eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

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er0ck
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eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

Post by er0ck » December 30th, 2012, 4:20 pm

tons of snow everywhere and my snowshoes with a friend.

went for a quick overnight up and back to tunnel falls
pitched in what i think was probably blue grouse campground, but not sure.
IMG_20121229_134755.sm.jpg
little icy down low (just north of punchbowl)
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cold punchbowl
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cold tunnel
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sunny morning, dusting of new snow
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these paw prints were pretty small (1.5" across). kitten cougar? didn't see any momma prints...
i don't think they are dog/coyote (no claws), they are in the new snow from overnight and there were no new boot tracks until below wy east campground.
IMG_20121230_102739.sm.jpg
hello kitty
IMG_20121230_102739.sm.jpg (52.79 KiB) Viewed 2292 times
great to be back out there!
saw some tall European (had an accent) dude with a huge fire axe come marching down the trail with his lady. said he was part of rescue.
huge pack. had to rescue some moron who burned his entire pack when he got cold the previous week.
he said if i got cold i should cover myself with pine bows. ;) i assured him he wouldn't have to come back to get me. :lol:

i also saw people headed down from tunnel falls at 4:10pm or so, no packs, i'm assuming no lights. :shock:
bad knees rules everything around me.

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retired jerry
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Re: eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

Post by retired jerry » December 30th, 2012, 4:31 pm

He had to burn his entire pack to stay warm?

How odd

I think making a fire is over-rated - better to just get all of your warm stuff on and get in your tent. These survival people that suggest making a fire are causing more problems than solving.

Actually, you're probably right, just a moron :lol:

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weathercrazy
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Re: eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

Post by weathercrazy » December 30th, 2012, 6:59 pm

I was up there yesterday...shorts and all and was surprised to see two others in shorts. I always end up too confined in pants, so unless it's in the 10s or lower, I usually opt for shorts.

I also thought as I was descending (back to the car at 3) that anyone starting up then was going to be cutting it very close even to reach Punchbowl and back in the daylight. The snow/ice made it slow going as you were constantly having to balance yourselves. My feet are sore today, not the bottoms really, but all over, from constantly balancing lol

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er0ck
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Re: eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

Post by er0ck » January 14th, 2013, 5:00 pm

so those prints, were possibly from a bobcat. probably too small to be a cougar.
this page:
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/species/mammals/cats.asp
says:
"The heel pads of both fore- and hind feet have three lobes on the posterior margin which are useful in separating the tracks of the Cougar from those of other felids, such as the Lynx. "

so i'm thinking it must be a bobcat since they are so small, and have the cat 3-lobe posterior heel print. lynx, although small cats, have huge feet to float over snow (and also like to be at much higher elevations)
bad knees rules everything around me.

MarinerDNA
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Re: eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

Post by MarinerDNA » February 3rd, 2013, 10:26 pm

Snowshoes?

Does anyone know what it's looking like right now? I'm going up there on an over-nighter and am tripping out a bit thinking of doing a balancing act along that narrow cliff trail with 45lbs of
gear.

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retired jerry
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Re: eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

Post by retired jerry » February 4th, 2013, 6:33 am

NOAA snow model says there's no snow http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/interactive/ ... &zoom8.y=6

and recent trip reports

if you start going up from Eagle Creek you'll see snow

but, the problem would be if it got below freezing - the trail gets very icy with water dripping from up above, next few days should be okay

payslee

Re: eagle creek 29Dec-30Dec2012

Post by payslee » February 4th, 2013, 9:28 am

MarinerDNA wrote:Snowshoes?

Does anyone know what it's looking like right now? I'm going up there on an over-nighter and am tripping out a bit thinking of doing a balancing act along that narrow cliff trail with 45lbs of
gear.
Bring your spikes. I was up there saturday and patches of packed snow / ice started just past high bridge. Plenty of folks were making it in to tunnel falls with just shoes, but if you're worried about being out-of balance with a pack, you might as well bring them.

another option is to pitch camp somewhere like Wyeast (a few slippery patches up to that, but nowhere you'd be in trouble if you fell), and then just visit the falls sans packs.

Have fun. I'll post a TR probably today. All the seasonal falls were just beautiful.

-payslee

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