Suburban Hiking in Newcastle, WA 9-4-2011

Red Town Trail, Newcastle, WA September 4, 2011

Suburban Hiking with the Family

Sign at the trailhead

Martine, Doug, and I took a break from the US Open tennis tournament to enjoy an afternoon hike in the suburbs.  The trailhead is just above the Newcastle Golf Course where Lakemont Blvd transitions into Newcastle Golf Course Rd.  The trail follows Coal Creek both up and down the creek- we chose to begin by descending.  The lovely layer of fresh beauty bark  was a clear indication of our suburban location. 

Within a few hundred feet we came upon the first sign of the former mining activities in the area.  A partially filled mine opening slopes down and away from the trail dropping about 15 to 20 feet below the general grade.

Doug above a mine opening.

There are many amenities along the trail including benches, well-maintained bridges, and signage.  Most of the trail is flat and smooth. Coal Creek is sometimes in view and at other times the trail is several hundred feet away from the water.  This time of year there is barely a trickle of water flowing but during the rainy season, the force of the water has cut down and exposed some remarkable colored rocks.

Large chunk of coal in the creek bed.

Tree curving over a bridge.

  

There is a network of interwoven trails and gravel tracks that proved tricky on the way back.  Rather than hiking to a specific destination, we decided to hike an even two miles downhill, based on my new favorite phone app: “My Tracks.” 

Coal seam dipping into the creek.

Chunk of coal.

C

Petrified Wood

Pretty view looking downstream.

Looking upstream is not so bad either!

Trees angling over the creek.

We noticed the blackberries are starting to ripen so we sampled a few along the way.  Although there were few ripe ones, they were delicious and reminded us of berry gathering under the power lines when the boys were young.  I made killer cobbler back then from a shortcake recipe on the back of a Bisquick box.  Who knows, I may revive the tradition if the mood is right.

Water tricking down an orange face.

 After we doubled back, we took a left down a gravel road but it turned out to be a fortuitous mistake.  A short distance down the road we spotted a deer enjoying the tall grass.  He watched us as we watched him until finally he strolled across the road into the trees as we approached a little too close for his comfort.  Clearly, he was accustomed to people and wasn’t very worried. 

Deer grazing in the grass.

Deer strolling across the road.

The road dropped steeply toward the creek and we scrambled down the bank to the creek itself.  The creek bed was full of boulders and layered rocks pierced the far bank.  Some of the rocks were low grade coal, others were tan-colored cylinders of petrified wood.  I pulled a chunk of finely layered low grade coal out of the stream bank as a souvenir and also brought home a piece of tan sandstone about the size of a Frisbee. 

Martine and Doug.

Beetle- true colors.

We walked back toward the main trail, took a left and continued back to the car.  A beetle caught our attention along the way.  I snapped shots in two different modes, the one with the reddish beauty bark is probably closer to true colors but I sure do like the purple shades in the other shot!

Beetle- looking cool and blue.

It is so cool to be able to hike in a beautiful spot so close to home.  Next time we’ll head up the hill.

Rampart Lakes September 2, 2011

After finishing up a few early morning work activities, I took Friday off to head for the hills.   It was a lovely early September day at the beginning of the Labor Day weekend so I was expecting crowds.  I chose Rampart Lakes because of their high alpine beauty.  The trail begins at the end of Forest Service Rd, which begins at the north end of Lake Kachess, north of I-90.  As various guidebooks note, this is a difficult hike, and sometimes I wonder why I keep coming back. The first couple of miles are scenic and fairly easy, following Box Creek up Box Canyon.  Several times the trail winds close to the creek and the water flows gracefully over smooth outcrops.  

There were a number of blown down trees crossing the trail and several were a challenge to scramble across.  The real challenge begins about 2 miles out when the grade shifts from about 5 percent to 20 percent.  The footpath changes from forest duff to a combination of boulders and gnarly roots tenuously holding pines and firs to the steep slope.   The “switchbacks” are more like a gentle “S” running almost straight up the fall line. 

"Trail" to Rachel Lake

Cascade on trail to Rachel Lake.

After about ½ mile the trail crosses a creek at a pool dropping 80 feet or more down a near vertical rock face.  The sheer slope is a sign of more work to come. 

The trail continues up at a brutal slope for another ¾ of a mile or so until it finally levels at Rachel Lake, a small deep blue beauty.  If you know what’s good for you stop here; I didn’t.

Rachel Lake with ridge to Rampart Lakes behind.

HiBox Peak from Rampart Ridge.

Rachel Lake from above.

 The trail to Rampart Lakes skirts the right flank of Rachel Lake giving the weary hiker a hundred yards or so of respite before veering past a boulder field and up a rocky ridge.  Along the way up there are a couple of great overlooks to Rachel Lake and the Box Creek canyon below.  The wise hiker will use these as an opportunity to gather strength and perhaps to snap a shot or two before continuing on.  Within a ½ mile the ridge is gained and the trail tees: the right leg heads further up Rampart Ridge and the left heads toward the lakes.  I took a right turn and went a few hundred yards along the ridge, where a route to Hibox Peak comes into view. 

Stream draining Rampart Lakes.

 It would take a lot more energy than I had for that scramble.  Instead, I doubled back, scrambling over more downed trees and across a few remnant patches of snow, a pile or two were four to five feet tall.  Within minutes the first of a half dozen Rampart Lakes comes into view.  Most are quite small with a distinct north northeast alignment tracing the path of glacial movement from thousands of years ago.  The lakes are carved into a rocky basin whose rock is scoured smooth by the ancient ice.  It was interesting to note that each lake is at a slightly different elevation, even those that are offset laterally by only a few feet.

Multi-levels in Rampart Lakes

Largest of Rampart Lakes with snow patches on Rampart Ridge.

Your weary narrator.

Twinned trees.

 Only a couple of other hikers were visible and after soaking up a little mid-afternoon sun I reversed my path and made my way down.  Here is where I realized how much I dislike the middle section of the trail because of the multitude of large steps.  Boy was I glad to have trekking poles to break my fall and save my knees. 

I passed several groups of campers heading up the trail to enjoy the Labor Day weekend.  As I passed the last few, I wondered if they would find a campsite by the time they made it to the lakes. 

Reflection in the calm water of Box Creek.

I reached my car 20 minutes after I was supposed to meet family in Seattle for an early dinner. It was another 20 minutes before I had cell coverage and I ended my day hungry and "in the dog house."  I vowed not to return to Rampart Lakes unless I got younger or lose some weight to take a load off of my knees.  Stay tuned to see whether that promise holds.