ellis came to the rescue and, with staff and office space provided by the Trust for Public Land and great guidance from Ralph and other leaders created a nationally recognized Greenway.

I went back over a number of our quarterly published Alpiners and noted that Ralph had interesting hikes nearly every month for decades. A few examples:

  • 2017 - Cedar Butte to Christmas Lake

  • 1996 - Peak and a Half, 10 miles Cougar to Squak

  • 1996 - Six Peaks of Tiger, 16 miles and 4000 ft. gain

  • 1995 - this one by Harvey honoring Ralph and Peggy - Lewis Creek Canyon, Owen Creek Chasm, and Peggy’s Trail Loop

 

Ralph, leading a hike to Cedar Butte and Christmas Lake in 2019. (Photo by Tom Anderson.)

 
 

Ralph and his well travelled backpack. (Photo by Tom Anderson.)

 

Ralph developed a passion for fire lookouts in his later years. This stemmed from his experience as a young lookout fireman at Hoodoo Lookout in the Blue Mountains during the summers of 1957 and 1958.

He nicknamed his hikes to these sites "chasing lookouts," even though lookouts themselves aren't exactly known for their speed. However, some lookouts are actually moved by preservationists who can't stand the thought of them being demolished. These relocations can involve moving the lookout to a public museum, private property, or even another mountaintop where it can continue serving its original purpose.

Ralph and his wife, Peggy, were captivated by these relocated lookouts. Their fascination led them to embark on numerous trips to visit these structures, documenting their findings along the way. Their dedication to this cause is evident on the website they created to share their discoveries: www.relocatedLOsofwa.com

Here are a couple of photos from their lookout expeditions:

 

Ralph on the Franson Peak lookout, near Republic, WA.  Photo taken 9/2/2017. (Courtesy Ralph and Peggy Owen.)

 
 

Ralph and Peggy on the relocated Rainier Tower Lookout from Fort Lewis moved to the IslandWood Environmental Learning Center on Bainbridge Island.  Photo taken 8/8/2021. (Courtesy Ralph and Peggy Owen.)

 

Lastly, a reflection on Ralph’s sense of humor.  He was playful in his speech and attire to keep things on the lighter side.  This is illustrated by the tee shirt in the above photo that reads “Bigfoot saw me, but nobody believes him.”  Another example: on April 1, 2023, Ralph sent an email to a few club leaders expounding on a little-known and now obscured tunnel from Goode’s Corner in Issaquah to the Nike missile site on Cougar Mountain. He suggested this was something worth investigating and covering in an article in the Alpiner (in his jokester mode).   (This was a riff on an April Fools story in the Issaquah Press from 4/1/1981 with the headline “City Hall collapses into mine shaft.”)

Ralph was a historian, comedian, conservation activist, trail builder and hike leader all rolled into one.  He will be missed.

[Additional reporting by Tom Anderson]

David Kappler