Sunday Lake 2.8.05

I had disjointed day planned because of an oncall shift that I was scheduled tonight. I was 95% sure I wouldn't be needed but you just never know. I haven't been up the North Fork Snoqualmie for some time so I thought since it was close I would give it a go. The road is in much finer shape than it's big brother the Middle Fork Rd. I found a decent place to park on the gated road that is the Sunday Lake trail. There was a couple inches of snow on the ground and everything was quite frozen as I made my way. I had remembered that there is a low lying area that is very swampy and very tedious to cross. I started on the left side of the road and then crossed to the left side about half way through. There are some logs to cross the fairly deep water. Confounding this crossing was the iced over logs, this is not the kind of water that you would want to fall into. I managed to make it to the other side to dry terra firma, thankfully I might add. I was looking for a logging road that branches off and climbs to the NE. When I arrived at the junction I disregarded it due to it's overgrown nature. I followed the road until the crossing of Sunday Creek. Although the flow was somewhat high it looked crossable. I have already been to Sunday Lake and if memory serves me well it was not worth a return visit. I backtracked until the junction I had previously disregarded, I could see the road above me so I mearly climbed straight uphill to join the road. The road itself is fairly brushy but I managed to circumnavigate most of the bad areas without too much problem. I do wish I had wore some type of eyewear to protect my eyes from the countless branches. I continued on the road with only minimal problems. As I climbed the snow became 8 to 10 inches deep but snowshoes were not needed. I reached the end of the road at around 3600ft. I did not see an obvious route to climb further, so I just ascended the path of least resistance. As I reached 3800ft the going became quite slow. The trees were now plastered with snow making for chilly going. I had gone well past my turn around time already, so I would never make it to work if I was needed. I decided to turn around, going through the swampy area in the dark was not appealing in the least. The decent went quickly, although I wished I had a face mask on to protect from the stinging branches. I thankfully crossed the boggy area and was back at the truck. Lucky for me I wasn't needed at work and was only late enough to give the wife a slight scare. The weather was ideal not a cloud in the sky all day! Another spring day in the middle of Winter!

Commenwealth Basin 2.1.05

I had much loftier goals for today, but I found it hard to drag myelf out of bed. When I finally managed to get up I had a few things to do before I could leave. A change of plans was in order. I scrambled to think of something closer. I haven't been up Commenwealth basin in years, so I thought it would be perfect. I was suprised to find the road to the PCT parking lot to be fully snowed. I luckily had the Fore-Runner so I tried to go up the road and had some success until the road became a bit steeper. I decided it to be more prudent to park then risk becoming stuck. I backed down to the main road only to find nowhere to park legally. I decided that I would mearly back up onto the snowy road and risk being ticketed. I have quite the penchant for parking tickets, but never seem to have to pay any of them. I was off I followed the road to the northern parking lot that is for horses. When I passed the lower parking lot I saw one truck that was stuck and seems to have been that way for quite some time and one other car. I left the parking lot on the NE corner and followed a fairly well worn snowhoe track. The path was easily to follow and was only moderately cursed with fall throughs. The creek crossing was quite easy the water was below boot level my feet thankfully stayed dry. I continued on until around 4200ft where my late 2:00 starting time came into play. I was not enamored with the idea of walking out with a headlamp on so I decided to turn around. The weather was sunny and beautiful, with some nice views of Red Mtn. in the fading sunlight. For the most part the descent went quickly, I continued on the trail until it intersects with the PCT instead of using the spur that goes to the upper parking lot. I would recommend using the upper parking lot trail which is much easier with the present conditions. When I reached the lower parking lot there were two men trying to extricate their car. I offered to help but they were quite sure it was stuck. Their plan was to have it towed. I was quite thankful I had not made the same mistake of driving all the way in. As a bonus I was not ticketed in the time I had been gone.






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Dirty Harry's Road 1.25.05

Another late spring like day in the mountains. With most trip reports reporting very little snow I thought I would have an easy time with Dirty Harry's Road. I climbed to around 3200ft were the road splits right near the big rockslide. I followed the road that leaves towards the right until it again splits. I opted for the road that climbs instead of the road that goes through a boggy area. There was a distinct climber's trail that leaves this logging road in another 1/8th of a mile. This trail is obvious and flagged all the way to the summit of Pt.4353. Although Pt 4353 doesn't have more than a modest 100ft of relief, it is a good regional viewpoint. There wasn't a breath of wind the entire way until reaching the summit I was treated with some very gusty winds. I believe the trail continues on towards Pt 5335 (Putrid Pete's Peak). I was quite amazed at the lack of snow, I only crossed one area of snow. I am quite sure that that to will be gone shortly if this warm wet weather continues. On the way out I ran into a man that I had met on a previous trip in this area. He seems to have taken upon himself to be the steward for this area. I made it out with plenty of time before the 4pm gate closing.

Granite Mt 1.18.05

With the previous days monsoon like rains and today's predicted wet weather I chose to use something under the canopy of the forest. My intent was to go to the Ollalie Lake overlook. The drive to the trailhead was suprisingly dry, but of course, it started to rain very hard upon my arrival. I quickly headed for the cover of the trees where the passing shower quickly stopped. There was considerable fast moving water over the trail for the first half mile. I continued on to around 2900ft where there was a torrent crossing the trail. I picked up the beagle and crossed without incident. As I rounded the next bend I was treated with another similar creek crossing. This time however there was a bit too much water for a safe crossing. I would also have to contend with the potential of a much worse crossing on my return if the rains were to return. I decided the prudent move was to turn back. I decided rather than return straight back to the car I would take the Granite Mt. trail. The trail was bit slick with the wet ice over most of the trail. I continued on to about 3500ft. The return trip was a bit tedious but I managed to remain upright for most of the slippery descent. On the drive home I marveled at how much water was in the South Fork, I could only imagine what the Middle Fork might look like. My curiosity got the better of me so I drove up the Middle Fork Rd for about 4 miles. Words could not do justice to the sheer amount of water in the swollen river. The water was very much over it's banks and made the drive a bit uncomfortable along the river. It seemed not too unlikely that the road could easily be undermined in more than a few spots. It never ceases to amaze me the ablilty of nature to move astronomical amounts of water.