rangers_log_July_29

Ranger Report - By Ranger Rick on July 29th, 2008

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The camps at Pete Lake were full this Friday, but everyone was well behaved. I
followed several of the campers up to Spectacle Lake the next morning where we
had great weather and relatively snow-free hiking. There is a big avalanche path that
has buried the trail just passed the Pete Lake trail junction with the PCT near Delate
Meadows. Looking up the hill you can see where many of the trees now laying in the
trail were snapped in half by the cascade of snow that happened this winter.

A couple feet of snow and lots of debris cover the trail in this section. Just hug the hillside and you'll find the other side of
the trail....Good luck with that mess trail crew!!

There were also two reported bear sightings that day. One near Spectacle Falls and another on the Spectacle Lake side
of the trail. Remember to hang your food when backcountry camping. Aside from losing your food we don't want any
bears becoming problems in the camp areas. It hurts them worse in the end. All of the camps at Spectacle are snow-
free now...just a few skeeters at the moment with more to come. Other news...look out for the toilet sign pointing up the
hill from the peninsula camps. We're finding too much toilet paper and unfinished business too close to the lake. TP
doesn't biodegrade...it just makes rangers angry when they have to bury it and other campers sick when they see it. Pack
it out or bury it with your business.

Sunday was drizzly and overcast all day which made slogging in the snow that is still hanging on the PCT above
Spectacle a boot drenching experience. For the next couple of weeks you may need an ice axe or hiking poles through
this section because there are a few parts that are rather steep and its a long way down the cliff to the lake from there. A
ranger shovel did the trick for me on my way to Upper Park Lake. I could see that there is still quite a bit of snow holding
at Glacier Lake above Spectacle...even a "glacier looking" chunk of snow in the center of the lake. Spectacle Tarn near
Park Lakes is still mostly covered in snow as well as the horse camps on the way to Watson Pass. The camps at Upper
Park Lake are melted out. Please look out for the signs and stakes marking the revegetation sites at this camp area.
There is quite a bit of new growth sprouting up, but it only takes one wrong step to undo nature's hardwork.

For the finale of my trip I headed out Mineral Creek Trail (AKA Miserable Creek). It always has to rain the day before or
during my hikes out of this trail for added insult. If only this trail could give the vegetation in Park Lakes a lesson in how
to grow. I made my way down the six miles with my pruning saw in hand so I could make the tiny holes the alder and vine
maple gave me a bit bigger for my backpack. This trail is pretty hardcore and I wouldn't recommend it for an easy stroll
through the woods. There is also a small avalanche section on this trail just above the big creek crossing (which is also
a mess with blowdown). Ranger tip: Follow the ditch looking indent in the debris and you will hook up with the tread on
the otherside. Until next time,Ranger Rick