Bitter Creek: The Finale

A lot nicer without those pesky clouds

Ok yeah, I’m starting to sound a little like a broken record.

Initially I wasn’t planning on heading back up to Bitter Creek so soon, but I gave the Greek a call and it just so happened he was looking to take some friends on a moderate snowshoe.

“You don’t say. Hmm, you know I might have just the place”…

Plus, with the weather on Friday, the views were sure to be there.

La pared de hielo

01JAN2016 New Years Day

I got to Index half hour early or so, the wind was just screaming up the US-2 corridor.

Fortunately Heybrook Ridge and the Gunn Peak Massif blocked pretty much all of the wind in the North Fork Sky valley.

The Greek and his friends showed up a little after nine and we were off.

There were fresh footprints along the track, but they fell off at the shooting range.

Really, there isn’t too much to report. The track is solid all the way up with heaping portions of peace, quiet and solitude.

By the time we got up into the cirque some of the party was running out of steam and they stopped for lunch.

The Greek and I continued up towards the ice wall, but the pull of cheese and sausage was too much for him and he fell off and descended back to the feast.

Sausage eaters

Wind slab from high above was a slight concern and we’d seen a couple small releases on the way up, mostly powder rivulets. In the cirque itself, surface hoar was abundant. (Always check NWAC)

Alongside Bitter Creek, a gully had run out, and high on Jump-Off Ridge the crisp lines of recently released slabs were visibly glinting in the sunlight.

Views were fantastic. The wall and other ice features seemed to glow dimly in the shade of the cirque. High above, the ridge lines were laced with golden light.

The North Fork Sky valley was framed perfectly by the walls of the cirque, and approximately in the middle were three human shapes, bonding over sausage.

The trip down rewarded us with warming sun and rapidly evolving views of the jagged visage of the Index-Persis complex across the way.

I placed a quarter near the bottom for a size comparison.

THE BOTTOM LINE

All in all I think it took our group 3 hours up and 1.5 or so down.

Now that the route has been brushed and a trail well stomped in, it’s golden, just waiting there for you.

Lots of animal sign, but I think our group of four probably scared off anything within earshot because we didn’t see any critters this time.

Oh, and just my two cents:

Shooters, I like to shoot a gun as much as the next guy. I am not “anti-gun” or “anti-shooting”. What I am “anti” is you people leaving a giant f&%#ing mess wherever you go.

Clean up your $#!t and maybe the Forest Service and outdoor enthusiasts will be a little more sympathetic to your outdoor usage needs.

Frankly, you should be your brother’s keeper out there and pack out the crap your less considerate fellows left behind.

I do it, I’m always picking up candy wrappers and water bottles that jackass hikers left behind.

Love it or leave it, bruh… and I don’t mean leave your $#!t.

Happy Trails!

 

 

#Optoutsideafterwork

Ashes to ashes…

I was up at 4AM on Black Friday.

Not for the savings bonanzas or the ol’ fashioned tramplings, nor for the buyer’s remorse or the last item on the shelf fist fights.

No, like many of us I worked, but #Optedoutside the minute I got out!

Didn’t have a lot of time, with the sun being so stingy in these winter months, so a short walk to Franklin, WA, an old coal mining ghost town fit the bill.

“New” ruins

Eh, it’s got a spooky ol’ cemetery anyway. Who needs light when you have ghosts?

We parked at the small cemetery along SE Green River Gorge Rd. and began our walk.

Someone has done a lot of work to improve the road heading up to Franklin. What has historically been a muddy grade now has a new layer of gravel on top of it.

The trails have been liberally brushed, and some sites that I hadn’t seen in a decade of visiting this place have been cleared of vegetation.

A heartfelt “Huzzah!” to the volunteers and their efforts!

We reached the graveyard after the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon. No ghosts, but plenty of ambiance.

Heading back we encountered some people who decided that dropping a road flare down the 1300′ mine shaft would be a good idea. We were just in time for the show.

The flare erupted in a magnesium flash, brilliantly contrasting the decaying twilight.

Sweet Jeebus no!

Within seconds it was gone, screaming it’s way to the bottom. A robust slap announced it’s arrival with mine’s icy waters.

Darkness. Then inexplicably a light began to flicker from the ghostly depths. A menacing glow struggled to life.

Looking down the stygian pit, pulsating red with sulfurous smoke, it really was a vision of hell.

After the flare burnt out we ambled back to the car, both of us the better for #optingoutside…

Then promptly #optedforthriftshopping at the Goodwill where I got a couple of nice merino wool sweaters, 50%off!

Score!

Happy Trails,

Harry Biped

Catching those last rays

GETTING THERE

Head to the center of Black Diamond, WA. Turn east on Lawson Street (There is a Los Cabos and a Cenex station at the intersection) this road will change names a number of times.

Continue on this road for about 3 miles then start looking for a small graveyard on the east side of the road. This is probably the best parking available. Hike south on the road to a gated off area. This is the trailhead.

 

 

 

Bitter Creek

Index-Galena washout…again.

Took a trip up to the Bitter Creek cirque via the abandoned forest service road (NF-6310 on google maps)

Not really looking for anything particular this time, but there are mines in the area.

I’d say this is a moderate, albeit brushy hike for most people in reasonable shape. If you are a vigilante trail worker you might wanna bring a saw or loppers.

There are a couple of gully/creek crossings that may be difficult or impossible to pass in high water.

Wildlife was abundant. Grouse on every other switchback, lots of bobcat “sign”, and even surprised some mountain goats at one of the gully crossings!

Las cabras monteses

There is also a great deal of old growth to see at the higher elevations of the road.

Entering the cirque was like hiking in a whole new land.

A light but heavily crystallized snow coated the grade and a steady cold air flowing from the mountain kept the cirque in a perpetually frosted state.

This effect was more pronounced near the creek and in low troughs.

The road splits near it’s end, the left route is said to take you to a gully in which are a couple of mines (I have not yet visited)

The cirque head

The right route heads toward the cirque head but terminates not long after the fork.

I found flagging and evidence of a bootpath that may continue into the cirque, a climber’s route perhaps, but due to time constraints, this for me was the end of the line.

Bitter Creek

I’d definitely recommend this to the more adventurous hiker seeking to explore some new ground, but it’s difficulty is low enough that most reasonably healthy people could make the trip.

That being said, it is overgrown and has enough deadfalls that it could pose problems to less experienced hikers.

PACKITINPACKITOUT!

The road less traveled…

THE NUMBERS

Distance: 8 miles RT ± (13km RT±) from roadblock

Gain: 1,640ft ± (500m ±)

Difficulty: YDS 1-2

GETTING THERE

Take the US-2 to Index-Galena Rd. continue along Index-Galena Rd. until roadblock at Lewis Creek. Hike approx 1 mile to NF-6310.

RED TAPE

I think you might need a NW Forest Pass. The Index-Galena Road is currently (DEC2015) closed at the Lewis Creek parking area, so you’ll have to hoof it from there.

MAPS

USGS BARING

USGS INDEX

 

 

 

 

Ravensdale Retreat

“Guess this must be the place…”

Ravensdale retreat is the kind of place you could drive by one thousand times and still not realize it’s there despite the fact that there is a bright, blue, shiny sign out front.

Water, water everywhere…

The parking area is a non-descript dirt pull off on the east side of SE Ravensdale Way a few miles east of the mega suburb shopping plex quartered by SE Kent-Kangley Rd & Maple Valley Black Diamond Rd SE. (Gee, I remember when that was mostly just trees… Ah progress)

I don’t know the exact history of the area, but judging by some aging, out of place fruit trees and old fence posts I’d guess at least some of it used to be part of an old farmstead.

Hitchcock’s “The Ferns”

The retreat is a young forest, most recently logged in the 1980s but it still has a real “lived-in” feel with dense growths of sword ferns covering the forest floor and a bright, green tapestry of moss dangling from the trees.

Unfortunately the sounds of civilization are never far, with the Retreat being sandwiched in between the BNSF mainline and Kent-Kangley road.

There is also a rifle range in the vicinity, which makes for a steady chorus of chugging locomotives, growling jake brakes and gunfire. (Hmm, kinda sounds like a redneck wetdream)

That being said, as you amble along deeper and deeper into the woods it’s easy to forget these distractions.

Meandering trails

The Ravensdale retreat is home to many animals big and small. During the course of my walks beneath it’s trees I’ve encountered deer, elk and more diminutive mammals as well as a host of different bird species.

I imagine in total there exist about 3 miles of somewhat developed trails through the area, bisected by a long gravel road (which is actually a driveway to a large estate across the railroad tracks) The eastern section of the park is more hilly in contrast to the completely flat western half.

As a riparian area, the trails here can become boggy or outright flooded during heavy weather. Be prepared.

Water can make travel…difficult

The trail is shared by hikers and horsemen (possibly Centaurs… I dunno) I’ve never actually seen a horse, horseman or Centaur here, but I’m pretty sure they exist due, to their leavings along the trails.

Toward the end of the western section there is a curious signpost reading [←Fairytale Trail]-[Gracie Trail→] Who posted it there? What does it mean? Why?

I don’t know, it’s a mystery, but for whatever reason they are there, and they both end up at the gravel road.

The famous “Fairytale-Gracie” junction

The Ravensdale Retreat is a nice place for a walk and to watch the seasons change. I live close by so I like to visit every now and then. If you are more of a walker/hiker or wanna take someone who might not be in the greatest shape out for a stroll, this is a great place to go. That being said it’s not a destination I myself would drive out of the way for.

Who knows though, try it on, it might just become your own little favorite retreat.

For more info visit: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/waterandland/natural-lands/ecological/ravensdale-retreat.aspx

Happy Trails, Harry Biped

Riparian forest