Blanchard Mountain - April 2016

I've made it up to Blanchard Mountain to run and hike on the past two weekends. It had been a while, and I was struck by all the changes that have happened up on my local hero hill.

My usual routine is to park at the upper trailhead on the I-5 side.  I head up to the Larry Reed Trail, then the Samish Overlook, and then up to Lilly and Lizard Lake and finish on the Alt-Incline Trail. If you understand this, great. If not, basically I do a loop around the mountain.

The first surprise was the logging on the latter end of the Larry Reed Trail as you approach the Samish Overlook. Trees down, trees down! The trail seems different for a portion.  I saw a woodpecker on the lone tree in a field, which made me think of the Lorax.

The Overlook has more space.  This area has gradually changed over the years, with the addition of a restroom, a paved parking lot, railings for horses, etc. Most notably this time around is the overlook looking out towards Orcas has been improved upon, turned into a park like setting.

The hill formerly known as Kill Bill is now a series of switchbacks. It's still a climb, but the trail is much smoother, and a bit longer, with extended turns. This trail used to be somewhat technical, and a series of three miner's climbs. No more, though it is still a slog to get to the top junction for Oyster Dome-Lilly Lake. The Washington Trails Association, one of my favorite non-profits, has been busy working on the improvements.

I think the most pronounced change is there is an increase in use. Lots more people on the trail. Now, I went mid-day each weekend, which isn't really my M.O., and so perhaps that's why it seemed like more were on the trail. But I don't think so--I think the word is out about Blanchard Mountain. I'd say three to four times as many as I would've seen on a Saturday a few years ago.

It's a great place. The improvements are good, but are hard to embrace, as some of those old routes seem like friends. Change is slow, but the changes over time are significant.

Now, Blanchard is the subject of further conservation discussions and media reports, as the Department of Natural Resources will need to have the timber on the mountain cut unless Olympia acts to protect the area. Reports say $7.7 million is needed.

Hard to imagine that they would cut this area, with so many people using the land for recreation purposes, and in light of the ecological value of the sea to Cascades route here. Also, there's that Pacific Northwest Trail which goes through Blanchard, and is receiving increased attention and appreciation.

In other news, I volunteered at the Tulip Run this weekend. Spring has sprung, and the flowers are blooming. I'm making plans for summer activities. My "Sisyphean" effort to get in better shape continues. Happy to have opportunities to challenge myself.

Surprise Creek Trail Work Party with WTA

For whatever reason, I had a tough week of recovery from Knee Knackering. Very tight achilles, still tender ankle. Looking at the calendar, I realized I needed to get my trail work* done for Cascade Crest 100 in late August, and this Saturday was the best window. 

In case you're reading this and don't know, many 100 milers require a day of trail work as prerequisite for starting. It's a good thing. I've been putting in a day of trail work every year for the last few years, and it's ALWAYS rewarding.

The Washington Trail Association (WTA), one of my favorite charities, had a work party scheduled at Surprise Creek. I try to do my trail work with them, because they are just so cool. I was excited to check out Surprise Creek, as I hiked this trail over 20 years ago--a couple times--and I thought it would be fun to go back and see what was familiar. Back in the '80s, I used to hike Highway 2 and I-90 quite a bit. As it turned out, I did not remember much, in terms of landmarks. I do recall I liked the hike more than most on Highway 2, that there was a lake and a pass, and there were bugs up high. Also, a day trip to the pass was reasonably tough.

The drive up was terrific. I've been sitting on Bruce Springsteen's The Promise for some time now, and this was the drive to finally check it out. The album is an unreleased album from the '70s, with rave reviews. I was soaking it up on the drive to the trailhead, listening to Bruce and the E Street Band, just like the old days when I did this hike before. I used to listen to the Boss a lot on my way to all sorts of places--Yellowstone and the Tetons come to mind. On cassettes, held in wood racks. Clarence Clemons recently passed away--another reason for the renewed listen. Rest in peace, Big Man.

The trailhead for Surprise Creek is about 8 miles east of Skykomish, near Stevens Pass, at a bit of an odd turnoff.  We had a small but able crew of Forrest, our WTA trail crew expert, along with Nathan, Craig, Lauren and myself.  We hiked in about a mile on a really pleasant trail, with many boardwalks, to our worksite, which was just across Surprise Creek. I carried a culvert all the way in--awkward though light.

We spent the whole day working on a fallen Silver Fir. Most of the morning was spent just trying to cut one section of log and move it about 100 yards. Since we were in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, all our tools were old school--an eight foot crosscut saw, the helpful PV, the pulaskis, loppers, grubhoe, et al.  We managed to drop this 750 lb. log in a hole, and then figured out how to skid it out of it. Towards the end of the day, we made real progress with the rest of the tree, cutting it up, skinning it, and moving the logs.

We saw a few hikers go by during the day. They all came back, turned around by the snow. I don't think any of them made it to Surprise Lake, the first of two lakes. There's just a whole lot of snow still up there. I suspect this might impact White River and even Cascade. It's not like it's sunny this weekend.

Excelsior and Canyon Ridges

On Saturday I volunteered with the Washington Trails Association to work on the Canyon Ridge Trail up by Mount Baker. I’ve never been here before. Our mission was to be safe, have fun, and repair a trail damaged by an avalanche. We got a lot done, but we also had to go to war with biting flies. Keep moving. It’s interesting who shows up for these work parties—there was a high school student fulfilling his culminating project responsibility, an unemployed Glacier 19 year old trying to get on with the Forest Service, a few 9 to 5ers, a foster parent with some kids, and an ultrarunner. I’ve written this before, but I think the world of WTA, and am a member—check them out at http://www.wta.org/. Trail reports are free.
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After the work party, I wanted to check out the area some more, while getting some high trail miles in. So, I ran/hiked to the tiny Damfino Lakes, up to Excelsior Ridge, and then over High Divide towards Welcome Pass. The guide books rate this one as easy, particularly from the Damfino Lakes side, where I started. There are loop trail possibilities. Excelsior Ridge caps out at about 6000 feet, but most of the gains for me were on the drive in—a 14.6 miles and 40 minute drive on a dicey road. The trail itself is very runnable and quite worthy. Ups and downs on a ridge above tree line. Wildflowers everywhere. A sea of mountains and ridges in view, with Baker and Shuksan in the foreground. This would be great place to catch a sunset. I stayed in the hills all day, but finally got chased off the high ridge by an approaching lightning storm, pretty rare around these parts. I had to hurry off—the storm moved in quick.
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Wildflowers---these were the real story of the day for me. Maybe the best I’ve ever seen, with just about all types representing. Lupines, tiger lilies, columbine, paintbrush, heather, thistles….I’ll pretend like I know what I was seeing. Not really--I’m botanically challenged. Every year I seem to forget and then have to go up high to re-learn. Some challenges are worth a lifetime of trying. Click on a field photo--they jump out more in the photos when blown up.
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Driving home, I happened upon a grand opening festival for a new artist’s co-op in Glacier Washington. Good music, coffee, and an old train car full of “Glacier Creations.” I’m partial to good coffee, art, and banjos. I did miss not doing White River, which was Saturday. I’m sure it was great. Just not the right weekend for me.
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