[Now I Fly]

Granite Winter Route, West Granite, Pratt Mountain Traverse.
Took advantage of the last full day of the recent high pressure for some extra miles.
Took the Pratt Lake Trail back.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/44468754@N04/albums/72177720296976039

[zephyr]

Bike ride along NF 110 and NF 5620 to Dingford Creek Trailhead.  03/06/22.   Sunday I decided to check out the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie road to see how bad the overflow was. (discussion  here)  The weather was sunny, crisp, and clear.  Beautiful day.

I parked down at the Oxbow Loop area and offloaded my bike.  I have an old school mountain bike  with medium sized tires--not an e-bike or super fat tires and cushy suspension.  So when the going gets tough I have to get off and push.  haha   I arrived at the Pratt River Bar closure and saw numerous vehicles in that parking spot.  I think they were all down at the river because I saw no one on the road until near the Middle Fork TH.  Soon I would be at the overflow location.  When I arrived there was no water across the road.  The road had been fixed!  Awesome.  This means I wouldn't have to drag my bike across the talus slope side-hilling to avoid the rushing stream and the deep ditch.  I could bike as far as I wanted.  Then I saw some folks ahead.

Three guys were hiking the road and out enjoying  the weather and views.  They too were surprised that the creek damage had been repaired.  We chatted briefly then I moved on.  I arrived at the Garfield Ledges picnic area just beyond the bridge crossing the Taylor River.  This area was wide open to the sun and views all up and down the river.  I stopped and had lunch at one of the picnic tables.  Soon the guys showed up and took their break there as well.  It was quiet, serene, and very relaxing to hang out there.

I had decided to see how far I could get on the road to Dingford--NF 110/5620.  I had seen puzzlr's posts in the aforementioned thread and wanted to see how badly those washes had fared during the winter storms.  Just about all of them looked manageable for a high-clearance vehicle.  Then I arrived at the second to the last one crossing the road.  It looked much deeper than in the past.  Not only is it deep but the walls are steep and it has numerous loose boulders--bowling ball-sized and pumpkin-sized.  This one would be a show-stopper for me.  Hopefully the stake-holders/miners will get in there and knock it down a bit with their blade.  On the way back I happened to notice that there is a mile-post there--Number 15.  Not sure what the name is for that particular wash.

I continued on to the parking area at Dingford Trailhead.  It was a pretty rough ride in places.  Otherwise it was beautiful to be along the river down below.  I did run into two hikers coming up the road about 2 miles back.  They were going to cross the MF at Dingford on the bridge and then hike the MF Trail back to the big bridge at the Middle Fork TH.  After that I didn't see anyone until I re-arrived at Garfield Ledges Picnic Area.  I started seeing more folks on the road then--people parked at the closure and out enjoying the quiet part of the road.
Beautiful day on the Middle Fork.     4.8 miles to Garfield.  6 more to Dingford.  RT = 21.6 miles.  ~z

[Now I Fly]

Took advantage of the road being reopened for a trip to Bessequartz and Quartz. Most of this trip is under the canopy but there are some nice views and interesting route finding. A stout workout too. Btw, we stay on the ridge tagging Bessequartz first.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44468754@N04/albums/72177720297285444

[RichP]

Visited a couple of drive up lookouts in eastern Wa today.

Lookout Mtn

Wellpinit Mtn

Also hiked to the top of Carlson Hill in the Saltese Uplands Conservation Area near Spokane.

[neek]

Signs of spring at the arboretum today.

[zimmertr]

First paintbrush I've seen this year on a dumpster 90 mountain

[Comma]

I normally post my trip reports on WTA but Ravensbeak is not on there, and I think it's worth writing about somewhere because it's so rarely climbed.

I've had my eyes on Ravensbeak in the Middle Fork for about a year now, and finally did it on Saturday after scouting it out the previous week. The going was slow when I got out of the creek basin and up the ridge leading to the saddle between the Pulpit and Ravensbeak. I mostly followed the information I gleaned from here. Conditions were not ideal - rapidly melting wet snow on steep terrain. Lots of veggie belaying happened. Ice axe was not strictly necessary but being able to self belay made the small gully leading to the summit much easier. I did not find the summit register, but did not want to spend a bunch of time digging around in the snow. Coming back down was about as painful as coming up, and involved lots of slipping and falling and tumbling. In summer, this would be a very steep class 2+/3- that involves veggie belays and a somewhat exposed very short scramble just below the summit, in winter probably a class 3.

[jaysway]

I hiked Coyote Wall in the Gorge yesterday evening after work and stayed through sunset. This was my first hike in over six months, although I have done a fair amount of skiing since then.  Of the dozen total people we saw, over half were mountain biking, some with dogs which was neat to see. This was also my first time using my real camera in many months, but since it takes me time to process and go through those pictures these are ones from my iPhone.

[zephyr]

[RichP]

I biked up Three Lakes Hill from the DNR gate at the end of 89th St SE north of Monroe today. I met this guy on the way and he followed me all the way to the top and back down (more than 10 miles). I thought he might be from one of the houses in the area but he sure wanted to jump in the car with me when we got back down. Super friendly dog and I hope he's not lost.

[zephyr]

[RichP]

He had a collar but no info on it. Neutered and well-cared for so he might belong to one of the neighbors.

[Now I Fly]

Point 5018 Ridge, County Line, Freedom Peak, Navaho Peak Traverse.

Did this line last Fall and thought it might be fun with Spring snow. It was. :-)
I came out via the Stafford Creek Trail, for the loop.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/44468754@N04/albums/72177720298910155

[jaysway]

[Waterman]

Went north of Winthrop up cub creek to check out morels.

1 buyer in the area $8 lb. Lots of people roaming the area doing ok. Hasn't really got going yet, but plenty of room to hunt.