[sarbar]

Ford and I met Hikermama and her two kids today for a hike. Our hike was Talapus Lake Trail. Seems that going about 1 mph you see things like this: a rock heart.

The weather was just nice. It was 61* when we started and upper 70's when done. The trees provided a lot of shade.

HM and her youngest.

Just before the lakes outlet creek (the creek is visible through the trees in the distance) we hit the snow. There was two trees down here but easily walkable over. We decided to call it our turn around spot - the outlet creek was running many times faster than normal (ie....hot weather and rapid snow melt). It wouldn't have been safe taking the kids over the snow bridge on the creek.

The German Princess said ok to dirt forest service roads. She doesn't have the best clearance but hey I am not complaining over her gas mileage ;-) I treated her by giving the princess a run on I-90 on the way home. That she likes. Well that and some sweet Biodiesel ;-)

The snow is melting....the lake basin will be open soon.

[goats gone wild]

[Hiker Mama]

OK, here is my (wordy and overly detailed) version. Thanks Sarbar for joining me today! Talapus Lake Trip Report – 7/1/08 I had contacted Sarbar about a different hike today, but she wisely reminded me that it was going to be pretty hot on the east side of the mountains, so we picked Talapus Lake as a nice alternative. We hoped the snow would be melted enough to make it to the lake, but we were overly optimistic, at least with kids in tow. While I was getting our stuff together at the trailhead, Annika stepped in a big pile of dog poo. Luckily she still had her rubber boots on, and not her hiking shoes, so I stuck them in a garbage bag in the trunk for later hosing off and cleaned a few chunks off her backpack. There were several more piles around, but we managed to avoid those, and I cleaned up the most offensive (now flattened) pile. A Forest Service vehicle pulled up just before I got there, and a gal (I forgot her name – maybe Val or Lily) was getting ready to go check on the trail and do a bit of trail work if needed. She was really friendly and I thanked her for taking care of the trail for us. We saw her twice later on our hike. The road to the trailhead is in fine shape, with a few rough patches to slow you down. The washout area is growing grass on it, making it look not so raw.

Washout

It’s a pretty drive once you get away from the freeway; the smells are wonderful, there are wildflowers blooming, and snowmelt streams cascade near the road. We met at the trailhead earlier than my normal start, and began hiking by 10:00. It felt good to get out to a higher elevation than we have been to this summer. The weather was warm enough for shorts already, and it felt nice to be in the shade of the trail. The birds were making beautiful music in the woods around us. Large patches of star-flowered false Solomon’s seal were blooming on the lower areas. Little yellow violets were blooming along the trail, as were Oregon grape, salmonberries, bunchberries, northwestern twayblade, false azalea, a single trillium, and several other flowers.

Violet

Bunchberry

Twayblade

False Azalea

One Trillium

Rattlesnake plantain, wild ginger and queen’s cup are getting ready to bloom.

Two Hearts (wild ginger)

There are different microclimates one travels through as one moves up toward the lake, allowing for more varieties of plants. There are even some pine trees. The huckleberries have already formed little green berries, so we can expect a crop of those later in the summer. We found some scat (it contained a lot of fur and was white and chalky)

Scat

and saw a “living” tree stump.

Living Stump

Sometimes tree roots are interconnected, so when one tree is cut down, the bark continues to grow up and around the stump, because the tree is still alive due to its connection to other tree roots. There were many old snags with gaping cavities made by woodpeckers and other critters. The trail is far enough from the freeway that the roar of I-90 isn’t noticeable, and it travels within earshot of Talapus Creek for most of the upper portion. The creek was really thundering on this warm afternoon.

Rushing Waters

The air near the creek was much colder than the rest of the trail, and we began hitting snow patches as the trail curved near the creek, approximately 3020’ (I don’t have an altimeter, so I am guessing from the topo map).

First Snow Patch

When we were almost to the Talapus outlet, the snow suddenly began for real, and we decided to turn around at that point.

We stopped here

We didn’t want to mess around near that rushing torrent or on the side of a steep hill with small children in the messy snow. Gabriel was disappointed that we wouldn’t make it all the way to the lake on this trip, and Annika sulked a bit, too, wanting to play in the dirty snow instead of eat lunch. Ford was so sweet and protective of Annika, warning me about the snow and a downed tree, and that we shouldn’t go further because she could slip and fall. We moved back a bit from the snow and sat down to have our lunch. Annika happily shoved half of Sarbar’s avocado in her mouth, regaining some of her energy. More folks were making their way up the trail at that point; most of them continued on through the snow. I assume they were able to make it to Talapus at least, though the FS gal said she lost the trail at some point on the other side of the creek, and there was a sketchy snow bridge and creek crossing. We finished our meal and packed up for the trip back down to the cars. Annika did such a good job on this hike. Getting an early start was super helpful. The trail is graded nicely for little legs; it gains elevation, but there aren’t too many huge steps to trip tiny feet. She only had to be carried two or three times for short sections, and didn’t melt down until we were within sight of the cars. She was fascinated by some ant highways that crossed the trail, and liked the black and yellow millipedes that were all over the place.

Annika watching ants

Millipede

Gabriel also did really well, hiking independently in the middle as Ford plowed ahead and we lingered behind. Annika has changed even since our Heybrook LO hike; she doesn’t ask for help to negotiate every step, and in fact sometimes refuses a helping hand. It amazes me to see both my kids grow in confidence, strength and competence, almost right before my eyes. We were back to the parking lot sometime around 2:30 I think, and the kids changed into cooler clothes. We enjoyed our drive back down the road and home from another wonderful trip to the mountains. Sarah was such a help to me with Annika, gently prodding, encouraging, holding hands, her little pack, her baby doll, and her hiking pole as needed. Ford even carried Annika’s little pack all the way down after lunch. It is good to have friends to help. I’m so glad we were able to get out today, and we hope to get back in a few weeks after the snow melts.

[Yet]

Sounds like a nice hike with wonderful friends. sarbar - I love the heart-shaped rocks! I might even have a couple or three of those in my memento box.

[Hiker Mama]

I have a couple of heart rocks at home, too. Sarbar noticed that big one in the middle of the trail.