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pula58
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pula58
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PostWed Sep 30, 2020 1:23 pm 
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostWed Sep 30, 2020 2:25 pm 
Wow, drowned in one of the creeks. Sad. Some of those crossings can be non-trivial depending on conditions, but I can't recall ever hearing of a drowning there. The SF Stilly or the nearest one to the trailhead w/ the washed out bridge seem to have the most volume.

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philfort
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PostWed Sep 30, 2020 2:58 pm 
The river gauge for the S Fork Stillaguamish at Granite Falls shows that last weekend it was as high as it's been since early February.

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the Zachster
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PostWed Sep 30, 2020 3:47 pm 
So sad to hear this. We were at Cutthroat Lakes on Sunday and heard the helicopters several times, concerned that it might not good news. There was a lot of water on the trail and in the lakes so I'm not surprised that creeks were running fast. My deepest sympathy for his girlfriend, family and friends. frown.gif

"May I always be the kind of person my dog thinks I am"
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Foist
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PostWed Sep 30, 2020 7:59 pm 
olderthanIusedtobe wrote:
Some of those crossings can be non-trivial depending on conditions, but I can't recall ever hearing of a drowning there.
The article mentions multiple blunt force injuries. It sounds like he took a bad fall into the river and then was knocked unconscious or otherwise couldn't move. Very sad.

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carlb328
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PostThu Oct 01, 2020 5:30 am 
Of Bigfoot beat him up and threw him in the river hockeygrin.gif

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Foist
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PostThu Oct 01, 2020 6:29 am 
Best to avoid posts like that. Family and friends of the person involved sometimes read these threads.

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moonspots
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PostThu Oct 01, 2020 6:53 am 
Foist wrote:
Best to avoid posts like that. Family and friends of the person involved sometimes read these threads.
up.gif

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gb
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PostThu Oct 01, 2020 7:37 am 
moonspots wrote:
Foist wrote:
Best to avoid posts like that. Family and friends of the person involved sometimes read these threads.
up.gif
up.gif up.gif

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Anne Elk
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PostSun Oct 04, 2020 10:10 am 
So sad for this young man & his family.
olderthanIusedtobe wrote:
Some of those crossings can be non-trivial depending on conditions, but I can't recall ever hearing of a drowning there. The SF Stilly or the nearest one to the trailhead w/ the washed out bridge seem to have the most volume.
On my first hike to Vesper in the 90's, there was a good size log (close to trunk size), at that crossing, a bit upstream from the current location as I recall. Someone had even nailed roofing shingles to it for traction. The last time I was there (2014), the log crossing was a rickety jury-rigged affair, multiple skinny logs held in place in one spot by baling wire or some such. But Vesper is such a busy place these years; that he was only found by SAR suggests the accident wasn't at the usual trail crossing.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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pula58
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PostSun Oct 04, 2020 6:30 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
So sad for this young man & his family.
olderthanIusedtobe wrote:
Some of those crossings can be non-trivial depending on conditions, but I can't recall ever hearing of a drowning there. The SF Stilly or the nearest one to the trailhead w/ the washed out bridge seem to have the most volume.
On my first hike to Vesper in the 90's, there was a good size log (close to trunk size), at that crossing, a bit upstream from the current location as I recall. Someone had even nailed roofing shingles to it for traction.
I remember that big log with the roofing shingles. I don't remember the crossing being highly dangerous. Whenever I have been there (since the log with the shingles has been gone) I don't remember being highly concerned, we just bashed onwards as usual. Perhaps the heavy rains we had a while back caused the creeks to be much higher and swifter than usual? Let us all be extra careful out there!

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Seattle_Wayne
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PostSun Oct 04, 2020 9:11 pm 
I hiked Vesper this year for the first time and although I didn't find the hike to be all that particularly dangerous, it was a quite exhausting adventure. I'm glad I went with a buddy because I did cramp up pretty badly about 200 feet from the summit. They still haven't found Sam Sayers, either. The Cascades don't play around.

Vesper Peak
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Cyclopath
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PostSun Oct 04, 2020 9:57 pm 
My first time on Vesper, the sky opened up and poured. The trail became a river. I came down Hadlee Pass like that. My brand new shoes were ruined. My second time, I was playing sherpa for a friend, it was this time of year, she was doing a two day adventure, I wanted to make sure she has enough insulation in camp. Lost my favorite sunglasses that time. I understood what the mountain was telling me and never went back. When I read the news, my immediate reaction was to be angry at the mountain. First Sam Sayers, now it's taken another life. frown.gif

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pula58
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PostMon Oct 05, 2020 3:51 pm 
I wouldn't be too down on Vesper Peak. It is beautiful. I have been up there many many times, and up Sperry Peak as well, and never had a problem at all. People die in the mountains, and it is sad, but here have been deaths all over the mtns, Vesper doesn't hold any records for being the most dangerous place.

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Foist
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PostMon Oct 05, 2020 4:06 pm 
Extreme danger aside, those gullies on the way to Headlee Pass have gotten much worse over the years. Way more eroded and tedious my second time up there than my first. The area is beautiful but I'm less anxious to get back there.

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