Hood: Stranahan Ridge and Eliot Canyon, from Laurance Lake to TLT
Posted: November 16th, 2019, 10:15 pm
MOTIVATION/INSPIRATION:
Several times I've gazed west across Eliot Canyon to the open grassy crest of Stranahan Ridge, a little below Timberline Trail. It was finally time to go investigate. But how to get there?
ROUTE OPTIONS:
Cloud Cap, Timberline Trail, down to the Eliot crossing (icy?), up the other side, continue on TLT to Stranahan Ridge, descend until I run out of time, return the same way. This would be horrible. I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Park at Inspiration Point, drop into canyon, cross Eliot (icy?), ascend other side of canyon, explore ridge. I didn't like the idea of ending my day with a climb out of Eliot canyon. And I had no idea how difficult the canyon crossing would be.
Drive Laurance Lake Road to the jumbled up dirt segment where the road was washed out when Eliot came roaring down the mountain in 1996 (I'm told; sounds plausible). Start up Eliot Creek and look for a good opportunity to climb out of the canyon to gain Stranahan Ridge. This option won out, even though I knew it would be brutal.
ANXIETIES:
- Time. Days are getting short. I set my alarm for the meridian, 11:55. If I wasn't starting down by then, I'd better have a damn good reason. I don't mind trail hiking by headlamp, but this trip started and ended offtrail.
- Getting boxed into the canyon, no way forward or out to the side, forced to retreat.
- Snow? Seemed really unlikely this would be a deal killer, but I wondered.
- Brush and blowdown, mile after mile.
UP THE ELIOT:
I started in the dark, which I vowed I wouldn't do, but I arrived early. What else was I going to do, wait in my car? It was super easy. Glad I did it. Travel was pretty straightforward. Sandy in spots, and the rocky stretches weren't bad. Often, I had to traverse steep banks or cross the creek, both of which were pretty easy. Kept an eye out for escape options to get me out of the canyon. If I hit a dead end, wanted to know what my most recent escape option was, downstream. I bailed at about 3800'. The canyon was getting really steep (even cliffy) on the west side (my right). The creek was still easy to follow, but I knew this might be my last opportunity to climb out safely.
STRANAHAN RIDGE:
The ridge wasn't really well defined until approx 4600'. As the ridge emerged from the chaos, it also became less brushy. Unfortunately, the fire damage was a problem. If I stepped over one downed tree, I stepped over a hundred. And of course they were often jumbled in a heap. But I persisted, and finally around 5500' I was rewarded with the open grassy ridge I had come for. But I was only 500' below Timberline Trail, which means I might as well have done this from Cloud Cap. Couldn't have known. I decided to drop east to a rocky grassy viewpoint overlooking Eliot. Not as good as I had hoped for, too low and overgrown, but probably worth the twenty minutes it took me to get there.
ONWARD TO TIMBERLINE TRAIL:
Rather than return to Stranahan Ridge, I ascended closer to Eliot, through difficult brush and blowdown, until I came to a verdant gully which hosted a tributary creek to Eliot. I ascended towards TLT. It was the coldest part of the day. I started watching very closely for TLT. Didn't want to overshoot it! When I reached Stranahan Ridge, it was 11:57. Yep, two minutes after my turnaround mandate.
THE DESCENT:
Although I made no effort to repeat my ascent route, it's funny how close I came, just by following openings in the brush and following sensible topography. I wish I had stayed farther from the canyon and explored new terrain, but I kept getting sucked towards the river. When I reached canyon bottom, I followed Eliot, and sometimes the adjacent forest, at my whim. There were stretches where the forest was open and easy to walk through, but eventually it was overwhelmed by flood debris (rocks and logs). I arrived at my car after sunset, but early enough that I didn't need my headlamp.
ELEVATION:
2800' at Laurance Lake Rd
6000' at Timberline Trail
Several times I've gazed west across Eliot Canyon to the open grassy crest of Stranahan Ridge, a little below Timberline Trail. It was finally time to go investigate. But how to get there?
ROUTE OPTIONS:
Cloud Cap, Timberline Trail, down to the Eliot crossing (icy?), up the other side, continue on TLT to Stranahan Ridge, descend until I run out of time, return the same way. This would be horrible. I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Park at Inspiration Point, drop into canyon, cross Eliot (icy?), ascend other side of canyon, explore ridge. I didn't like the idea of ending my day with a climb out of Eliot canyon. And I had no idea how difficult the canyon crossing would be.
Drive Laurance Lake Road to the jumbled up dirt segment where the road was washed out when Eliot came roaring down the mountain in 1996 (I'm told; sounds plausible). Start up Eliot Creek and look for a good opportunity to climb out of the canyon to gain Stranahan Ridge. This option won out, even though I knew it would be brutal.
ANXIETIES:
- Time. Days are getting short. I set my alarm for the meridian, 11:55. If I wasn't starting down by then, I'd better have a damn good reason. I don't mind trail hiking by headlamp, but this trip started and ended offtrail.
- Getting boxed into the canyon, no way forward or out to the side, forced to retreat.
- Snow? Seemed really unlikely this would be a deal killer, but I wondered.
- Brush and blowdown, mile after mile.
UP THE ELIOT:
I started in the dark, which I vowed I wouldn't do, but I arrived early. What else was I going to do, wait in my car? It was super easy. Glad I did it. Travel was pretty straightforward. Sandy in spots, and the rocky stretches weren't bad. Often, I had to traverse steep banks or cross the creek, both of which were pretty easy. Kept an eye out for escape options to get me out of the canyon. If I hit a dead end, wanted to know what my most recent escape option was, downstream. I bailed at about 3800'. The canyon was getting really steep (even cliffy) on the west side (my right). The creek was still easy to follow, but I knew this might be my last opportunity to climb out safely.
STRANAHAN RIDGE:
The ridge wasn't really well defined until approx 4600'. As the ridge emerged from the chaos, it also became less brushy. Unfortunately, the fire damage was a problem. If I stepped over one downed tree, I stepped over a hundred. And of course they were often jumbled in a heap. But I persisted, and finally around 5500' I was rewarded with the open grassy ridge I had come for. But I was only 500' below Timberline Trail, which means I might as well have done this from Cloud Cap. Couldn't have known. I decided to drop east to a rocky grassy viewpoint overlooking Eliot. Not as good as I had hoped for, too low and overgrown, but probably worth the twenty minutes it took me to get there.
ONWARD TO TIMBERLINE TRAIL:
Rather than return to Stranahan Ridge, I ascended closer to Eliot, through difficult brush and blowdown, until I came to a verdant gully which hosted a tributary creek to Eliot. I ascended towards TLT. It was the coldest part of the day. I started watching very closely for TLT. Didn't want to overshoot it! When I reached Stranahan Ridge, it was 11:57. Yep, two minutes after my turnaround mandate.
THE DESCENT:
Although I made no effort to repeat my ascent route, it's funny how close I came, just by following openings in the brush and following sensible topography. I wish I had stayed farther from the canyon and explored new terrain, but I kept getting sucked towards the river. When I reached canyon bottom, I followed Eliot, and sometimes the adjacent forest, at my whim. There were stretches where the forest was open and easy to walk through, but eventually it was overwhelmed by flood debris (rocks and logs). I arrived at my car after sunset, but early enough that I didn't need my headlamp.
ELEVATION:
2800' at Laurance Lake Rd
6000' at Timberline Trail
We did Lamberson Spur from 35 to the TT and back via Polallie to Tilly Jane, then a bike ride back to the car. Tree tasting notes for that area have been updated in the conifer ID thread.
