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Head up Old Glory with Friends of the Rossland Range next weekend

For the eighth year in a row, the Friends of the Rossland Range (FORR) will be heading up to Old Glory Peak this month

For the eighth year in a row, the Friends of the Rossland Range (FORR) will be heading up to Old Glory Peak this month.

The hike is the first of two community hikes up Old Glory that the society does this summer, and everyone is welcome to come along. The dates for the hikes are July 28 and Aug. 25.

The hike takes about 5-8 hours total and takes you to the top of the highest peak in the Rossland Range.

“Apart from their appeal as great recreation in a great place, the hikes let people see what the Rossland Range offers, and perhaps get them thinking about how we should look after our natural “backyard,” said Les Carter, a member of FORR.

He said FORR has as part of its mission the protection of key values - natural, recreational, cultural, and historical - in the Rossland Range, primarily through making people aware of what is out there, and its importance, so that they will stand up for the Rossland Range when an issue arises.

Carter said another part of their mission is to help resolve conflicts about values, such as more development versus protection of natural values. They do this through consultation, negotiation, and open planning processes.

“An aware public has a big role to play in this kind of approach,” he said.

FORR was recently invited by the Rossland Museum to “adopt” an exhibit, and create a story explaining why they chose that particular item.

“We chose a sign board showing the names of the “lookout men” who worked at the Forest Service Lookout on top of Old Glory,” he said.

The write-up for the item was developed from an ancient file that recently surfaced in the Nelson Forest Service office.

He said the local Forest Service District recreation officer is quite pleased with it, as the forest service felt that the weather station got all the glory, while the fire lookout, which significantly pre-dates the weather station, had been forgotten.

The hikes start at 9 a.m., July 28 and Aug. 25, and led by Suzanne and Rejean Paquin.

The meeting spot is the Old Glory trail head, about ten minutes from Rossland on Highway 3B towards Nancy Greene Pass.