Latourell

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First PTO day in years. Was supposed to be clear, but was cloudy and misty. Can't pick offtrail routes in weather like that, so did some close-to-road exploring.

Nothing was productive, so decided to go up Latourell trail and look for the top of the falls. About twenty yards up the trail, at the first viewpoint, I decided microspikes were necessary. They never came off. In addition to the ice, the trail was trashed by recent storms. Lots of blowdown and branches and stuff, but nothing that would hold back anybody who posessed a modicum of determination. It was just nuisance-level problems.

Just slightly before Upper Latourell Falls (ascending the trail on the east side of the creek) there's a little tributary creek flowing from the SE. After crossing that creek on a little bridge, I left the trail and followed a steep brushy broad ridge. I knew I'd need to veer right to get back to Latourell Creek, but I wanted to avoid brush and cliffs, and consequently ended up too high and too far from the creek when the ridge finally flattened out. I was way above the top of the falls at this point, so I worked my way downstream, looking for clear opportunities to descend to the creek. Wasn't expecting to succeed, but found some clear routes, so headed down to the top of the falls. It was a bit unnerving, knowing a tumble could send me into the creek and over the edge. After checking out the lip, I descended as directly as possible, but of course the cliffs forced me fairly close to following my ascent route.

Next goal was the long narrow ridge that follows the creek to the west, between the two falls. Looked like a good place to explore. But saw no clear way to get to the ridgecrest, way too brushy. Didn't waste much time trying.

On the way back to my car, I went down to the bottom of Lower latourell. I've been there in the winter before, but decided it was time to see if I could get around behind the snowdome. It was amazing. I've seen snow/ice domes at the bottom of falls before, but never up close like that. The crater that the creek was falling into seemed almost vertical-walled, and the inevitable mist was gushing straight up (not so much to the side, as would be normal in a ice-free configuration). Wanted to get closer, but didn't feel at all safe. Probably wasn't all that objectively dangerous, but it felt extremely intimidating. Besides, I would have gotten soaked with very cold water (mist). The ice bombs littering the bowl didn't make me too nervous; the cliffs appeared clear. Traction was an issue. The car was so close, I could have gone and changed boots and put on my crampons, but it was around sunset already, so I just didn't have time. But microspikes and axes served me well enough. Couldn't get great pics because of heavy mist and fading light (and crummy phone).

Returned to the dark TH expecting just my car, but there was another. A couple guys from California were waiting for law enforcement so they could file a report on their smashed window and missing gear. I got in that line, and cleaned up, changed clothes, and sorted gear as I waited for the sheriff to confirm what I already knew: it's not even worth filing a report. He did give me a case number, so at least I know there's some documentation, for what it's worth. Crappy time of year to be driving around without a window!

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The man-made stuff: