Forum Index > Trail Talk > Hidden Lakes, Pasayten and Fires?
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?



Joined: 25 Jul 2008
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?
PostSun Sep 24, 2017 11:24 am 
I just saw some pics of the Hidden Lakes area on Facebook that show the effects of the Diamond Creek fire. Thing I'm curious about - didn't a fire burn through there about 15 years ago? What did Hidden Lakes look like before this most recent fire? I know when I hiked around the North side of Tatoosh Butte a few years back that there was evidence of fire all the way up to White Rock lakes. I've been wanting to get up there for years and had heard that the previous fire had killed a lot of trees but apparently there were still a lot of trees left and this fire has taken out more of them. Does anyone have pics of that area before this fire, or can point me to some? Just curious how the previous fire affected this area and how this new fire "piled on" so to speak. If I'm lucky enough to make it another 20 years and no more fires burn through up there in that time it'll be interesting to see what it looks like then.

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jinx'sboy
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jinx'sboy
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PostSun Sep 24, 2017 12:01 pm 
Quartz fire 2002 burned all around and north of the Hidden Lakes. Fairly spotty/patchy burn. Burned late September. Tatoosh Fire 2006 burned west of the lakes and to the north end of Big Hidden Lk. Hotter burn, overall....early September. Other fires recently in the area. You can view them in cal topo or other mapping system by turning on the fire history layer.

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Abert
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PostSun Sep 24, 2017 1:56 pm 
I went through in 2011 on the way to Ptarmigan Peak. Some pictures of Hidden Lakes (going in and coming out) in this album. I think your report from the year before prompted my trip.

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Nancyann
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PostSun Sep 24, 2017 9:06 pm 
There are several photos of all the Hidden Lakes in my trip report from June this year, titled "Big Hidden Lake". smile.gif

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Opus
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Opus
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PostMon Sep 25, 2017 1:48 pm 
A few from the area around the Middle Fork Pasayten River crossing up to Tatoosh Buttes and Ptarmigan peak last year. It was heavily burned up to near the ridgeline but logged out. Lots of fireweed and shrubs. Higher up on Tatoosh Buttes there were many larches and it seemed untouched by fire. Hopefully still the case, especially for Dot Lakes.
Destruction
Destruction
So much burning
So much burning
Meadows on Tatoosh Buttes
Meadows on Tatoosh Buttes

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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?



Joined: 25 Jul 2008
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Location: The Hermitage
Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?
PostMon Sep 25, 2017 7:20 pm 
Thanks for the replies! I've found quite a few pictures of the area around Hidden Lakes from the last few years now. Looks like this fire took out most of the few trees that were remaining, but there are still some live trees right at the shores and marshy ends of the lakes. Opus - I hiked that same route about 5 years ago. Middle fk. Pasayten to just shy of the air strip, then up to Tatoosh Buttes, around the North side of Tatoosh B. via White Rock Lakes, then South along the ridge via Ptarmigan and on to Dot lakes, then through the gap between Lago and Carru (after climbing Lago) and down to Eureka Creek then back to Slate Pass. Something that struck me about the burned forest in the Middle Fork area and up Tatoosh Buttes is that at that time, about 6 years or so after the fire, no new trees were growing up anywhere in the burned areas. Given that fires are a natural occurrence in this area on an approximately 10-15 year cycle and none of the trees around there are all that big, I wonder what it looked like 150-200 years ago before we came along and started putting out every fire that got started.

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AlpineRose
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PostMon Sep 25, 2017 7:28 pm 
The really heavily burned areas - the ones that are toast - will not see regrowth within our children's or perhaps even our grandchildren's lifetimes. I would love to hear a biologist's thoughts on this.

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williswall
poser



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williswall
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PostMon Oct 02, 2017 9:08 pm 
I have some pix from a transit of this area in 2014: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8012499&highlight=pasayten+wilderness

I desire medium danger williswall.com
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Chico
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PostMon Oct 02, 2017 10:31 pm 
Bedivere wrote:
Given that fires are a natural occurrence in this area on an approximately 10-15 year cycle and none of the trees around there are all that big, I wonder what it looked like 150-200 years ago before we came along and started putting out every fire that got started.
More than likely the trees were much sparser.

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