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geyer Member
Joined: 23 May 2017 Posts: 462 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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geyer
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Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:13 am
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Rubywrangler, I just discovered that you are dominating the lazy trip reports thread, which makes you nwhiker's laziest trip reporter!
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rubywrangler Member
Joined: 04 Aug 2015 Posts: 509 | TRs | Pics
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Brushbuffalo Member
Joined: 17 Sep 2015 Posts: 1887 | TRs | Pics Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between |
Your photos are splendid!
Good thing you were able to utilize their tracks before the coming big dump of new snow.
Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Nancyann Member
Joined: 28 Jul 2013 Posts: 2314 | TRs | Pics Location: Sultan Basin |
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Nancyann
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Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:23 pm
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Beautiful photos, rubywrangler. I'd love it if you were to take over as the laziest of the lazy trip reporters!
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olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7687 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
rubywrangler wrote: | But I think Nancyann and olderthaniusedtobe are even lazier than me! (so far... ) |
Why thank you!
To prove just how lazy I am, it's taken me 2 days to post my most recent TR and I haven't even downloaded photos yet. On MLK Jr. Day went with a buddy to the Carbon River entrance of MRNP. I hadn't been there since the early 90's when you could still drive all the way to Ipsut Cr. As I've seen other TRs mention, the road walk through the forest is lovely. We went up to Ranger Falls and Green Lake. Trail was completely snow free, lake was mostly frozen. Upon arriving at the lake we were immediately greeted by 4 camp robbers, but they gave up quickly and left before we even got our lunches out. On the way back down we decided to continue upstream along the Carbon River a bit further. Went another 3/4 mile probably. We were chasing the unexpected sunshine, but could never catch up to it. Eventually we just plopped down on the river bed for a bit and watched/listened to the river rushing by. There were only 2 other cars at the TH when we arrived but we passed a steady stream of hikers on our way out and returned to an overflowing TH. Nice, relaxing hike, perfect for midwinter.
On a down note. I wasn't driving, the GPS told us to turn literally right before the TH and cross the river on the bridge. Several bumpy miles up the road we turned around and headed back to where we were supposed to be. I honestly didn't recognize it, but that must've been the road to the Summit Lake/Bearhead Mtn. TH that I did probably 4-5 years ago. The road was crappy then too, but in the intervening years apparently it's turned into a ghetto. There were 2 burned out/rusted/shot up remnants of cars along the road, one was overturned and upside down. WTH?! There were also a couple of apparent target shooting areas along the road, one in particular w/ literally hundreds, if not closer to a 1,000, shotgun shells littering the entire area. Disgusting! Almost immediately adjacent to a National Park. None of that was there when I hiked Summit Lake.
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rubywrangler Member
Joined: 04 Aug 2015 Posts: 509 | TRs | Pics
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olderthanIusedtobe wrote: | To prove just how lazy I am, it's taken me 2 days to post my most recent TR and I haven't even downloaded photos yet. |
Ha! You are lazy, I saw your buddy's photos from this hike on facebook a few days ago!
Thanks, BrushBuffalo and Nancyann!
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olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7687 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
rubywrangler wrote: | Ha! You are lazy, I saw your buddy's photos from this hike on facebook a few days ago! |
Ha. My pictures are probably exactly the same, except for one I took of a camp robber when the lens was fogged up.
Your pictures from Welcome Pass are beautiful!
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Nancyann Member
Joined: 28 Jul 2013 Posts: 2314 | TRs | Pics Location: Sultan Basin |
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Nancyann
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Sun Jan 21, 2018 2:24 am
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Well, I guess I had better quit being so lazy and post a Lazy TR.
Last Thursday morning, the clouds lifted and I could see the Shaw Washout from my house, so I decided to make a run for it before the next round of storms approached. I noticed two DNR trucks at the gated road leading to this trail, but didn't think much of it as I threw on my pack and started the march towards the target shooting garbage dump. I encountered two DNR workers returning to their trucks, and much to my surprise, they told me the road was closed to the public indefinitely due to active logging. I tried to explain that I wasn't going in the direction of the logging activity, but they were adamant in their refusal to let me proceed. I tried talking some sense in to them, but to no avail. They suggested I drive up to Olney Pass instead, and just go for a (long, boring) walk up the gated South Shore Road. Somewhat perturbed, I just decided to see how far up the Kromona Mine Road I could get. A year ago, Hiking Partner and I snowshoed part way up, but the snow was several feet deep and the going was slow and boring, due to underbrush and no views.
When I arrived at Olney Pass, my little weather window had vanished and it was raining steadily. Since I had driven all the way up there, I stoically donned all my rain gear and decided to turn my walk into a raingear testing day.
After a mile or so of trudging through dense second growth forest which blocked all views of the scenic Spada backcountry, the rain turned to sleet and the road turned into a creek.
Kromona Mine Road, Sultan Basin 1/18/18 Kromona Mine Road, Sultan Basin 1/18/18 Kromona Mine Road, Sultan Basin 1/18/18 Kromona Mine Road, Sultan Basin 1/18/18
Many little creeks cascaded down the hill and crossed the road, creating washouts which became increasingly worse the farther I went. Apparently the land managers have no interest in this road anymore. But, my gear was holding up well, so onward I trudged. I knew I wouldn't have time to make it all the way up to the Kromona Mine, but at least I was getting out for a walk. After about three miles, Static Peak came into view, looking ghostly in the mist.
Static Peak from Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18
Then, suddenly I heard what sounded like some sort of waterfall, and soon I came to the mother of all washouts, and a beautiful waterfall crashing into a deep slot canyon, so deep I couldn't see the river in some places!
Missing bridge, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18
I had read Harvey Manning's description of this road, and didn't recall any mention of a slot canyon, so I was very pleasantly surprised. I carefully scrambled down to a flat spot by the waterfall and enjoyed a brief respite from the sleet while eating lunch. There used to be a bridge here and I imagined what it must have been like driving across the canyon. There was no safe place for me to cross the river, which I found out later was the South Fork of the Sultan River flowing out of One Acre Lake high above, so I took some pictures before heading back.
South Fork Sultan River, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18 South Fork Sultan River, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18 South Fork Sultan River, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18 South Fork Sultan River, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18 South Fork Sultan River, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18 South Fork Sultan River leaving slot canyon, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18 South Fork Sultan River leaving slot canyon, Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18
My gear was still holding up well when I arrived back at my car, and I was excited to stumble upon a scenic waterfall I wasn't expecting, so my day that didn't begin well turned out to have a happy ending!
Gear:
El Cheapo FroggToggs from Big Five
Not El Cheapo Arctyrx Goose Down and Synthetic Down mix (I love this jacket, sheds water amazingly well)
Burton Goretex Down Mitts (kept my fingers warm despite being wet on the outside )
OR waterproof gaiters
Zamberlan waterproof Goretex-lined boots (walked through six inches of water in some places, no leakage. )
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puzzlr Mid Fork Rocks
Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 7216 | TRs | Pics Location: Stuck in the middle |
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
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Sun Jan 21, 2018 1:28 pm
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Nice to see photos of that Kromona Mine road again. It looks a lot more overgrown than in 2007 when I could ride my bike along most of it without a problem. You don't have a wide shot of the canyon, but I wonder if it's the same washout that I ran into. It looked pretty fresh then so it might have happened in the huge 2006 flood.
This is the biggest of the 2 completely washed out sections along road 6110. Something really big came down here. it's just a trickle of a creek ... but it cleared out a swath of trees all the way to the bottom of the valley.
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Nancyann Member
Joined: 28 Jul 2013 Posts: 2314 | TRs | Pics Location: Sultan Basin |
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Nancyann
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Sun Jan 21, 2018 1:49 pm
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Puzzlr, I did take a photo of that washout, just didn't post it because it was a bit blurry.
One of many washouts along the Kromona Mine Road 1/18/18
Today I've been reading through old NWHikers TR's on this area, and it sounds like looking upstream for a way to cross the South Fork Sultan River (the slot canyon where I turned around) might be the best option.
It would be a pain to take a bike up this road now due to all the washouts and overgrown brush!
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Brushbuffalo Member
Joined: 17 Sep 2015 Posts: 1887 | TRs | Pics Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between |
puzzlr wrote: | This is the biggest of the 2 completely washed out sections along road 6110. Something really big came down here. it's just a trickle of a creek ... but it cleared out a swath of trees all the way to the bottom of the valley. |
That would have been caused by a debris torrent.
Those events clean out a channel with a good strong flush like an industrial- scale toilet.
Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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H. Hound Member
Joined: 09 May 2003 Posts: 1205 | TRs | Pics Location: Exit 32 |
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H. Hound
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Sun Jan 21, 2018 3:03 pm
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Thanks for the road report. That is a lovely slot canyon, and in a low water time (late July or August), crossing on the down hill side is no problem. That bridge got blown out in 2009, or winter 2008. Some pix from 2009. Scroll down a little.
2007 Last time I actually made it to the mine, bridge still intact. Never did make it to the Bear Cave on the other side of the ridge from the Kromona.
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Nancyann Member
Joined: 28 Jul 2013 Posts: 2314 | TRs | Pics Location: Sultan Basin |
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Nancyann
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Sun Jan 21, 2018 3:23 pm
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Thanks HH, I saw your pics from 2007 today. There was actually some flagging heading down the bank through the trees on the downstream side, but it was obvious a slip would have a very bad outcome, so I didn't venture any further.
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Joe Member
Joined: 29 Jun 2002 Posts: 819 | TRs | Pics Location: Kent |
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Joe
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Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:55 am
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XC skiing in the Methow Valley
1/25/2018
A short ski day on the trails at Mazama: Goat Wall Loop, Inn Run and Flagg Mountain Loop, about 4.5 miles.
starting out on Goat Wall loop barb skiing ready to ski views on goat wall loop mazama views skate lessons good day skiing Methow valley mazama-route
1/26/2018
Starting at Mazama, we skied the Basecamp trail, Lower River Run and the MVCT back to Mazama, about 7 miles.
No more North Cascades Base camp basecamp trail Methow River barb skiing over bridge Methow River Great day skiing headed toward bridge over Methow River Early Winters creek pileated woodpecker Barb skiing on MVCT barb skis into the tunnel Ski-route
1/27/2018
About 8 inches of snow fell after the trails were groomed, skiing was slow and lots of stops to apply glide wax with the sticky snow. From Mazama, we skied the MVCT toward the suspension bridge, about 6 miles.
A little overnight snow MVCT Methow River ski-route
1/28/2018
Today was a much better day skiing, after brushing off a foot on snow on our car, we drove to the SR20 trailhead and skied the trails at Early Winters: Lower River Run, Methow, Cassal Cutoff and Jacks, about 6 miles.
Goat Wall Cow Beach warming hut Meadow views on Cassal Cutoff ski-route
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Just_Some_Hiker Member
Joined: 02 Jan 2013 Posts: 691 | TRs | Pics Location: Snoqualmie, WA |
Went up Mailbox Peak today (old trail). No pics because I was lazy. Fairly warm and very wet. Light rain most of the way up. Very windy up top. Trail is snow free until just before the summit, but only patches here and there. The least amount of snow I've seen on Mailbox in February. No flotation needed. Microspikes may be helpful but I didn't bother.
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