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kitya Fortune Cookie
Joined: 15 Mar 2010 Posts: 842 | TRs | Pics Location: Duvall, WA |
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kitya
Fortune Cookie
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Mon Apr 06, 2020 5:46 pm
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Squire Creek road is quite brushy and car scratchy, but otherwise generally good. Eventually there is a little turn around spot and two apparently home-made signs stuck to a tree, first sign says "ROAD CLOSED" and second sign says "B.S." and points to the first sign. This is indeed kind of true, post 'road closed' sign things deteriorate quickly, there is one section of the road that is washed out with very narrow slopping down area left and no edge, deep ruts, rockfall leaving narrow passage car can barely squeeze through (if your car is small) and a couple of downed trees (thankfully not too huge) plus more scratchy bushes. It is only a quarter mile from "road closed" sign to the big turn around where road finally is closed for real with a cement block, about 2+ miles from the old original trailhead.
Snow was present on the road right from the start and after less than a mile became so deep that I got tired of postholing and put on snowshoes and they stayed on the whole way to the summit. The snow was very deep and very wet and heavy, higher up even on snowshoes I was sometimes going through waist deep and heavy snow would constantly stick and ball up everywhere, making every step somewhat of a struggle. Definitely not anything close to our typical spring cascade concrete, more like fresh wet slushy dump, similar to occasionally big snowy dumps we more typically get in the lowlands. Despite clouds and little rain, avy danger was definitely very high too, I could hear and see large natural avalanches coming every few minutes down on Ulalach and also across on White Horse, Three Fingers and Jumbo. Testing on small slope i rolled just a small snowball and it immediately cascaded into almost the whole slope going down into a mess. Trees were dangerous too, constantly releasing huge wet tree bombs down.
Warning - sad images! I followed fresh mountain lion footprints in the snow, but they led to dense forest and this poor mountain goat.
Cornices on Ulalach are impressive and the whole wall is really steep, yet somehow has snow and even trees in places grabbing on it.
Didn't see any single person, didn't stop anywhere else, didn't use any 'developed recreation sites', didn't fill in gas and it is quite close to my home. Despite the clouds I really loved the views.
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Kim Brown Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 6900 | TRs | Pics
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I bet your pooch was in his element! Built for that kind of weather and terrain, no?
Did you get to the trail head/end of the road? I haven't been there in years, and a lot of work went into putting tread through the washout so hikers wouldn't get lost on that massive face of mud (when it first slid). It would be sad if the road were that overgrown after all that work. It's a beautiful trip. I'd like to find the old cabin back there that the original trail crew built, that included Walt Bailey. They cut 5 big cedars, and there's a concrete platform.
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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kitya Fortune Cookie
Joined: 15 Mar 2010 Posts: 842 | TRs | Pics Location: Duvall, WA |
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kitya
Fortune Cookie
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Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:02 pm
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Kim Brown wrote: | I bet your pooch was in his element! Built for that kind of weather and terrain, no?
Did you get to the trail head/end of the road? I haven't been there in years, and a lot of work went into putting tread through the washout so hikers wouldn't get lost on that massive face of mud (when it first slid). It would be sad if the road were that overgrown after all that work. It's a beautiful trip. I'd like to find the old cabin back there that the original trail crew built, that included Walt Bailey. They cut 5 big cedars, and there's a concrete platform. |
Yes, this is her favorite weather and terrain. It gets really tough for her in summer, when there is not that much snow, because she overheats easily. But snow makes her extremely happy. She loves snow.
Yes, I did standard approach of following the road to the end, than just going up the slope from near the end of the abandoned part of the road and old trailhead to the gap between Jumbo and Ulalach, than following the ridge up to Ulalach summit. There is one absolutely massive slide that takes forever to get through and two or three smaller slides and everything is overgrown, but it was not too hard to find the way, snow also kind of helps to cover some of the brush. I have never heard about old cabin, where is it supposed to be and why?
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Kim Brown Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 6900 | TRs | Pics
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I actually just ran across the writeup about the cabin just yesterday! It was written by Walt Bailey and printed in a Pack & Paddle magazine. He included a photo of the cabin and the tree stumps that were cut. Looks like it was a full-on cabin for the crew, not just a leanto. The photos are quite fuzzy, but I'll take a picture of them tonight and see if they look well enough to post here.
He does not describe the location, but has a picture of that big rock that's right on the Squire Cr trail that they slept under before the cabin was built. I can't think of a flat spot other than the Pass where it would have been, or way down by the creek; but the road didn't go that far then, so perhaps it lower down toward town.
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Bootpathguy Member
Joined: 18 Jun 2015 Posts: 1791 | TRs | Pics Location: United States |
Goat remains. Cool find
Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want
Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want
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fourteen410 Member
Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 2632 | TRs | Pics
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Kim Brown Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 6900 | TRs | Pics
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Found the article! Turns out I'm partially full of baloney; it was a lean-to - but an elaborate one that made me think it was a cabin. Now I seem to recall some flat spots well before the giant talus slope below the Pass. I could be full of baloney on that too. I mean I got a lean-to and a cabin mixed up.....
Anyway, I posted the article in the history section here.
I'm all hankerin' to get back there!
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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kitya Fortune Cookie
Joined: 15 Mar 2010 Posts: 842 | TRs | Pics Location: Duvall, WA |
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kitya
Fortune Cookie
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Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:36 am
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Bootpathguy wrote: | Goat remains. Cool find |
very sad for the goat though poor goat.
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Bosterson Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2019 Posts: 294 | TRs | Pics Location: Portland |
kitya wrote: | Bootpathguy wrote: | Goat remains. Cool find |
very sad for the goat though poor goat. |
But good for the cougar. It was able to live another day because of the goat.
Go! Take a gun! And a dog! Without a leash! Chop down a tree! Start a fire! Piss wherever you want! Build a cairn! A HUGE ONE!
BE A REBEL! YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!
(-bootpathguy)
Go! Take a gun! And a dog! Without a leash! Chop down a tree! Start a fire! Piss wherever you want! Build a cairn! A HUGE ONE!
BE A REBEL! YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!
(-bootpathguy)
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MangyMarmot Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2012 Posts: 474 | TRs | Pics
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Nice trip. Thanks for sharing.
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kitya Fortune Cookie
Joined: 15 Mar 2010 Posts: 842 | TRs | Pics Location: Duvall, WA |
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kitya
Fortune Cookie
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Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:52 am
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Bosterson wrote: | But good for the cougar. It was able to live another day because of the goat. |
I know that, but still sad right. Everyone dies scared and in pain. Cougar will eventually too. Life is so short and risky for every single animal.
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