Ducks, llamas, slugs, and ferns

Martine went hiking with me today for the first time in a couple of years.  We choose Rattlesnake Ridge because it is close and easy.   The weather was great leaving Seattle but got progressively worse as we approached North Bend. I pointed the ledge out to Martine, it was hidden behind a curtain of clouds.  As we pulled into the parking lot, a few drops fell on the windshield but nothing to get excited about.  The trail approaching Rattlesnake Lake passes over the outlet stream where a couple of ducks paddled in a pool.

 My guess is that there will be some ducklings in another month or two.  Onward to the trail.  As usual, we were not alone, but the second group we encountered was a first.  A couple of hikers were escorting three llamas up the trail.

They created quite a commotion and more than a little stink.  I noticed the lead llama seemed more skittish than the others, which was confirmed by its handler.  It was also pretty damn ugly, and seemed to have a single upturned tooth.  A moment later it opened up its mouth and there were a couple of other scraggly teeth in there too. 

We let the llamas pass by and left them a wide berth to let the scent dissipate.  I stopped a while later to take some closeups of ferns and flowers that are beginning to pop out as the weather warms.

We decided to turn around early but not before I scoped out a slug, sliming its way up a rotten log. 

Here is a picture of Martine at our turn-around point, proving to all that she made it to the trail.

On the way down a squall passed over dropping rain and hail.  Within 10 minutes the sun poked out and the rest of the hike was a breeze.

Just because it's April don't mean it's spring.

The weather summary for March was in the Seattle Times this morning.  There were only three days when there wasn't even a trace or rain and they were cloudy too.  The rain in the last week of March was particularly intense, especially in the mountains where copious downpours caused many rivers to leave their banks. As an example, the hydrograph for the Snoqualmie River at Carnation crested several feet above flood stage. Thankfully, it's on the way back down as of noon on 4/2/11.

Unfortunately, the snow level rose and soaked the ski areas so I needed an alternative to get some exercise. I drove off early in the morning, intending to go to Poo Poo Point but my pedal  hit the metal and before I knew it, Rattlesnake Ledge loomed into view. It was 37 degrees and drizzling at the parking lot, where a car full of young men headed up as I arrived. A UW Law School sticker made me wonder if any of them knew my father, who is coaching a team of students in a moot arbitration competition in Hong Kong.

I felt lethargic as I worked my way toward the ledge but it was good to be moving and it was interesting to not the transitions as the trail ascended.  After gaining a few hundred feet a thin layer of slush coated the undergrowth in areas with few trees.

Further up, small torrents crossed the trail where runoff was concentrated in small gulleys.  Rain gave way to small snow pellets and eventually transitioned to flakes near the top. 

The students were just leaving as I arrived after staining the fresh snow with an odd yellow tint (isn't there a law against that?)  The next several few were peaceful as the clouds swirled about, obscuring all but the nearest trees.

The wind began to pick up, whistling through the snow-covered branches and the silence was soon broken by the next group of hikers.

It may have been a little early in the day (8:30 AM leaving the car) and early in the season, but it was good to be in the hills again. 

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.

Is it ski season yet?

I was tempted to go skiing today but I woke up too late and I'm not convinced there is enough snow yet, unless I rent some sacrificial skis.  So, in preparation for an evening of too much turkey and the associated goodies, it was time for Poo Poo Point, in Issaquah. Snow from earlier in the week lingered in the parking lot and on the trail.  The footing was more than a little treacherous, especially on the rocky steps in the lower section.  A passing hiker stopped to alert me to the high south winds in the meadow just short of the summit.  Although I didn't probe him at the time he left we wondering what I should be so worried about.  Was it the wind chill?  Perhaps there was danger that trees would start toppling over. In any case I decided to take my chances, knowing full well I could turn back at any time.


I reached the summit after an hour or so and enjoyed watching clouds blowing by at a fast clip.  Sqauk Mountain was covered in snow and capped in clouds.

I scrambled up about 50 feet higher to inspect the wind socks and other equipment.

The sign forbidding launches with horses present seemed a bit ironic as there was neither a glider nor a horse within miles.  It wasn't as windy as I expected because the trees were blocking the south wind.  I noticed a couple of unusual pieces of equipment. 

The EarthScope project is funded by the National Science Foundation to study plate tectonics, earthquakes, and other geological issues.  It's not exactly clear what equipment is installed on West Tiger Mountain, but it seems to be a highly precise GPS device that measures the location of the sensor over the years and decades.  Geophysicists can look at the movement of these units relatives to one another and make inferences about the movement of plates.

The cross-section below shows the Pacific Plate subducting under the North American Plate, which has given rise (pun intended) to the volcanic peaks in the Cascade Range, including Mount Rainier.  This type of plate boundary is responsible for major earthquakes around the world and if magnitude 8 or 9 tremor hit the Puget Sound region there would be massive damage and loss of life.  But enough happy thoughts for now.

 

Source:  http://www.earthscope.org/science/convergent_margins

Lake Olallie in the Snow

The weather yesterday was immeasurably better than a week ago and in fact it was better than forecasted.  Although there were a few clouds, the sun was poking out and it was around 40 degrees at the trailhead.  An industrious couple was bucking a blown down tree, loading rounds into the back of their truck.  I compared notes with a young hiker named Albert who was planning to scale Granite Mountain for the first time.  I suggested he watch for signs of avalanches danger as he crossed the steep shoots half way up.  We walked together to the trail junction where he turned sharply up and to the right while I continued on west toward Lake Olallie and Pratt Lake.  I passed a few hikers on the way up but it was, for the most part, quiet and peaceful.  The trail was muddy, especially at the beginning, but as the trail gained elevation, the mud gave way to snow- first a dusting and 6 inches and then a foot.

Snow dusting on the trail with the sun peaking through.

The trail crosses several small streams that were especially pretty in the snow.

Snow covered log draped across a stream.

 There was a couple on snowshoes at the Lake Olallie junction.  They hadn't been to the lake and seemed skeptical that it was passable without snowshoes.  Undaunted, I continued through the forest crossing the outlet stream and turning right at the tee (the trail to the left drops down to Talapus).  At first the trail was a soft and the walking tough but soon I passed two groups of snowshoers heading down and the path was easy cruising to the Lake.  I expected the lake to be clear of ice but I was pleasantly surprised to see that about one half of the surface was covered with ice.

Lake Olallie

Curvy snow patterns on the lake.

Snow covered board walk with well over a foot of snow.

 I continued to the north end of the lake and followed a single set of boot tracks up the slope, off trail.  The tracks were small suggesting a female hiker and as approached the Pratt Lake trail, a woman retracing her tracks confirmed my suspicion.  I intersected the trail at about 4,100 feet where there was up to 18 inches of snow in the clearings.  

I hightailed it to the car to make it back for appetizers and "The Nowhere Boy", a story about John Lennon's teenage years.  I recommend it for those who like independent films.  

Kendall's Katwalk- The snowy approach

Thirty three degrees Fahrenheit and a light rain, is it any wonder the parking lot was deserted?  A family showed up and played in the slush for a bit while I gathered my gear: leaky boots? check.  corroded rain shell? check. inoperative satellite tracker? check.  The last one deserves a little explanation. After months (years?) of hassling me for hiking alone, my wife got me a SPOT for my birthday. I opened the box and discovered a small orange device that sends a signal to satellites that can be used to provide one's location in case of an emergency. I don't know what the SPOT cost but it is $100/year to activate the minimal service and it goes up from there.  I programmed the device online (after firing up my credit card) and checked in on my patio. It worked as advertised and sent an email with my latitude and longitude. The following week I tried it at the trail and it was dead. I figured I had left the power on and drained the batteries, so yesterday I purchased two extra packs of lithium AAA batteries. It's still dead!  I hope their customer service is good because they owe me a new one.

Back to the trail.  Once I was in the woods, the canopy blocked most of the rain and the trail was in decent shape.  The snow was only a couple of inches deep until I popped into the first clearing where it was probably 6 inches deep.  Guye Peak poked through the foggy gloom to the southwest.

There were two sets of boot tracks going up as far as the Commonwealth Basin cutoff, and then there were none.  It was quiet in the snow and fog and just a little spooky as I got a mile or so past the last sign of anyone else.  Soon enough, a younger fitter hiker came up behind me. We chatted for a bit and he told me he was scouting locations for AT skiing in the winter.  I cranked up my speed a bit but I was no match and soon he was out of sight.

I made it another mile or so before deciding to turn back. I figured I was at about 4,800 feet and the snow in clearings was about a foot deep.  My legs were beat and my energy level was low because I've been fighting a cold.  In any case, it wasn't long before my erstwhile companion passed me on the way down.  Again I tried to stay with him, which was a little easier going down. Still he pulled away.  A few minutes went by and I noticed he was stopped in his tracks looking at something on the trail.  Do you know what kind of tracks these are he asked?  I was pretty sure they were dog tracks but he stuck with me until we came across two other hikers, and their dog.  We passed them together and hit a slight upgrade, which hit me like a log.  I suggested he go ahead, and I slogged back to the car wet and weary, ready for the ski season to hit.

Rock with interesting patterns.

On the Trail Again

Two weeks ago yesterday I rolled my ankle playing basketball, which kept me off the court for two weeks and off the trail for three long weeks.  The swelling went down slowly but decided to give it a shot on an easy one- Rattlesnake Ledge.  I also wanted to experiment with the GPS capabilities of my new DROID 2 phone. I discovered that it doesn't like to be in the woods as much as I do. The location of all of the photos was identical, and wrong by several miles.  Oops!  Although the weather has been rainy of late, it was pretty decent for an early November morning. The temperature was in the low 50s and it stayed dry, if foggy, during the outing. I saw a couple of dozen hearty souls on the trail, which is about 10 percent of the typical traffic on this route.

The understory on the lower section of the trail is covered with moss, as seen on this photo of gracefully curving vine maples.  After a couple of small switchbacks the trail climbs on a gentle grade heading to the southwest.  Finally, with the sound of a small creek ahead, the trail cuts back 180 degrees, avoiding the boundary of the Cedar River Watershed, which is protected for the City of Seattle's water supply.

The trail steepens at this point letting one's legs know that the summit won't be had without a little work.  Two switchbacks later there is a sign pointing right to Rattlesnake Ledge and left to Rattlesnake Ridge, a 12 mile point-to-point hike that I plan to try someday. The view from the summit was obscured by fog, which didn't do much for me, but the trees seemed to enjoy are the moisture.