Louise B. Marshall papers, 1960-2017

Louise Burnett Marshall was born on May 7, 1915, in Boston, Massachusetts. Marshall moved to Washington State in 1952, where she became a seminal figure in the Pacific Northwest outdoor recreation and conservation scene, founding the first Northwest hiking magazine and writing the first Pacific Northwest hiking book in 1966.

Marshall founded “Signpost” in 1966 as a grassroots newsletter for Pacific Northwest hikers and backpackers to share stories, spread information, and report trail conditions. “Signpost” expanded to become a magazine and later evolved into the Washington Trails Association (WTA), the "largest state-based advocacy organization for hikers in the country and a model for volunteer trail maintenance” (Brown).

Marshall was an influential author of hiking guidebooks, including 100 Hikes in Western Washington (1966), which is considered to be the first hiking book in the Pacific Northwest. Ira Spring, Pacific Northwest photographer, contributed photographs of each hike, while conservationist Harvey Manning added his experiences hiking many of the book's featured trails. 100 Hikes in Western Washington was the first book in what became a prolific “100 Hikes” series published by The Mountaineers that spanned over 30 years and sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Marshall’s second guidebook publishing success was a two-volume pamphlet guide to the Cascade Crest Trail, known today as the Pacific Crest Trail. High Trails: A Guide to the Cascade Crest Trail was published by Signpost Publications in 1969 and covered Canada to Snoqualmie Pass in its “North Section” volume and Snoqualmie Pass to Columbia River in the “South Section” volume.

In addition to Signpost/WTA, Marshall was a co-founder of the American Hiking Society (AHS), a national advocacy and conservation organization, and served as its president in the late 1980s. Marshall was the first female board member of the Seattle-based co-op Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) and a member of The Mountaineers, the longstanding Seattle hiking and climbing organization. During her 53-year residence in Lynnwood, Washington, she was the chair of the city Parks Commission and an advocate for local parks and open spaces. Marshall also was a champion of the Pacific Crest Trail and served as the director of the Pacific Crest Trail Association in the 1980s and 1990s.

Marshall passed away on August 24, 2005 in Lynnwood.

Sources: Brown, Charles E., “Louise Marshall, 90, ‘poured her life’ into hiking and the outdoors,” The Seattle Times. Accessed January 3, 2025.

Caldbick, John, “Bob and Ira Spring, Louise B. Marshall, and The Mountaineers publish the first of the famous ‘100 Hikes’ series in August 1966,” HistoryLink.org. Accessed January 3, 2025.

Drummond, Loren, “58 years of Signpost magazine: Vintage finds from the early years of WTA,” Washington Trails Association. Accessed December 12, 2024.

“High Trails A Guide to the Cascade Crest Trail South Section Snoqualmie Pass to Columbia River,” Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books. Accessed January 3, 2025. “History,” Washington Trails Association. Accessed December 12, 2024.

“Louise Marshall Obituary,” HeraldNet, Legacy.com. Accessed January 3, 2025.

“Washington State’s Hiking Legends,” Washington Trails. October 2005.