Granite Lake Road 10.31.06

I have had a very chaotic work schedule lately, so when I found out that I had Tuesday off I was more than pleased. With sunny weather to boot I had to fiqure out a way to make the day a go. I had my daughter's first Halloween events to consider when making plans. I managed to get out of bed just after 5:30 and was out the door soon after. I was looking for a day with quite alot of mileage. I intended on summit bid of Revolution Peak. My time frame was very contricted so I knew I had to hustle. When I ran into bumper to bumper on HY 18 I was fairly certain the day's goal would be even harder to attain. I parked at the Mailbox parking area and walked to short ways to the Granite Lakes Jeep Rd. Trying to make up some lost time I ran the first half mile or so. I decided that running on an icy roadbed wasn't the prudent thing to do. I hit snow just after crossing Granite Creek. Just after the Granite Lake turnoff I hit a most unpleasant half mile. The small trees were laden with snow making them bend inward to the middle of the road forming a 3 foot high tunnel. Making my way through this was much less than pleasant. This area was shortlived and soon I was on more open ground. It was becoming apparent that time was no longer on my side. I decided to pull the plug after three hours. I lounged for 15 minutes eating a little lunch and enjoying the bright sunshine. I even managed a litte sunburn . The way out went quickly and I was soon on my way to the rest of the day's festivities. I was a little disappointed to find out the plans had been moved back two hours which would have given me more than enough time to complete the day's objective.






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Denny Creek, Melawka Lake, Low Mt. 10.23.06

With another sunny day I eagerly made my way to the Denny Creek Trailhead. I was a little disappointed to find that dog's are now to be leashed on this trail. I usually leash the beagle anyway but it is impossible to leash both the dogs. I decided to leash Tanner instead viewing him as much more of a threat to the hikers I was sure to see on this popular trail. The goal for the day was a summit bid for Low Mt. which is just NE of Granite Mt.. There are a variety of ways to reach this summit. I chose to stay on the trail until Hemlock Pass and follow the ridge to the true summit which is the farthest NE of the high points of this ridge. The ridgeline leading from Hemlock pass is fairly easy to navigate for the first 150 feet of elevation gain. I found the going slower when the ridge degrades to a tangle of pygmy trees. I sometimes worried that I would become wedged between some of the tightly packed branches. After needing to use some higher order gymnastic moves to make it through a 50 ft section where my feet never touched the ground I dropped off the ridge to the SE. Never has the word gymnast been used to describe myself, so I can only imagine how funny it must have looked. After dropping some elevation I made it some easier ground. I started to feel a strong feeling that I should turn back. I usually trust my insticts so I returned to the main trail and made to way to Melakwa Lake intead. I enjoyed the waning sun and scouted some routes for some future climbs. Although the day's objective went unmet I sure enjoyed the day. I have a feeling it will be some time before the weather is this nice again. In the future I will try for Low Mt. via a more direct route. It appears to me one could leave the trail at Snowshoe falls and head West to reach the ridgeline and follow it North to the true summit.

Talapus Lake 10.22.06

Since today was family day I had the privilege of trading in my regular pack with the brand new baby backpack. I was very pleased that we had another beautiful fall day to break in the new gear. I expected some bigger crowds so I left the wild dingos at home. The baby took well to her new digs and we were off for the easy jaunt to Talapus Lake. With the wife keeping good pace we made the lake in no time. Although it was a nice sunny day it hadn't warmed the lake enough for some good lounging time. We stayed a short while until dinner plans didn't afford any more time. We passed the multitudes on the way out getting some great smiles for my precious cargo. I can only hope to have half as special day tomorrow when I retrade for my regular pack and am joined again by my ever annoying pets.

Ridge Lake 10.16.06

I have been most envious of recent trail reports extolling the fine fall colors. With work taking up some of my valuable hiking time I couldn't help but feel like I haven't taken advantage of the wonderful fall weather. I finally had a day to devote to some climbing. Of course the recent beautiful weather has degraded to more seasonal weather. I was looking for a somewhat long trail day with easy access. I decided to pack my fly rod and make my way to Ridge Lake. I used the Commenwealth trail to try and shave off some miles. I fully expected a drenching so I packed nearly all the foul weather gear I own. As it turned out the weather wasn't all that bad. I sure enjoyed walking on the untracked dusting of snow that was present from the Katwalk on to Ridge Lake. For those of you who do not enjoy heights today was a good day to traverse the Katwalk. The cloudcover completely obscured any views below the trail. I steamed into Ridge Lake in just less than 3 hours. I had hoped to do some fishing but the biting wind made it seem like a poor idea. I snapped a couple of pictures and I was off. I saw signs of another person who had stopped at the Katwalk. I managed to catch up to single a couple of miles past the Katwalk. Evidently this person doesn't like to be passed as he sped up enough to prevent my passing him. The rest of the slog went quickly and I thankfully reached my car 5:20 after starting.