Three Sisters October 2020

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retired jerry
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Three Sisters October 2020

Post by retired jerry » October 24th, 2020, 7:21 am

I was thinking about an Adams trip, but it was rainy up there. Instead, I stayed on the east side of the Three Sisters. It sprinkled a cople times.

I did a different Three Sisters trip just before the fires. Highway 22 opened up so I figured another trip in order.

Everything isn't burned up along highway 22. But as you're driving along, all of a sudden there will be a house/cars that are burned to the ground:
20201021_114018.jpg
Stretches where the fire has burned down to the highway, huge piles of logs:
20201021_111437.jpg
All of the campgrounds past Detroit are closed, but they survived without damage. Next year should be okay.

I hiked from Pole Creek trailhead to Broken Top and back.

The first 4 miles from Pole Creek are through recently burned area, so there are a huge number of trees down over the trail, but people were getting through. There's a trail in here somewhere:
20201019_122119.jpg
I'd say maybe better to use the Park Meadow trailhead, or Green Lakes or Moraine Lake trailheads and avoid that area.

South Sister from Green Lakes:
20201017_143156.jpg
South Sister from the pass above Green Lakes:
20201017_124452.jpg

justpeachy
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Re: Three Sisters October 2020

Post by justpeachy » October 24th, 2020, 7:43 am

retired jerry wrote:
October 24th, 2020, 7:21 am
The first 4 miles from Pole Creek are through recently burned area, so there are a huge number of trees down over the trail, but people were getting through. There's a trail in here somewhere:
Weird. I hiked to Camp Lake in August and had no trouble with downed trees on the Pole Creek Trail or the section of Green Lakes Trail between there and Soap Creek. Crews had clearly been through after the winter to clear the way. The Pole Creek Fire was eight years ago. Maybe the Labor Day windstorm knocked a bunch of those burned snags over.

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Chip Down
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Re: Three Sisters October 2020

Post by Chip Down » October 24th, 2020, 11:38 am

justpeachy wrote:
October 24th, 2020, 7:43 am
retired jerry wrote:
October 24th, 2020, 7:21 am
The first 4 miles from Pole Creek are through recently burned area, so there are a huge number of trees down over the trail, but people were getting through. There's a trail in here somewhere:
Weird. I hiked to Camp Lake in August and had no trouble with downed trees on the Pole Creek Trail or the section of Green Lakes Trail between there and Soap Creek. Crews had clearly been through after the winter to clear the way. The Pole Creek Fire was eight years ago. Maybe the Labor Day windstorm knocked a bunch of those burned snags over.
Aha! Totally makes sense. I couldn't imagine another fire rolling through there again already.
Jerry, I wish I'd known you were going. I would have asked you to research the areas I'm curious about but can't seem to get to. :D

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retired jerry
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Re: Three Sisters October 2020

Post by retired jerry » October 24th, 2020, 11:44 am

I'm pretty sure a lot of those trees were knocked down by the Labor Day storm

I was at Minnie Scott Springs on the west side during the storm, and walked out the next day - small number of branches across trail, that area was not burned recently

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retired jerry
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Re: Three Sisters October 2020

Post by retired jerry » October 24th, 2020, 11:45 am

you seem to be getting to about every place recently Chip :)

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Water
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Re: Three Sisters October 2020

Post by Water » October 26th, 2020, 10:45 am

i hiked pole creek at least to soap creek in late september and again in early october, both times there was some blowdown but not a ton new.. maybe what, 10 trees in that 2 miles? didn't seem so bad. did it get worse after?

Went way off trail on one of those trips going downhill and yes there was fresh fall from the standing burn-dead, but it didn't seem horrific.
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retired jerry
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Re: Three Sisters October 2020

Post by retired jerry » October 26th, 2020, 11:21 am

I walked out Oct 16 and back Oct 20

The Pole Creek Trail wasn't that terrible, the Green Lakes Trail was worse a bit South of there

People were getting through though

I assume there was a lot of blowdown from that storm Sept 8

Those pictures Guy posted of Top Spur trail were probably worse

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