Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

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Sean Thomas
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Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by Sean Thomas » January 11th, 2014, 11:45 pm

Today was just a crazy awesome day as Jojomachine and I set out to hike the Lewis River Trail back to back. We got a late start and ended up turning around a little ways past the Lower Falls making about 24 miles overall. Forest road 90 to the Curly Creek Falls TH was absolutely covered in blowdown when we drove through in the morning. Thoughts of flooding rivers and fallen trees began to fill our heads as we drove up the seemingly empty canyon. Just past the Swift Camp on the east end of the reservoir a deer hopped out in front of the car and nicked the front bumper. Good thing we were going pretty slow with all the downed limbs as the deer(and the car) seemed fine. Starting out at the bridge TH, we hiked our way over to a new and improved Bolt Camp Shelter. The shelter was built in the early 20's and has seen some serious TLC as of late:


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Here is what it looked like when we visited in the fall of 2012:


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My favorite part of the Lewis River Trail is the section just past the Bolt Camp Shelter. The trail stays right next to the river and passes by some amazing Western Red Cedars. Giants that almost seem to come from another planet:


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There were many a stream crossing on our way from the TH to the falls and back. Jojo crossing under a beautiful Western Hemlock:


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Almost as amazing as the trees themselves were the examples of past trail work. Woah!


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A herd of Elk took notice of us as we made our way up the trail at one point. They all chose to run upward of the trail and the river, other than one which chose to run down to the river and swim across :o :o This one posed just long enough for a quick picture before running off to join the rest:


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Pretty soon we were taking what felt like a similar path to the Michael Phelps Elk we had seen just minutes earlier. Wet, soggy but undeterred we battled the endless stream crossings, which were rising more and more as we hiked:


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The trail traverses above these two falls as it passes above the river for a while. This spot would make a great destination on its own:


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Here is what the view looks like from the first falls looking down off a small bridge that spans the creek:


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Some of the larger streams close to the Bluff Trail and Forest Road 90 like Spencer Creek were filling up fast as we ran/hiked through:


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Pretty soon we crossed 90 and made our way up to the Lower Falls. It was absolutely raging when we arrived and the rain just kept on getting harder making the falls louder and louder. It was a beautiful sight:


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At this point we chose to go about a mile farther where we turned around near the Wright Meadow junction. Things were getting pretty soggy and we didn't want to spend much time in the dark so we high tailed it back down the river. The Lewis River on the surge:


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This large creek has a nice bridge over it to keep the feet dry :D


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We didn't stop much on the way back as the weather continued to worsen and worsen. Did manage to get a nice shot of the trail side scenery before the phone had to go in the bag:


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We got back to the car around 6 pm and only spent a sort time under the headlamps. The worst of the blowdown had been cleared on the drive back and we are very thankful/fortunate for that as I forgot the saw I had planned on putting in the the car earlier that morning. All in all it definitely wasn't the brightest decision to be hiking or driving out in the incredibly stormy conditions we had today but it was an experience I wouldn't relive any other way ;)

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Rustygoat
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by Rustygoat » January 12th, 2014, 8:47 am

Nice Sean to see that the storm didn't scare you away. The side streams look pretty major with all the rain...crazy crossings. It's nice to see that the shelter has been repaired and that some maintenance is done up that way. Maybe the Big Creek Falls trail will get fixed next....fingers crossed. Thanks for sharing Sean. :)
Tim

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drm
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by drm » January 12th, 2014, 8:48 am

I suppose the windstorm of the last few days his it hard. Suggests that many trails many need a lot of work come spring.

How did you get there? Did you go over Old Man Pass or up from I5? Been wondering if that pass is still open.

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Sean Thomas
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by Sean Thomas » January 12th, 2014, 9:38 am

Thanks guys :) I haven't been to Big Creek Falls yet, although I think we could see it from across the river with all the leaves down. Is that trail in bad shape? Also didn't see any sign of the speed trail anywhere but admit we weren't looking too closely.


We drove in from I-5 as I heard Upper Wind River will be plowed as long as funding allows and Curly Creek Road will not be plowed. Otherwise I like that drive a lot better than the winding drive along the reservoirs, but we were afraid there might be snow at the top of Curly Creek rd so we just drove back out the way we came.

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kepPNW
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by kepPNW » January 13th, 2014, 6:15 am

Those cedars are absolutely amazing. Wow!
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BrianEdwards
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by BrianEdwards » January 13th, 2014, 7:03 am

Very courageous getting out in the storm. Those cedars rival the ones in the Big Bottom Wilderness, they're huge!
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Splintercat
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by Splintercat » January 13th, 2014, 7:51 am

Ay karumba! What a difference a week makes, Sean..! :shock:

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Cold and icy up there last weekend... but only a few loose rocks (and a couple inches of ice/snow) out on the road, no blowdown.

Magnificent shots of the cedars -- added to my list, too!

Tom :)

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rainrunner
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by rainrunner » January 13th, 2014, 1:04 pm

You make my feet ache in that cold water. Other than the water crossings, it looked wonderful!
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Born2BBrad
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Re: Stormy Double Lewis River Trail: 1-11-14

Post by Born2BBrad » January 13th, 2014, 6:55 pm

The most exciting part of the TR... hitting a deer.

I gotta try using a poncho again. This time without the gale force winds.
Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.
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