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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
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PostSun Jun 07, 2020 9:15 am 
Enjoyed the Darrington Mystery Trail yesterday. Pics to follow.

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rubywrangler
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PostSun Jun 07, 2020 3:27 pm 
Axis peak 6.4.20 Dayhiker parking at Stuart lake TH was about 60% full when I arrived at 7:45am. Julia showed up about 30 min later and we made good time to the lake, passing a handful of folks heading to Colchuck along the way. There are a few bootpaths off the main trail when you reach the lake. We took the first one which led into the boulder field, but quickly jumped on a minor ridge to the left for easier travel. We switchbacked up the steep sooty slope straight to the summit, barely touching snow. Axis is a glorious viewpoint, as many others have reported, and we stayed there for over an hour soaking up the sun and examining the ridge routes on Stuart that neither of us will ever attempt. On the way down we ended up on a more distinct bootpath near the trail and found a few piles of trash hidden along it, which we hauled out mad.gif
Best part of this trip was multiple bears! In the morning, a scruffy subadult ran right in front of my car on Icicle Rd. I slammed on the brakes and rolled down the window; he stopped for a moment, then bounded north into the forest. The second bear was heading south across Hwy 2 a bit west of the Merritt Lake TH at about the same time on Friday morning. Just caught the tail end of him. And then saw a coyote on the shoulder a few minutes later. Maybe less traffic on these roads lately is bringing out more wildlife? Or maybe I'm just not usually out this early. clown.gif

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Jun 07, 2020 3:38 pm 
rubywrangler wrote:
Best part of this trip was multiple bears! In the morning, a scruffy subadult ran right in front of my car on Icicle Rd. I slammed on the brakes and rolled down the window; he stopped for a moment, then bounded north into the forest. The second bear was heading south across Hwy 2 a bit west of the Merritt Lake TH at about the same time on Friday morning. Just caught the tail end of him. And then saw a coyote on the shoulder a few minutes later. Maybe less traffic on these roads lately is bringing out more wildlife? Or maybe I'm just not usually out this early.
I was fairly stunned when I saw 4 elk on the railroad tracks approaching Baring yesterday. I had no idea there were elk anywhere in the Skykomish Valley, I'd never seen any hint of them during countless drives back and forth across Hwy 2 or numerous hikes. Then during the hike (NF Skykomish to Pass Creek) saw several cloven hoofed tracks in the snow. One was deer but another looked quite a bit bigger, might've been elk.

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Nancyann
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PostSun Jun 07, 2020 4:31 pm 
Nice trip and pics, rubywrangler! Yes, the bears are on the move now. We followed big bear prints in the snow coming down from Alpine Baldy last week, including lots of fresh humongous piles of scat lower down where they were dining . Yesterday, my horse and I followed a medium-sized black bear down a logging road behind my house. At first he thought he wanted to catch up to it, but after he stopped to sniff its pile of fresh scat, he lost his nerve. lol.gif OlderthanIusedtobe, I was just chatting with some friends in Startup who live behind the Alpen who had two different elk walk through their pasture last week, so they are definitely in the Sky Valley. Also,several years ago, I saw a huge bull elk in the pasture next to the little church in Sultan.

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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
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PostSun Jun 07, 2020 9:49 pm 
French people get a little miffed when you call Darrington the Chamonix of the northwest.

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Steve Erickson
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PostMon Jun 08, 2020 10:37 am 
In 40 years of hiking the Skykomish area I have only seen one elk though I had been told by a local that they were in that area. Just shows how secretive an animal of the size can be.

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Riverside Laker
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PostMon Jun 08, 2020 12:27 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
Darrington the Chamonix of the northwest
Which mine is that?

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostMon Jun 08, 2020 12:56 pm 
Steve Erickson wrote:
In 40 years of hiking the Skykomish area I have only seen one elk though I had been told by a local that they were in that area. Just shows how secretive an animal of the size can be.
That makes me feel all the more fortunate for having spotted them this weekend.

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Nancyann
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PostTue Jun 09, 2020 12:19 pm 
Type 2 fun in the Chiwawa rain shadow 6/8/20
Type 2 fun in the Chiwawa rain shadow 6/8/20
Spring storm clouds over Chiwawa Ridge 6/8/20
Spring storm clouds over Chiwawa Ridge 6/8/20

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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
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PostTue Jun 09, 2020 3:25 pm 
Riverside Laker wrote:
Which mine is that?
The truth is I don't know. PM'd you my best guess.

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Brucester
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PostThu Jun 11, 2020 2:03 pm 
rubywrangler wrote:
found a few piles of trash hidden along it, which we hauled out
Thanks RW! smile.gif

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Chief Joseph
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PostThu Jun 11, 2020 8:55 pm 
Went up to the Pilchuck lookout today, started hiking around 1030 am and should have started about 230 pm as that's when it stopped raining. Hit snow about half way up, it was soft and slushy with pretty good traction. Donned the micro spikes for the descent and had no problems. I did post hole a few times so be really carefully around boulders and tree wells. I am thinking it's going to be a bit dangerous in the upcoming weeks as it melts out and the snow bridges weaken. When Veronica and I reached the top the wind was really whipping it up and we were wet and cold. The lookout was open as some asshats had recently broken the shutter for the entry door. Changed into a few dry clothes and headed down. I commented that even in this crappy weather we will see some young people wearing tennis shoes heading up. Sure enough, about 20 minutes into the descent we ran into 5 young guys all wearing tennis shoes except one who had on boots. But at least they weren't wearing shorts and flip flops, lol.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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lookout bob
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PostFri Jun 12, 2020 10:07 am 
Needed to get out of town to lesser populous areas. I really love the areas uplake at Chelan so we headed over in gloom and showers. We drove up Grade Creek road (8200) and after twisting around for 18 miles on relatively good gravel road, we arrived at South Navarre campground. On the way up, we were surprised by a flock of mountain sheep! They seemed most curious about us and allowed close contact.
One of them had an ear tag, but I couldn't get a shot to report to the ranger district. South Navarre was cold so we headed back down the road to near the top of Safety Harbor Creek and took a walk on that trail. It's an old road for a couple miles so is flat ( a rarity at Chelan) and the flowers and vistas were lovely.
We camped and hung out as the skies threatened more and more and I awoke in the tent early to the sound of drizzle. It is a most pleasing sound. On the way down to Manson, we stopped at an obvious campsite that had a lovely old toilet. I particularly liked the TP holder.
We were on a leisurely drive then and so decided to drive more miles out to the Grand Coulee area. A great ( favorite) walk ensued up Northrup Canyon just north of Steamboat rock. We startled a wild turkey with its chicks and saw bluebirds.
If you have not been there, I highly recommend Northrup for a great walk with stunning cliffs, an old homesite and various wonderful choices for walks. As it was raining, we just walked a couple miles up to the old homestead. We drove on in rain to Winthrop where we got a room for a shower and a pizza for dinner. Next morning, we drove southeast to Pipestone Canyon for another great walk. We enjoyed the cliffs and the hooting owls there and great flowers including mariposa lily ( cat's ear) and others.
We left there around 10 am and headed over the North Cascade highway stopping for vistas here and there. Most trailheads are closed. Got to Thunder Arm and walked up the trail a mile and a half to the bridge crossing Thunder Creek. I cruised up to Thunder Camp and goggled at the immense cedars there. Lots of bunchberry and other forest flowers. took a brief snooze on the bridge
Really liked this giant rock with huge crack. For perspective, the cedar is about 6 feet across....
Back to the lowlands. We drove up the Mountain loop highway and a ways up the North Fork Sauk. I had done a couple days of WTA work on the Sauk Falls trail and was saddened to see the trail falling apart with fallen trees having destroyed much of the lower trail and lots of water running down it. Nonetheless, the falls are roaring and a joy to see. I wrote to WTA advising them of the needs on this short scenic trail. Back home with filthy car and humans and showers and hot food sure was great. A fun trip.

"Altitude is its own reward" John Jerome ( from "On Mountains")
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Downhill
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PostFri Jun 12, 2020 10:27 am 
rubywrangler wrote:
Best part of this trip was multiple bears! In the morning, a scruffy subadult ran right in front of my car on Icicle Rd. I slammed on the brakes and rolled down the window; he stopped for a moment, then bounded north into the forest. The second bear was heading south across Hwy 2 a bit west of the Merritt Lake TH at about the same time on Friday morning. Just caught the tail end of him. And then saw a coyote on the shoulder a few minutes later. Maybe less traffic on these roads lately is bringing out more wildlife? Or maybe I'm just not usually out this early. clown.gif
I live in the Icicle canyon about 6 miles past where the road had been closed (Snow Creek parking lot) this spring. I definitely noticed a lot more wildlife this year than ever before. Not just more animals around, but they seemed more relaxed and not easily spooked. They really seemed to enjoy the peace.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostFri Jun 12, 2020 3:48 pm 
lookout bob wrote:
Lucky you! I've seen a few groups (bands?) of sheep at a distance, but have yet to have a close up encounter.

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