Author Topic: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph  (Read 7905 times)

Brad Young

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The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« on: August 05, 2020, 06:13:49 AM »
I've heard that the northern Cascades are steep.

They're not that tall, nothing like the Sierra Nevada. The few really big peaks in the range gain dramatic impact by standing so far above the surrounding mountains. But what's there is steep, and, in a way, dense. Lots of compact mountains. Steep mountains with steep valleys.

Tracing their profile makes a pattern. Up, down, up, down, up down. Almost like the pattern a serious earthquake makes on a seismograph. Here's the elevation gain/loss profile for the PCT section we just hiked:




Up, down, up, down, up down. Over 19,000 cumulative feet of elevation gain in 70.9 miles. Spread over six days, that's an average of more than 3,000 feet of uphill every day (similar math applies to the downhill). And it takes a lot of switchbacks to gain and lose all that elevation. Here's a shot of a typical Halfmile map from this section, showing uh, just a few switchbacks:




"Ins" and "outs" too. Lots of wandering all over the map to avoid the most rugged, impenetrable ridges and peaks. Here's a photo of the same map showing almost two miles of travel to the southeast; travel made necessary by the Four Brothers and Chikamin Peak (southeast is not toward Canada, Canada is to the north):




This section, Washington Section "J," includes 70.9 miles of hiking from Snoqualmie Pass on Highway 90 to Stevens Pass on Highway 2. But those miles, trail miles, include so many switchbacks and so many ins and outs, that they move one a grand total of 28 air miles to the north. Here, I'll type out the number so it's clear that it's not a typo: the direct line distance from pass to pass is twenty eight miles. Yep, we made it 28 miles closer to Canada by hiking almost three times that far.

But who's complaining? These are just observations. It was a wonderful trip. One blessed by Californian-like weather, good health, incredible mountain scenery, a close up view of a bear, newly met friends, a sense of accomplishment, and a good serving of fun. But sometimes it seemed like we were walking on a seismograph.


Getting There:

We used to think it was a long drive to the PCT in San Diego County, California. Little did we know. Now it's a 14 hour drive to Seattle and more driving beyond.

This time we broke it into two days (staying in Medford - but next time maybe we'll go to Eugene, the University of Oregon town that we're already becoming fond of).

We also used to think that we were "almost there" when we got near a big, snowy 14,000 foot, northern California peak. But now, Mount Shasta isn't even halfway. These days it's Rainier we look for, telling us we're almost there:







Although we stayed in a motel in Medford, we didn't need one in the Snoqualmie area. Instead this master mudder put us up at his quiet, roomy house. Note the tent on the front lawn in the second shot - right in front of Dennis. Tricia's allergic to cats and so she slept on the front lawn (in very comfortable temperatures):







Unfortunately this host-mudder couldn't join us on our first hike (some lame work excuse about a "migration"). We enjoyed our visit though; I'd expected so much closer to suburbia than this away-from-the-bustle, comfortable location. We made the easy drive to Snoqualmie Pass in the morning.

Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2020, 07:14:53 AM »
Day One:

Day one introduced the elevation gain "theme" from the first minute. Full packs, a starting temperature of 85 degrees ("California-like" weather isn't always an advantage), and an immediate 2,400 feet of uphill:







We had a choice to make about this first day - seven miles to camp by a lake, or 15 miles to camp by a bigger lake (there's no real place to camp with water in between). Luckily Tricia had a University of Oregon orientation (virtually) at 10:00 on our start day (thank you Dennis for the quiet room and high speed internet). Even though it was only a 40 minute drive to our starting trailhead, our late arrival made the seven mile destination the only real choice (good - I'm not sure that going for the 15 mile lake wouldn't have killed me).

The early hiking was in forest. With lots of switchbacks:







But after a fair amount of uphill we started to gain more open ground:







And the views started. First Mount Rainier (here's where the California-like weather started to be extra nice):













Then way down to our start point, Snoqualmie Pass, Interstate 90 and the ski resort:







At five miles we were done with 99% of the elevation gain. We came to a snow passage that had turned back hikers the week before (it went down at the angle shown for more than 50 feet - a potential leg-breaker with a slip). Luckily it was nicely melted out by the time we got there:







We were approaching also the Kendall Katwalk, a unique section of trail that had been carved over a granite ridge-top to allow passage from one side of a long steep ridge to another. But the heat and work were getting to us by now:
















The Katwalk (kind of a "sidewalk in the sky"):













The day finished at flat ground between Ridge and Gravel Lakes (we'd hoped to camp on Ridge Lake 200 feet away, but the few flat sites there were already taken - including one site with a tent already emplaced from which we heard, yes, seven miles into the back country, a screaming baby):










mt.reynier

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2020, 12:06:01 PM »
Who is this man with a clean, new-looking, unpatched pack?? Imposter!

Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2020, 12:57:25 PM »

Who is this man with a clean, new-looking, unpatched pack?? Imposter!


Now, now, now. Like me, that pack is more battered than it looks. And it has a new tear that will require its first patch.

I'm learning today that no vacation goes unpunished. I'll post more about this journey though when I get home.




F4?

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2020, 03:04:28 PM »
Nice trip report.

IS that a new pack there Brad....?
New for me to see on you...


I hope Mr Mud fixes his roof before winter.

And is spy a camper in his driveway???
He must be getting soft.
That explains why his hard camper shell was off on the last trip.


I'm not worthy.

Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2020, 04:10:58 PM »
Day Two:

After a surprisingly not-cold night we woke up to wonderful, clear blue skies. Coffee and breakfast tasted pretty good:




Our early morning trail led east, still near a ridge-top. Two fellow hikers, who'd camped near us, waited for us before the day's only serious snow crossing. Tricia and I helped them across safely:







Some of the lakes on this section look so close to the trail... on a map. But the map also shows all these little tiny lines between the two. Getting down to the lakes' shores would be a huge, huge amount of work. Here's Alaska Lake, below our first miles of trail:




THE mountain made an early appearance:










Over the ridge at a notch and then another "way down there" lake (with the imaginative name of Joe Lake):







The views just got better:







Up in the open air we traversed across ridges toward gaps. At one gap we got our first view of the next "big one," Glacier Peak. Glacier Peak is unique in the Cascades in that it is not visible from any major road:







We spotted an odd looking lake from way on high. And then it hit me - this was Keechelus Reservoir, the large lake that flanks Interstate 90 slightly east of Snoqualmie Pass. Here it was, day two of our trek, and we could very nearly still see our point of departure:




Flowers, views and snow:










Looking back at the Kendall Katwalk from yesterday (it's up and right from center, just above the rightmost area of clear granite slab):




Over ridges to new and spectacular views (that's Mount Stuart in the first shot - one of the "Fifty Classic Climbs" is on it's north ridge):







And then the inevitable downhill, this time on switchbacks that were so tight (over 2,000 feet of loss) that the Halfmile map couldn't even show the individual turns. We passed Delate Creek's spectacular cascade:







Across Lemah Creek (where the bridge washed out in 2014 (notice the bare bridge abutment above Tricia in the photo):




To a nice, if loud, camp on the opposite shore (that's a lot of rushing water):






clink

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2020, 04:21:03 PM »

 Steep and fantastic country! Nice pic of the abominable mudman.
Causing trouble when not climbing.

Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2020, 05:03:13 PM »
Day Three:

Day three started out with a mile of easy and cool walking through Lemah Meadow. And then, ho-hum... a 2,200 foot climb to Escondido Ridge:









At least the first three quarters of these switchbacks were in the shade:










Big views up on this ridge included our last of Mount Rainier (for this trip at least):










The beautiful headwaters of the Cooper River cooled Hallie. We tried lunch there, but as it worked out we were lunch and didn't eat it there (chased away by mosquitos):




On the other side of the ridge we got our first glimpse of Waptus Lake (and what's with these oddly named "W" lakes all over the northwest? As we viewed Waptus Lake we also recalled Whatum and Walupt Lakes from last summer):




The inevitable downward switchbacks followed (the first shot shows the whole set of switchbacks up and down):







The Waptus River:







And then a nice (if small) and mostly bug-free campsite just off of Spade Creek:












Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2020, 05:04:53 PM »

Who is this man with a clean, new-looking, unpatched pack?? Imposter!


And by the way, what were you doing two years ago this evening? And how's Brian's stomach these days?

 ;)

Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2020, 07:18:38 PM »
Day Four:

By day four many of Tricia's bug bites were "fully developed." Although they look like huge welts to me, and she clearly noticed them, she also just kinda blew past the peskiness of it all - she was gonna wear shorts and that was that:




I took a successful selfie (to my daughter's apparent amusement):




This photo is captioned "a relatively flat start for the day (it didn't last):"




About three miles into this hike I thought I saw a bear up-trail. And then I realized that it was only the top of someone's backpack. But as I was explaining my "error" to Tricia we were both treated to a big and very black bear, right there on the trail, 100 feet ahead of us (no photos - as soon as she heard us, she was off like a shot into the forest).

Hot, uphill hiking continued:




Higher up we crossed streams and, eventually, came to the outlet steam for Deep Lake:



















We took a long, shaded and cool lunch here, even going so far as to take off our shoes and soak our feet (or, to make a pun based on the photos, we soaked our "dogs"):







This one pretty clearly enjoyed it the most:







We also used that dog as a dishwasher:




More hot switchbacks led up to a ridge top just east of Cathedral Rock:




There we saw this sign, warning of an upcoming, "potentially dangerous" creek crossing (not for today's hike though):




The trail led down now, past Cathedral's east side:










A flat but wet area was home for the night. However, the bugs here were just horrible. So, even though it was warm, we fled to the tent. Later, I got out to fix dinner and do camp chores (Tricia's reaction to bites is so much more severe than mine - I basically don't react to them - that keeping her in the tent was the only sensible thing to do):











Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2020, 07:08:54 AM »
Day Five:

We headed north in the morning under still-clear skies:




The maps and signs warned us of a "large creek with a potentially difficult ford" 1.3 miles ahead. When we got there it sure made a lot of noise. And there was a lot of steep water (for scale, look at Tricia approaching the creek in the third photo down - she's just up and left of center):










It remained to be seen how hard the crossing would be. I went first. Unbuckle the waist and sternum straps first (standard protocol for river crossings - if something does go wrong one needs to get out of the pack right now!). And then test out the logs used for crossing. I got across the first (and only serious) part of the crossing with dry feet:










Hallie went next (across wet and slippery logs - I grabbed her by the scruff halfway across). Then it was Tricia's turn:













More crossings followed (no shortage of fresh water on this trip):










And that was that. No issues; the "potential" remained potential.

The next creek involved rock-hopping only. It also made the right place for a break:







Back into the forest and up to Deception Pass:







Tricia most certainly doesn't like spiders. Not at home and not on hikes. She didn't like this one (I thought it was beautiful):




By now we were well north of Cathedral Rock:




Deception Lakes:




Continued mosquito bite welts:




As we gained elevation, we were able to see into the Glacier Peak area, all of which is north of Highway 2 and Stevens Pass:




Although I can post photos of the fields and fields of flowers, somehow the photos never seem to do them justice. Here they are anyway:







Having moved up, well, guess what? Another lovely 1,000 feet of down. Here are Glacier and Surprise Lakes from above:







Another up followed (so shocking). This one, to Trap Pass included switchbacks that were so steep that we gained 700 feet of elevation in one half mile:







Trap Lake:




We settled in for the evening at a little meadowy area with a nice stream:







Here, Brandon, Lisa and three month old Annabelle (who we'd been passing and being passed by) joined us for dinner. Think it's bold to start the PCT with a 5 year old? And march north from Mexico with her over the years? These two were doing all 70 plus miles of Section J with Annabelle... and seemed just fine for the "extra load:"






JC w KC redux

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2020, 08:01:19 AM »

That water crossing was nutso.
What were the consequences if you lost it?
How did the couple with the baby get across?

Spider web picture is the goods.

Pic of Mr Mud at his house - yep - looks cool.

I have to ask - Does bug spray not work for T?
I'm guessing with all that hiking it gets sweated off and she can't reapply often enough or carry enough to last - or just doesn't want all that chemical exposure/absorption.

Views and geology look amazing.

Topo profile at the opening looks like something I used to torture my students with  :devildevil: :ihih: 
One wheel shy of normal

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2020, 08:34:08 AM »
Here's an example of some of my college topo profile exercises for my lab students.

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Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2020, 09:11:15 AM »

That water crossing was nutso.
What were the consequences if you lost it?
How did the couple with the baby get across?


The crossing wasn't very wide, but it was absolutely pounding water.

Halifax would likely have been swept away in the current and drowned if she'd fallen off the logs. But she wasn't about to fall off - she's nimble as hell, and her center of gravity is very low compared to the width of the logs.  If either Tricia or I had fallen we would, at minimum, have been soaked and all of our gear soaked too. It's unlikely that we would have been swept more that six or eight feet downstream though and we probably would have been able to get our packs back up out of the creek and then dry things out. Obviously, if we'd neglected to unbuckle our packs they alone could have resulted in us being pinned under water (it's so critical to unbuckle everything in these crossings).

The couple with the baby were strongly cautioned about the crossing by south-bounders and took the long trail around (the sign I posted about from the day before advises horses to go that way). I emailed them shots of the crossing though afterward and they agreed that they would have been fine doing this crossing, with caution and shuttling loads across. They had a very close-fitting baby carrier that kept Annabelle across Lisa's front.

I looked while were were there to see if the crossing could ever be bridged. I concluded that the wash-out is so wide and so intense that the only bridging possibility would be way up on top of the cliffs that make up the gorge above the crossing. Anything else would probably just get washed out every other year. It would likely require a multi-million dollar bridge up there though, and that's not likely to ever happen.


Quote

Spider web picture is the goods.


Thanks. I liked the spider and the photo.


Quote

Pic of Mr Mud at his house - yep - looks cool.


He certainly seemed well (he'll weigh in here eventually). Too bad I didn't get a photo of his now-long hair  ;D


Quote

I have to ask - Does bug spray not work for T?
I'm guessing with all that hiking it gets sweated off and she can't reapply often enough or carry enough to last - or just doesn't want all that chemical exposure/absorption.


It helps some, but we probably should have brought DEET (what we brought wasn't as strong). But even DEET only works well, not perfectly. Too bad she didn't get my relative immunity to the bites (she's like Vicki - but at least T did get my relative immunity to poison oak - she's never gotten that).


Quote

Views and geology look amazing.

Topo profile at the opening looks like something I used to torture my students with  :devildevil: :ihih:


Keep in mind that the elevation profile is somewhat out of proportion (feet vertically compared to miles horizontally). But we felt like the ups and downs on this trip were easily the equal to anything we'd done in the Sierra. And man, some of that granite! In the right weather, it's a fantastic place to be.


JC w KC redux

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2020, 10:12:17 AM »
If either Tricia or I had fallen we would, at minimum, have been soaked and all of our gear soaked too. It's unlikely that we would have been swept more that six or eight feet downstream though and we probably would have been able to get our packs back up out of the creek and then dry things out. Obviously, if we'd neglected to unbuckle our packs they alone could have resulted in us being pinned under water (it's so critical to unbuckle everything in these crossings).

I knew you'd get a good soaking but I hadn't really considered what the impact of the packs would be. I have very little backpacking experience and that is unlikely to change at this stage of the game. Now a jet pack - that's another story...

The couple with the baby were strongly cautioned about the crossing by south-bounders and took the long trail around (the sign I posted about from the day before advises horses to go that way). I emailed them shots of the crossing though afterward and they agreed that they would have been fine doing this crossing, with caution and shuttling loads across. They had a very close-fitting baby carrier that kept Annabelle across Lisa's front.

Yeah, I'd pass on that with a baby. I did see the sign in that pic but with trying to quickly summarize all your info I plum fergot.

He certainly seemed well (he'll weigh in here eventually). Too bad I didn't get a photo of his now-long hair  ;D

He's been a long hair before according to his stories. I'm sure it suits him and makes him look even skinnier.
My hair continues to grow slowly but when I wash it and let it curl the way nature intended it doesn't look much different than Lasher's

It helps some, but we probably should have brought DEET (what we brought wasn't as strong). But even DEET only works well, not perfectly.

I've tried other stuff like citronella oil - pretty useless. Too bad what keeps the bugs away is so damn toxic.

Too bad she didn't get my relative immunity to the bites (she's like Vicki - but at least T did get my relative immunity to poison oak - she's never gotten that).

Well...we can't all live your charmed existence.  :frown2: :lol: I'll remind T of this jinx when she gets her first case of PO.

Keep in mind that the elevation profile is somewhat out of proportion (feet vertically compared to miles horizontally). But we felt like the ups and downs on this trip were easily the equal to anything we'd done in the Sierra. And man, some of that granite! In the right weather, it's a fantastic place to be.

You'll notice the term vertical exaggeration on my profiles.
I required my students to figure this out for all the profiles they were required to construct.
We'll let that be your homework - or let T figure it out - in case she takes an intro geology lab at the university.
Measure the vertical scale of your profile to determine how many feet are in one inch.
Now get/calculate the map/horizontal scale in terms of one inch.  :yawn: :sleep:
Put the horizontal number over the vertical number - voila!
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Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #15 on: August 06, 2020, 04:03:34 PM »
Day Six:

We finally enjoyed a really cool morning:




The hills were alive with the summertime flowers:







Here's a shot that actually almost shows how glorious they were:




She seemed pretty happy too:




Mostly forest hiking, passing small lakes as we moved (including oddly named Mig Lake):










Switchbacks of course:




We got our first view of the high tension wires that are just this side of Stevens Pass Ski Resort:




And our last view of Mount Stuart:




To and under the back side of the resort:







And onto its top ridge for a rest and a view toward the pass:










The trail descends right through the ski resort. And the name of the ski run that is over the top of the PCT tread is (when there is snow):







Almost there now:







The highway is busy and so it's crossed by a pedestrian bridge:







Vicki visiting with Brandon, Lisa and Annabelle (she of the gorgeous blue eyes):







And then Tricia and I walked over to the start of the next section to insure overlap:







And then we headed west, to stay with my cousin Laura, unpack/repack and rest for a day.







Brad Young

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #16 on: August 06, 2020, 05:57:05 PM »
Day Seven:

While we were backpacking, Vicki had been staying with my cousin Laura who lives just east of Seattle:




Having regrouped at Laura's house (thanks again for the hospitality cousin), we drove up and did a short hike today. The first two miles were on an old road - hiking doesn't get any easier:







The usual assortment of creek crossings and vista points led to the very popular Lake Valhalla:













We ended the PCT part of the trip after 7.5 miles at a pass called Union Gap (Union Gap is less than 200 PCT miles from the Canadian border). Vicki walked up to meet us.

We're set up just right now; on our next trip, with a short hike back to the PCT, we'll be ready for another long backpack (70 or so miles to the Suiattle River). It's starting to look like we may actually finish this thing:













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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #17 on: August 06, 2020, 07:42:10 PM »

Nice work you two and crew!
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F4?

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #18 on: August 06, 2020, 07:55:05 PM »
Is Mr Muds hard long on the back and ....short in the front.

He likes mullets.

Hugs and kisses!
I'm not worthy.

mynameismud

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Re: The PCT Volume 40: Walking a Seismograph
« Reply #19 on: August 06, 2020, 08:44:34 PM »
Looks like a good trip.   was good to see you. 
Here's to sweat in your eye