Aypax-kan-ishchit—The Yakama-Cowlitz Trail: History, Archaeology, and an Approach to Evaluation

Aypax-kan-ishchit—The Yakama-Cowlitz Trail: 
History, Archaeology, and an Approach to Evaluation
 
By Rick McClure,
Retired U.S. Forest Service Archaeologist

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Cross-mountain footpaths were primary avenues for exchange and social interaction between Indigenous people east and west of the Cascade Mountains in pre-contact and historic times. The Aypax-kan-ishchit, or “Yakama Trail,” ranked among the principal routes in the southern Washington Cascades, connecting Taytnapam settlements in the Cowlitz River watershed with Yakama settlements to the east.

Ray Paolella, of the William O. Douglas Trail Foundation, on a section of abandoned trail near Packwood, Wa. in the upper Cowlitz River watershed.

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A group of private, non-profit, tribal, and federal partners initiated efforts in 2018 to begin comprehensive mapping and documentation of the Yakama Trail, while developing a cultural/historical context for National Register evaluation and a strategy for assessing the integrity of the resource. This presentation summarizes research completed to date and addresses potential challenges for nomination and listing.
Approximately 140 miles in length, the trail originally extended from Cowlitz Prairie on the west, near present-day Toledo, Washington, to the mouth of the Naches River, near present-day Yakima, Washington, and crossed the Cascades at Cowlitz Pass.

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DATE: Friday, October 18th, 2019

TIME: 7 pm to 9 pm

PLACE: Mountaineers Seattle Program Center, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 in the Cascade Room

COST:  FREE to members, $10.00 to non-members, $5.00 for Students (please renew membership for 2019 and these programs at http://www.pnwas.org  and now through PayPal)
Refreshments provided (Please bring cookies/snacks to share with the beverages).