Fun explorations on the Bridal Veil Plateau, Sunday, Feb. 13th

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Don Nelsen
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Fun explorations on the Bridal Veil Plateau, Sunday, Feb. 13th

Post by Don Nelsen » February 15th, 2022, 9:13 pm

I’ve been taking advantage of these wonderful sunny days and went out 4 times last week. Today was my fifth day out in a row but Sunday is usually the day Kel and I go together so away we went. We decided to do something close by so we decided on the BV Plateau. We parked at the Jersey barriers on Palmer Mill Rd. and headed up the trail.
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Our first goal was to see how the venerable Bullet Car was doing at the ripe old age of 81. Detroit iron is almost bullet proof but this poor car has sure taken a beating. Kel sat down to contemplate and take a short rest while I searched around for the rest of the car.
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Only 60 feet away, there it was in a sea of salmonberry. Invisible once the bushes leaf out but easy to find now.
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Last year, I cut away most of the vines covering this fine example of mid-20th century iron:
Before:
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After:
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I’ve owned or driven cars of this vintage and they were amazing. Very quiet inside due to the plush mohair upholstery and headliner. Not powerful by today’s standards but very strong compared with most anything available only a few years earlier – and only $1,400, brand new! Chrysler even had an early version of automatic transmission, a pushbutton radio, power windows, and even air conditioning as an option. I’d have to crawl under the motor to get the serial number to know if this was the 112 HP model or the 137 HP “Spitfire 8” - maybe on another day.
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After a nice break, enjoying the warm sun, we headed off-trail, wandering over the moss-lined forest floor, and through the moss-draped vine maple.
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Eventually, we came upon these nice treestands. Of course, Kel had to climb up and check out the view from up there. I was a little worried the attachment straps might be deteriorated after years in the elements but Kel scampered right up. I had to go up too, she said, if I wanted some cookies, which she had in her fanny pack. 20 feet up looks a lot worse from up there than it did from the ground!
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It was a fun and peaceful interlude, enjoying the view from what Kel called the “catbird seat”.
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On the way back Kel noticed this fine pile of rocks, so again, had to get to the top and check it out.
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A short hike, but an interesting one. 3.2 miles, 663’ EG, hike # 18.
"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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