it's a bit damp out there

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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Chip Down
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it's a bit damp out there

Post by Chip Down » November 13th, 2021, 8:58 pm

It was a great day to see creeks running high. Heck, it was a good day to see roads running high. I was in the Lewis River neighborhood.

Share your stories/pics if you have any.
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Field Guide says I should "step over" this creek on the trail to Lookout Mountain. Nope! I knew there was at least one ahead that was ten times this, so I turned back.
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Is this a road? A creekbed? Yes.
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Don Nelsen
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by Don Nelsen » November 13th, 2021, 9:15 pm

The waterfall west of St. Cloud ridge:
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The same falls as above this summer, July 29th: BTW, this falls is almost 200'.
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Apron Falls on Duncan Creek:
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Here's the same falls with the normal wintertime flow with me for perspective. Taken Dec. 2nd, 2018:
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Here is is again with normal summer flow, again, me for perspective. Sept. 13th, 2007
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Duncan Creek at the summer trail crossing:
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Powerline road NE of Archer Mt.
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Last edited by Don Nelsen on November 14th, 2021, 11:43 am, edited 3 times in total.
"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

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Chip Down
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by Chip Down » November 13th, 2021, 9:29 pm

Duncan Creek at the summer trail crossing


:shock:
Yesterday, if I read a news story about a missing hiker getting swept away by Duncan Creek, I would have assumed it must be a mistake. But today, I could believe it.

I was torn between going someplace new, or doing the same ol' to see what it looked like today.

Don didn't have that dilemma, as he's already been everywhere. ;)

johnspeth
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by johnspeth » November 14th, 2021, 6:39 am

Sat Nov 13 was the first nice day to follow our recent pineapple express deluge. I chose to explore Marion Creek (outflow from Marion Lake). The creek was quite full and raging. It was exciting to watch.

I visited Marion and Gatch Falls on the fun user trail. Light for the camera and unobstructed viewpoints were extremely limited.

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Marion Falls
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Gatch Falls
Every time I visit Gatch falls I try to explore a little further by following the user trail. A few hundred feet past the obvious Gatch Falls viewpoint, I found a couple of orange trail flags. I didn't continue past that point due to risk of wet and steep slopes and the unknown. The cool thing about the heavy flow of water was the occasional sound of large rocks washing down the creek.

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Gatch Falls bottom viewpoint

Does anybody know what the trail is like past the Gatch Falls viewpoint? (risk, steepness, interesting things)

Finally, I was treated to my first observation of a tree falling in the forest. It happened near the Marion Lake trail head. What looked like a very old 50 foot snag was probably water soaked and collapsed under it's own weight. I took a minute to look around and then I heard a crack sound to my left and turned my head to watch, quickly wondering how far and in what direction I might need to run when I saw the tree lean over. It was far enough away that I knew it wouldn't directly hit me but I was mostly worried about debris bouncing toward me because it fell in my direction. It's a reminder to be vigilant even in the best conditions.

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Chip Down
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by Chip Down » November 14th, 2021, 8:04 am

johnspeth: Funny, as as many trees as there are, and as often as they fall, you'd think people would report seeing it more often. I never have. I've wondered if it's all an elaborate hoax.

Aimless
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by Aimless » November 14th, 2021, 8:55 am

Offhand I can recall watching two different large trees spontaneously fall over, once as a teenager in SE Portland and another in 2019 while walking on trails on the Lewis & Clark campus with my wife.

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Don Nelsen
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by Don Nelsen » November 14th, 2021, 11:48 am

Chip Down wrote:
November 13th, 2021, 9:29 pm

Don didn't have that dilemma, as he's already been everywhere. ;)
:lol: :lol: Good one! - but, not quite, yet....

I added a few comparison shots of the above waterfalls in normal water conditions. I wish I could have gone a few more places on Friday and Saturday.

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

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pinecone
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by pinecone » November 14th, 2021, 12:37 pm

johnspeth: Funny, as as many trees as there are, and as often as they fall, you'd think people would report seeing it more often. I never have. I've wondered if it's all an elaborate hoax.
Once working in SE Alaska on a wilderness trail for the USFS up a creek the weather turned much windier than the forecast had predicted and led to me witnessing a couple of old-growth Sitka Spruces just calming tearing out of the ground, and crashing down, the closest just a few feet away along the trail. The first once was "Wow that's cool!" The third one was a firm "Nope we're out of here." We abandoned our project and camp and sat in heavy rain on a grassy plain along the creek while the District fumbled about needing special approval to send a skiff to get us because of the weather. I'd not seen them fall so close before but had heard ones nearby a handful of times while working in the mountains up there. Despite being in a forest the sound always felt out of place because it was rare, and thus startling that it caused you to pause and think it over.

I went up Bald Mountain Ridge to check out views of Yocum Falls yesterday, and to see if the new landslide area coming off of the destroyed forest along Yocum Ridge had gotten any bigger. It hadn't, but it was impressive to see the Muddy Fork so wide from up high.

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Chip Down
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by Chip Down » November 14th, 2021, 4:48 pm

pinecone wrote:
November 14th, 2021, 12:37 pm
I went up Bald Mountain Ridge to check out views of Yocum Falls yesterday,
What I think of as Yocum Falls wouldn't be visible from Bald Mountain Ridge. Tell us more please. Are you thinking of one of the many falls on the west side of Yocum Ridge?

Funny, I stayed low yesterday due to recent reports of snow. I realize it's melting fast, but wow, a day or two later you'd think a snow-level report would be somewhat reliable. Where did you park? How was the snow?

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pinecone
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Re: it's a bit damp out there

Post by pinecone » November 14th, 2021, 7:22 pm

What I think of as Yocum Falls wouldn't be visible from Bald Mountain Ridge.
Good catch thanks, I left off the "Ridge" from the "Yocum Ridge Falls" in my post. I should be reading what I write before I post. These https://wyeastblog.org/2012/03/31/yocum ... aterfalls/ ones specifically (haven't pulled photos off my camera yet), the branches flowing down into the Muddy Fork from the Sandy Glacier Volcano remnants. I'm not tall enough to see into Camp Creek from Bald Mountain Ridge.

There was a surprisingly warm breeze up on the ridge, T-shirt/glove weather. I went from Top Spur, I was expecting some snow, but warmer rain must have melted it away- much less up the mountain than I expected, even Barrett Spur looked pretty well melted off. A few inches were sticking on the shadier side of slopes above 5400ft, and only on stretches of the Timberline Trail once you got to Mazama trail. Ice on the trail above 5200 ft and frozen water that had been flowing on the trail around the Tarns was fun to crunch. Things were getting muddy on the way down. I forgot how busy it can get there on the weekend and the empty trailhead when I started was packed by noon when I got back.

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