Sunday, June 28, 2015

Olympics / Graves Creek June 26-28 2015

Olympics / Graves Creek June 26-28 2015

Quick story: this is a hard loop but worth it. It was said to be 55 miles and 15,000 ft of gain. The variety of scenery make this trip one to look at. I was on the loop from 2pm June 26 till ~6am June 28. I slept at night. 

Longer story:

Gear with me, look at Chinook pass write up for the basic list.

Patagonia nine trails pack, rain shadow pants (light bivy gear) and nano puff jacket (light bivy gear). 
Gemini Emergency bivy sack. 
Altimeter, which I lost. 
Old fanny pack. 
Trekking poles. 

Food I ate:

seven bars
five gels
Two Jeff's special muffins.
two abh and c sandwiches. 
three hammer perpetuem servings. 
two Starbucks refreshers. 
Three small round cheese. 
Beef jerky. 

I saw:
A lot of grouse. 
A herd of elk
Tadpoles. 

Mistakes I made. 
Not attaching the altimeter with build in carabiner to something. 
Not bring my gps unit.

My story

When I thought about this route the key words James Varner route, 15,000 ft of gain, 55 miles and route finding really set in. I know I would have to plan this one a bit different. I did not think I could make John's time on route. I set myself up for a overnight trip. 

I left the car at 2:00. I asked a couple if there was a solo hiker with gear like mine in front of me. They said he had about 10 min on me. I hoped this was Nick up there. First right and Sundown lake ahead for the first leg. I lost my altimeter in this section. I have to thanks Jessica and Nick for tramping the grass down on the trail. This make it easy for me to stay on route in this first section. This first section is a bit boggy. Forget having dry feet on this course. 


Old fondation along the way. 




Views from around six ridge pass


Views from around six ridge pass

At this point things are going well. I am staying on track. All this will change soon. 

I use the trail to descend into a meadow. I see a cairn below me and figure I can find the trail there. I will repeat this next exercise to many times till I work my way to the six ridge trail that follows the ridge crest above Belview. I would lose the trail, pull the map and compass out and find a good direction to go. I would find the trail, continuing along till the next meadow. This really burns a lot of energy, adds miles and elevation I did not need to do. 

Tarn where I filled up my water supply. 

Tadpoles

 McGravey lake. 
 McGravey lake. This place is beautiful. 

Metal tags on trees marking the trail. I saw two total. 



Sunset photos, time for bed. I am not on the trail at this point. I found a great place to spend the night. 
My bivy sack. probably not the best idea for  gear to take, but is does pack to a size of two foil blankets. 

I have been playing in the mountains of WA state for over 30 years. Bivying out where I am not sure of my location is within my comfort zone. I knew once the sun came up I could map and compass my way back to where I needed to be. I sent out a SPOT message to reference latter to see where I spent the night. I knew I was to high. I also knew that there was a trail that lead to a pass that would take me to the ridge. I aimed for that and found it. I used that trail to get above Belview camp on the ridge. 

John, you will find this interesting. While I was walking back on the trail toward Six ridges I came upon two complete sets of clothes.  One female and one male. I wonder if these belonged to your Robin Hood and gal. I no other signs that would lead me to anything else. 


Once I was traveling on the Six ridges life was going well. I enjoyed the views, geology, and weaving trail. The trail let you do some running down to Big log camp. 

Bird in river at Big Log camp

At Big log camp I refilled my water supply and took a food break. Finding the trail in Big log camp took me five minutes. It is not marked but once you find it, it is obvious. 


Taken off bridge by sign above. 

This next section will take me to Marmot lake. It was getting warm in parts of this trail. Luckily there was water around to dip my hat into. There is some great down hill running in this part. 





Marmot lake O'Neil pass area is amazing. This place is be worth the visit. I took a break here and sat for a bit to absorb the beauty of the area.  I can not say enough about this area. This was my favorite spot on the trip. I probably should have gone swimming. The lake is inviting. 


 Marmot lake
 Marmot lake
O'Neil pass from Marmot lake. 
 View from O'Neil pass
View from O'Neil pass

This next section to Quinault river trail runs along the valley. There are good running, narrow trail, full sun, trees for shade and light up hill. I little bit of everything. Once I hit the Quinault river trail I stocked up on water. It was 7:30 now. I knew that John ran through the darkness to get to his car. I have poor night vision. I figured I would make the most of the sun left and started running. I was able to average 18 min mile till 9:30. I spooked a herd of elk in this area. I am glad I spook them and I would have been in big trouble if they had stood their ground. It was getting dark in the forest now. I put my headlamp on and walked on. I am glad I have my trekking poles to catch myself when I stumble. Around 10;30 I was getting tired and decided to spend the night. I hopped in my bivy sack and slept for four and half hours. 


 Lodge at Enchanted valley. I wonder how the materials were delivered? 

Up at 3:00 am I was off to finish this thing off. I am glad I make this decision and I was sharper and able to run the downhill and flat sections once the sun came up. It took me a little over three hours to get back to my car from the bivy site. 

 Last bridge to cross. 
This picnic table has not been used in quite awhile. 

Thursday, June 18, 2015

The Chinook Pass/Ohanepecosh River Loop June 14 2015

The Chinook Pass/Ohanepecosh River Loop June 14 2015

Quick story
This is a great loop that offers quality running with views of mountain peaks and valleys, beautiful forest and waterfalls. There is plenty of water on the route. I did the loop clockwise in a little over nine hours.

Longer story. 

Gear with me:

Clothes, 
Scott trail running shoes
Drymax inner layer, Wright outer layer socks
OR: gaiters, cap and gloves.
Patagonia: Houdini jacket and pack, Nine trails vest, beanie and light weight balavica. 
Exofficio:skivvies
Old trusty shorts I love for trail running. 
Cascade Crest 100 tee. (got to go with what takes you to the finish line)
Costco: smartwool zip longsleeve tee.

Hydration:
!00 oz blatter and handheld bottle. 
S-Caps 
MSR filter

Navigation:
Map and compass

Emergency:
Space Blanket
Duct tape
Spot 
First aid kit
Moustique repellent
Headlamp with extra batteries
Whistle
Knife 

Record keeping
Camera with extra batteries
Timex watch (nothing fancy, just the time)

Nutrition:
2 abh and c (almond butter, honey and coconut sandwiches) 
4 gels
2 bars
2 small rounds of cheese
2 Hammer perpetuum servings. 

Entertainment:
Ipod classic

What animals I saw
2 elk
1 momma elk with baby
Small furry things (like squirrels etc)
human with dog
tourist
2 bird together in lake (Loon, duck ?)

What I heard:
Marmet
Grouse
Birds
HD motorcycles

Mistakes made
Did not eat 2nd breakfast before leaving car
Did not read map well enough to avoid adding ~half mile to trip. 

My story

I left the car at Chinook Pass parking lot at 6:45 looking for the correct trail. I found my way east on the PCT crossing over the road. The day was cool and clear. 






This section of trail weaves back and forth over the ridge rise and falling as it goes. I like to play a game with myself to guess where the trail will go next. I spooked two elk in this section. They were 50 yards off but still made a major racket leaving the area. I saw the only other person with a dog for the first two legs also. I loved the openness of this leg with great views. 
This is Dewey lake.
This is Anderson lake
Mt Rainier
I am now in the park. How anyone could drive to this point is beyond me. I ran past much small versions of this for miles. 
Possible water for stop. I had enough and moved on. 
Right turn and lots of running ahead. 

I stopped at three lakes and filled my water supplies up. I made a  Hammer perpetuum also. There is lots of running in this section. It tends downhill for most of it. 

This cabin is at the last lake of the three lakes area. Had I been a little more curious I would have seen the registrar by the door and signed in with my fellow ultrapredestrin wilderness folks. Matt, did Betsy put those bark arrows down so  you would not get lost? 

It was in this area that I was running and spotted a brown head in front of me. It was a little ways ahead and I kept seeing it in and out of the brush on the trail ahead. I got a little closer and to my amazement it was a baby elk. Time to walk, where is moma? Moma comes along in front of the baby and leads it off the trail. Well baby elk is not walking that great and does its best to get off the trail. Once it was far enough off for me to feel safe I ran by. 


Part of the amazing running trail. 
Road crossing just before Silver Falls. 
Silver Falls

The section from Silver fall to the car was a interesting one. 

I saw people. Lots of people around the grove of Patriarchs. This is a nice area, but I was alone and enjoying the solitude for so many miles I was not quite ready for this. ( It was Sunday at noon, what did I expect) 

The river you follow is amazing. The trail is beside it, goes out and comes back, there are many bridges over it. the waterfall are worth the trip in itself. and the sound of it is there for most of the trail up to Cayuse pass. 

This is the first time I was at the walk/run phase. This gradual climb takes you to deer camp. After deer camp be ready for the climb. I think someone forgot what a switch back was in places. 
I took a short break to fill water at one of the little bridges with an ideal break spot. I could have wasted away more time than I had there. 

It was getting warm near the top of the climb. Thankfully there are many water sources for dipping my hat into to cool me off. 

Once I crossed Cayuse pass the trail still climbs, but not as bad. One downfall for me was having the road so close as I was on the trail. Once I topped out at Tipsoo lake I made a minor error. I follow the sign to the PCT. Yes this would have worked, but added three miles I did not need to do. I follow this trail for a quarter mile or so. Then I realized that I should have crossed the road, joined the day hikers for the three tenth's of a mile to my car. Oh well, I guess I needed the extra half mile. 

Kathy, thank you for showing me a new place to run. For anyone thinking of doing this route, do it. It is a great run.