Hiker Rally Day: Meet the hikers who spoke up for trails

On Tuesday morning in Olympia, 153 hikers representing 39 districts from around the state gathered to make their voices heard at Washington Trail Association's Hiker Rally Day.

This was the first time since 2019 that Hiker Rally Day has been in person, and the gathering came at a crucial time. This year’s state budget is tighter than we’ve seen since the great recession, making it critically important for outdoor advocates to speak up for the protection of public lands and the funding needed to maintain them.

Hikers gathered at the Capitol at 9 a.m. and attended a brief training, then spent the afternoon meeting with senators and representatives from their respective districts to offer personal perspectives and emphasize the fact that public lands are vital to our wellbeing. Hiker Rally Day was a great opportunity to communicate with our representatives about the importance of continuing to invest in state parks and recreation lands.

Hiker advocates walk toward the state capitol for Washington Trails Association's Hiker Rally Day. Photo by Victoria Obermeyer. 

Here’s what participants had to say

Andrew From

Andrew From, Legislative District 36

Why did you join Hiker Rally Day today?
I’m here today because I feel like there's more pressure on Washington's public lands than ever before, and I want to make sure those lands have a voice, and that opportunities to recreate and enjoy ourselves on Washington's lands remain intact.

Why are trails important to you?
I grew up in Iowa and there really weren't a lot of public lands for me to explore there. But I moved out here at about the age of 28 and I’ve been making up for lost time ever since. It's been a true wonderland to move to Washington and to be able to flourish into the person I always could have become. I went from being a very indoorsy kid to being a very outdoorsy man, so I thank Washington and its public lands for that opportunity.

What did you think of the meetings with legislative representatives?
I was feeling very nervous heading into my first meeting, however the staff we spoke with immediately wanted to know what everyone's favorite trail was. Turns out he was a hiker himself; we learned he proposed to his wife at Lake Valhalla so it was great to know that we were really sitting across the table from a peer and someone who's equally interested in recreating in Washington and enjoying these public lands.

Do you have a message you’d like to share with WTA and hiking community from your time in Olympia?
It's important for us to remember that we're not a special interest group: 90% of Washingtonians use trails every year. It's worth it to have your voice heard because we all depend on these public spaces in Washington to recharge and recreate so we can maintain our resilience and face other challenges in our day-to-day lives. I just want to make sure that people realize that recreation is such an important part of your experience in Washington and there's nothing frivolous about it. It's worth speaking up for because, take it from me, not everyone in our country has access to the opportunities that we do in Washington, so don't take that for granted.

Allen Jircik

Allen Jircik, Legistlative District 7

What brought you to Hiker Rally Day today?
I came out here to represent the needs of the recreation community in the Methow Valley. I'm the director of the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative, a small nonprofit that builds relationships between land managers and trail advocates, and this felt like a really important opportunity to advocate for funding for our land manager partners at the state level.

What are your favorite ways to enjoy Washington’s public lands?
I'm a big rock climber and backcountry skier, and I’m learning to enjoy backpacking for pleasure and not for work. Going up to alpine lakes in the summer is one of my favorite things to do.

How did the conversations with your district’s representatives go?
The conversations went well. The representatives at the House for district 7 are both freshmen and it was great to meet with them and just share the needs of our community. I think they're really receptive to it and they understand that recreation is such a driving force for those of us who live in the Methow area.

What are your biggest concerns for trails and public lands in Washington?
Right now the uncertainty around federal funding for sure. It's been a disruptive time planning for the coming field season and not seeing land management agencies be funded to the levels that they have been creates challenges for all of us who work on trails and recreate on trails.

Why are advocacy days like Hiker Rally Day important?
I was very pleased to see how receptive our representatives were, especially given that I drove from Twisp to Olympia and that spoke volumes to them about the importance of this to their constituents. So making sure that our agency partners are funded is key to us accomplishing work and these are the people who control the purse strings. It's important that they know how important land managers’ work is. The more voices we can get the better.

Chris Hannon

Chris Hannon, Legislative District 28

What is your relationship with the outdoors like?
Right out of college, I was in the Army and spent a lot of time outdoors, but when I got out of the Army I swore off the outdoors. About 15 years ago a friend said, “hey let's go do some outdoor stuff” and it got me into a much better place both physically and mentally because I'm a finance professional and have had really stressful jobs. It's been transformative both physically as well as mentally. I love the outdoors, both hiking as well as cycling and other things.

What’s something you’d like to share with the broader WTA community about advocacy?
It's important to be an advocate, but you have to be both patient and persistent. If at first your advocacy efforts seem like you hit a stone wall, don't give up. It’s kind of like when you're out on the trail and you get a leg cramp or something. You kind of learn to keep on persevering. It's the same thing with working with the legislative folks: you have to continue to be persistent and show up year after year after year to continue that message because then they know you're serious about it and it’s not just a flash in the pan.

Katie From

Katie from, Legislative District 36

What brought you to Hiker Rally Day today?
I'm here to advocate for our state lands and keeping them as beautiful as they can be.

What’s your favorite trail or place to go outdoors in Washington?
I honestly love all of Washington, the state parks have brought me out into the Palouse, to the Dry Falls area, just all over the state. It's allowed me to really experience different things about Washington: its history, its geology, plant life, animals and flowers. I could go on for hours talking about everything that I love about Washington. I love that it allows me as a nurse practitioner to connect with patients, because everybody has a public land in Washington that they love.

If you were to talk to someone who's on the fence about attending an event like this what would you say?
Go ahead and do it! It's really fun, it's not stressful, and you already care about the parks and the land so just bringing that energy into a situation is helpful to show people that you care and let them know what things are on their constituents’ minds.

Halley Knigge

Halley Knigge, Legislative District 28

Have you ever attended Hiker Rally Day before?
I have never done one of these before but I really enjoy talking to people about time outside. I work at a large outdoor retailer, I'm a volunteer for WTA, and I'm on the board so when the signups opened up I was very excited to come speak to my representatives about all the work that we do.

What do trails and outdoor recreation mean to you?
It has definitely changed over the years. I grew up in the Northwest, always camping and backpacking. It's been part of my personal life, my family life, my professional life, and now it's truly the only place where I think I'm actually truly relaxed and not stressed. My Sunday trail runs in Point Defiance Park in magnificent Tacoma, Washington, are probably the primary thing keeping me sane right now so it's just really important for physical and mental health for me.

How did your meetings with your representatives go?
We had a great meeting with Representative Leavitt’s staff. It was really fun to just hear from them about their own passion for time outside. One thing that's really cool about talking about trails and outdoor places is that people tend to get pretty excited. Nobody's anti-trails. I was really excited also to share that we've got an ongoing project at Chambers Creek Canyon which is one of my favorite local trail networks in University Place and I'm actually taking a second day from work this week so I can go do some trail work right in University Place in District 28, so that was really fun to share.

If you were to talk to someone who was unsure about attending Hiker Rally Day or doing any kind of advocacy for WTA, what would you tell them?
It's really fun, it's all positive, and we've got a topic that people want to talk about and they're excited to hear about. We live in the Pacific Northwest so I think we've got a lot of hikers in the legislature and people who are excited to hear what we're all about so really there's no downside to doing it. Plus, you get to meet cool people in your district.

What’s next?

Even if you weren’t able to make it to Olympia this week, you can still get involved. Soon, the state legislature will release its proposed budget. That will be another key moment when WTA will update you on how you can support our state public lands.

You can sign up for WTA’s Trail Action Network newsletter, which will keep you up to date on our advocacy efforts and ways you can support the trails you love.