Well it looks like I missed another great trip. I need to get my engine finished. Jerry posted up a great trip on the trip to Gallaher Head Lake near Cle Elum, Washington. They had an excellent turnout with great people.
You can read the trip report at Gallaher Head Lake Tour.
On Saturday, September 6, 2008, Columbia Gorge flood trip participants gathered at Shari?s in Troutdale to start the long day learning more about the Missoula Floods. Those of you who were not able to attend and want to learn more about these historic floods can do an internet search for Missoula Floods, or Ice Age Floods to get more information. You can also go to the Ice Age Floods Institute website and learn more there.
Read more at Sept. 6 Gorge Flood Trip Report
Join us for a day of easy four-wheeling north of Cle Elum, Washington. We plan on exploring the Fortune Creek Mining Area near Salmon la Sac and that includes three “easy” 4×4 trails and possibly a fourth rated as “more difficult”.
First will be the Fortune Creek Trail, 4W301 (rated easy). This trail offers beautiful scenery and along the route we may spot remnants of rusting mining machinery. The highlight of the Fortune Creek Trail is Gallaher Head Lake where there is a small primitive campground that would be a great place to camp if you so desire.
Read more at Gallagher Head Lake 4×4 Run (09-13-08).
Who would have thought that a Friday trip to the Whiskey Dick Road Management Area near Ellensburg, Washington would bring out more participants than most weekend trips.
Well Jerry (aka SoggyMountain) picked a wonderful day for a Backroad Drivers Northwest tour of the Whiskey Dick. Hands down, this was the warmest day of 2008 to date.
The meeting place that morning was the Bar 14 restaurant in Ellensburg. In attendance for the days trip was of course Jerry from Yakima driving his full size Jeep SJ Wagoneer; (and if I get the names wrong, please forgive and let me know to correct them) Phil and his son Travis from Newcastle, driving the white Ford Explorer; Paul from Tacoma driving the other Ford Explorer; Jim (stucky) driving the white Chevy Pickup (I forgot to ask where Jim was from); Trish and Tammy from Bothel driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon; John and Cindy from Monroe driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon; Sid from Renton driving his Jeep Wrangler, Peter and Don (I forgot to ask where they were from or if I did, I didn’t write it down) driving the Sportsmobile van; myself in my 80-series Toyota Land Cruiser; and Bill from Ellensburg who joined us for breakfast but had to supervise a fencing property today so he couldn’t join us.
The photos I shot during the Backroad Drivers Northwest trip to the Whiskey Dick Road Management Area are now posted for your viewing. You can view them at Exploring the Whiskey Dick
Enjoy.
What were you doing the day Mt. St. Helens blew it’s top?
I realize that anybody under the age of 28 wasn’t even born so this question does not apply to you.
I was 16 at the time. I was with my dad and cousin Frank at a bass fishing tournament with the Evergreen Bass Club on Silver Lake in Cowlitz County (only about 30 miles West of Mt. St. Helens). It was a beautiful clear sunny morning (much like it is this morning as I’m writing this). All weekend, we were hoping to see a puff of steam or a small ash plume, but all was quiet. I has witnessed several before on my frequent trips to Kelso.
Sometime around 8:30 AM, my dad had to head back to the resort to use the facilities. So he powered up the motor and we were heading back to the resort and he pointed at the mountain and when I looked up, we watched the initial blast and then Mt St Helens disappeared (just like the footage you always see of the initial eruption and landslide).
So we continued heading back to the resort. When we arrived, a lot of people were freaking out that they were going to die. My dad just calmly observed the chaos and decided to wait a little while until all the drama died down. Eventually word got to us about the I-5 bridge over the Toutle River was closed. That’s when my dad made the decision that we were staying for a while longer.
So what did we do, we motored the boat over to a store on the lake where one could dock a boat, he went inside the store and bought a case of beer, and we motored the boat into the middle of the lake and watched the ash plume (obviously this is nothing I would recommend doing today - time were different then).
After a few hours, we eventually got word that the Toutle River bridge was open again, and that’s when we loaded the boat on the trailer and headed home.
We never got any ash on us. I think most of it ended up in eastern Washington. The sky got dark (because it blocked out the morning sun) and the coolest part was all the lightening in the ash cloud. We never heard the explosion from our location. I’m not sure if that was because the motor idling or not.
This experience is something that I’ll never forget. I feel very lucky to be in the right spot at the right time to actually witness history and see the actual initial explosion and landslide occur.
What were you doing that day?
May 12-18, 2008 has been proclaimed “Bear Awareness Week” by Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire.
As reported by the The Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP):
Governor Gregoire established Bear Awareness Week to encourage people to learn more about our ursine neighbors, how to avoid conflicts with them, and to appreciate these majestic creatures in Washington - one of just four states that is wild enough to still support both species of bear.
This is great information for all of us who spend time enjoying the outdoors. If you haven’t encountered a bear yet, you eventually will.
Read more about Bear Awareness Week Activities at Governor proclaims official Bear Awareness Week
Sunset as viewed from Cooper Mountain Lookout near Chelan, Washington.
You can read about this trip at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007.
Have you ever wanted to know where the best areas to view Pacific Northwest Fall Foliage in real time?
The Weather Channel provides a state by state map show the locations where the fall colors are at their peak and it’s updated on a regular basis.
To view the most current information, visit the Weather Channel.
All indicators are pointing to yes. Its rare that we get so much snow so soon in the mountains. Unfortunately, one “pineapple express” could wipe out the snow and once again bring green to the alpine areas.
Last weekend, we made a trip to Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park for a pre-dawn hike for a photo shoot and there was a nice dusting of snow at the Sunrise parking area and several inches of snow at the Frozen lake viewpoint. Since then, 7 inches of snow has fallen at Sunrise and the same at Paradise.