[Kim Brown]

I didn’t have trouble getting JimK and Monty interested in a key-exchange of a Pratt Valley exploration trip - they both get a bang out of history. Gwen --- well, Gwen joined because she's crazy. This trip is of no interest for a lot of people - it's scrappy 2nd growth forest, there are no sweeping views, and the 3 lakes (Talapus, Ollalie and Pratt) are not particularly pretty, nor are the trails leading to them interesting. The draw of this trip was to experience a large part of Northwest history, railroad history, logging history, forest recovery, and to view antique puncheon porn. We were not disappointed. JimK, Gwen and I started from the Talapus Trailhead, and puzzlr started at the old Mid Fork Snoqualmie River ford site (the site of a wire bridge in the past). Both parties met at about midway, chatted a few minutes, then continued to the opposite trailhead. Jim’s GPS clocked 15.8 miles for the day, much of that being on unmaintained, abandoned trail and forgotten RR grade. This trip is not likely doable in early or mid-summer, or after large rain events due to the potential for high-water crossings of the Pratt outlet, the Pratt River, Kaleetan Creek, and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers. However, for us on September 14, the water crossings were easy. North Bend Logging Company logged the Pratt valley in the late 1930s/ early 1940s, and it’s assumed they burned slash afterward. I found a reference to a large fire in the Pratt Valley in 1940 – not sure if the reference was to the slash burns or another source of fire – at any rate, at some point, the entire clearcut area has burned. Shortly after they got the cut out, the logging company packed up and left the Pratt Valley, leaving behind the railroad bed and miles of railroad ties, some artifacts and thousands of acres of terrain left to recover on its own (yet I assume the area was re-planted). Monty, who has done extensive research on the Pratt valley, advised the trail pre-dates the logging activity. It’s a delightful miracle the tread and some structures are still extant. We started on the trail to Talapus at 7:00 AM, and took a shortcut from Ollalie straight up to the Pratt trail. At Pratt we rested. There are newish signs at Pratt pointing to the Pratt trail and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. We easily crossed the Pratt outlet (difficult/impossible early season). From there, we hopped onto the old Pratt trail (not maintained). After a nice stretch of mossy trail and pretty greens, the trail enters the old clearcut zone. I don’t like to insult a forest, but this really is not a pretty stretch of trail. It has only 2 colors - the dirty-grey of young Doug fir trunks, and brown dirt not yet turned to rich soil. As evidenced by the giant stumps, it was once full of enormous Douglas fir – I don’t know what other trees were there – likely silver fir. Now it’s all a dense forest of suffocating, retarded, small-diameter Doug fir. It’s a silent forest, void of animal life. No birds. No squirrels. There were some fungus and patches of moss here and there; and one hornet’s nest. It is too bad that there’s no way to help this forest recover. Thinning is not possible, and recovery is in a weird stage of recovery even after 60 years – recovery after a natural disaster is different - starting with shrubbery and animals. After a clearcut, man plunks in Douglas Fir, then they turn and walk away, expecting it all to work out. But Mother Nature doesn’t have the tools to deal with it. After 60 years, a forest recovering from a natural disaster would be well on it's way to another stage of succession. A clear-cut forest, planted with one tree species, still lay confounded and stunned waiting for the first patch of sunlight to pierce the forest floor, a seed to germinate, a fungus or a patch of moss to take up residence, a bird to perch, a curious squirrel to wander in and stay. This kind of forest isn't in Mother Nature's book. It’s eerily silent here. Though not an ideal forest hike, I was glad to do this trip! The Pratt valley hasn’t been forgotten – people still love it, and people still walk the old tread. But back to the trip: From Pratt Lake and after a short stretch of a lovely green forest walk, the trail switchbacks down, down, down. Lots of switchbacks – some of the climbing turns may not be the original ones, but most probably are. Original rock walls, sill logs and puncheon are still here. The sill logs and puncheon are scorched from the slash fire after the logging was completed. We knew we’d run into Monty near the Pratt River. Near the bottom of the switcbacks, in the silence of the forest, we heard sticks snapping and cracking. Knowing no 4 legged critter walks this forest, we were not surprised to see Monty, each stick snapping under his boots. We visited awhile, and he gave us some pointers on what to expect the rest of our trip; creek crossing conditions, brushy areas, etc. At the bottom of the switchbacks we lost the trail in heavy vegetation in the riparian zone of the Pratt River. Following some flags, we worked our way through the brush and found a good place to ford. We continued upslope a short ways and hopped onto the railroad bed. From here, it was 8 miles to the Mid Fk Snoqualmie crossing, the end of our trip. The RR bed is brushy here and there. The creek crossings were easy; only Kaleetan Creek resulted in wet boots, and during high water season, it would surely pose a problem. The gulleys and creeks where trestles were removed were usually easy to negotiate. Some sites were a pain in the ass, but only never more than a few minutes per site. The RR bed also has pits here and there – it’s built atop piled up forest debris, and over time is settling, creating pockets of voids in the tread. Watch where you plant your feet! After a mile or so, we began to notice RR ties covered with forest litter and moss. Sometimes they are barely discernible, so look closely. We found several bits of iron artifacts; Jim found good, solid remains of the frame of a RR flat car. We were amazed and a bit saddened to see charred stumps of what must have been among the largest cedars on the planet. The RR grade is pretty here and there – the grade allows in the sunlight and rain for mosses, ferns, and shrubbery to grow. We got to the site of the old wire bridge at dusk, with darkness quickly moving in. The river was easily forded, the water being fairly shallow, relatively warm, and running slowly. We bashed around the other side hoping to find the old spur road that would lead us to the Mid Fk road. Jim had driven the road back in the 80’s, and was expecting something more easily found. But now it’s just a path and it took awhile to find it in the dark. I think of the whole trip, this was the hardest part! Gwen got entangled in salmon berry and blackberry vines and we almost had to leave her behind. Gwen and I were proud of our accomplishment; we’re not used to 15+ mile days. Of course we felt like wimps after learning that Monty, after arriving at Pratt Lake, decided he had enough energy to ascend Pratt Mountain on the way to the Talapus trailhead. Sheesh, what an amazing creature Monty is! Thanks to Jim for escorting Gwen and I, and many thanks to Monty for piquing my interest in the Pratt Valley and for providing many details about the history of the Pratt Valley. This was a really fun trip, but as I said earlier, it’s not for everyone. Gwen put it this way, “I’m glad it’s off my list and I never have to do it again.” I would certainly do it again, but not for fun; it would be to show some history buff how cool it is back there.

Ollalie Trees

Gigantor shroom

Forest recovering from 1940 clearcut

Old Pratt trail puncheon scorced from post logging fire

Old Pratt trail sill log

Old Pratt tral puncheon

Old trail,logging site late 30s early 40s

The forest is a boy

Ollalie Trees

Fording the Pratt

1 label

Hikers examine big cedar stump, Pratt RR

A Hiker and mossed over rail road ties

Fording the Mid Fk Snoqualmie at dusk

[Ski]

love that tree shot. Kim you gotta get down to Long Island and take a look at the cedars down there (and the 10-foot-tall stumps.) bk <edit> have boat. will loan.

[JimK]

Many of our photos are from the same spots. I won't dump all my shots here. I did find the trip interesting enough to post 56 annotated photos on my website. Feel free to read my full report and see all 56 photos here: Talapus - Pratt River Trail Report & Photos Here a few of my shots:

Map Of Route

Fall Color

Pratt Reflection

Boot Sized Shroom

Gwen Crossing Pratt River

Brushy Section Of RR Grade

Open Grade

21 Spikes

Big Stump

Big Fungus

Mossy Grade

ICU2

Sunset At Middle Fork

Kim Crossing MF

[GaliWalker]

[iron]

[Kim Brown]

Gwen's the perv who found it first!

[wolffie]

I have some questions about where the fords are. If JimK posts a GPS track (I'm awfully oldfashioned but those things have their uses). My old map's at home, so I don't know if the old trail is even on it. Kinda makes you wonder what our descendents will think about some of the stuff we're going to be leaving behind. THis TR is useful: 3/13/2010

[JimK]

wolffie, I'll see about posting a GMap4 GPS map with my trip report. If you have NW Topos from switchbacks.com for Garmin GPS units, you will find an extremely accurate GPS track. The gentleman who made that track helped me with some details of the trek. Map Source and Basecamp software are free from Garmin and you can use it and the NW Topos software maps on a computer (mac or pc).

[raising3hikers]

thanks for the history lesson, glad the one way trip and key swap worked for everybody

[puzzlr]

Kim did a good job describing the trail, backwards from the direction I went. Had I started the TR my title was going to be "Nuttin' but Pratt". Pratt Trail, Pratt Lake, Pratt Mountain. The ford across the river was very easy with the river running at ~180 cfps. it's probably still possible to wade across but it will be more difficult. We were lucky to pick the day with the lowest recent all-day flow. I've crossed at this spot several times before, but never noticed that part of the old cable bridge is lying on the river bed. There are also remains of the anchors on both banks.

TANW1 Gage

Middle Fork River ford spot

Old cable bridge remains in river bed

I'd been to the Pratt Big Tree before, and about mile beyond on the RR grade, but the rest would be new trail for me. It may strike some as tedious, but I've done enough reading about the Pratt River that the time flew by as I walked through history. Before it was logged the Pratt valley was a popular fishing and hunting destination, with the halfway house situated at the confluence with the Middle Fork. Only fragments of the original Middle Fork trail on the south side of the river have survived. By 1897 a trail was built up the Pratt (then called Tuscohatchie Creek) to access mining claims on Chair Peak. Those claims never produced commercial ore so I wonder how real that trail was, but by 1911 the trail as it currently exists was in place (with a name shift from 'Ollie' to Pratt Lake). The railroad was built and the valley was logged 1/2 mile on either side of the RR grade from 1936 to 1941. Reportedly there were widespread fires in the Pratt in 1948, as well as other parts of the Middle Fork, but I haven't found documentation about that yet. There's plenty of old growth on the higher slopes, so it must have resisted the fire better than the recently logged areas. It's possible to see the extent of RR logging when looking at the Pratt from a nearby peak.

Snoqualmie River area mining map from "Mining In The Pacific NorthWest" by Hodges, 1897

1911 Cedar Lake topo

4 labels

Pratt River valley from Pratt Mountain. This valley has pending legislation to be included in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. That's been true for many years, but it's possible that it may finally happen in 2013.

Enough history, on with the trip. Not much to say except to show representative photos of the RR grade and artifacts.

Big Trees turnoff, I went left

first artifact

waterfall at creek draining Middle Mtn

big stump

RR ties visible in wet area

mossy RR tie pattern

RR car remains

RR tie lifted with root ball

sometimes very pretty

huge 2" cable

rare tree loggers missed

Beaver pond

RR car remains

Kaleetan Creek

Kaleetan Creek log crossing

The RR grade was remarkably clear, being brushy mainly near creek crossings and other wetter areas. It got brushier for the last stretch before the Pratt Lake connector trail turnoff. It's unfortunate the connection between the RR grade and the trail is essentially a bushwhack. Without the very helpful flagging and the NWTopo GPS track it would be hard to know where to go. The lowest part of the trail up to Pratt Lake is very indistinct, but gets better as you go up. It's easier coming down from Pratt Lake because you're on the trail, and can't miss the RR grade if you just walk uphill.

brushier trail before turnoff

Pratt Lake connector trail turnoff is flagged

Pratt River crossing

Beginning of Pratt Lake connector trail near the river - not very obvious without flagging.

Pratt Lake connector trail, old puncheon

Winking stump

Pratt Lake connector trail, bleak small trees

Pratt Lake connector trail, Kaleetan view

Pratt Lake connector trail, sign just beyond Pratt Lake outlet. 10 miles from the river.

Big rocks that allow for crossing the Pratt Lake outlet without even seeing water

At Pratt Lake I took a long break, enjoying the beautiful day and cool water, and filtered a couple fresh quarts. I was making good time and Pratt Mountain looked way too inviting so I decided to include that. At the divide I went right on the Mt Defiance trail, leaving it where the Pratt Mountain ridge took off. I expected at least a boot trail up the ridge, but there was almost nothing. No wonder everyone does this in winter. But it's not too thick and not too long and the last part is all on big rock talus. The rock step is a very short and easy 3rd class scramble.

Pratt Lake from southern end

Paper Wasp nest next to Mt Defiance trail below Pratt Mountain

Rock step on Pratt Mountain ridge

Humpback Mountain and Olallie Lake from Pratt Mountain rock step

Pratt summit with Granite mountain behind

Major erosion where trail crosses the outlet stream from Olallie Lake

[Edit] A friend just sent me this link to mendorailhistory.org with a rare video of railroad logging very similar to what occurred in the Pratt by the North Bend Timber Company. Some of the Doug Firs felled rival the size of the redwoods.

[lopper]

Kim & Monty: My heroes! Thanks for the maximal dose of Most-Things-Pratt.

wire bridge at Pratt.

Bridge remnants, oh yeah.

[JimK]

Thanks for the info Monty and thanks for being in on the key exchange. Nice not to have to drive the MF Road twice in one day. I just have one question. Was that beaver pond near the grade? We sure did not see it.

[puzzlr]

The beaver pond was not that far off the trail but hard to see. I was looking for it and had a way point so I walked over to it. It's where several lost parties in the Pratt have ended up getting picked up. One of the few open areas in the valley other than on the river itself.

[Gwen]

You've heard all the gory details three times now so I won't bore with with my version of the story because it ain't any different. Here's a few pics tho. (Yeah, yeah. I've been busy.)

Reflection on Talapus

For James

Ribbit

Faerie Land

Fall color over Pratt

And so it begins...

Reflection on Pratt

Purple

Going over

Pig's ears

Using Jim for scale (sorta)

Green

Mile marker? Photocopy.

A near perfect circle.

Orbs

Jim fording the mighty Pratt

Jim fording the mighty Pratt

Kim's turn

Kim's turn

Reflections on light and shadow

Reflections on light and shadow

Reflections on light and shadow

Floating

Trio

21 Spike Salute

Clusterfungus

Clusterfungus

Can you hear the whistle blow?

Where's the monkeys?

Underneath it all, the ties (that bind) remain

Scalloped

Fading light upstream

Fading light downstream

(Audio drops out about 1:37.)

[Kim Brown]

Wow, Monty - great report and better detail! From the looks of the USGS chart, Jim's call on the timing of the trip was just right! THanks for posting the logging video! BUt oy vey, it's hard to watch....the guy is talking about how ancient and wonderful the trees are, and how they survived for millions of years and they resist fire, flood, disease......but the video shows them being cut down and dragged out of the forest..... But it is interesting to see the process from the beginning, including building the railroad.