Forum Index > Trip Reports > sahale arm - 2009-09-20
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iron
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iron
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PostSun Sep 20, 2009 9:46 pm 
rumor had it, the cascade river road was closed. just to make sure, i brought my mountain bike and headed up. sure enough, closed. go figure. FS websites are accurate sometimes. smile.gif seriously, though, i just wanted the opportunity for some fall colors and complete solitude. it was a good match. the road is closed at MP12; TH is at MP23. sweet, only 11 miles of riding, i thought. well, there was more 'up' than i anticipated. turns out, starting EL is ~EL1500'. TH is EL3640'. turns out there was a bit of down on the way in too, maybe 600'. suddenly, it turned into a 2700' climb on the way in (and 600' on the way out). i checked the altimeter at MP21 and then again at the TH. it confirmed my suspicion: 13% grade. i thought it felt hard.
anyway, TH was expectedly empty up.gif and the colors did not disappoint. clouds hung around sahale campsite elevation, so i didn't go up past there. plus, there was a dusting of snow on everything at EL6800' and above. going up sahale with those conditions didn't sound terribly appealing.
the ride down was awesome. it totally made the ride up worth it. it's not often you get a nice wide road (dirt and paved) that winds along a river, through the mountains, and has ZERO traffic on it. it's worth the ride even if you don't hike, until the road opens up. i found these signs to be interesting (let's see if the dog one can cause some controversy on NWH smile.gif )

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seattlehikertoo
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PostMon Sep 21, 2009 9:52 am 
Nice photos Iron. If you are doing that type of a grade, then I presume you are getting close to a full rehab. That too is good news. Thinking about stopping work now and heading to the mountains, but I can't decide where.

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iron
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iron
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PostMon Sep 21, 2009 9:59 am 
seattlehikertoo wrote:
Nice photos Iron. If you are doing that type of a grade, then I presume you are getting close to a full rehab. That too is good news. Thinking about stopping work now and heading to the mountains, but I can't decide where.
close, but not close enough. i'm still in some considerable pain and walk with a good limp. a lot of muscles have a long way to go to get back to normal. my range of motion is limited too, which i'm sure causes other issues. looks like a great week to take off work. i'm envious!

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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.



Joined: 20 Apr 2008
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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.
PostMon Sep 21, 2009 10:03 am 
Quote:
the road is closed at MP12; TH is at MP23. sweet, only 11 miles of riding, i thought. well, there was more 'up' than i anticipated. turns out, starting EL is ~EL1500'. TH is EL3640'. turns out there was a bit of down on the way in too, maybe 600'. suddenly, it turned into a 2700' climb on the way in (and 600' on the way out). i checked the altimeter at MP21 and then again at the TH. it confirmed my suspicion: 13% grade. i thought it felt hard.
uhh.gif Shifting the bike to a lower gear may have made it a little easier. clown.gif

"Bears couldn't care less about us....we smell bad and don't taste too good. Bugs on the other hand see us as vending machines." - WetDog Albuterol! it's the 11th essential
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TBILL
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PostMon Sep 21, 2009 10:15 am 
How long did the 11 miles take by bike?

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iron
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iron
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PostMon Sep 21, 2009 10:18 am 
TBILL wrote:
How long did the 11 miles take by bike?
~1.5hrs up, ~1hr down (didn't really watch the clock, adjusted clothing, took pictures, etc).

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Slide Alder Slayer
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PostMon Sep 21, 2009 10:38 am 
Iron, have you given your orthopedic doctor a cardiac arrest yet? Keep up the excellent recovery!

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ree
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ree
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PostMon Sep 21, 2009 11:08 am 
I think reason number one under the "Dogs Not Allowed" sign is purely subjective, and subject to more nwhikers debate ad nauseum. lol.gif

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BadDog
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PostMon Sep 21, 2009 1:57 pm 
Well, did you drive by my car on the way out? I was out there too! BTW, check out the Cascade-Rockport road that parallels Highway 20. I made it from the CRR to Rockport in 11 minutes, and I drive slow!

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Foist
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Foist
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PostTue Sep 22, 2009 11:52 am 
Nice! I saw the TR title, and thought, did Iron actually do a trip I could do? Then I saw the bike ride, and.... no. Re: the dog sign -- pretty funny. I guess I can't dispute those reasons for not allowing dogs, although I personally would not care if they did allow dogs. What I don't get, though, is how they justify allowing stock animals even as they don't allow dogs. Steaming piles of horse crap "deprive me of the peace wilderness provides" much more than dogs. Even "intimidating" dogs. To quote the movie Clueless, looking for logic in government regulations is like looking for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.

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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis



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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis
PostTue Sep 22, 2009 2:54 pm 
Nice photos! up.gif Also I'm thinking thats what I wanted to do! I was hoping to climb this one next weekend but my partner bailed on me and says it's not worth the bike part. frown.gif Great trip report, seems like you've gone a long ways.

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GaliWalker
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GaliWalker
Have camera will use
PostTue Sep 22, 2009 4:25 pm 
Very nice, colorful photos. up.gif That area has lovely fall colors. May I suggest heading into the Stehekin Valley next time, instead of up the arm. Possibly, even better fall colors:
Begining of fall colors - 9/6/09
Begining of fall colors - 9/6/09

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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Scrooge
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PostTue Sep 22, 2009 4:37 pm 
Still there, eh? wink.gif
Marmot on Cascade Pass Trail, 2003
Marmot on Cascade Pass Trail, 2003

Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you....... Go and find it. Go!
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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostTue Sep 22, 2009 5:08 pm 
Nice trip! Even with the road closed I am amazed you saw no other people. First time I was up on Sahale Arm I saw about 50 marmots. I was a new hiker and pretty nervous about all those dudes.

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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis



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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis
PostTue Sep 22, 2009 5:17 pm 
Magellan wrote:
Nice trip! Even with the road closed I am amazed you saw no other people.
Well.... mostly die hard fans like iron and me would do something like riding a bike just to get to the trailhead. wink.gif

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