Tunnel Creek

Gas is cheap and my Jeep is kind of sort of running again until the next time it breaks down.  Thanks to Phil my Jeep even has high beams now. The night before this hike I decided to go to Tunnel Creek.  Rain showers were in the forecast all week.  I decided that the best plan to avoid the rain was to get high enough that the rain would be snow.  Tunnel Creek sounded good.  I’ve only hiked Tunnel Creek three times before, with the first time being so long ago that I barely remember it.

My alarm clock went off and it was time to hike.  But I had a headache and I was groggy from taking an extra half of a quarter of a pill to go to sleep after 1AM.  Maybe I should just go back to sleep, yep back to sleep, so I hit the snooze button and slept for ten more minutes.  Then I decided it was too late to go hiking.  But wait, the last time I did this trail I did not start my hike until 10:40, so it was not too late to hike.

I was tired, needed to make good time and did not want any drama, so I did not tell anyone I was leaving. I got out of bed, made myself a coffee and slipped out the front door with Patches.    My Jeep started and that is always a good sign.    I ate some almonds for breakfast during my drive.  When I reached Brinnon I saw that the bus I normally take there had just arrived and it was waiting to go back to Mason County.

I passed Mount Walker and that always feels strange as it was my designated northern limit for a day hike until I realized that it was my unconscious limit and then I shattered that limit.  I turned up Penny Creek road and sailed past the stated address of the guy I bought my home from.  It looks like a trailer that the gravel pit boss works out of; I rather doubt that anyone actually lives there.

I hit the trail at 9:55, a full 45 minutes earlier than the last time I did this hike.  There was no snow on my drive but there were some big rocks in the road and some mostly cut out fallen trees to drive around.

I was tired and it took forever to reach the shelter.  Then I realized that the shelter is actually near the end of the hike.  After the shelter the route begins to really climb.  I opted not to carry any water at all on this hike to make up for the weight of my umbrella and boots.  My umbrella was packed so I could keep my camera dry.  My boots were to keep my feet warm.

I reached the top and then stopped for tea.  Soon it began to snow. GOOD!  I was hoping for snow and it had been looking like the promised showers were not coming.  But they did come.  Finally some snow.  I wish winter would come.  Patches picked up a dozen ticks on our last hike.  YUCK.  January is supposed to be the safe time of year to hike the old roads, the ticks were supposed to be hibernating.

Patches stayed pretty warm in her yellow feed store coat that is one size too big.  She only shivered a tiny bit and that may have been because she wanted my food.  I fed her three Cliff bars.  She drew Oatmeal raisin flavor for this hike and she does not care for those.  She would rather that I poison her with M &M’s.

Chocolate is mildly poison for dogs but Patches is not concerned about that.  Next time I get a deal on expired Cliff Bars at 4 for $1.00 I buy her the peanut butter ones, she loves those.  I think Cliff bars are dogfood, so I try not to eat them for any price.

I enjoyed the view for a bit but then I remembered that I was wanted at the Elks Club at 6PM in Shelton.  They wanted me to volunteer to take some pictures for them.

So I packed up and headed down the hill in the snow.  By the time I reached the shelter the snow had turned to rain.  The rain soon eased off and I was able to hike out without getting too wet.  I wore my rain coat and pants but did not need my hood.

Shelter from the rain on the way back

On the hike out I had plenty of time to think and I decided to quit thinking about becoming a wedding photographer and to actually do it.  So who wants a wedding on the cheap by a first time wedding photographer?

I raced back home and made it to the Elks club with a half hour to spare.

I saw no one else on the trail all day long and that’s the way I like it.  Still, it might be awhile before I go back, it’s a fair amount of work and a long drive for not much of a view.

My Jeep rolled over to 199,000 miles on the drive home.

7.5 miles with 2,600 feet elevation gain

Hiking out with a light frosting of snow

Harrison Lake

Hookeria lucens moss with sporophytes

Same date, same place, last year

Snow showers at the end of lunch

Not much snow for 5,000 feet in February. 

Track and elevation from the last time I did this hike.

Tunnel Creek in the snow

at the top of the trail

Mount Walker is the normal limit of my day hiking range, so whenever I pass Mount Walker I get a little nervous. But why should I limit myself? If I take the bus for most of my hikes, then I can get away with one or two longer trips each month.

This is only my second trip up Tunnel Creek; I had thought of doing Marmot Pass but was unsure of the avalanche conditions. On the way to my hike I stopped at the Quilcene ranger station and met Ranger Peggy. Hi Peggy!

I ran into snow on the road well before I got to the trail head, so I was very glad that I had taken my truck. The snow on the road was only a few inches deep, but it’s so cold that it must have been a bit icy?

I started my hike at 10:40 and made pretty good time getting to the shelter. I saw icicles everywhere and Tunnel Creek was quite icy in spots. I only stopped at the shelter for a couple of minutes, but it was enough to make my hands ache and burn from the cold. I was so glad that I had my mountaineering mittens with me.

I decide to head up at least to the lakes and maybe to the pass. I really wanted to see the pass but I was short on time; I had gotten off to a late start and I had a long drive to get home. The lakes were covered in snow and I had to yell at Patches to keep her from running out into the middle of the largest lake.

As I headed up above the lakes the snow got a bit deeper but the trail was well packed and I did not get any snow in my boots even though I was not wearing gaiters. I had not expected much in the way of snow after my snowless hike up Mount Rose last week, so I left my gaiters at home.

I made the top sometime around two and then I could no longer see the trail. There was a path in the snow that lead up the to the unnamed peak above the pass. I knew about that peak because in my one other trip up this trail I had gone up to the top of that peak. I think there was a tarn at the top of the trail, but it was hard to tell with the snow. Clearly no one had come up from the other side recently as there were no tracks leading down. Coming up from the other side would be insane unless you were training for something.

Patches kept laying down whenever I stopped. I think maybe her feet were cold. Maybe I should get her some doggie boots for snow hikes. I wonder how doggie boots would affect her traction. I think humans are about the only animals that don’t have built in crampons called claws. Why is that? Maybe our toenails are supposed to curve over and grip the ground?

Patches began to shiver at the top, so I only paused up there long enough to take some pictures and then we quickly headed back down to the shelter for lunch. I cooked food and coffee, but it took too long and Patches began to shiver so I started throwing rocks and bits of bark and stuff for her to chase so she would stay warm. I always pack a foam pad for her to lay on so she can stay warm, but she always refuses to lay on it. Silly dog!

The water in the bottle in my pack froze and I could not get the lid off. There was a frozen creek “flowing”across the trail and it was very, very cold. But it was sunny and dry. The snow was so dry and powdery; I wonder if that is what snow is like in Colorado? I’m used to our “Cascade concrete” not this nice dry powder. In a couple of spots it might have been nice to be wearing micro spikes but I got by just fine in my half price La Sportiva boots. These gortex boots are keeping my feet warm and dry so far but they do hurt just a little bit. They don’t have the nice big toe box that Salomon boots have. The trade off is having dry feet, Salomons always start leaking right away.

I packed up and headed for my truck at 4:20, with just one hour left before sunset. I was 2.5 miles from my truck at that point. I hiked faster than 2MPH so I made it back to my truck before dark, but just after sunset. Then I began the long coast down the icy road to the highway. The driving trip out was longer that the trip up, since I was going downhill in the snow and I had to drive very cautiously.

I stopped at the Brinnon store and filled one of my water bottles with hot chocolate. My Jeep never did warm up enough on the trip home to melt the water in my other bottle so I got to show the ice to my family.

8 miles with 2,600 feet elevation gain 1,500 calories burned.




Harrison Lake

Harrison Lake pano

I think this tree is an Alaskan yellow cedar

Snow at the trail head, I'm so glad I drove my snow machine



This is Mount Baker.



 

Mount Baker and other formations in the mysterious beyond

The Buckhorn wilderness

Buckiella undulata moss sporophytes (reproductive parts)

A place for Critter to sleep!
Visit Critter at: http://www.critterstylebackpacking.net/

This frozen creek *is* the trail

The only good smelling dog breath is frozen dog breath

Mmmmm..... old growth!

Orange ice!

Moss reproduces in the winter,  This might be Kindbergia oregana  "Oregon Beak moss"

This sign always makes my heart skip a beat, it means I'm in the Olympic mountains!!!!
You will always find this sign at 3,500 feet in the Olympics

2,000 calorie deficit for me today.  I did not eat much on my hike because it
was to cold too drink enough to wash anything down without getting brain freeze.