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dgleighton
What the...



Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 253 | TRs | Pics
Location: Somewhere inside my head
dgleighton
What the...
PostMon Jun 04, 2007 11:08 am 
WARNING! If you, your mother or anyone you know has a snowmobile you may not want to read this. The weather was perfect as my son Jeremy (Jerm) and I drove up the road to the area of the trailhead to start our approach to the Easton Glacier route. You could hear the birds singing the deer were frolicking in the meadows. You know its going to be a good day when you witness frolicking deer! We knew from earlier reports that we would be parking just shy of the trailhead. As we neared the end of our drive I began to hear a faint buzzing sound. Were we now going to be treated to some other jewel of nature (it would be hard to beat the frolicking deer) like a swarm of honey bees singing a song of pollination. But as the buzzing got louder I thought that if these truly are bees they don't sound very happy. We then saw the first in a long line of cars and trucks parked along side the road and we then saw the source of the buzzing snowmobiles as far as the eye can see! Note: We knew that they would be there we just chose this route due to the amount of people we heard would be on the Coleman. They were all there Cooter, Skeeter and his kin, even Mudbone and his brother in law Billy Ray. All packing coolers with I'm sure lemonade or iced tea. As we loaded up and headed out I took a deep breath "Ah I love the smell of 2 cycle oil in the morning". We left the car at 8:30. The trailhead was only 1/4 mile from where we parked. The snow wasn't bad just a little mush. The trip through the meadow went quickly. Jumping out of the way of our new found climbing partners helped speed things along. We now headed up the drainage route east of Railroad Grade as it's more direct this time of year. As the view now opened we could see the mountain the rest of the way. This is one reason I like the route. There was a lot of other things to see along the way also Budweiser cans, candy bar wrappers snowmobile parts sweet! We now came upon 4 teens that looked very ill equipped and looking very haggard. As we talked they said that the 2 guys and one gal would be going to the summit and one gal we be staying at camp. Good for her. They guys then told us that they been to the top 6 or 7 times and then asked if we knew where the Northface of the mountain was from here. Get ready Mountain Rescue! We then wiped the 2 cycle oil from our glasses and continued onward. We got to the snout of the glacier and turned towards the end of Railroad Grade to find our favorite camping spot @ 6400'. It has a great glissade into camp after the climb. It was now time to unpack when I discovered that my Nalgene canteen had leaked about 12 oz. of water in my pack. Jerm is now reminding about my blood pressure and that if I do with the bottle as I say that I will when I take it back to REI my grandson will have to visit me in jail. So I take few deep breaths( mmm... oil) and began to dry out a few things. It could have been a lot worse. We set up our tent where there was a platform already dug out. Which reminds me "PACK IT IN PACK IT OUT"!!!!! I know this may be a bazar concept for Cooter but not a Climber. We then chilled in the tent for a few when Mudbone and Billy Ray came flying through camp about 4 feet from our tent which is not hard to see. Up to this point I was willing to share the mountain with the beelerz but now all I want to know is when does the season on them open and whats my limit. After a brief rest we headed up to 7000' to get a closer look at the glacier. The rout will be very direct up the westerly side with very few crevasses. We got up at 1:00 A.M. well really about 1:15 after a few snoozes and were headed out at a little after 2:00. It was very warm all night and the snow was soft. Nice clear and quiet morning as was watched the headlamps already on the mountain flicker like fire flys. We reached the crater rim and took a break. There was now a traffic jam of people going up and coming down the Roman Wall. A lot of folks doing the Squak. The snow on the Roman Wall was getting pretty mushy so we slogged our way to the top. Got there at around 9:00. We are slow climbers like to take our time and enjoy we'll leave the racing to others. The wind was at least 40 mph making it hard to stand. Took some pics and headed down. With all the traffic and the warm conditions the snow was getting ugly. Plunged to just below the Crater Rim and began some very wet glissading. Got back to camp in a few hours and took a short nap before packing up and heading back out. Oh I forgot to mention the teens we saw the day before, you know the ones looking for the Northface we found the 2 guys gased at around 7500'. The girls both stayed at camp. Went back the way we came with one exception. The snow bridges over the creek are going fast so we had to find a new way over. Got back to the car to the pleasant site of being blocked in by you guessed it a truck and snowmobile trailer. So as we waited for the owner to load up(way is it that when something like this happen your treated like you've done something wrong)? We relaxed change clothes and talked about food and BEER! All in all it was a great time. If I have offended any TUFF #*#!. Respect is something that is earned. Up to this weekend I respected peoples rights to snowmobile in this area. But when the rest of us have to pay the price for your disrespect... O.K. I will shut up.
Ah...
Ah...
Jerm taking a break
Jerm taking a break
Me looking like a hampster
Me looking like a hampster
Cooter and friends
Cooter and friends
Jerm @ 2:30
Jerm @ 2:30
Twin Sisters and Black Buttes
Twin Sisters and Black Buttes
Lines of climbers
Lines of climbers
Summit Crater
Summit Crater
The Roman Wall
The Roman Wall
Jerm on Top
Jerm on Top
Me on Top
Me on Top

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newtrout
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Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 125 | TRs | Pics
Location: Central Washington
newtrout
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PostMon Jun 04, 2007 1:34 pm 
Thanks for the warning, but I couldn't resist reading anyway wink.gif FYI, the area is closed to snowmobiling as soon as the snowpack drops below 2 feet at the bridge below the meadows. Of course, this is contingent on the Forest Service actually getting up there and taking the measurement. From what I hear, there shouldn't be more than one week of snowmobiling left up there. Hopefully the snowbridge won't be crossable for much longer, either. I'm sure that you now realize that this is a popular snowmobiling area. In the future, I might suggest that you save your blood pressure and simply stay away until it is closed....... I will completely agree that many of my fellow snowmobilers are rude and inconsiderate toward hikers, just as many of my fellow hikers are rude and inconsiderate toward snowmobilers (I'm lucky, I get to straddle the line and pick whichever side is more popular at the moment). And, of the many thousands of snowmobilers that ride out of Schrieber every winter, some choose litter. My apologies for those who show such a lack of respect; there is absolutely no excuse. I'm happy to say that there are more organized groups that are conducting cleanup parties at the end of the season. On a related note, this spring during just such a cleanup I hauled several little black and blue bags full of cr@p off of the mountain. Can't say that I've ever met a snowmobiler that cr@ps in a bag...... Sigh. It gets more difficult every year to decide whether to be a redneck, beer-drinking, polluting, inbred snowmobiler, or a dope-smoking, tree-hugging, petrouli oil-wearing, unemployed, hippie hiker. Oh well, as long as I fit into a stereotype somewhere! Sincerely, Uncle Jesse

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dgleighton
What the...



Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 253 | TRs | Pics
Location: Somewhere inside my head
dgleighton
What the...
PostMon Jun 04, 2007 2:14 pm 
Many good points made. As I was typing I should have noted that : 1. We knew the snowmobiles would be there. 2. That not all snowmobilers are redneck... 3. That not all hikers/climbers are responsable

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newtrout
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Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 125 | TRs | Pics
Location: Central Washington
newtrout
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PostMon Jun 04, 2007 2:50 pm 
I can't help myself from sticking my nose into these types of conversations. There was nothing wrong with your post. I completely agree that the 2-stroke technology is no longer acceptable with the options we have today. I can't wait until four-stroke technology is a little further along. They've done it with motorcycles and its started with snowmobiles.. In your defense I would say that there redneck:responsible ratio is exponentially higher among snowmobilers than hikers. smile.gif If anything, the threads that take place on snowmobile forums are more anti-environmentalist than your thread was anti-snowmobiler (I frequent both places). I like to try and encourage a little bit of tolerance toward each other. There are many, many good people on both sides of the fence, and they are both incredible activities. Hiking is the only way to see places like this:
Venus and Spade Lakes from Daniel.
Venus and Spade Lakes from Daniel.
Snowmobiling is the only way to see places like this (well, unless you can handle 40 km of travel on the ice cap....):
Callaghan 3[1].11.06 9
Callaghan 3[1].11.06 9

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Mega-Will
country bumpkin



Joined: 22 Dec 2006
Posts: 655 | TRs | Pics
Location: Olympic Peninsula
Mega-Will
country bumpkin
PostMon Jun 04, 2007 3:28 pm 
newtrout wrote:
Sigh. It gets more difficult every year to decide whether to be a redneck, beer-drinking, polluting, inbred snowmobiler, or a dope-smoking, tree-hugging, petrouli oil-wearing, unemployed, hippie hiker.
embarassedlaugh.gif I'm all that and more in a single weekend! Overall though, I think I'll stick to the anti-social mp3 player, energy drink addicted, misanthrope, insomniac, solo mountaineer that I've come to be. I make my own stereotypes...

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the Zachster
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Joined: 17 Jan 2007
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Location: dog training
the Zachster
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PostMon Jun 04, 2007 9:31 pm 
The Easton route is very beautiful. Glad you had a good time, with some stories to tell! When we did it, there were a number of sooper-dooper mobiles playing the high marking game...on a 80 degree day...under a corniced ridge (seracs, actually). We tried to keep our eyes closed...didn't want to see an accident. But they all lived to do it again another day. Entertaining report and great pics, thanks! up.gif

"May I always be the kind of person my dog thinks I am"
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