Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

This forum is used to share your experiences out on the trails.
User avatar
Chase
Posts: 1265
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by Chase » September 11th, 2017, 9:45 am

3090C862-9052-4C50-A2F4-26A2BA06D351_zpsrqnigvve.JPG
Beacon and beyond from Aldrich
Here's a smattering of pics from our trip. We went Bonneville to PCT to Heartbreak to Table Summit to NW Ridge to PCT to Aldrich. I'll add more later, but, hey, you are bored at work or retired and you want to see some pictures of the damage from the fires, right?
DSCN5565_zpsrxfmpwe2.JPG
From lower elevations this is what Munra looked like.
7B0FCD02-0B9C-457D-B961-3A6BCACB786D_zpsvt27wez8 (1).JPG
A ridge in the Tanner drainage, a mile or more south of the Columbia (difficult to tell).
7CD12F7C-942F-4993-8CF7-D32CA426F6B8_zpsqormu4js.JPG
Campfires near Gillette...the ash didn't look much more than a week old.
299CF849-737A-4F83-B1A7-396A1EB8CC6B_zpsvdw0aj8f.JPG
Another fire ring. Why bother to pack out trash?
DSCN5574_zpsjjxo4i3o.JPG
Nesmith.
DSCN5594_zps5bmutyye.JPG
Kep at the summit.
DSCN5613_zpsivssqojv.JPG
Eagle Creek
DSCN5614_zpsbip3ybno.JPG
Helicopter
DSCN5627_zps8pozri4v.JPG
Big surprise when Bosterson arrived at the top.
Attachments
DSCN5655_zpstcxzdhnp.JPG
Summit view.

User avatar
Chase
Posts: 1265
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by Chase » September 11th, 2017, 12:11 pm

DSCN5675_zpsobplq88b (1).JPG
Some of these pics were taken later in the day from Aldrich.
DSCN5620_zpsisbxhdit.JPG
We saw more vultures than we had ever seen before.
DSCN5661_zpsbilbkd3f.JPG
DSCN5666_zpsoy5947jd.JPG
DSCN5667_zpss71nqj3h.JPG
0B3FE979-0713-47F4-9456-38FD31016D1B_zpsxgjua9ob.JPG
DSCN5676_zpsar89fikx (1).JPG
304F2026-772B-47F0-91D3-E89D4FA6CD98_zps0ch0pcj6.JPG
Bosterson kept finding burnt organic matter that turned to ash when you poked it with a trekking pole. Here's Kep with a leaf that stayed together. Imagine the thousands of burning bits that flew over the Gorge in the fire's early days. Kind of amazing that there weren't more fires in WA.

User avatar
drm
Posts: 6133
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: The Dalles, OR
Contact:

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by drm » September 11th, 2017, 12:52 pm

Kind of amazing that there weren't more fires in WA.
My guess is that for stuff like leaves, they had cooled down by the time they made it across the river and landed, so couldn't start any fires. I would think that if it's going to fly for a mile, it's got to be an ember of wood to keep the heat for long enough. And I don't think it was so windy to keep a decent sized ember aloft for that far, whereas when being blown west it didn't have to get that far to land on something that would burn.

User avatar
kepPNW
Posts: 6411
Joined: June 21st, 2012, 9:55 am
Location: Salmon Creek

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by kepPNW » September 11th, 2017, 3:38 pm

Hey, thanks for kicking this off, Chase! Just had a wonderful day out there, yesterday! Guess I could toss a few more photos this way. :)
  • Image
    One thing that has startled me since the fires began is the great number of raptors (especially vultures) constantly circling overhead.
  • Image
    Munra looking like toast. (Later shots show lots of green still there, though.)
  • Image
    Gillette Lake, lovely as ever.
  • Image
    News helicopter doing a Nesmith fly-by. We didn't see a single aircraft involved in suppression all day long.
  • Image
    Massive controlled burn (we could only presume) on south side of Cascade Locks.
  • Image
    Skeletal tree remains on ridge up Moffett drainage.
  • Image
    Another look at controlled burn from Two Chiefs overlook.
  • Image
    Little smokers were along nearly all ridges from Angels Rest eastward. This is probably near Ruckel.
  • Image
    Best view of the day! No evidence, whatsoever, of either East Crater or Bear Creek fires!
  • Image
    Not a pleasant sight. We really felt for those folks down in Cascade Locks.
  • Image
    Nearly 180° of burned area, still smoking... Just staggering.
  • Image
    Look who showed up! Call this the "Reverse Lewis & Clark" pose?
  • Image
    Contrast stretched to highlight all the little smokers along the ridge east of Nesmith.
  • Image
    So nasty!
  • Image
    We could see Wind and Dog on arrival, but they were quickly enveloped with smoke as we watched.
  • Image
    The buzzards were out in force, my friends!
  • Image
    "Nice birdy! Hey birdy-birdy-birdy! Smile!"
  • Image
    A face only a mother could love?
drm wrote:
Kind of amazing that there weren't more fires in WA.
My guess is that for stuff like leaves, they had cooled down by the time they made it across the river and landed, so couldn't start any fires. I would think that if it's going to fly for a mile, it's got to be an ember of wood to keep the heat for long enough. And I don't think it was so windy to keep a decent sized ember aloft for that far, whereas when being blown west it didn't have to get that far to land on something that would burn.
We were finding things other than leaves, too. Large chunks of burnt bark and such.
  • Image
    This chunk was easily 4x as large before I picked it up and it fell apart.
  • Image
    Can't see into the valleys, but view better than from the road argues in favor of the "mosaic" characterization.
  • Image
    Slightly less crispy view of Munra, again arguing "mosaic" is what we have. For now.
  • Image
    Ruckel Ridge area. More mosaic.
  • Image
    Snagging a shot of Mount Adams from Aldrich Butte.
  • Image
    Wauna Viewpoint
  • Image
    My last, and favorite, shot of the day epitomizes the intense love/hate feelings I have for all this mess!

Such a day... Surreal. Tragic. Beautiful. Certainly memorable!
Karl
Back on the trail, again...

User avatar
K.Wagner
Posts: 652
Joined: June 2nd, 2013, 1:25 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by K.Wagner » September 11th, 2017, 4:43 pm

Great reports from both of you .... I am just now coming to grips with the losses out there.

In regards to the buzzards ..... I did the NW ridge of Table a few weeks past, in the later afternoon. Going up there were 3 birds in that snag. Coming down, there were, as I recall, 13 or 14 birds. I joked with the birds that whoever sent out the tweet (or was it a squawk?) that there was going to be a Luau at dusk, got it wrong!
Kelly
There is no shortcut to anyplace worth going to.

PM me about the soon to be released:
Skamania 231
"How to really get off the beaten path in Skamania County"

User avatar
Don Nelsen
Posts: 4377
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by Don Nelsen » September 11th, 2017, 4:49 pm

Thanks for the photos! Hoping for all the smoke to clear so we can get some views farther up the drainages. For now, looks like the WA side will be the go to hiking area for some time!

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by Chip Down » September 11th, 2017, 6:34 pm

Hmm, interesting. Especially intrigued by kepPNW's ambivalence. Yes, there is some enigmatic beauty and excitement to all this. And from a purely selfish standpoint, I like this, while also empathizing with the hardship it's causing. I'd be out there too, but I assume sr14 is a zoo, and I'm currently obsessed with hood.

User avatar
Bosterson
Posts: 2317
Joined: May 18th, 2009, 3:17 pm
Location: Portland

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by Bosterson » September 11th, 2017, 7:01 pm

I'm a little late to this party, and my dinky little old camera can't really pull off what the others got, but here are some pics.

Gorge seen around noon-thirty as I started up from a "closed" trailhead.

Image

Photogenic buzzards.

Image

On the NW ridge of Table, taking a picture of Chase taking a picture of aforementioned photogenic buzzards.

Image

Dusky light around 6pm or so from Aldrich Butte, looking west.

Image

Munra is the little nubbin straight across. Poor thing is fried. Seems ironic to have been worrying about hordes "damaging" the moss all this time...

Image

It shouldn't have been surprising, but it really was astonishing to see how barren much of the Gorge is. (The face of Nesmith especially is going to be a sore sight for the eyes - I think even St. Peter's Dome burned.) And to see how much active fire is still happening out there... let us all pray for rain.
#pnw #bestlife #bitingflies #favoriteyellowcap #neverdispleased

User avatar
Don Nelsen
Posts: 4377
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by Don Nelsen » September 11th, 2017, 7:30 pm

Chip Down wrote:Hmm, interesting. Especially intrigued by kepPNW's ambivalence. Yes, there is some enigmatic beauty and excitement to all this. And from a purely selfish standpoint, I like this, while also empathizing with the hardship it's causing. I'd be out there too, but I assume sr14 is a zoo, and I'm currently obsessed with hood.
I've driven SR14 nearly every day for the past week and it's not too bad. Busy, but moves along just fine.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

User avatar
Eric Peterson
Posts: 4097
Joined: May 11th, 2009, 5:39 am
Location: Oregon
Contact:

Re: Eagle Creek Fires from Table with Kep and Bos 9/10/17

Post by Eric Peterson » September 12th, 2017, 4:57 am

Encouraging, looks like lots of green on the front.

Hopefully a patchwork of mosaic up the gullies/ridges where we can't see much yet.

Yeah, we can stop worrying about the lichen on Munra for awhile.

I think WADOT has restricted SR14 to cars and light trucks only until 84 opens.

Post Reply