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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
Once again, the weather forecast looked bad, even in eastern Washington. Ryan and I decided to do a trip anyway. We left late Friday night and got to the West Buttermilk trail head Saturday morning after a 3.5 hour nap somewhere in the Methow Valley.
After a 10th of a mile we came to the creek crossing. The existing log crossing looked sketchy so we went up stream and added a few dead trees to another crossing. There was a lot of patchy snow before we came to Fish Creek Pass. In one creek along the way we spotted some trout. We both caught one by hand but they were hardly big enough to eat so we put them back.
Sketchy Crossing Nice Catch Star Seen From Courtney Near Oval Summit
In the Star Lake basin we set up our tent and took a half hour nap. Then we hiked up the west ridge of Star Peak. Lots of talus hopping. We ran into a solo climber from Marysville who was doing the Star/Courtney/Oval in a day. Star was his 71st Bulger. After Star we went down to cook dinner. After eating we went up to the summit of Courtney by way of the south ridge. More talus hopping. We watched several rain showers blowing around and one did hit us but it was only a light sprinkle that lasted about 10 minutes.
After Courtney we hit the sack. Sunday morning we packed up camp and went over to do Oval. We followed the old way trail through patches of snow toward the tarns south of Oval. In many places the trail was difficult to see or completely covered with snow. Boot prints proved that the solo climber had indeed done all three peaks in a day. We ascended the south ridge over large talus. On the summit we found the register in a pill bottle. Oval was my 23rd Bulger peak.
We got back to the car at 2:30pm for 32 hours round-trip. We carried crampons and ice axes but didn't use them.
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Eric Peak Geek
Joined: 21 Oct 2002 Posts: 2062 | TRs | Pics Location: In Travel Status |
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Eric
Peak Geek
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:40 am
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Bummer about your phone. Sounds like it was still a productive weekend otherwise.
I did pretty much the same trip a few years back although we tagged Courtney on the morning of the second day while leaving our big packs at the pass. I see to recall that Star was enjoyable and Courtney was fine but by the time we were done with Oval we had greatly exceeded our daily recommended allowance of talus and scree.
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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:48 am
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cool. trout in the creek! do you think those are stocked fish from the lakes, or are they natural to the area?
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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
Eric wrote: | I seem to recall that Star was enjoyable and Courtney was fine but by the time we were done with Oval we had greatly exceeded our daily recommended allowance of talus and scree. |
Yes, that's exactly right. Coming down from Oval, the talus hopping was really getting old.
iron wrote: | do you think those are stocked fish from the lakes, or are they natural to the area? |
My guess would be wild but I'm not an expert. The one I caught tried to hide up underneath an overhanging bank, so I just reached in and grabbed hold.
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Goats Know Gravity's Bitch
Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 194 | TRs | Pics
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Goats Know
Gravity's Bitch
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:40 am
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Have you been watching Hillbilly handfishin on Animal Planet?!
Here on this mountaintop...Woahoho...I got some wild, wild life - Talking Heads
Here on this mountaintop...Woahoho...I got some wild, wild life - Talking Heads
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pasayten Class of 65...
Joined: 18 Aug 2011 Posts: 536 | TRs | Pics Location: Winthrop, WA |
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pasayten
Class of 65...
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:18 am
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Redwic Unlisted Free Agent
Joined: 23 Feb 2009 Posts: 3292 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to the Prom(inence) |
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Redwic
Unlisted Free Agent
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:21 pm
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Nice!
60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
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sooperfly Member
Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 1232 | TRs | Pics Location: North Central Wa. |
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Allison Feckless Swooner
Joined: 17 Dec 2001 Posts: 12287 | TRs | Pics Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes |
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:39 pm
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You also can't take fish out of the water to take pictures of them unless you plan to keep them. As it is, you probably killed that fish by mishandling it.
Idiots.
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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sooperfly Member
Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 1232 | TRs | Pics Location: North Central Wa. |
Allison wrote: | You also can't take fish out of the water to take pictures of them unless you plan to keep them |
Not true. Let's keep comments helpful without any name calling. What do the state regs actually say?
Page 13.
SALMON and TROUT HANDLING RULES
FRESHWATER: “It is unlawful to totally remove salmon, steelhead, or Dolly Varden/Bull Trout from the water if it is unlawful to
retain those fish, or if the angler subsequently releases the salmon, steelhead, Dolly Varden/Bull Trout.”
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contour5 Member
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 2962 | TRs | Pics
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contour5
Member
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:03 pm
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(whoops)
Great trip report in spite of all the, er, accidental felonies. Just shows how much there is to learn and know about our amazing ecosystem and all its fascinating and complex regulations.
And isn't it nice that we share this valuable information, and help each other to learn and grow as the de facto custodians of our shared natural wonderland. It's NICE nice. Big happy family; a supportive community is indeed a wonderful thing!
Nice pics, too!
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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
Member
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:22 pm
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Allison wrote: | You also can't take fish out of the water to take pictures of them unless you plan to keep them. As it is, you probably killed that fish by mishandling it.
Idiots. |
yeah! how dare you kill (assuming it died) a fish (without eating it) and then put it back into nature (where it will decompose and feed and promote a healthier ecosystem like nature intended)?!? you're such idiots! /sarcasm
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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
pasayten wrote: | BTW, what camera did you use for the video? Made a good steady shot... |
Thanks! For this trip I used a Nikon Coolpix AW100
I can assure you that the fish in the photo did not die. It was only out of the water for a few seconds and I watched it swim away. Furthermore, if I broke the law by picking up a trout in a creek, I couldn't possibly care less because there was no harm done. If I see an interesting bug, snake, or rock, I'm going to pick it up and look at it. I'm not going to stop and check regulations first.
And for people who enjoy controversy, here is some more material. If you have an interesting peak in your back yard and it's on private property, I'm going to be the guy that comes in the middle of the night to tag the summit. I have camped illegally but respectfully numerous times all over Washington, Colorado, and Alberta. Also, for the record, I have never once used any kind of parking pass when I'm supposed to (NWForest, Sno-park, Discover). Wow, I feel like I just did a confession.
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beaudaddy Coast To Cascades
Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Posts: 401 | TRs | Pics Location: Tulalip, WA |
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beaudaddy
Coast To Cascades
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Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:34 pm
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Yet Member
Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 2634 | TRs | Pics Location: Happily Ever After |
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Yet
Member
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Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:45 pm
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I love it, too! This slam is one of my favorite trips with Mark.
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