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Tom
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Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 17853 | TRs | Pics
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Tom
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 Wed Nov 05, 2003 7:54 pm |
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Headed up to Peggy's Pond on Tuesday with polarbear. Left Issaquah at 6:15 AM. Upon reaching Salmon la Sac we encountered snow on the road, but nothing pbear's front wheel drive Honda Civic couldn't handle. It was reassuring to know we had chains just in case. Crossing the innocent looking spillway a mile or so before the trailhead we were in for a quite a surprise. After crashing thru a hidden layer of ice we found ourselves in 2+' of water. I recall saying to polarbear, keep moving! We made it to the other side with chunks of ice on the hood, man what a trail car!  Upon reaching the trailhead we surveyed the damage and found the front license plate bent upward 90 degrees and a crack in the front spoiler. Fortunately polarbear was a level headed sport and didn't let it put a damper on the day.
The trail to Squaw Lake was quite slick in places with many sections of sheer ice. Temperatures were in the low 20s. We carefully made our way up, reaching snow covered Squaw Lake a little before 11 AM and stopped to take a few pictures. About a 1/4 mile from the lake was a challenging (precarious rock ledge) creek crossing - not for anyone without good balance or trekking poles. However, beyond here the way was fairly easy, keeping a careful eye out for occasional sheets of ice beneath thin snow cover.
We reached Peggy's Pond by 12:30 and took cover from the biting cold wind behind a rocky prominence which offered some nice views of the lake and Cathedral Rock. Polarbear had forgot his lunch in the car but seemed content with an old apple found in his pack and the miscellaneous scraps I threw his way. With the wind chill pushing temps into negative territory we debated turning around at this point, but decided to hike up the ridge to a good viewpoint of the surrounding lakes. On the way up we met two guys coming down. They had originally planned to summit Daniel but turned back as they were worried about running out of time and didn't have a watch. Upon telling them it was 1:00 they were relieved to know they had made a wise decision and hadn't turned back too soon. We traded stories about crossing the spillway and they were shocked to find out we had survived without a high clearance 4WD.
It was extremely cold standing around so we said goodbye and continued on up. Not having been up to the viewpoint before, I had a little more incentive than Polarbear and made it by 2 PM. Great views of Cathedral Rock, Peggy's Pond, Deep Lake, Deer Lakes, Circle Lake, the Citadel, and many familiar distant peaks, but Daniel was partially obstructed by thin clouds. After getting my fill of pictures polarbear joined me about 10 minutes later as I scampered away from the ridge to escape the numbing wind. Soon thereafter we headed down, apparently not soon enough as darkness arrived much quicker than expected. Due to the ice on the trail it took longer to descend from Squaw Lake than it did going up, reaching the car at 6:45. All that remained was to make it back over the spillway.  After saying a few prayers we just barely made it back over the chunks of ice on the other side. Relieved, we proceeded to The Brick for burgers, pool, and conversation with the locals while warming our tooshes by the pot belly iron stove. 
Pictures to follow.
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum |
Sounds like a good trip. Cant wait to see the pics.
You guys, using PAVEMENT POUNDERS as trail cars! One of these days you're gonna strand yourselves.
Krazy!
TB
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
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Tom
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Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 17853 | TRs | Pics
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Tom
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Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:17 pm |
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Perhaps, but we're not too  to park our pavement pounders at the trailhead.  Actually there was a cabin nearby and we figured it wouldn't have been all that bad a place to spend the night.
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:38 pm |
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I once crossed that spillway on my Kawasaki Concours with a full backpack, and it scared the sh*t out of me! It was way deeper than I figured, and the bottom was rocks, not cement. The whole hike I dreaded the return trip, but being forewarned turned out to be enough, as it was easy. No ice, though.
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polarbear
Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 3680 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snow Lake hide-away |
Warning! What follows is a long tale. Don't embark on this virtual journey without a good sack lunch, an LED flashlight, an approved flotation device, and the remaining 10 essentials.
Tom's account above is correct in many areas, blatantly wrong in others, but will remain the official report. Here is the unofficial version of the hike and how I became a land baron on Lake Cle Elum...
The day started for me at 4:45 AM with my alarm sounding. Ahhh...four hours of sleep--how refreshing! But it would be worth it. The Cathedral Rock area is one of my favorites, and given enough time, we might attain the ridge above Circle Lake which I'd never done in the winter, hence, the earliest start by a couple hours of any hike I've ever done. I quickly went about preparing my lunch. Usually it's two peanut butter sandwiches, and two apples, but after I've eaten one PB sandwich, I find that I'm really not looking forward to the second, even though I like PB. Yes, there can be too much of a good thing, even PB. Because of this, I decided to bring a ham and cheese sandwich--another hiking first. This would be a gourmet lunch, although probably only a 3 on a scale of zero to Damian. I threw all my gear in the trunk of my car and headed out to Issaquah to meet Tom. We stopped at Safeway to grab a couple bagels, and then headed over the pass. Turning off at Cle Elum, I wondered what the road to Salmon La Sac and beyond would be like. I had called the ranger station the day before, and they said they'd had an inch of snow in Cle Elum and it was 15 degrees that morning. Brrrrrr. After leaving the I-90, there was a bit of frost on the paved section of the road, but the snow didn't really start until the gravel section at Salmon La Sac, and it wasn't bad, just enough to coat the surface, therefore I was able to cruise along at a reasonable speed. Many miles into the gravel road, there are a couple of paved channels in the road where runoff flows. I've been up the road several times, and the runoff has ranged from a trickle to nothing, though I'd heard a tale once of someone being stranded on the other side of one during high water. I wasn't really concerned though, this being well into Fall, and the temperatures, being so low. Yet oddly, enough, I had commented earlier to Tom about how high the Cle Elum river looked  . I saw the dip (or did I?) but didn't really have time to slow down and then there was this big crunch and ice was flying everywhere, big chunks spread across the hood, and we were driving through water. "Keep driving," Tom says in a low voice. Well, the truth was, in a few split seconds I'd already considered slowing down, even backing up, and also that we'd have to cross this nasty crick again, all this thought and we hadn't even reached the other side yet. But Tom's advice sounded sage, and I stepped down on the gas and stared grimly ahead as if that might help propel the car through the water's depths. The car splashed through, and we climbed the other side and I stopped and got out to see what the heck we'd driven through. At this point I notice my license plate sticking upwards, and a crack in my front bumper. It was hard to be upset about it, because it was so unexpected, and the shock still hadn't worn off. I knew we'd have to cross it again, and I wondered if the water would be higher that night. We arrived at the trailhead and the only other vehicle there was a truck. We got our gear on and started hiking. We reached Squaw Lake which was iced over with a light dusting of snow on top (for some reason the name of this lake always brings to mind the phrase from Peter Pan "Squaw Get 'em Firewood.") Twenty or so minutes later we paused at a large rock for a view across the valley and a snack. "Maybe I'll eat half a sandwich," I thought. "The peanut butter first, since it's the non-gourmet one." I opened my pack. "Hmmm...not on top." I dug down. "Hmmm...not down here." Where was the sack?  A sinking feeling started to set in. I started pulling all my stuff out of my pack. "Hey Tom," I think my lunch is in the trunk of my car." I pulled everything out of my pack. At last! A paper bag....but nothing in it, only an apple. I had not put an apple in my pack that morning [note, please don't read further if you are easily grossed out] it must have been in my pack since this trip.  Still, I thought, food is food. I took a bite. Not bad. It had survived amazingly well. A little soft on the outside, but crunchy on the inside. Just the opposite of oreo cookies. I ate every bit of it but the stem and stringy part of the core. I had to demonstrate to Tom that I was truly hungry...otherwise maybe he wouldn't share?  Of course Tom had already volunteered part of his lunch. We continued onwards and upwards, with Cathedral Rock coming into sight and at last attaining the ridge above Deep Lake. Deep Lake was a dark greenish color, which is evidently its winter color. We followed the snow covered path along the ridge at last climbing up towards Peggy's Pond. We were following the path of the truck's occupants, who were headed up Daniels, so by the time we saw Peggy's Pond, we were maybe 50 feet above it. Surprisingly, it was not frozen over. The view of the pond reminded me of an Ibex tale, and seeing as its his birthday, I'll quote it here.
Ibex's Tale
| Quote: | | In the late eighteen hundreds during the silver boom in Monte Cristo, a young Irishman came across the sea and then traversed the continent to make his fortune and to seek adventure. To his dismay, he arrived too late in the mining district to stake a good personal claim. Instead, he hired on with a company mine near the Pride-of-the-Mountains Range. The pay was good and on each day off he would travel down river to seek good drink and the company of a lady. It was with the greatest of luck that he was befriended by a wonderful maiden while the train was broke down along the banks of the Stillaguamish River. Their friendship quickly grew and he was soon supporting the orphaned Indian girl. They were both very happy and together they built a cabin to share in the abundance of the Sauk Prairie. On one especially dark day he was hurt in a mining accident and he lost his leg. His loyal mate lovingly nursed him back from the brink of death, and through the experience they both were enlightened with religious conviction. He was so struck by his conviction that he began preaching to all that he could gather. His flock eventually grew until he created a ministry that extended south into the Snoqualmie Valley. Over the years he moved on to develop a preaching circuit that stretched along the Yakima River Valley. He was so successful that he and his wife were able to retire to their favorite spot near the head of the Cle Elum River. They summered at their cabin perched high above Deep Lake. They were surrounded by a heavenly beauty and they chose appropriate names like Mount Daniel, Cathedral Rock, and The Citadel for the nearby peaks. Some say the quaint pond behind the cabin he named after his loving wife. But, the more romantic story is that the pond shares the name she affectionately gave to the one legged preacher.
Peggy’s Pond
This piece is submitted without a reference list and without a statement of authenticity. Just a good story told by an ageing mountain traveler. Laid down for the fun of the telling and the enjoyment of the listener. Gleaned from a few assorted facts and liberally embellished in the tradition of his Native American ancestors and the way they told their stories. |
We paused above the pond and out of the breeze for some lunch, Tom giving me blueberry and cheese bagels, and then headed up the hill. This hill is steep in the summer, but worse with snow on it, and I found it slow going, plus having mostly couch-potatoed since...well...since that apple had been put in my pack.  We met the owners of the truck on the way up, which I was glad for. I'd been hoping to see them head down before us, so their truck would break through any ice that had reformed on the creek crossing. fThe final view at the ridge top was well worth it down to the greenish colored Circle Lake, and all the surrounding mountains. What a great place, winter or summer! We stayed for a few minutes and started heading back. The trip down to the pond was uneventfull, but I was already thinking about having to drive across that creek and wasn't looking forward to it. I had visions of the water being higher and getting stuck in the middle. By the time we got to Squaw Lake it was pretty much dark, and shortly after Tom got out his headlight and me my flashlight. Tom's 3-LED headlight is a much better light source than my 1-LED flashlight. I mused that while the REI has a boot test path, a rainwear test shower, and a bike test path, they don't have a darkroom to test flashlights.  The going down the trail was slow and icy, but we made it pack to the parking lot, stowed our gear in my trunk, and headed off. Upon reaching the creek crossing, we slowed, stopped, and got out to inspect. It was wider than I thought, but we decided thhe best approach was the one first used, i.e. go at about the same rate of speed (as if you didn't know it was there), and try to avoid high centering on the mound of snow on the other side. I backed up, gathered speed, and plunged in. And then, about halfway across the car slowed, I stepped on the gas, but to no avail. I frantically twisted the wheel back and forth, but there was no traction, the car in fact began to rise, and float, and then we were quickly headed downstream, the car slowly rotating! It was a fast trip, cascading with the water down the mountain slope, and then the big splash into the Cle Elum River. At this point, I was wishing I had trekking poles. Why? Because Tom was using them to steer the car off logs and boulders, hence the only job remaining for me was to be the rudder. I grudgingly climbed out the window up on the roof and slid down onto the trunk. I alternately used my left, and then my right foot (when my left became numb) as a rudder to navigate the car downstream. After about a long turbulent voyage we reached a calmer, slower section of the river and then at last Lake Cle Elum. We were both exhausted. I looked in the sky for Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, and then Polaris, the North Star, and adjusted the rudder until the car was set on a course due South. I figured eventually we would reach the Columbia and civilization, but was too tired to think much beyond that. At long last, I fell asleep, my foot dragging in the cold water. I awoke to the sound of nearby voices yelling. "Look! Look! It's a whale! Don't get too close!"
"We must have reached the ocean," I thought to myself. I opened my eyes and looked for the whale, but all I saw was that we were surrounded by small boats full of people in bermuda shorts wearing sunglasses with binoculars. What the--? We were surrounded by a bunch of tourons!!  And evidently, they thought the car was a whale! How bad could this nightmare get?  Oh well. If they want a whale, I'll give them a whale. I grabbed Tom's camelback, pointed the spiggot skywards and stomped on it with my unfrozen foot to gasps of amazement from the whale watching flotilla. "The Green Orca is shooting water! Stay back!" "Idiots", I addressed them, "It's a car and we need a tow! It took a bit for it all to register, but the boats cautiously moved in and they began towing us towards shore. As we approached shore, a sign at the dock greeted us. "Trend East. Grand opening. Free sodas and hotdogs." Not one to turn down food, even of the non-PB variety, we clambered a shore and greedily went inside.   We were greated by a beady-eyed man with slick-backed hair and a rumpled tie.  He shook our hands, all the time speaking rapidly saying to all in attendance, "Step right up! Listen to our program, you don't have to buy a thing. If you stay for the full 3 hours you get a free VCR, no strings attached. These cabins are going to sell like hotcakes. Now is the time to buy. 0% financing for the first 3 months."
"Hmmm...," I thought, "I could use a VCR to back up all my DVDs with." Tom, being the savvy buyer he is, already knew he could purchase a resort cabin on-line for 50% less using a combination of coupons, Amex Blue, factory rebates, and last year's REI dividend. However, I am now the proud owner of a cabin on Lake Cle Elum, with a time share for 9:00 tee time, Wednesdays, on their 18 hole golf course. 
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jenjen
Moderatrix
Joined: 30 Jun 2003
Posts: 7617 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sierra stylin |
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jenjen
Moderatrix
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Thu Nov 06, 2003 1:19 am |
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Ok, so Tom catches a ride with me and Chubbyhubby up the middle fork road. We bottom out in a pothole and wipe out the exhaust system. He catches a ride with Polar bear up the Salmon la Sac road, he crashes thru the ice and messes up the front bumper and license plate.
I'm starting to see a connection here............
If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic
If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic
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Dean
(aka CascadeHiker)
Joined: 02 Mar 2002
Posts: 1967 | TRs | Pics
Location: ex Kennewick, Wa & Lehi Utah |
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Dean
(aka CascadeHiker)
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Thu Nov 06, 2003 7:22 am |
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Tom and Polarbear: Great stories to be enjoyed by the warmth of a nice roaring fire in a fireplace. Makes me glad to have enjoyed Mt. Daniel in warm weather back in early October as shown in this previous thread. 
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Stefan
Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 5092 | TRs | Pics
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Stefan
Member
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Thu Nov 06, 2003 10:50 am |
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Dudes, HONDA CIVICS ROCK for trail cars. Except they suck on the Middle Fork Road.........and getting over berms.
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Tom
Admin
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 17853 | TRs | Pics
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Tom
Admin
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Thu Nov 06, 2003 11:24 am |
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Damian
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Joined: 18 Dec 2001
Posts: 3260 | TRs | Pics
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Damian
Member
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Thu Nov 06, 2003 12:11 pm |
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No pics of Polarbeer negotiating the iceway? Dang.
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Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Posts: 10958 | TRs | Pics
Location: Going to Tukwila |
Wow...great pictures and a fun trip report. Wish I could have been there!
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
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polarbear
Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 3680 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snow Lake hide-away |
I just got my pictures back.
 Peggy's Pond  Find Tom  Deep Lake  Mt. Daniel  Descent  Squiggly Tree
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