Back by popular demand, FreddyPink returns for its second annual benefit dance in support of efforts to connect the Larry Scott Trail to the larger Olympic Discovery Trail. The event kicks off at 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15 at McCurdy Pavilion in Fort Worden, and features a barbecue dinner, silent auction, drinks, and dancing to “rock and soul” with FreddyPink.

More than 100 donated items, ranging from whale-watching cruises to beer tastings to bicycles to biplane rides, are available for silent auction, with proceeds going to support the Peninsula Trails Coalition’s (PTC) efforts to complete the trail's “missing link.” Last year’s event raised more than $14,000, providing trail supporters with valuable local matching funds for grant funding. Organizer Jeff Selby is vice president of the PTC, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports the Olympic Discovery Trail. Selby hopes this year’s dance attracts more than 500 people. Advance tickets, $20, are available online at

brownpapertickets.com/event/2589407.

FreddyPink lead singer Gordon Yancey, who lives in Port Townsend, rides on the Larry Scott Trail nearly every day. Yancey said the band is looking forward to this year’s dance, and is once again bringing in top-notch audio and lighting for the event, with Ted Krysinski, a lighting guru, donating his services. A 60-foot dance floor promises enough room for everyone to boogie down.

PT TO LA PUSH

When completed, the entire Olympic Discovery Trail would stretch roughly 130 miles, from Port Townsend to La Push. More than 80 percent of the trail is now either open or under development, said Selby. The group’s current effort is focused on establishing a route and obtaining right of way for the “missing link”: the section of the trail from the current end of the Larry Scott Trail near Milo Curry Road near Four Corners, up and over Eaglemount to the base of Discovery Bay and Old Gardiner Road. Ultimately, this section would then connect with the Olympic Discovery Trail segment currently under construction near Diamond Point, due to open in early 2017.

BIKES OFF THE ROAD

The Eaglemount section of the trail is a high priority because narrow shoulders and high-speed traffic make State Route 20 a poor bike route. Thanks to funds from a $1 million state transportation allocation, the preliminary route determination process is to begin this year. The trail is included in Jefferson County's 2016-2021 Transportation Improvement Plan; Washington State Patrol has written in support of the project, wanting to help move bicycle traffic off the heavily traveled road.

Hall Baetz, a PTC volunteer, has been instrumental in bringing landowners and other stakeholders together for discussions and route planning, as well as creating contour maps and grade calculations to be used as part of trail engineering work slated to begin this winter. Selby said the missing section – which is 6.2 miles on the highway – should end up being from 8 to 10 miles of trail. The extra distance is due in part to accommodating the steep grades over Eaglemount. The project is working closely with John Fleming, Jefferson County engineer, to evaluate soils on proposed routes, with an eye to long-term maintainability of the trail.

The trail sections that are already completed are heavily used by a wide variety of people, not just gung-ho cyclists and equestrians. Yancey recently met a 93-year-old woman recovering from hip replacement surgery who was walking on the nearly flat Larry Scott Trail as part of her rehabilitation efforts. Electronic counters on trail sections in Clallam County record an average of 81.6 trail users a day, according to Selby.

Ultimately, said Yancey, the completed trail offers real economic benefit to Port Townsend. As mile zero of a 130-mile recreational route unmatched for natural beauty and recreational opportunities, PT becomes the gateway for the planned “Pathway to the Pacific.”