St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

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Chip Down
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St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by Chip Down » September 2nd, 2018, 8:46 pm

PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Okay to skip this paragraph if you don't care why I did this. Many years ago, on a wintry November morning, I took a white-knuckle drive up to the Sheep Canyon trailhead and hiked the loop. I wanted to get back when it was bare, but a geologic event closed the road, so I waited for repairs. Then another struck, and the road was abandoned. Bummer. These days, hikers destined for Sheep Canyon drive up road 8123 until it becomes undrivable for all but the most adventurous, and take a long walk past Blue Lake to get to Sheep Canyon. I did that earlier this year, and when I took a short spur trail to Sheep Canyon Falls, I noticed an unmaintained trail headed down parallel to the creek. Could this be the old Sheep Canyon trail I hiked 20-some years ago? I wanted to find out. I now see our fieldguide states "on the south side of the Sheep Canyon footbridge, this trail leads down to what was the former trailhead on FR 8123 before the latter was washed out in the deluges of the 1996-97 winter". Oh, oaky. Indeed, I confirmed that today.

THE ORIGINAL PLAN: I intended to drop my car at Blue Lake TH, and walk up Rd 2183, hopefully all the way to the old Sheep Canyon TH. From there, I hoped to follow the old Sheep Canyon trail, if possible, which I hoped would take me to the familliar SC Falls. (Maps of MSH are horrible, hence some of my uncertainty.) From SC Falls, I would evalute resources (time and energy) and make a plan for further exploring.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED:
(this is long and complicated...sorry, that's just the way my day went) After hiking up Rd 8123 a ways past Blue Lake TH, I felt like it wasn't what I expected, based on maps and memories and assumptions. I wondered if I made a wrong turn in the dark. (I now realize I did miss a junction in the dark, but I took the primary branch, which was more evident.) I was losing quite a bit of elevation, so at an obvious draw bordered by two ridges, I decided to cut my losses and turn back. But then I saw a trail! So I turned right and ascended a steep primitive (but clear and unmistakable) trail up, parallel to a tiny creek. It became braided, and mixed in with game trails, but I saw enough saw cuts to know this was a deliberate trail, even if it wasn't sanctioned. (I knew it wasn't Sheep Canyon; it was too steep, and I would have recognized the TH.) It continued up, ridiculously steep, brushy, braided. I zigged and zagged so many times, I was no longer entirely confident I could retrace my steps. Soon I heard a rushing sound, and as there was no wind, I concluded it was a waterfall. Drat, a little higher, at a clearing, I saw trees swaying vigorously. It was calm where I was, but the sound I had been hearing was just wind up higher. So many times, I considered turning back, but I couldn't bear to. When I finally topped out, hoping to see verdant flowery meadows leading to MSH (yeah, right) what I encountered was a saddle on a viewless ridgecrest. Damn. My gut said I should go right, but as I was ascending towards a high point, I was barely able to see MSH through the trees, not where I was anticipating it. I turned back, to the saddle, then followed the ridge the other direction. I was getting very uneasy about my situation (low confidence I could get back), but the ridge was easy to follow, so I wasn't making my situation worse. MSH Monument boundary markers made me feel better. At the high point, the ridge continued (dropping, of course) but there was a third ridge, ala Munra, which I followed to a bare rocky steep viewpoint where the spur ridge abruptly ended. I scrambled up, and got my bearings. Finally, I had no trees obscuring my views, the haze was clearing, the sun was getting higher (so the mountain wasn't backlit as bad) and so I could make out features. I've spent tremendous time on MSH this year, and thus I could easily identify a number of features. I was able to devise a sound strategy for a bushwhack back to Blue Lake TH where I had parked. But no...it was still early, I knew my way, and I resolved to go back to that three-ridged high-point and follow the ridge that went towards Sheep Canyon (incidentally, from this vantage point I was able to conclude that the road I gave up on certainly must have been the correct one, and would have taken me to Sheep Canyon TH if I had persisted). That ridge soon started ascending again (boo!) and I found myself even higher than my earlier viewpoint, although the high point on this ridge was viewless. From that high point, I continued on the ridgecrest, dropping now, headed towards Sheep Canyon. It got rugged in spots, brushy, steep, even took a step that I had to work around, but soon I heard the creek, and I even caught a glimpse of Loowit Trail climbing out of distant Toutle Canyon. As I had been descending this ridge, I imagined it would dump me on the Sheep Canyon Trail between the falls and Loowit trail, but it ocurred to me that this wasn't possible. From where I left the road, getting to that segment of Sheep Canyon would involve crossing the trail that leads from the top of Blue Horse Trail to the Sheep Canyon Falls area. That was a careless oversight, but I'm glad I came to that realization before I actually arrived at the trail. Anyway, I did a great job (or I was lucky), hitting the trail right around that campsite at the complicated confluence of trails above the falls. As you can imagine, I was greatly relieved. (Sorry about the droning wall of text, but it actually captures the chaotic tone of my hike.)

AND THEN THE TRAIL/ROAD HIKE:
From Sheep Canyon Falls, I continued down the trail, parallel to the creek, hoping it would take me to the abandoned Sheep Canyon trailhead. A couple surprises: the trail is in great shape, and it's very short. I was shocked when I arrived at SC TH after just a few minutes of pleasant hiking. The TH felt weird. Last time, it was snowy, cold, somewhat crowded (hunters). To see it desolate, warm, bare, brushy, a couple decades later, was nearly surreal. I headed down the road, which was surprisingly brushy, compared to the section I hiked the other direction in the morning.

I WON'T DO THAT AGAIN:
Next time, I'll stick to the trail to get to SC Falls. Rd 8123 (past Blue Lake TH) undulates too much, it's long, and it's brushy. The trail alternative also undulates, but overall, I don't think the road is an improvement. One of the reasons for my trip today was to determine if Rd 8123 is bike-worthy. It's possible, but considering how brushy it is, it's not something I'll try.
Attachments
1.jpg
A rare perspective on MSH. From high point of short spur ridge I scrambled up.
2.jpg
Abandoned Sheep Canyon TH.
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4.jpg
The high point of the day (literally). I chuckled that the needle points to "fine". I'm above 4800, so maybe this is illegal.
5.jpg
6.jpg
Sign/barricade is new.
Last edited by Chip Down on September 3rd, 2018, 6:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

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retired jerry
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by retired jerry » September 3rd, 2018, 5:11 am

analog altimeter? wow :)

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Chip Down
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by Chip Down » September 3rd, 2018, 6:22 am

retired jerry wrote:
September 3rd, 2018, 5:11 am
analog altimeter? wow :)
When the apocalypse comes and our industrial society collapses, I'll still know my elevation :lol:

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retired jerry
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by retired jerry » September 3rd, 2018, 6:43 am

after the nuclear bombs release an electromagnetic pulse that destroys all electronics

or after the sun releases a CME

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romann
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by romann » September 4th, 2018, 11:25 pm

Looks like nice adventure! I think I know that viewpoint (2 trees on the right and 1 near the center match your photo, slight change because my pic is from 2011). :)
It's nice, easy scramble to this rock on S/E side (have to look up gps track), a bare rocky slope last 100 feet before the top. Now I have to figure out which ridge you went up, it sounds fun.
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I actually liked that old road. Not the brushy part, but closer to new trailhead where it opens up - old forest is quite nice and there's a couple viewpoints of Goat Mtn. Have you seen the pile of wooden beams just above/west of Coldspring Creek? Saw it last summer, almost enough material to build a highway bridge, I wondered if they're going to reopen that road (let's hope not)? Or maybe they brought materials to fix one of the roads downhill.

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Chip Down
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by Chip Down » September 5th, 2018, 7:39 pm

Yep, bridge materials were staged. I assume work is about to commence: New barriers on road, equipment and trailers on site, notice posted on trail (strangely, notice wasn't posted on barricades). I found nothing online about the plans.

I don't mind the repairs per se, but I don't think it's the best use of resources. In this era, it seems odd to see vehicular access granted to a place that's been a little quieter and wilder than other parts of the mountain. At the same time, it does seem a shame to see a road "go to waste". I'll admit that in a case like this the USFS can't please everybody.

I spent a great deal of time on that wood. Perfect weather, light breeze, sound of running water nearby, a clean flat place to lie down, no bugs, no time pressure. Ahhhhh!

Incidentally, the pic I posted above (with beer) was considerably further up the road, and looked like it had been there quite some time.
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a.jpg
b.jpg

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romann
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by romann » September 5th, 2018, 11:17 pm

Chip Down wrote:
September 5th, 2018, 7:39 pm
it seems odd to see vehicular access granted to a place that's been a little quieter and wilder than other parts of the mountain.
Was thinking the same thing - it's just not the best place for development. Nice to have a wilder, vehicle-free area up there. I'll go and look sometime after 9/15, to see what completed project looks like. That road currently appears as a trail on trailhead maps. Interesting thing is, the monument boundary is where old-growth forest ends and "tree plantations" and brush start, even in the absence of signs on the ground the difference was pretty stark (good illustration of the irony is your picture with misleading "for the greater good" from U$f$ ;) ).
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On the other hand, I got a flat tire driving to Blue Lake trailhead last year, I think they put more gravel on that road shortly afterwards. At least the part over Red Rock Pass was repaired - I really appreciated that.

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retired jerry
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by retired jerry » September 6th, 2018, 4:39 am

"For the greater good"
"Bullshit! resist the USFS"

That's pretty funny. Or maybe sad?

The USFS (and a lot of other institutions) have a credibility problem. I wonder what the solution is? Before the country self destructs. Maybe things aren't that bad...

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Chip Down
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by Chip Down » September 6th, 2018, 4:41 am

There are several variations to that map. Possibly what happens is it gets revised but the old ones don't get replaced. There's at least one version, still displayed at trailheads, that shows 8123 as a road, with a warning: "road may be closed due to washouts".

The USFS slogan reminded me of something. Just dawned on me, it's the old navy slogan "A global force for good". Those ads seemed really creepy to me, not just the phrase but also the way it was spoken.

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retired jerry
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Re: St Helens: Old (abandoned) Sheep Canyon TH (the HARD way!)

Post by retired jerry » September 6th, 2018, 7:16 am

That's a good point, sounds like a marketing slogan

Maybe their slogan should be something about compromise between harvesting trees and preserving the forest.

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