Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

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vibramhead
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by vibramhead » January 29th, 2014, 9:43 am

mandrake wrote:I wouldn't think it'd be a good site for aircraft spotting at all. The valley is fairly narrow with limited sky views.
I had the same thought. Perhaps the spotters hiked up to a ridge during the day? The only plausible way to do that would be via Anderson Pass, and it'd be quite a trek. And how did the spotters communicate with HQ? My theory is that the Army grabbed places like that during WWII so they'd have places to post certain favored recruits, like congressmen's sons, safely out of harm's way.
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retired jerry
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by retired jerry » January 29th, 2014, 9:50 am

There's a lookout somewhere in Washington in wilderness area. Forest Service started to maintain it. The Wilderness Institute (?) sued to cease maintanence because it's in Wilderness Area. They won suit. Forest Service stopped, leaving all the materials there to rot away.

I suspect the Chalet will suffer same.

This is unfortunate. I emailed the Wilderness Institute and they responded that the law says the Forest Service can't maintain structures in wilderness. I emailed back they're being stupid - if more people use the wilderness area because of some structure the wilderness will actually be better off. They didn't respond

I hate zealots :)

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arundodonax
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by arundodonax » January 29th, 2014, 10:21 am

Very cool to see this in January!

Theoretically, low snow levels this year = low river levels in the spring = less chance for erosion, right? Or is the only thing that matters melt speed—one fast melt could do it?

mandrake
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by mandrake » January 29th, 2014, 10:31 am

Yes, there's a lot of politics surrounding the chalet: whether to save it, or let it go. Apparently the Quinault shifted previously towards the chalet 2007 and a number of contingency plans were drawn up by the NPS -- but fortunately the river shifted away again so no action was needed. There's been some talk of dusting them off.

Even aside from the lawsuit potential, however, the site is very remote and any engineering efforts (shoring up the bank, diverting the river into a new channel, or literally moving the chalet) would be very expensive. In these days of limited budgets I'm afraid I'm not terribly optimistic. :(

----
For folks who might be interested, here's a great thread on nwhikers regarding the shelters (and other structures) on the Olympic peninsula. Apparently out of an original 193 there are only some 32 that remain. There's a lot that's been lost. Long thread, lots of discussion and historic photos.
http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7963518

mandrake
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by mandrake » January 29th, 2014, 10:52 am

Thanks very much on the pics -- it was a really great weekend to be out there...
Theoretically, low snow levels this year = low river levels in the spring = less chance for erosion, right? Or is the only thing that matters melt speed—one fast melt could do it?
Possibly -- although we do have a good bit of winter ahead. I know some years we don't get the big snow dumps until pretty late into February/March timeframe.
From camp in Enchanted Valley it's a day hike on up to Anderson Pass, and in the eastern end of Enchanted Valley, on the trail, is the world's largest Western hemlock. I last saw it in 1985.
I've heard the tree is still there -- about 2mi further up from the chalet. I did rather wish I'd an extra day -- would have been fun to do some more exploration of the area.

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retired jerry
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by retired jerry » January 29th, 2014, 12:14 pm

What is it, 12 miles of gravel road? Doable in regular vehicle?

Each year there are some great TRs and I swear to do this, maybe this year? :)

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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by mandrake » January 29th, 2014, 1:11 pm

What is it, 12 miles of gravel road? Doable in regular vehicle?
That sounds about right. It's ~17mi from the ranger station on the S. Shore Quinault Rd to the Graves Creek trailhead. The pavement ends right on the county border. Road is definitely 2WD passable currently -- few potholes and one or two rough spots, but it seems to see a fair bit of traffic. Take it easy & no problem. Couple nice waterfalls on the drive in -- one right next to the sign as you enter the park; it's set back in an alcove and I totally missed it on the way in.

Not sure it's updated super frequently but you can check here too on road conditions:
http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/c ... itions.htm

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drm
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by drm » January 29th, 2014, 1:19 pm

It's not that far, only 4 hours from Portland? I haven't driven it in some years, but except for any recent winter damage, I think they keep it in good shape.

Any Federal land can be designated wilderness - national forests, national parks, BLM land, whatever. Then the terms of the bill that created it control the usage. Although there is a default set of conditions for designated wilderness, since each wilderness requires it's own legislation, special conditions or exemptions can be included. The River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho allows plane landings at airstrips. And almost all Alaskan wildernesses also do, and have some other exceptions since so many do not have road access.

Olympic Wilderness is 95% of the park according to wilderness.net, so unless special conditions were also added to it's enabling legislation, any powered machinery would be prohibited. I suppose you could get mad at some organization for suing to enforce that, but it is the law if no exemptions were included and it's a safe bet that somebody will sue if the park decided to ignore the law.

I know that many people are attached to historic man-made structures, but I'm not one of them. If nature takes the chalet back, so be it. It won't lessen my enjoyment of the area. In fact, I'd rather they spend that sizable amount of money maintaining trails, which in any case they do a pretty good job of at ONP. But there are a number of trails that see only irregular maintenance.

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K.Wagner
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by K.Wagner » January 29th, 2014, 9:59 pm

Mandrake,

Thanks for posting the great TR! That sure brings back some memories. We packed in to the chalet in the early 70's. Bears (as in BIG ones!) were a major concern. We camped somewhat below the chalet, and one morning watched one swim across the river. Would have been impossible for a human to do it. Then watched it leap up on a big log that I later tried to climb onto, couldn't do it.

When at the chalet, had the wife pose near the front door. As I was moving back to frame the picture the way I wanted, I realized that there was a bear looking out the upper window!

There was a Boy Scout troop that got plundered by 2 bears. Ate most of their food, and destroyed most of their gear.

It is sad to see how the structure has gone down since our visit. Looks like it might not be around much longer.
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retired jerry
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Re: Enchanted Valley (Olympic NP) - Jan 25-26

Post by retired jerry » January 29th, 2014, 10:53 pm

I wonder if the Boy Scouts used proper bear food techniques? Are you supposed to use canisters there?

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