Forum Index > Trip Reports > Suiattle River - 5/19/11
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Schroder
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Joined: 26 Oct 2007
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Location: on the beach
Schroder
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PostFri May 20, 2011 12:44 pm 
Hanzsek and I thought this would be a quiet place to go following all the activities of the past few days up here. We were right. Except for 3 Whidbey jets skimming the treetops during the day, it was secluded with spectacular weather. The road has considerably improved since Quark, JimK and I were up here a couple of years ago (TR's here and here). I was interested in going up here and seeing what progress has been made on the road. It's passable for vehicles to Downey Creek and it looked like there were plenty up there during the search a few days ago from all the tire tracks. The gate is at milepost 11 and no motor vehicles are allowed beyond the gate. Mile 11
first washout
first washout
first washout
first washout
Mile 12
reroute around second washout
reroute around second washout
reroute around second washout
reroute around second washout
third washout
third washout
I imagine this reroute that was worked on last summer at the Huckleberry Mountain trailhead is what Pilchuck Audubon Society and Wilderness Watch are up in arms about.
Huckleberry slump
Huckleberry slump
Huckleberry reroute started
Huckleberry reroute started
Mile 13 Buck Creek Campground has been cleared of windfalls recently. The campsites are in great shape
Buck Creek Campground
Buck Creek Campground
Buck Creek Campground
Buck Creek Campground
Mile 15 Most of the road surface up here is smoother than most Forest Service roads
typical road surface
typical road surface
Suiattle Guard Station
Suiattle Guard Station
Suiattle Guard Station
Suiattle Guard Station
Mile 17 This was a nice stopping point for lunch
Green Mountain Horse Pasture
Green Mountain Horse Pasture
Mile 19
fourth washout near Downey Creek
fourth washout near Downey Creek
fourth washout near Downey Creek
fourth washout near Downey Creek
Looking up to Sulphur Mountain
Looking up to Sulphur Mountain
Downey Creek Bridge
Downey Creek Bridge
Downey Creek
Downey Creek
Downey Creek Campground
Downey Creek Campground
road past Downey Creek
road past Downey Creek
Mile 21 The road past Downey Creek doesn't have a single washout. At the end of the road is a paved parking lot that can hold over 100 vehicles.
Sulphur Creek Campground
Sulphur Creek Campground
Sulphur Creek Bridge
Sulphur Creek Bridge
paved parking lot at road end
paved parking lot at road end
parking lot at road end
parking lot at road end
Dan Anderson
Dan Anderson
Suiattle Trail
bear scat
bear scat
Milk Creek Bridge
Milk Creek Bridge
Many years ago, I used to park my car at the Milk Creek Bridge
old Milk Creek parking lot
old Milk Creek parking lot
orchids on Suiattle River Trail
orchids on Suiattle River Trail
trillium on Suiattle River Trail
trillium on Suiattle River Trail
White Chuck
White Chuck
some kind of duck
some kind of duck
duck
duck
It would be tragic to give up this road, where 90 percent of it is in great condition. More discussion on that can be found here: Suiattle Road Plan has a potential new hurdle The closed road section
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David¹
Token Canadian



Joined: 25 Jul 2002
Posts: 3040 | TRs | Pics
Location: The Great White North
David¹
Token Canadian
PostFri May 20, 2011 1:02 pm 
That is a male Harlequin Duck - quite a find! Thanks for the report up.gif

Warning! Posts may contain traces of sarcasm. Hiking Website: http://members.shaw.ca/karenanddavid/Index.htm
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostFri May 20, 2011 1:04 pm 
Great pics and report Schroder. Thanks.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostFri May 20, 2011 1:05 pm 
Here was my prayer before I clicked on the thumbnail: "O god please don't let that be a marbled murrelet O god please don't let that be a marbled murrelet O god please don't let that be a marbled murrelet O god please don't let that be a marbled murrelet!!!" About a month ago, the jets buzzed by about a dozen times in just the few hours I was there - one time they were right in the valley, very low. It was annoying. 2 weeks ago, they buzzed just a few times. But they're always there!

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.



Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 7113 | TRs | Pics
Location: Arlington
Hulksmash
Cleaning up.
PostFri May 20, 2011 1:10 pm 
There's a bag O' trash in the Downy Creek camp trail head parking area. Just past the out house. Also some beer bottles littering the forest floor. The bag is visible from main road. down.gif down.gif I guessing the trail register is about full by now.

"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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Schroder
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Schroder
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PostFri May 20, 2011 10:28 pm 
We didn't see the trash in the Downey CG. Did carry some out from the Horse Pasture though. Yours was the last entry in the trail register.

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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.



Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 7113 | TRs | Pics
Location: Arlington
Hulksmash
Cleaning up.
PostSat May 21, 2011 12:36 am 
Might swing up there again this Sunday. I don't think i'll bother with a trash haul out of Downey just yet. I'm signed up to do some trail work up there in June...i assume i'll have some sort of vehicle access. Why pack it 10 miles when i might be able to pack it a tenth of a mile. biggrin.gif Other wise i'm thinking bicycle trailer.

"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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tmatlack
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tmatlack
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PostSat May 21, 2011 4:35 am 
To All Cross-Cascade Hikers, We need this road open. That route from Holden to Sulphur Creek is pure magic...views, history, PCT, Image Lk., etc. Yes, the navy jets are annoying. When I got buzzed, it was still the old A-6 Intruders or EA-6B jammers. Both are wicked loud and slowly being retired out of the squadrons. I think. Tom

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analogkid
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Location: Houston, TX
analogkid
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PostSat May 21, 2011 9:19 pm 
Yep. Buzzing the Glacier Peak area and river valleys has always been a "standard" route for the local Navy squadrons. I used to be in an Intruder squadron in the late 80s - early 90s. I saw many photos of our planes against a backdrop of Glacier Peak well before I knew where it was. Simulated low level attack runs were common here, especially at night when using the forward looking infrared (FLIR). The Intruders are gone - have been for many years now. The Prowlers are quickly on their way out as the EF/A-18 Growlers are being phased in. I didn't start hiking the Glacier Peak area until around 2000. My fourteen year old son has not made it out there with me yet. I hope the work continues as well. I imagine future WTA, or other, trail work parties out there will be quite popular.

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Schroder
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Schroder
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PostSat May 21, 2011 10:26 pm 
Some day I'm going to get a photo of one of them. Even with my camera ready in my hands, I wasn't quick enough to catch them from below.

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Layback
Cascades Expatriate



Joined: 16 Mar 2007
Posts: 5712 | TRs | Pics
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Layback
Cascades Expatriate
PostSat May 21, 2011 11:31 pm 
Wow. That's a beautiful area that I have sadly yet to see since I moved here in 2005. Funny, I don't see any old growth. Thanks for sharing Schroeder. up.gif

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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
PostSun May 22, 2011 12:08 am 
When did that walkway get built, the one up to the Downey bridge? That looked cool, way better than the homemade ladder. up.gif

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Schroder
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Schroder
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PostSun May 22, 2011 10:24 am 
It must have been built last year. We barely had to slow down on bikes over it. It's not wide enough for the forest ranger's quad though. On the topic of this bridge, I've read several places (including statements from the Pilchuck Audubon Society) that this bridge was "wiped out" or that a section was gone. This is not true at all. It's only the roadbed on the approach that had water from Downey Creek erode it down about 8 feet. It's obvious that the water has come no where near that in the past 5 years.

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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostSun May 22, 2011 5:33 pm 
Yeah, and it's obvious Pilchuck Audubon doesn't know what they're talking about. No bridges were destroyed in 2003 or 2006 floods - not Sulphur, not Downey, not Boundary. Including the one to the Milk Creek trail (it's a bit bent up and 1/4 mile downstream, but it is whole tongue.gif ) analog, there has been equipment back there the last year or so; contractor put the approach in to make it easier for the authorized ATVs for surveyors, engineers, etc. (but not wide enough for a quad? Maybe just for wheelbarrows [that doens't make sense]) Yah, better than the ladder, but certainly not as charming.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Allison
Feckless Swooner



Joined: 17 Dec 2001
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Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes
Allison
Feckless Swooner
PostSun May 22, 2011 5:49 pm 
Anyone know if the Suiattle GS is available for rental these days? Looks like a reasonable bike ride.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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