Backpacking the Northwest

What a great trip, be sure to stop by my Eyehike.com Gallery for all the photos!

And a review of the first week has been posted by my hiking buddy Switchback Steve here

Stay tuned for the trip report (I know it’s somewhere around here…) I hiked this in Sept. 2004 with two friends. It was a blast something different than either Mt. Hood or Mt. Rainier.

Here is a link to some photos of the trip  Mt. Adams Gallery on Eyehike

Also here are some maps and route profiles, and overviews  Adams route info

Wow! The amount of snow at Paradise in July is amazing. I went on July 8th and everything is still covered in snow at Paradise. I checked out the new Visitor’s Center and I was surprised the roof still isn’t complete. I saw lots of workers so I assume it will open on the scheduled date of October 10th. It will be sad to see the old visitors center demolished next year but the ongoing maintenance is quite expensive and the heating system couldn’t keep all the snow melted off the roof last year.

Down lower, Paradise Valley is covered in about 4 to 5 feet of snow. Still lower, Reflection Lakes is just beginning to melt. I think the lakes are still about 90% covered in snow and ice. Lake Louise, which is just below Reflection Lakes is almost ice free.

I hiked the Snow Lake/Bench Lake Trail on 7/8 and the trail is about 95% covered in snow. The footpath veers west off the trail and completely misses Bench Lake. Bench Lake is also almost ice free with snow on the shoreline. Snow Lake is still about 95% frozen. The trailhead for Bench Lake/Snow Lake has avalanche lillies blooming and there are a few heathers blooming. Farther up the trail the Mountain Ash are blooming where the snow has melted but the snow covered areas are still dormant of summertime growth.

I hiked the Rampart Ridge Trail from Longmire. I was quite surprised to find patches of snow on the trail even though the highest elevation on the trail is less than 3,000 feet.

Think about taking the shuttle to Paradise when you go on a weekend. Review the shuttle schedule before you go and be prepared for the flowers to be delayed. Be prepared for snow all season when venturing much above Paradise this season. Here is the link to the shuttle schedule.

Directions:
From Portland, Oregon, take I-84 east and take exit 58, Mitchell Point Overlook and drive uphill to the parking lot. There is no westbound on-ramp at exit 58. To return to Portland, merge onto I-84 east and drive towards Hood River. Take Exit 62, turn left at the stop sign. Cross over I-84 and take the next left and merge onto I-84 west back to Portland.

From Hood River, Oregon, take I-84 west to exit 56, Viento State park, and return to the freeway eastbound. For the return trip, merge onto I-84 east.

There is an outhouse above the parking lot and to the west
No permits are required to park at the trailhead.

Length and Elevation:
Total length is 7.6 miles with a loop and an out-and-back trail to Wygant Peak. Elevation gain to Wygant Peak is 2,070 feet and 100 foot loss. Elevation at the trailhead is 140 feet, the high point is 2,214 feet.
 
Trail:
Wygant Peak Trail, Chetwoot Loop Trail. Connects to Mitchell Point Overlook Trail.

There is at least one geocache along this trail at: N 45° 41.756 W 121° 38.176 Info at Geocaching.com 
 
Trail Maps:
Topo Map

History:
The Chetwoot Loop was constructed by volunteers headed by Basil Clark. The trail was named  for the Chinook word for bear. Basil encountered a bear while working on the trail and decided to name the trail Chetwoot. There were several hand-painted signs on this trail in the past, but I only found one of the trail signs as of this review.

Review: April 13, 2008
From the parking lot, walk west to a gated road. There should be a sign above the gate indicating this is the trailhead for Wygant trail. The road heads slightly downhill to the west. The road takes a left, goes uphill, and changes into a dirt road. The trail branches off to the right at the first turn of the road. The trail follows the stream a bit, then ford the stream on a narrow log. Continue through the woods to the west. The trail goes through nice second growth trees with Ladyslipper Orchid and Trilliums blooming in the springtime. The trail uses parts of the old Columbia River Scenic Highway for about ¼ mile then the trail leaves the road and goes up a small creek valley with a small waterfall. The stream splashing over the rocks makes the narrow valley feel cool. After hopping across the small stream, the trail ascends a couple of switchbacks and rounds a corner to head west. There are some views of the Columbia River through the trees. Now the trail levels off for a while until it reaches the junction for Perham Creek and the viewpoint. The trees at the viewpoint obstruct portions of the view, but there is still a nice view of the Columbia River through the trees.

Pass back under the Oregon White Oaks and return to the junction and head along the creek. The trail drops down to Perham Creek where you cross on a log bridge with railings on both sides. From there, the trail ascends up the hillside through the woods. The trail winds through the woods and comes to a junction. The branch to the right leads out to very nice, unobstructed views of the Gorge. Back on the trail, the trees have been cleared for a service road for the powerlines. Cross the road and continue along the powerlines for a short distance and then back into the woods on the trail. The trail switchbacks up the hillside to another junction. You can see there were viewpoints along this trail because there are old post and cable railings on a couple of the switchback corners. The trees have grown to block the views of the Gorge. To the right is a very nice viewpoint of the Gorge. This viewpoint is not for small children. 

Back at the junction, continue on a few more switchbacks up to the junction for Wygant Peak Trail and the Chetwoot Loop Trail. From here, turn uphill to the right to climb the Wygant Peak Trail. The trail to the peak is an out and back trail. Looking at the map, the trail climbs several more switchbacks up to the peak. Expect some deadfall on the trail to deal with.

Returning to the junction of the Wygant Peak and Chetwoot Trail, head east on the Chetwoot trail for a bit of bushwhacking. About ¼ mile past the junction to Wygant Peak Trail are a few trees blocking the trail. One large tree has fallen down the trail and you have to navigate down the hill, through the brush, and back up the hill to the trail. The map notes this as waypoint “TREE”. I believe I walked through poison oak in this off-trail area.

The trail descends to Perham Creek and there is no bridge across the stream. Remember that the rocks in the water and the moss along the edge of this creek are extremely slippery and can offer poor footing for jumping and landing on the other side. The next obstacle is just up the hill where about 30 to 40 feet of the trail has slid away from the rock face of the valley. The water seeping out of the hillside makes this crossing a little slippery. This missing part of the trail will be difficult for inexperienced hikers and small dogs to negotiate.

After climbing up from the stream crossing, the trail descends along the rim of Perham Creek Valley. This is a rustic trail with twists and turns to avoid trees and rocks. There are wet spots in the winter and spring where water seeps from the hillside and trickles across the trail. Eventually the trail leaves the valley rim, descends through the woods, and comes back to the powerline. At the powerlines, turn right, to the east, walk about 75 feet down the service road, and look for the first small trail that goes downhill, into the woods. It is about a 90 degree left turn from the service road. From the powerline the trail goes through the woods and rejoins the main trail near the junction of the viewpoint and Perham Creek. Turn right and follow the trail.

This loop trail is not recommended for small children or small dogs. The Chetwoot trail is narrow, there are steep spots in the trail, the slide, and the large deadfall in the trail. Watch out for ticks in the brushy areas where you have to leave the trail. There is also poison oak on this trail and you’ll probably walk through it going around the deadfalls in the trail. This is a nice walk through the woods and a couple of nice viewpoints. Perham Creek pleasantly splashes along and both crossings are quite scenic.

Enjoy the photos!!

Switchback Steve

Mr. Jones’ Fruit and Nut Trail Bars

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream the butter with the brown sugar and oil.
Stir in the oats, wheat flouir, white flour, wheat germ, orange peel, and cinnamon.
Press the mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 inch baking pan.
Mix the eggs to mixture ingredients togeter and spread evenly over the bottom mixture.
Bake 35-37 minutes and cool slightly before cutting into bars.
Yield: 20@ 3 ounce bars.

Nutrition Information per 3 ounce bar

Calories per 3 ounce bar: 471
Calories from Fat 215
Total Fat 24g
Saturated Fat 9g
Poly-unsaturated Fat 2g
Mono-unsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 67mg
Sodium 99mg
Total Carbohydrates 58g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Sugars 38g
Protein 7g

The $22.5 million work on the historic inn in Mount Rainier National Park , which closed the facility in October 2005, was necessary to strengthen the building against earthquakes, improve safety systems and help the grande dame withstand another 91 winters – so most of the construction was underground and behind walls.

Still, while shoring up crumbling foundations and strengthening supports, construction crews did return some of the inn’s historic luster. Visitors will see a new facade on the gift shop and fir flooring in the lobby and the dining room. The handcrafted furniture pieces, including the 14-foot grandfather clock and the restored vintage piano, are still in their customary locations in the lobby.

“We have something worth protecting here,” said Ellen Gage, the park’s historic architect. “We’ve done more preservation, but we looked for opportunities to do restoration.”

But budget overruns forced park officials to delay work on the Annex, which means no changes in the majority of the guest rooms.

As park management and Watts-Korsmo Joint Venture, the lead contractor, negotiated the final contract they realized that the work on the inn would cost about $5 million more than expected. That money was intended for work on the Annex, said park superintendent Dave Uberuaga.

“There were 250 to 300 items – such as the types of drainage around the building, types of heating systems, types of rock walls to be used – that we discussed,” Uberuaga said of the negotiations. “That’s when we decided not to proceed with work on the Annex.”

The retrofit of the Annex, housing 114 of the inn’s 121 guest rooms, could begin as soon 2013 if Congress approves the park’s budget request.

Congressman Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, will look to see if the Annex can be moved up in the line of National Park Service projects awaiting funding, said George Behan, Dicks’ chief of staff.

“There may be a chance to move it up in the queue. Norm has been working with the current Secretary (of Interior) Dirk Kempthorne and he has been supportive.”

UNFORESEEN CHALLENGES

About 150 construction workers spent more than 30 months battling snow, avalanches, rain, floods, wind and cold to revitalize the inn.

“The challenges up here were incredible. You could go anywhere west of the Mississippi and not find a job like this,” said Ken Hardy of Tacoma , general foreman for Watts-Korsmo.

Crews knew they would face extreme conditions working at an elevation of 5,400 feet. But they couldn’t predict a historic flood, above-average snowfall and unusually extreme winds.

Since the inn closed, more than 2,200 inches of snow have fallen at Paradise . Avalanches closed the road to the inn for two weeks in February. Paradise averages about 630 inches of snow a season.

“I grew up here, but I didn’t realize how much snow they get up here at Paradise ,” said Ron Case of Rochester , a painter for subcontractor Todd Robinson Painting Inc. of Tumwater.

“I worked on Bill Gates’ house several years ago,” Case said. “That’s the last (project) I worked on that was this challenging. But that’s what was fun about this job, it was something different every day.”

In November 2006, 17.9 inches of rain fell in 36 hours, flooding every corner of the park. Trails and campsites were washed away, and roads were cut by rivers and landslides. All told, $36 million in damage was done to the park. Crews’ access to the inn was restricted for six weeks and it slowed them down for four months.

“Early on we could get to the Community Building , hike over the bridge and then drive stranded National Park Service vehicles up to Paradise ,” said Jeff Robison, project manager for Watts-Korsmo.

Some days during the 2-year project, the temperature dipped to 5 degrees with winds at 40 mph, creating a wind chill of minus-22 degrees. In December 2006, winds reached 100 mph.

All the weather challenges delayed the project two weeks, but the construction crews encountered other unexpected developments.

Underneath the massive fireplaces and foundation, workers had to dig down to bedrock – 14 feet in some places – then pour in crushed rock to build the new foundation.

In the east wing, crews had to install additional steel beams to the ceilings and floors to stabilize them.

Painters needed to bring in propane heaters to get rooms warm enough to allow the wood finish to set.

“You open the walls and you find things no one knew existed,” Robison said.

PROTECTING, UTILIZING HISTORY

Determining how far back in time one goes to restore a historical structure isn’t an exact science.

“It’s professional judgment, on the part of a lot of people,” Uberuaga said. “What did the original craftsmen try to achieve and what is the best example of that for the longest time?”

Masons cleaned by hand each of the stones from the three massive fireplaces in the lobby and the dining room. For historic preservation, they weren’t allowed to remove the lichen that clung to the exterior stones. Above the fireplaces, striations of smoke left by decades of fires are still visible on the stones.

Carpenters used hand tools to re-create the mailboxes behind the reception desk.

Original entrance doors were discovered in the basement, and sidelights were found behind walls. Both features were incorporated into the restoration. That attention to detail was part of the effort to maintain the inn’s character.

“The idea fundamentally is to try and put everything back the way that it was. It’s a challenge to retain the historic fabric,” Uberuaga said. “It requires being sensitive to everything. We looked at the width and thickness of the shingles, how long they are, how far they overhang each other.”

The intent was to protect and, where possible, restore the historic look of the inn, which is why architects and engineers relied on historic photos as much as they did blueprints.

“Basically we’re mandated to protect the natural features, but also mandated to protect the historic structures,” said Eric Walkinshaw, park project manager.

What’s now the gift shop was a porch in 1917. The main entrance to the inn was in the corner between the gift shop and the back of the building. When the Annex was added in 1920, the main entrance was relocated.

“If we go back to the original intent, we would remove the gift shop, put the deck back there and reinstate the grand entry back there. That would be the purist version,” Walkinshaw said. “But we have to balance that with visitor enjoyment, and that includes the gift shop, the cafe.”

While much of the rehabilitation work is hidden by the floors and the walls, visitors will see a number of changes.

The most noticeable ones are in the gift shop and the cafe. The false roof that extended into the lobby is gone. Boxed clear fir beams run along the ceiling. The inn’s original doors now serve as an entrance on the shop’s west end. Carpenters added glass doors and windows.

“We were really guided by one historic photo. It showed before the snack bar was built. It showed light pouring in from that side of the building. We said, ‘What a difference having the light coming in from the east side,’” said Gage, the historic architect.

Other photos guided work on the reception desk, where carpenters rebuilt mailboxes and added architectural details.

“We had some pictures to work with. I had to use some hand tools to do some of the detail work,” said Jeff Baker of Shelton , a carpenter with Watts-Korsmo.

Workers built a portable saw to cut Alaskan yellow cedar logs used on the reception desk, the stairs and in the lobby.

“Many of the log shapes we needed to re-create we couldn’t do with drawings,” said Robison, the project manager. “We had to walk in the building, check it out, go outside and then kind of carve the log on the portable saw.”

A FEELING OF FAMILIARITY

Some of the inn’s quirky aspects remain intact. The balcony and its nooks, added after the inn’s original opening in the early 20th century, were kept. They’re a favorite place to enjoy a cup of coffee, play a board game or recap the day’s outdoor adventures.

In a corner of the dining room, hidden from diners but visible to employees, is a small closet used by busboys. Untouched by construction crews, names and messages from previous inn employees still cover the wall and the doors. Some signatures date to the early 1950s. One employee wrote: “Can I survive another year?”

Also visible is a caricature of the “Unknown Waiter,” who entertained guests during Saturday night talent shows in the 1970s.

“He came out with a bag on his head and he would sing. It was a good thing he had the bag. He was bad,” said Melinda Simpson, operations manager for Guest Services Inc.

The renovation also revealed a number of relics, including ski goggles from the ’20s and ’30s, cigarette and tobacco tins, a photo album and a copy of the Seattle Daily Times dated Sept. 11, 1927 . The headline read “City, State Honor Lindy Tuesday,” marking the pending arrival in Seattle of Charles Lindbergh aboard his Spirit of St. Louis.

Some of those items will be on display in the new visitor center being built nearby.

And the next time major work is done at Paradise, crews might find similar items. Many of the workers signed their names to a now-covered wall between the gift shop and the cafe.

Baker, the carpenter, left behind a hard hat and a vest in a space in the wall. Hardy, the Watts-Korsmo foreman, left behind his thoughts.

“I wrote a poem,” he said. “It took me a few nights to write it. But there’s this sense of pride being able to follow our grandfathers and the work they did.”

Those mementos reflect the sense of accomplishment among workers, Hardy said.

As workers such as Baker and Case were making the finishing touches in late April, Guest Services Inc. employees were racing to prepare the inn for the first guests, who are scheduled to arrive Friday. But the pressure of refurnishing the inn didn’t faze Simpson.

As dozens of workers carried in mirrors, mattresses, bed frames and dressers, Simpson’s smile lit up the lobby. She first worked at the inn in 1973, spending 18 years at the park. She returned in November to run Guest Services.

“It’s like coming home. I know the building, I know the furniture,” she said. “It’s a remarkable place. How do you not come in here and say ‘Wow?’”

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640; blogs.thenewstribune.com/adventure

Being a “Mount Rainier VIP” (did you realize that volunteers are labeled “VIPs” because they are “Volunteers In Parks?”) allowed me to recently take a private tour of the new Jackson Visitor Center and remodeled Paradise Inn.

Both are still under construction (which has consumed the Paradise upper lot for the last 2 summers) but thankfully, that construction is drawing to a close this year. The Paradise Inn will re-open in May and the new Jackson Visitor Center is scheduled to re-open this October.

Exploring the bowels of a major construction site was a fascinating and educational experience. The first notable surprise was how many people were actually involved in the project, and the variety of different tasks they were all doing.

Project safety manager Derek Burr (my tour guide) says there are about 30-40 people working on the visitor center site on any given day. The various specialists include (but are not limited to!):

• Heavy equipment operators
• Carpenters
• Pipe fitters
• Sprinkler pipe fitters
• Plumbers
• Electricians
• Sheet rock workers
• Earth workers
• HVAC technicians
• Iron workers
• Sheet metal workers

Another interesting fact about the visitor center construction site is that it features a “Dance Floor.” Not your Saturday Night Fever variety, but a giant platform — nicknamed the Dance Floor — that is suspended 24 feet in the air. Above that false floor is another 24 more feet of scaffolding that enables workers access to the fifty-foot high pitched ceilings.

Burr notes that working on the high ceiling was one of the most challenging elements of the project. The Dance Floor was created because they couldn’t fit a “lift” inside the doorway of the building.

Another cool feature of this project — designed to address the weather challenges of Paradise — is a scaffolding that extends beyond the roof-line by 10 feet. “That way that people can work on the outside of the building from the inside, without being killed by snow falling off the roof,” says Burr.

There are even more people working at the Paradise Inn– 40-50, says Burr. The goal is to rehabilitate the 86-year old building so that it retains its rustic feel but can better withstand the ravages of time and weather.

To make the building stronger while keeping the historic atmosphere, many of the original beams, planks, and logs in the walls and floors were taken out, reinforced with concrete and steel, and then put back. The Inn has seen a lot of wear and tear over the years. Earthquakes and large snow-loads have made the floor uneven, pushed on the walls and created gaps and even some trenches throughout the structure.

One such trench in the corner of the dining room was so big that Burr wondered if “they were gonna dig up some skeletons?” Seriously though, an NPS archaeologist did examine the area and thankfully, no skeletons were found (Remember… Redrum…).

One big challenge for this type of construction project is to keep employees working at Paradise. “It’s not an easy job,” says Burr. To those of us who visit Paradise for those gorgeous views and hikes, it might be hard to imagine what could be so difficult about working there. (It beats a cubicle, doesn’t it?) But the commute is quite long and many of the workers reside in temporary housing. And then of course, there is always the threat of crashing your truck on a slick icy road that is threatened by avalanches, or the joy of digging it out of the snow daily.

Burr, however, has enjoyed the job and his surroundings. “Some people don’t even like to look at the view. But I take as many pictures as I can.” Photos by Burr, Agiewich and NPS.

re-printed from Mount Rainier Climbing

posted by Rebecca at Thursday, March 27, 2008

Here are a few good options:

* Good Morning Exercise
Keep a bar with some weight on your shoulders. Bend at the waist with your knees bent a little and the back straight till the trunk is parallel to the ground. Relax in the upright position and repeat.

* Hamstring Stretch
Lie on your back and hold on the back of your thigh, lift the knee 90* above the ground and straighten it until it exerts a mild stretch on the back of the thigh. This exercise helps increase the muscle flexibility and reduce the stress on the lower back exerted through the pelvis.

* Piriformis Stretch
Lying on your back, cross the right leg over the left knee, grasp the back of the left thigh and pull the knee close to the chest. This stretch helps in the overall flexibility of the pelvic region.

* Psoas Stretch
Lying on your back, bend the knee close to the chest and clasp it just below the knee.

* Pelvic Stretch
Lying on your back, fold your arms, bend the knees and soles directed to the floor. Without supporting the hands, lift your buttocks off the floor and slowly rest them back.

* Hip Stretch
Lying on your back at the edge of the bed, hold your knees to the chest. Keeping one knee in bending position, lower the other knee till a stretch is felt on the hips.

* Abdominal Curl Ups
Three types of abdominal curls given below can be practiced separately. Lie on your back with knees bend. Lift up your trunk and try to reach below the knees, try reaching the knees with the elbows, and bending forward with the hands folded behind the head.

* Lumbar Extension Stretch
Lie on your abdomen and slowly use your forearms to raise your upper body above the ground, and then lie down again. This back arching is important to help in stabilizing the spine.

Timeline 5000 B.C. - 1800s

For thousands of years, Taidnapam, Upper Cowlitz, Yakama, Nisqually, and Puyallup tribes live in the foothills of the mountain they call Tahoma. They fish, hunt, and gather berries and herbs on its lower slopes. However, because they have a great reverence and awe for Tahoma, they never go near its summit. In the 1700s, European and American newcomers bring diseases that decimate the tribes. Only small groups remain when American settlers homestead near the peak in the 1800s.

1792
British explorer Captain George Vancouver names the mountain Mount Rainier for his friend Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. (Rainier never visited his namesake peak.)

1833
Dr. William Tolmie, a Scottish physician at nearby Fort Nisqually, organizes an expedition to gather medicinal herbs. Guided by five Native Americans, he is probably the first white man to venture into what is now the park.

Late 1850s
James Longmire, an early Washington Territory settler who farms near Yelm Prairie, establishes the rough-hewn Packwood Trail. He guides many aspiring mountain climbers on this route from the Pacific Coast to Mount Rainier’s slopes.

1857
Army lieutenant August Valentine Kautz and his party travel for eight days to climb the summit. His Nisqually guide becomes snow-blind, his companions give up, and despite his perseverance, he is just 400 feet shy of the summit. However, he proves that Mount Rainier can be climbed.

1870
General Hazard Stevens and Philemon Van Trump make the first well-documented ascent of Mount Rainier. For more information on that intrepid group, click here.

1883
At age 63, James Longmire climbs to the summit with Philemon Van Trump and George Bayley. On the trip, Longmire’s horse wanders from camp to a mineral spring on Mount Rainier’s south side. When Longmire discovers his horse, he decides then and there to return to the idyllic spot. In 1884, he and his wife build Mineral Springs Resort, Mount Rainier’s first hotel.

1890
Fay Fuller, a schoolteacher from a small town near Olympia, becomes the first woman to climb the mountain. As visitation rises, a campaign is led to protect Mount Rainier by establishing it as a national park.

1899
Led by local communities and supported by scientific and conservation organizations, including the National Geographic Society, the campaign triumphs. President McKinley establishes Mount Rainier as the the nation’s fifth national park.

1911
President William H. Taft travels to Paradise in the first automobile to reach the area. (The auto has to be towed by horses the last several miles.)

1916
A trail system encircling the mountain, known today as the Wonderland Trail, is completed.

1929
“The Greathouse Accident” occurs when an entire six-person climbing party falls into a deep crevasse after sliding down Mount Rainier’s upper slopes. Ranger Charlie Browne leads efforts to save the injured climbers and recovers the bodies of a guide and client. He is awarded the first citation for heroism ever given by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

1930s
The Civilian Conservation Corps builds and repairs many park buildings, trails, and bridges, which are still used today.

1940s
The U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Ski Division trains on Mount Rainier during World War II.

1962
Mount Rainier is the training ground for the successful American expedition to Mount Everest.

1981
Project Pelion, a large group of climbers with disabilities, sets out to climb to the summit. It includes 7 visually impaired members, 2 hearing-impaired members, a one-legged Vietnam War veteran, and an epileptic member. Of the 11 members of the group, 9 reach the summit. The highest death toll in U.S. climbing history occurs when an ice avalanche on Ingraham Glacier kills 11 members of a 29-member climbing party.

1990
8,335 climbers attempt to reach the summit of Mount Rainier, and 4,534 are successful. “The Mountain” continues to be a mecca for climbers and sightseers from around the world.

2006

The Great Flood — A deluge dumps 36 inches of rain on the park, causing almost $40 million in damage.

2007

Mount Rainier National Park celebrates its 108th Anniversary.