Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

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Sean Thomas
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Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by Sean Thomas » January 13th, 2013, 11:53 pm

Left the house this morning with plans to snowshoe up to Cedar Swamp via the Herman Creek Trail. The sunrise from the powerlines was a nice start to the day. I waited there for a little while to watch it unfold until the cold air got the best of me.


The first viewpoint just past the Herman Bridge Trail junction looking across Herman Creek is always nice too:


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Just past the junction with the Nick Eaton Trail I had one of the more exciting moments a hiker can have. A bobcat came sprinting down the trail until it paused at a tree and sort of stood up and looked back at me. I zoomed the camera and this was the best I got after brightening it up a bit. The cat is up against the left side of the large Doug Fir in the center of the picture:


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This was my first encounter with a Bobcat in the wild but wouldnt be the last for the day. I circled the little guy/gal in red in this one to make it eaiser to spot:


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The creek crossings were really tough today with the strong flow of the streams and all of the icy rocks. Got across Camp Creek with dry feet and that is always a success :)


It seems a Bobcat had come a ways down the trail this morning. There were prints form the same little feline(same one I saw probably) on a 3 or 4 mile stretch of the trail from the 5 mile mark or so down to below the snow line:


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I passed by Hazel Creek and the snowman Joie and I had made a few weeks back. But first a few pics of Slide Creek Falls dressed for Winter :o


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Slide Creek:


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The base of the falls was mesmerizing:


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A huge chunk of ice was building on the right side of the falls about half way up:


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And ice all around my feet as well:


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On my return trip I climbed up to the top of the falls:


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On the way up:


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At this point my camera died and I didnt get a pic of the top of the falls :cry: This was the last one I took for the day, where I was standing on the cliff on the north side of the falls(viewing the cliffs on the south side of the falls)


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Back on track with the tr :) The little stream crossings were cutting deeper and deeper into the snow past the Whiskey Creek crossing:


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Nothing like above the swamp though:


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I made it to Cedar Swamp around 11 am and stopped for an early lunch :)


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Some teaser views through the trees inspired me to push on and see how close I could get to Mud Lake or Tomlike Mountain:


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Some of the large cut logs are still poking through the snow maing the trail pretty easy to follow :)


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There are a lot of busy critters running around above the swamp right now(and pretty much always it seems)


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One of them had marked this lonely stick poking through the snow:


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self pic for the day:


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The trail traverses above a rock slide just barely tucking into the trees around the 8.5 mile mark. The thick layer of ice under the inch or so of fluffy powder made punching through the ice layer pretty difficult. At this point the side hilling was so steep I didnt feel comfortable going any further so I turned around. The trail was still discernable as well so kind of a bummer as I know I missed out on some blue bird views up on Tomlike. There was a great view across the East Fork of Herman Creek:


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And some more tree top teasers:


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I turned around just past this stump when the going got above my ability/comfort level:


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The East Fork was pretty tough to cross so on my way back down I just waded through instead of trying to rock hop. Here is the camp near the east fork crossing:


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A couple before and afters. Before:

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After:


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I didn’t see anyone all day other than the tent at Casey Creek. And thinking this I couldn’t believe it when I rounded the same corner near the Nick Eaton junction and saw the Bobcat again! This time it took off up the slope climbing along a log while watching me down below. I figured something must have been drawing it in so I peeked around a bit to check for one of the traps I had seen last week, thinking maybe it was baited or had some scent sprayed upon it to attract an unsuspecting cat. What I found was not a trap but a fresh deer kill just two feet off the trail up against a log. My good cam was dead(desperately trying to turn it at this point ofcourse) but I did have my old phone so snapped a pic with it instead. Sorry for the gory details but it was truly an amazing sight to see. I wonder what took the deer down in the first place as it seemed the cat had descended from a ways further south to reach the kill. But maybe it took the deer down that morning or night before I passed by?


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BrianEdwards
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by BrianEdwards » January 14th, 2013, 6:44 am

Those Slide Creek falls shots are magical. Seeing that bobcat in the wild is pretty cool too. You've had some interesting hikes lately Sean
Clackamas River Waterfall Project - 95 Documented, 18 to go.

cfm
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by cfm » January 14th, 2013, 6:57 am

What great good fortune to see a bobcat twice in a day and get a picture! Serendipity favors the prepared Portlandhiker.

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drm
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by drm » January 14th, 2013, 9:59 am

A bobcat take a deer down? Unless it was a fawn, I would tend to think it was scavenging it. Maybe the winter/cold killed it. Many animals die in the winter and it has been very cold. If it seemed mostly eaten, it could have been a larger predator that left the remains for others. I checked on wikipedia and it seems that while rodents and rabbits are their typical prey, they can hunt animals as large as sheep and goats on rare occasions. I couldn't tell from the photo whether the deer was adult-sized.

I would say that it was great luck to see it, and while that is always true, people who travel alone and at odd times have the best chances to see wildlife.

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bobcat
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by bobcat » January 14th, 2013, 1:19 pm

I think that's a trip you'll be talking about for a while. . .

Probably only two reasons the deer died: (1) winterkill (of the old and infirm) or (2) cougar - although the latter must have been scared far away to allow a bobcat to come in and dine on its plunder.

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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by kepPNW » January 14th, 2013, 2:11 pm

Won't coyotes (plural) take down a deer, too?
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BrianEdwards
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by BrianEdwards » January 14th, 2013, 3:37 pm

kepPNW wrote:Won't coyotes (plural) take down a deer, too?
Yep, usually they go for the easy ones like the sickly or fawns. But the only time I've watched a pair of coyotes take down a deer, it happened to be a nice three-point buck!
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by pablo » January 14th, 2013, 5:38 pm

Sean,

Super trip report and photos. And bobcat, twice, with a photo - most impressive - got to keep that camera at the ready at all times. Almost forgot, good job on the trail maintenance - those logs look pretty large to me.

--Paul
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Sean Thomas
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by Sean Thomas » January 14th, 2013, 5:46 pm

Thanks everybody. Im thinking the deer passed away near the trail like others have said and the cat was drawn in by the smell. It seems amazing to me it could have sniffed out the carcass from that many miles away but maybe the tracks I saw descending from the south werent from the cat I saw eating the carcass? I assume it was the same cat as the tracks were really fresh, so fresh they overlaid the backpackers tracks who had hiked in to camp at casey creek the night before. Anyone know how far away a bobcat can pick out a scent? depending on conditons, wind etc?

It is definitely a day i'll never forget :)

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Sean Thomas
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Re: Chilly Cedar Swamp and Icy Slide Creek Falls: 1/13/13

Post by Sean Thomas » January 14th, 2013, 5:52 pm

Thanks, Pablo :) I think if I hadnt been so excited I would have gotten a better shot :lol: The logs were pretty heavy for me but after some budging they found a new home off the side of the trail.

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