Forum Index > Trip Reports > Wildflowers and a moose! Gardner Meadow 7/6-7/7/19
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Brucester
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Brucester
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PostSun Jul 07, 2019 9:22 pm 
I drove up Friday evening from First Hill in Seattle and did the car bivy thing while it rained all night.... I had heard the trail was in need of a heavy brushing, but somehow neglected to bring my rain pants. It was a wet hike from the waist down for many miles! It wasn't bad but it was wet and the trail is quite overgrown for many miles!
When you break free from the forest the brush matters little because your eyes are all over the place, the views....Lots of 'em.
Have you ever passed a meadow and thought that, that would be a cool place to camp? Yeah me too. But it's always on the move to a high point so it seems. I had passed this meadow on my way to Gardner years ago.... Like another member mentioned on a 'Gardner post, the campsite called to him, me too!
My intention was to climb North Gardner yesterday but my hip and knee weren't having any of that so I decided to just take in the meadow instead. Maybe it was how awful my car is to sleep in or maybe it's that I'm 51?
It wasn't bad forcing myself to relax, eat, nap and watch as the dark clouds move from the summits to down below. The weather did look iffy until late afternoon above Gardner. Thereafter there was thunder down below towards Winthrop. Today on the seemingly endless hike out I was greeted with a gift. Yup, a moose. Saw this bull and we stood in the trail staring at each other while I gave up chances of the best pics ever.... But we all know, it's not about just the pics! Moose are cool!
Roughly: 22 miles with wanderings and 2,400 elevation gain. The road to the TH: there's street signs but no reference to the TH, that I saw. (Lucky I saw Redwick's post mentioning this), I took phone pics of my Nat Geo Topo for driving to TH reference but didn't need them. Left Fork Wolf Creek Road is fairly rough with water damage. Not recommended for Pantera's but a Prius should make it. The trail is really over grown, has some minor trail damage and has multiple blowdowns. It's passable for stock! The horse people I met said they HAD to cut some dead fall in the trail with an axe in the pouring rain! I did see some bear scat on the hike in before the beadow. I hung my food in a Ursack since there are active critters in the meadow as well.

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RichP
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PostMon Jul 08, 2019 7:06 am 
Cool moose sighting. I see them often over here but always steer clear. Gardner Meadows is a worthy enough destination.

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neek
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neek
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PostMon Jul 08, 2019 7:34 am 
Cool, that's where a fellow said he saw a moose a few weeks ago. Wonder if it's the same one.

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Mosquito Food
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Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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Location: Covington
Mosquito Food
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PostTue Jul 09, 2019 4:56 pm 
up.gif Great pics. The fossils are mind blowing.

Fueled by cornbread
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Brushbuffalo
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PostTue Jul 09, 2019 9:10 pm 
Brucester wrote:
Fossils? If this is the photo referenced, those elongated white crystals are most likely in the amphibole family, perhaps tremolite or maybe actinolite, although those two are usually more needle-like.

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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