Bears and Berries

Fall in the Pacific Northwest means many things: the days become shorter, the rain sets in, berries ripen, and bears are fattening up for the winter.  It's also time to strengthen up for ski season.  For me, that meant a trip to Granite Mountain.  As I switched shoes at the parking lot the rain began to fill the trunk of my car. Entering the forest it wasn't obvious whether the fog was thick or the clouds were low and think, in either case the visibility wasn't much more than 100 feet.  At least the canopy dampened the rain and it began to soften as the morning wore on.  The trail follows an old logging road for 0.7 miles and continues on to Pratt Lake.  The trail to Granite Mountain cuts off to the right where it gets narrow and steeper, rising through a second growth forest.  Soon, the trail hits an avalanche shoot falling from the exposed southern face of Granite.  The trail winds up and across the gully and enters another patch of trees before rising and crossing two more avalanche paths.  Finally, the trees clear at about 4,200 feet and the slope is covered with huckleberry bushes and other low-lying vegetation.  As I was getting tired, the huckleberries drew more and more of my attention: for their anti-oxidant properties I kept telling myself, my cardiologist would be proud!

Huckleberries on the bush

I gathered then individually and by the handful depending on how much of a rest I needed.

A handful of delicious huckleberries.

 Trudging up a bit further I came across a pile of fresh scat, full of the same berries I had been enjoying. It wasn't steaming but it got my attention and I kept on the lookout for my berry-picking competition.  The trail climbs steeply in a series of braided paths reflecting the number of people who frequent this area and the erosive force of the runoff that drains the hillside. Further up, the trail enters a gully and the hard work of trail crews is in evidence in the shape of rocky paths placed to cover deep ruts in the easily eroded soil.  At the end of the gully, the trail flattens for a bit before the final climb of about 500 steep, steep feet.  Here, the last vestige of snow was lingering in what was presumably a shady spot on the north side of the mountain.  Of course proving this theory requires a bit of sun for proof.

The end of hike is a fire lookout accessible by a steep staircase. A friendly volunteer ranger welcomed me to come in a warm up.  He was up for a long weekend and a couple of his coworkers had joined him for the day.  All three work for King County Parks on trail rehabilitation and habitat restoration projects.  Soon we were joined by three woman who had spent the summer on Bainbridge Island at the Islandwood facility in an environmental education program through the University of Washington.  It was a small-world moment to have seven people working on related subjects meet at the top of a rain-soaked mountain.

Granite Mountain lookout on a sunny day, photo by laffertyryan (Flickr)

Can I have a Christmas Tree?

View toward Granite Mountain

I cannot believe I set out for a hike in early December.  I intended to try the Ida Springs trail, which leads to Mason Lake, knowing that I wasn't going to make it all the way because of snow.  I didn't expect to get turned back at the beginning of road but it was unplowed and folks were heading strapping on their snowshoes a good three miles short of the trailhead.  Since I had neither snowshoes nor interest in walking on a road, I got back on I-90, with the intention of going to Annette Lake.  As I approached a tee in the road, planning to turn left I came upon a cluster of cars and trucks in various states of disarray. One car was stopped in the middle of the road to install chains and it seemed fruitless to wait.  I turned right instead, but why? It was uncharted territory and didn't go anywhere that I wanted to go.  Argh! There were cars and trucks stuck all over the place and while I wasn't concerned about getting stuck by losing traction, I was worried about getting high-centered or stuck without an easy way out.  After a mile or two on a narrow, slippery, heavily rutted road I came to a tee in the road where I turned around to look for a better alternative. 

I found it on the north side of I-90 at the Granite Mountain trailhead.  This is a tough slog any time of year.

Near the end of the trail

Looking south, across the valley

Self portraits are tricky!

The first mile of the trail heads toward  Pratt Lake up to a sign pointing right, and up to Granite Mountain. The next mile of the trail was quite a bit steeper but still in the forest.  Finally, the trail reaches a steep clearing, commonly known as an avalanche chute.  I had checked the snow conditions on the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC) web site before I left home and the conditions were moderate at all elevations and aspects.  The snow was crusted over and settled confirming the online report.  Half way across the first chute a boot trail headed straight up the fall line, which has to be nearly 40 degrees.  I wasn't up for that level of exertion so I continued on the normal trail, noticing that fewer hikers had traveled before me and the trail was narrower with more "postholes" left by hikers who stepped off the beaten path.

The trail switches up through the trees before entering another avalanche chute.  Again a set of tracks veered straight up the slope and the "primary trail turned to two sets of tracks, one up and one down.  After another 100 feet or so, the person who had been breaking trail turned back, as did I.

All in all it was a great day to be in the mountains. It was sunny, cool,and plenty windy, but it beat lying on the couch.