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Joined: 28 May 2005
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Ski
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 Fri Sep 16, 2016 9:44 am |
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| Sam wrote: | | Don't know if you made it up on wed. I was pressed for time when I arrived at the dry creek crossing, so just scanned the riverbanks along the ford areas for smith place but saw no sign of tents/people and moved on.
Above the wash out mentioned in your last email, the trail is in reasonably good condition until about a mile above bob creek, at the first point where the slope pinches out the bottomland on the north bank, which is also the first spot you can see the burned areas from the trail itself. Once around that first burned headland, there's another fairly long alder/maple flat unburned with followable trail until the next spot where the slope pinches the bottomland; from there I stayed on the gravel bars. All in all, most of the alder flats adjacent to the river survived (you can guess how far the pump hoses possibly reached up into the forest). The higher benches are all gone wrapped around the bend halfway up to Kilkelly, and the fire often reached the upper ridges, although much of the canopy Doug firs survived. Somebody has tried to flag in spots a trail through the burn (perhaps where the trail used to be; cut logs are still visible), but it's already a pain to travel through. Very weedy with some Rubus vines all over ground, and many downed branches/trunks. As more fall and the groundcover thickens, can't see many people trying to travel through except on gravelbars. In future, I may try to travel on south bank from that first burned area to Alta creek. Took me about 8 hours to get from trailhead to Alta on Monday.
As far as mystery trail on east/sorth bank, no obvious luck. I believe I found the ramp in the photos you sent, but as I thought afterwards it was not manmade. Looks like a scouring feature that now is vegetated. Otherwise just like your photo (haven't had time to compare my photos). If it was not what Gay saw, then nearly identical natural feature, which suggests her's was natural. Spent some time at the rapids trying to recreate what I encountered in 94, but couldn't. I think now what I saw was an elk trail leading up into forest, and followed that rather than an old trail (perhaps the elk had used that pathway though and made it their own over the decades). Moss so heavy on everything on benches above rapids that any sign of cut logs there has long been smothered. Not sure back then if I was experienced enough to recognize a well developed elk trail for what it was. Anyway, that trail back then did traverse the slope above the river, and I did see some cut logs, so I'm thinking the elk trail did in part follow that old trail before coming onto the bottomlands about halfway between kilkelly and alta. If I had an extra few hours, I would have climbed up those slopes looking for cut logs, but they were def. there in 94.
By the way, that forest on south bank above rapids is particularly striking, with huge scattered firs, and from all the moss and no spruce its an old stand.
Queets has done a lot of scouring of the east bank above Alta since the 90s. I recall walking from the rapids to Alta all the while in the forest/alder flats then, but now much of the forest has fallen into the river, and much faster to use gravelbars/wade.
Anyway. sorry to have missed you. I believe you are in Tacoma, and i would be interest in meeting up before I leave Seattle (Oct 5) to have a Queets chat. At some point I'm wanting to get to Defiance Park to do some hiking, and meeting nearby (is antique sandwich still there?) could be an option. |
Had originally planned on leaving Monday, but had to finish a paint job on a deck.
After being delayed a couple more days finally got all packed up and got out of here Thursday morning.
Got all the way to Quinault when the windshield started fogging up. Turned onto the #21 Road and opened the hood and figured out what the weird smell was. Opened the passenger side door and found a puddle of anti-freeze all over the floor.
Figured I wouldn't push my luck, so I headed up the highway and went in to say hello to Birdie. She was busy busy busy helping visitors. I gave her my raspberry-blackberry turnover I'd made Wednesday night.
 Birdie Kalaloch 091516 02  beach house Kalaloch 091516 02  beach house Kalaloch 091516 01
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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javman
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Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 193 | TRs | Pics
Location: Tacoma, WA |
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javman
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Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:26 pm |
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I think I had a chat with Sam on Wednesday somewhere around Hee Haw. Is he a member here?
Here are a couple pics of the burn... Quite lucky it didn't jump the river in the narrow spot above Alta. It will be interesting to watch this landscape for a while. Elk will probably love it for a few years until the blowdowns get too messy to deal with. The big firs that survived are going to grow faster with less competition. A lot of trees survived, but it looked to me like the fir fared the best.
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Ski
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Joined: 28 May 2005
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Location: tacoma |
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Ski
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Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:54 pm |
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^ that first shot looks like.... the bench just opposite Alta ?
second one a bit higher up? looks like just below Hee Hee.
my next-door neighbor tells me this happened because Mercury is in retrograde and not to go out again until after the 22nd. looks like there's a remote possibility of another good weather window toward the end of the month.
I'm beginning to think there may be something to that theory. I forgot to set the parking brake on my truck earlier this afternoon and it rolled back and smashed into my deck and pushed it off the pier blocks. had a buddy come over and we got it jacked up and put back into place.
got the new heater core installed earlier this afternoon. wonder how long this one will last? just replaced it six weeks ago.
I just hate it when everything starts going to hell all at once.
no, Sam's not a member here. first bumped into him up there in 1993, and then again in ... 2004 ?? (can't remember.)
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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javman
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Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 193 | TRs | Pics
Location: Tacoma, WA |
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javman
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Fri Sep 16, 2016 9:46 pm |
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Yes, I think you're pretty close with the guesses... Haha, I'm sorry about the Mercury retrograde and your heater core! Hope you can get back out there soon.
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Ski
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Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 12831 | TRs | Pics
Location: tacoma |
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Ski
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Fri Sep 16, 2016 10:23 pm |
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| Quote: | | "...pretty close with the guesses..." |
I had to dig out the 7.5 topo, but I think I'm pretty close on the first one.
Second one... now I'm thinking right in the vicinity of Hee Hee or just above it.
You know there's a lake up there on top of that ridge that Larry was swimming in a couple years ago, right?  (see here.)
Don't know what the deal is with heater cores on this truck. That's the 10th or 11th heater core I've put in the thing since I've owned it. Good thing it's an easy fix - not like my '68 Pontiac where you have to pull the whole damn dashboard out to get at it.
Buddy who helped me with the deck earlier says maybe radiator cap isn't relieving the pressure. I think I'll go blow six bucks and buy a new one tomorrow. The "car trouble" thing is really getting old - truck was down for about 8 months - just got it running again in July. 
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Ski
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Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 12831 | TRs | Pics
Location: tacoma |
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Ski
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Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:32 pm |
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 USGS 12040500 091616 12:30 PDT 1320 CFS crested 091616 00::00 1850 CFS 091416 19:30 PDT 478 CFS
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Ski
><((((°>
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 12831 | TRs | Pics
Location: tacoma |
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Ski
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Fri Sep 30, 2016 12:31 am |
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well.. finally managed to meet up with Sam, although it wasn't where we had hoped. talked for a few hours over coffee down at Antique Sandwich Company before he had to go back to Seattle.
so.. Javman.... anybody here look familiar?
 Sam and BK Antique Sandwich 092916 02
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Ski
><((((°>
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 12831 | TRs | Pics
Location: tacoma |
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Ski
><((((°>
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Tue Oct 04, 2016 8:34 pm |
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Mr. Gary Patton of Juneau, Alaksa, graciously provided a few photos of his most recent trip up the Queets. He and his father went up to celebrate his father’s 75th birthday. In a separate email he mentioned it was hot the entire time they were up there the last week of August.
Here is an excerpt from the email that included the photographs:
“Here's a few from above Bob Creek right where the trail used to start making the uphill climb before dropping onto the benches before Paradise creek.
It goes all the way up the ridge but left the flats and bottom lands mostly intact. It will be very interesting to watch what happens as the years go by. I'm sure the deer and elk are going to have a field day with the new regrowth for a period of time but when the now standing dead trees begin falling it's going to be a mess to navigate whether you're on two legs or four.”
 Queets trail above Bob Creek 01 August 2016 - photo courtesy G. Patton  Queets trail above Bob Creek 02 August 2016 - photo courtesy G. Patton  Queets trail above Bob Creek 03 August 2016 - photo courtesy G. Patton  Queets trail above Bob Creek 04 August 2016 - photo courtesy G. Patton  Queets trail above Bob Creek 04 August 2016 - photo courtesy G. Patton
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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