Eliot crossing, Timberline Trail, Aug 3

[Chip Down]

Just a mini-TR for those wondering about the Eliot crossing.
I was hiking CCW, from Cloudcap towards Coe.

Arrived a little before dawn, so water was about as low as you're likely to find it in August.

As so often happens, the trail was a little tricky to follow down at the creek, partly because it's a rubble zone, partly because the trail falls apart as people look for their preferred crossing.

I had read of a big log, and indeed that was the first opportunity I spotted. It was barkless and wet, which is a scary combination. It's just a few steps across, but they were uneasy steps. I saw evidence that others had gone a little upstream to cross, but I didn't investigate.

Once on the other side, I struggled to find the trail. I was thinking it should go downstream slightly, but nothing. Went upstream and found it. A bit rugged in spots. A slip wouldn't end well. Missed a switchback when I followed the path left by others who missed the switchback.

I've never found Eliot to be really difficult, but I've never done it in August (usually Oct/Nov), and I've never done it in the dark, so I was really apprehensive. Was very happy to get it behind me (was looping, crossed Eliot Glacier on return, so no need to repeat the creek crossing at end of day).

Incidentally, I saw an old mangled rusty cable on the west bank. This is a new trail, so it's not the remnant of an old bridge. Thoughts?

[calipidder]

We crossed it mid-afternoon on the 7th. The trickiest part was finding the trail on the west side of the crossing. We came in counter-clockwise (heading towards cloud cap) and were able to make out some flags marking a switchback instead of going straight down the loose slope. Using the switchback made it much easier than it looked at initial glance.

The log was solid and wide, with a bit of water splashing over it on one end.