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By SUE RYAN
News staff writer
July 12,
2006
Family connections to the Columbia River Gorge drew Randy Young
to Cascade Locks to establish a new business.
Young and his partner, Pamela Feves, opened their Along the
Trail store at 455 Wa Na Pa Street on June 8. Young has vivid
memories of the town from his youth.
“I fished with my uncle down on the locks,” he said.
Family photos of his two grandfathers hold a prominent place on
the store’s walls.
One of them, Don Young, was a stonemason who worked on the
four-man crew that created the rock path up to Beacon Rock in
the mid-1950s. The other, Elmer Skelton, worked as a railroad
engineer for Union Pacific driving locomotives through the
Columbia River Gorge.
Along the Trail specializes in hiking gear but also sells other
camping and outdoor materials. Young’s idea began with the hobby
of metal detecting but expanded after he heard how hikers
tackling the Pacific Crest Trail would stop over in Cascade
Locks.
“When I started this whole idea, I wanted to just sell metal
detectors because of the RV’ers,” he said. “But once I realized
the town’s place on the trail I began to expand.”
His inventory for hikers includes frame backpacks, propane
stoves, sleeping bags, canteens, freeze-dried foods, jerky, and
more. Then there is the couch.
The couch is not for sale but rather to sit on, and runs the
length of one window front. Young wanted to be a spot for people
to stop in and shop but also take a load off their feet for
awhile.
His store adds to the welcoming nature of Cascade Locks for
Pacific Crest Trail hikers. As one couple, Chris and Jenelle of
Leavenworth, Wash., posted on the pcta.org Web site, “This town
actually appreciates stinky, smelly thru-hikers. Go figure.”
They described Cascade Locks as “almost a perfect trail town:
medium-sized market, pay showers, laundromat, cheap or free
camping along the Columbia River.”
Cascade Locks is the next stop for hikers to shop north of
Sisters, 166 miles, and south of White Pass, Wash., 148 miles.
After Young began working on the three-month renovation of his
store space, he realized he had room to add more inventory than
he had expected.
So he also filled shelves with supplies for RV users and his
girlfriend, Feves, put in a Curiosity Corner with gift items and
jewelry.
“There will be souvenirs and Oregon products as well as sterling
silver pieces and Indian jewelry,” he said.
A pair of yellow and red Rhino Karts are the first items
shoppers see when they enter the store. Young added the Rhino
Karts after noticing the high number of youth in town during the
weekend. For now he plans to simply act as a retailer for the
carts but wants to add gears so that in the future people can
ride through the city down to the marina and also ride on the
bike path to Eagle Creek.
“They’re good on flat ground but having gears will make it
easier for the customer to pedal back up hills,” he said.
Young said he has been asked by locals what he plans to do in
the wintertime once summer tourist season has passed. He said he
plans to adjust his inventory to the season putting in
winter-related items but is committed to staying in Cascade
Locks. |
