Multnomah-Wahkeena loop 12/17/16

[romann]

In short - a lot of snow, some ice, almost no blowdown, and mostly well-tracked trails. When I got to Multnomah Falls, the lower gate was closed with some big signs in French, but like most everyone else there I can't read French so I followed the crowds up the trail. When I was nearing Benson Bridge however, people coming back said the trail is closed ahead and there's a ranger turning everyone back. Being law-abiding guy, I returned onto Historic Hwy, went short way east, and bushwhacked up to connect with Mult. trail at Switchback #2, just uphill from the upper gate closure.





It was pretty icy going uphill - crampons went on, and stayed on for the rest of the hike.


Gorge Trail #400 (note the side hill angle), looking towards Multnomah Trail junction


How often do you see reflection on Columbia River?




Saw some winter creatures as well


Snow angels


The trail along Multnomah Creek was well tracked and frozen canyon looked fantastic. It wasn't cold at all, with zero wind. It was trying to snow at times, and was very quiet












I always wonder if this overhang is natural (most likely), or was cut during trail construction. Some 4-foot icicles


Ecola Falls


This spot really didn't look so bad


Wish I had time to continue up Larch Mtn


Bushwakers' proving ground


It became dark around the time I hit high point of the loop. The rest of the trail had tracks to follow so route-finding was easy - though it was definitely slower going down Wahkeena than on my way up, i.e. in a few places tracks went straight downhill instead of taking switchbacks. On the lower part of Wahkeena trail (the section with paved switchbacks & stone wall) 4-5 foot snowdrift covered several switchbacks but luckily all snow was hard frozen and it was easy going with spikes. Connector trail above the Hwy between Wahkeenah and Multnomah trailheads had one big tree down in bad spot, but I don't recall any more on this loop.

Fairy Falls, surprisingly, didn't freeze at all


Snow really lights things up, what otherwise would be dark, drippy hike in the canyon


My attempt at night photography


Need to enter this Wahkeena pic for Worst Waterfall Shot Contest


Ice on handrails at Wahkeena Falls




This thing really puzzled me. Seems to be hollow inside, very light. Giant yellowjacket nest fallen from the tree? Tree parasite growth?


Handrail at the Lodge made for nice tripod for my camera for couple night shots

[Webfoot]

Need to enter this Wahkeena pic for Worst Waterfall Shot Contest

No no no, that's clearly Bigfoot!

(Thanks for the trip report and photos!)

[Peabody]

Looks like fun! Can't wait 'til the trail opens again so I can give it a go.

I always assumed Dutchman Tunnel was man made, at a minimum I'd say it was enhanced a little based on this drill sticking out of the side.

[Chip Down]

Glad to see our tax dollars are supporting Big Brother telling us when/where it's safe to go.

I had plans for some Multnomah area adventures 12/17, but the 3am forecast had deteriorated, and there was a slight chance of freezing rain, so I played it safe and stayed home.

[yes, I do recognize the irony in the two paragraphs above ]

[romann]

Chip Down - if you saw forecast at weather.gov then these 2 paragraphs don't contradict one another at all . Yeah I agree that gate closure is silly - Multnomah trail was by far better tracked than Wahkeenah (so much safer) and neither come even close to alpine danger and exposure.

[woodswalker]

I went up to the Basin on Monday Dec 12, which was the first day post storm folks were going up. Lots of untracked snow.

The "This spot really didn't look so bad " picture was a "fun" area to cross and the switchbacks near Weisendanger falls were interesting as well. Great pics.

Woodswalker

[Webfoot]

Yeah I agree that gate closure is silly - Multnomah trail was by far better tracked than Wahkeenah (so much safer) and neither come even close to alpine danger and exposure.

Wasn't there a thread here about people getting lost in Multnomah Basin and some people's (including Lurch perhaps?) conclusion was that with the kind of users the area now sees we need big arrows all along the trail to keep this from happening? That basically people expect a curated Disneyland walk rather than a hike in nature?

What teeth are in this closure anyway? Will people in violation simply be warned of the danger? Told to leave at once? Fined? Criminally charged?

[Lurch]

Completely person conjecture, not professional opinion. But I believe the closure helps let the FS wash their hands of liability of people playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes. Anyone who clearly and knowingly circumvented, or bypassed trail closures (either by hopping the gate, or taking 400 or other routes around) is 100% responsible for their own actions at that point. There's no complaining that the trail was slippery, and there's no one to blame but you when you or a loved on slips and doesn't stop until the end..

We were lucky this weekend, but what's worse is when people knowingly skip around closures like this, then get lost/injured, and place rescuers in abnormally hazardous conditions in order to bring them back. This would be on par with skiing 'out of bounds' IMO, people don't seem to understand that their risky behavior can have much further reaching impacts.

No doubt there are plenty of people with the equipment and skills to do these trails in these conditions. But part of the problem is the 'disneyland trail' syndrome, where they think these trails are the same as walking in a city park. And there's another part of people who simply don't know what they don't know, and think they're hardcore wilderness folk, that's often a painful and difficult lesson to learn.

/rant

[trailupdater]

Your picture 3 from the bottom appears to be a quinine conk. Usually found on very large old-growth trees. I'm glad it didn't hit anyone on the way down!

Take a look to see if you agree:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laricifomes_officinalis

[romann]

Thanks everyone for the comments & beta!

Woodswalker - I kept thinking of the hikers who had to break trail over these drifts, that they must've had more "interesting" time than I did.

Your picture 3 from the bottom appears to be a quinine conk. Usually found on very large old-growth trees. I'm glad it didn't hit anyone on the way down!

Take a look to see if you agree:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laricifomes_officinalis

That looks definitely it, probably as big as they get! And there was a large 4+ feet fir down across the trail (it's on lower connector trail between Multnomah and Wahkeena), don't remember how far it landed from that tree but not very far.

Anyone who clearly and knowingly circumvented, or bypassed trail closures (either by hopping the gate, or taking 400 or other routes around) is 100% responsible for their own actions at that point. There's no complaining that the trail was slippery, and there's no one to blame but you when you or a loved on slips and doesn't stop until the end..

Lurch - good point about personal responsibility for own safety (all the time - no matter the signs or conditions) - I always evaluate the risk & worst case scenario, and ready to turn around. Been in conditions much worse than this, self-rescued a couple of times (one time had to guess my way on the ridge at night, to skip that infamous Oneonta crossing when the creek ran too high) & never thought someone other than myself should help me... or that it was someone's fault not closing a bad trail. As for setting wrong example on forum - I think you're right here, but imho picking another route is not equal jumping the gate or ignoring the sign

Like you said, the whole point of locked gates seems to be FS not wanting to deal with liability for the least experienced tourists at Multnomah - if for example someone started from Wahkeena and made it to the gate from the other side they're probably experienced enough and not wearing flip-flops...