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summithound
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summithound
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PostThu Jan 03, 2008 8:03 pm 
December 27, 2007 My parents and I decided to venture out of the house today and head south through the community of Belfair to Twanoh State Park located on the southern shore of Hood Canal in Mason County. The forecast promised snow today but fortunately for us the temperatures hovered right around freezing so it didn't pile up too badly. I was able to complete this short hike wearing sweat pants with gore-tex pants over them along with a t-shirt, fleece pullover and a gore-tex shell. Warm gloves came in handy as well, especially during our periodic rest breaks. Driving Directions From Belfair, follow State Route 3 (paved) south for 1.1 miles. At a stoplight just south of town, turn right towards Union on State Route 106 (paved). Follow this good road for 9 miles to Twanoh State Park. Turn left into the campground area and park in the first parking area. Parking is free. The Hike The signed trail begins just east of the parking lot on the right, adjacent to Twanoh Creek. As I lingered at the truck where I was putting on my boots and getting my pack synched up, my mom yelled back to me that the trail was closed. I figured that the Parks Service closed it after the bout of heavy rain we had recently, probably due to a few minor washouts. Turns out I was right. The trailhead was crossed with yellow caution tape and a couple of warning signs proclaimed the closure of the trail.
By the time I stepped over this minor obstacle my parents were already a few hundred yards up the trail. The path immediately parallels Twanoh Creek and heads south into the densely forested gorge. Before catching up with my parents, I encountered a trail junction. The path to the left led over a bridge, through some more caution tape, to the camping area.
I chose to continue straight, hugging the creek on the left. Soon after the junction, I encountered a minor blowdown adjacent to the camping area. This was easily stepped over and, after scooting by an RV, I caught up with my parents.
Light snow was beginning to fall but the temperatures were warm enough that the trees continually dripped water on us making for a wet and chilly hike. Due to the uncomfortable conditions, the number of photos I snapped were limited. In 0.3 mile we encountered a second trail junction just before a small washout. The trail to the right slowly curved uphill. We chose to clamber over some trees and continue forward. At about 0.75 mile, the trail began to climb out of the dark and moist ravine and soon switchbacked to the north. The dense conglomeration of ferns soon yielded to a collection of salal and brush. At 1.25 mile the trail emptied us out onto an old forest road. Our only choice was to continue along the road to the right.
At a sharp bend in the road we paused to admire the view into the ravine below. Just beyond the bend, we were surprised by a small yellow, black and white bird scavenging for food along the road. He didn't seem put off by our presence and my mom was actually able to reach down and touch him.
After some picture taking we continued on. At 1.5 mile we reached a group camp and a large picnic shelter off the road to the right.
We paused here to recharge and fuel up. We picked up the signed trail just behind the shelter and soon passed what looked to be a makeshift water tower.
Beyond this point, the trail swung around a damp hillside and began dropping back into the deep ravine. At 2 miles we reached the first trail junction. We had no other choice but to go left, soon arriving back at the trailhead and completing the loop. Trail Statistics Round-Trip Distance: 2.3 miles Elevation Gain: 375 feet High Point: 400 feet

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.
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summithound
Climbing Connoisseur



Joined: 26 Jul 2004
Posts: 1766 | TRs | Pics
Location: Everett, WA
summithound
Climbing Connoisseur
PostThu Jan 03, 2008 8:12 pm 
Nope! No ranger today. She probably would have talked our ear off about how "dangerous" it was up there. moon.gif We were actually the only people out about on the trails that day.

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.
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Hiker Mama
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PostFri Jan 04, 2008 3:11 pm 
Is that the same park where there is camping? If so, I didn't realize there was hiking there. Your picutres look so dark and gloomy. That day was a pretty miserable one. Good for you for getting out anyway.

My hiking w/ kids site: www.thehikermama.com
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summithound
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Joined: 26 Jul 2004
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Location: Everett, WA
summithound
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PostFri Jan 04, 2008 6:31 pm 
Yep! agree.gif There is year-round camping at the park. I drove through there today and the trailhead is still signed as closed.

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.
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Sourstraw
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PostThu Oct 09, 2008 4:09 pm 
yes, the ranger is very talkative and friendly ... and she never reads any hiking discussion pages either....so you had better talk nicely about her. -S

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summithound
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Joined: 26 Jul 2004
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summithound
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PostThu Oct 09, 2008 4:53 pm 
Woo hoo! Thread bumped! Thanks Sourstraw. up.gif hockeygrin.gif

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostThu Oct 09, 2008 6:06 pm 
sourstraw......you the ranger, by chance? huh.gif welcome, btw! lol.gif

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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summithound
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Joined: 26 Jul 2004
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Location: Everett, WA
summithound
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PostThu Oct 09, 2008 6:13 pm 
Haha! lol.gif Didn't catch that bcfc53! I'm caught! Wait... I didn't hike that trail... I TOTALLY respected the "trail closed" sign. paranoid.gif

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostThu Oct 09, 2008 6:26 pm 
skimpyhud...you didn't catch it because you are young lol.gif as a youngster i used to spend lots of time at Twanoh State Park...fun days! oh, yeah, you didn't cross that yellow tape agree.gif

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Sourstraw
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PostFri Oct 10, 2008 7:52 am 
As a matter of fact, I might just be the ranger ... and regarding the yellow tape (which I so lovingly affixed after our trail was wiped out...) ... if we DON'T put up the yellow tape, and somebody gets injured, well then ... we're in big trouble. But if we do put up the yellow tape, and somebody gets hurt - then at least we've done our part by warning of hazardous conditions. Plus, the trail was so badly erroded after that storm, and we were having constant landslides because the hillside was really unstable - we had to close it down to make sure that things weren't going to slough off anymore - and also to give us the chance to get back there and make repairs. Leaving the trail "open" would have been really irresponsible on our part...espescially since our #1 mission is visitor safety. I realize there are different interpretations of "dangerous" ... some people don't mind climbing over a landslide and are perfectly capable of doing so, some people overestimate their own abilities and get hurt, and then other people have no business even trying - we've got to protect (or at least try to protect) everybody. In other news - as of March 2008, I had the WTA volunteers come into the park and help to rehabilitate the trail. There was a large section along the creek which was almost non-existant after the flood... I actually fell off the edge once when a large chunk of land slid into the new creekbed .... at any rate, the trail has been re-routed up the hill into some really beautiful forrest with some nice old-growth Douglas Firs - it is worth taking a look if you want to come back out to the park. In addition, the Chantrelles are starting to pop up here at the park, so if you want to go mushroom hunting, it is a good time for that too. See you on the trails, S

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Sourstraw
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PostFri Oct 10, 2008 7:55 am 
HJT wrote:
Or worse yet a ticket! I've been told she likes to write tickets. clown.gif
P.S. She does like to write tickets, but only to people who REALLY deserve them. P.S.S. I wouldn't have written you a ticket for crossing the yellow tape. smile.gif

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reststep
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reststep
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PostFri Oct 10, 2008 8:15 am 
Thanks Sourstraw. I am going to have to check the new trail and maybe look for some mushrooms at the same time.

"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostFri Oct 10, 2008 8:19 am 
chickenleg.gif chickenleg.gif i win for catching a ranger!!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Sourstraw
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PostFri Oct 10, 2008 11:57 am 
I didn't realize there was a bounty on Park Rangers. smile.gif Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. Ha ha. But really, I love the park here at Twanoh and I love hiking and mountaineering in the PNW. This is a nice forum!

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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostFri Oct 10, 2008 12:12 pm 
no bounty. there are a couple of park service folks that lurk the site. you are most welcome! sorry for the thread drift!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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