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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostSun Jun 14, 2009 10:36 pm 
From Blewett Pass summit, take Five Mi. Road (on the right if coming from Cle Elum) about 3 miles to the trailhead. The road is rough and brush is encroaching. It not only will scratch your vehicle (I personally don't care about that), but it obscures any pullouts that are available in the case of meeting an oncoming vehicle. The ruts seem to have gotten worse this year, but choose your line - Jim straddled most of the ruts (well - his car did) and he made it just fine in a fairly low clearance Subaru station wagon. This trail is in full bloom. Tweedyii Lewisia, mariposa lillies, columbia clematis, tons of penstemmon, and locoweed in it's pod stage were the showcase of the day.
Locoweed pods3
Locoweed pods3
Locoweed pods2
Locoweed pods2
Tweedyii Lewisia1
Tweedyii Lewisia1
Tweedyii Lewisia2
Tweedyii Lewisia2
Tweedyii Lewisia3
Tweedyii Lewisia3
Tweedyii Lewisia4
Tweedyii Lewisia4
Columbia clematis3
Columbia clematis3
Thunder boomed overhead and we waited to see if it would pass us by. It did - we ditched our trekking poles along the trail in case another thunderstorm came along. It did, and we waited that one out, too.
Thunderhead from Tronsen Ridge trail
Thunderhead from Tronsen Ridge trail
Storm toward Enchantments
Storm toward Enchantments
rainshower
rainshower
At one point, Jim came up to us and announced, "well it's been about 20 minutes since the last - " BOOM RUMBLE BOOM BANG! So we had to wait another 20 minutes. We turned around at the cliffy spot, making it an 8 mile RT day.
ponderosa and lichen rock
ponderosa and lichen rock
Ponderosa and lichen rock detail
Ponderosa and lichen rock detail
A perfectly square rock sitting on the ridge
A perfectly square rock sitting on the ridge
Gorgeous flowers on this trail. Many in full bloom and will be beyond prime soon, but more still on the way. The trail will be opened to motorized use Monday Jun 15. I've never had an issue with motorbikes, so that would not deter me from going - so go!
Janet
Janet
Jim
Jim
Janet and Jim
Janet and Jim
Jim and Janet and flowers
Jim and Janet and flowers
Obligatory shot of lupine with drops after a rainstorm
Obligatory shot of lupine with drops after a rainstorm
Old Man's Whiskers stalk
Old Man's Whiskers stalk
Tiny white flower stalk
Tiny white flower stalk
Tiny white flower stalk detail
Tiny white flower stalk detail
alien plant
alien plant
You'll have to trust me on this - it's my Drinkamugamilkameal truck photo for this trip
You'll have to trust me on this - it's my Drinkamugamilkameal truck photo for this trip

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Tazz
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
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Tazz
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PostSun Jun 14, 2009 10:41 pm 
OMG! Janet has fallen and she can't get up! lol.gif you are all funny! up.gif great pics as usual

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silly_traveler
~ roaming ~



Joined: 04 Jun 2006
Posts: 1525 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue
silly_traveler
~ roaming ~
PostSun Jun 14, 2009 10:58 pm 
Quark wrote:
Janet and Jim
Janet and Jim
This picture is really awesome and it made me LOL lol.gif up.gif

♫ You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. And you're the one who will decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go. - Dr. Seuss
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Couvehiker86
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Joined: 28 Mar 2009
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Location: *Insert cutesy one-liner here*
Couvehiker86
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PostSun Jun 14, 2009 11:11 pm 
Love the Ponderosa and Lichen Rock pic. It's colors like that that make the East side fantastic!

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wamtngal
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Joined: 13 Jun 2004
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wamtngal
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PostMon Jun 15, 2009 10:23 am 
Nice!! up.gif My dad and I really enjoyed our trip there last weekend. Looks like there are only a few new additions in the flower realm since last weekend, notably the alien pods (aka locoweed) and Old Man's Whiskers...of course I might have just walked by them too. RE: the road condition...I had assumed that this road was unmaintained given that it is not listed as a "good gravel or 1 lane asphalt" on Green Trails and rather "other gravel or dirt road." Big bummer because this is a trail that would see a lot more use if you could get to it more easily...

Opinions expressed here are my own.
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John Morrow
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Joined: 03 Apr 2007
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Location: Roslyn
John Morrow
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PostMon Jun 15, 2009 12:28 pm 
Wow, Q, a feast for the eyes. Great shots! J

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostMon Jun 15, 2009 12:46 pm 
Thank you for the photo compliments. You'd have to work pretty hard to get bad photos on Tronsen Ridge. The rumbling thunder was a big treat to me. I love the sounds of Nature (the birdsong on Tronsen Ridge is among the richest and varied). Re the road: I just thought of something. Unless there's logging to be had (nope), I guess it's not reasonable to fix the slumped portions - they'd have to blast into the cliff to fix it. Perhaps the slope isn't stable enough for a grader (those are lateral cracks). But they could brush it - I assume they have the machines to do so...? They probably do so every few years.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Trevor
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Joined: 31 Jan 2004
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Trevor
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PostMon Jun 15, 2009 6:28 pm 
Very interesting patterns. You photographed this scene as equally well as you spray painted that rock. hockeygrin.gif Might need to head in that direction this week unless somebody offers other geographic persuasion between then and now.

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BPLlama
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Joined: 07 Sep 2006
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Location: シアトル
BPLlama
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PostMon Jun 15, 2009 6:55 pm 
WOW eek.gif Sooooo tweedelicous!! Great photos up.gif I want to go see that eye candy.

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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
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Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostMon Jun 15, 2009 7:51 pm 
Ah yet another trip where Quarky only invites her SPECIAL friends! lol.gif moon.gif doh.gif moon.gif lol.gif moon.gif doh.gif moon.gif lol.gif Great pics guys. up.gif

"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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JimK
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JimK
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PostMon Jun 15, 2009 9:34 pm 
PiB, that's a damn fine Drink A Mug A Milk Emile truck shot! Especially since you only had a few seconds to grab your camera. Oh, and the flower shots are nice too. smile.gif

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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostMon Jun 15, 2009 9:57 pm 
A most excellent pic of the truck! Among the best I've seen! up.gif Oh, and the scarlet gilia isn't bad either. Pod faceoff. embarassedlaugh.gif

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Bug
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Joined: 13 Nov 2005
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Bug
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PostMon Jun 15, 2009 10:16 pm 
Five Mile Road
My little ol' Mazda sedan made it up this road in 2003, but was scraping bottom in spots. I called the Cle Elum R.S. to complain. They said this road is actually in the Leavenworth district but is kinda like a neglected stepchild waah.gif , off in the corner all by itself. So I called Leavenworth and, sure enough, no one had ever even heard about the Five Mile Rd. It would be a minor tragedy to lose access to those flowers, so if enough of you call, maybe.......

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JimK
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Location: Ballard
JimK
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PostWed Jun 17, 2009 5:14 pm 
My full report with all 65 photos is here: Tronsen Ridge Report & Photos Here are some of them:
Trail In Meadow
Trail In Meadow
Lupine
Lupine
Balsamroot
Balsamroot
Penstemon
Penstemon
Twin Tweedy's
Twin Tweedy's
Scarlet Gilia
Scarlet Gilia
White Bitterroot
White Bitterroot
Tweedy's Patch
Tweedy's Patch
Reddish Petals
Reddish Petals
Pink Lupine
Pink Lupine
Locoweed Pod
Locoweed Pod
Pink Bitterroot
Pink Bitterroot
Flower & Bug
Flower & Bug
Like Weeds
Like Weeds
Lupine Lounging
Lupine Lounging
Wild Clouds
Wild Clouds
Phlox
Phlox
Balsamroot & Penstemon
Balsamroot & Penstemon
Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush

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Foist
Sultan of Sweat



Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 3974 | TRs | Pics
Location: Back!
Foist
Sultan of Sweat
PostThu Jun 18, 2009 7:06 am 
Love the storm cloud photos, Kimbo.

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