[pct-l] Snoqualmie Pass Washington PCT Work Parties – July 1 and July 4

[North 350 Blades]

For those PCT-L-ers in the central Puget Sound area / I-90 corridor east of
the mountains that have yet to get on our e-mail list.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: North 350 Blades <north350blades at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Subject: PCT Work Parties – July 1 and July 4
To: <north350blades at gmail.com>


Well, the snow has melted enough (just barely) to get started on taking
care of the PCT in the Snoqualmie Pass area.  Here are our first 2 work
parties of the year:




First work party:

When:  July 1.  Safety briefing starts at 8:30am.  Arrive a few minutes
early to get signed in and geared up.

Where:  Southbound Snoqualmie Pass PCT Trailhead.  If coming from Seattle,
take I-90 to exit 52.  At the bottom of the off ramp, turn right.  Go only
a hundred or so yards and then turn into the large gravel parking lot at
the foot of the ski slope.  Follow this several hundred yards as it climbs
gradually while angling to the left to the end and the PCT trail head.  Drive
time from Seattle is about 50 minutes to an hour.

What:  We’ll be working drainage issues between 1 and 3 miles in from the
trail head.  With all the snow melt, they’ll be obvious and we’ll have some
wet working conditions.  This one will be a moderate difficulty – we’ll be
digging a lot, plus the hike distance into the work site combined with the
elevation gain up the ski slope on the way in, plus climbing up the back
side of the ski slope on the way out.  Based on scouting results from
Thursday June 21, expect to be walking on snow in places on the way to the
work site.  Yaktracks, micro spikes or similar traction aids MIGHT come in
handy for the hike to / from the work site, although the scouts hiked / ran
this section of trail in running shoes without issue.



Second work party:

When:  July 4th (What better way is there to celebrate our Independence
than some stewardship of our public lands?).  We will convoy from the
meeting location to the trail leaving at 8:00am sharp.  Please arrive early
enough to not miss the convoy start.

Where:  We’ll meet at the sign for Stampede Sand and Gravel, off of Exit 62
from I-90 (about 10 miles east of Snoqualmie Pass).  At the top of the Exit
62 / Stampede Pass off ramp, turn toward Stampede Pass (right for those
coming from Seattle) and go about ½ to ¾ of a mile, crossing the river and
coming to the Stampede Sand and Gravel sign and turn out to the right
shortly there after.  We will meet under the sign.  Drive time from Seattle
is about an hour.  We’ll convoy from here to the trail, about 5-6 miles up
fair gravel forest service roads.  There are pot holes and wash boards,
however the roads are fully passable to a typical passenger car.  This
should take about ½ an hour.

What:  We’ll be power brushing, starting practically right from the road,
so a negligible hike in.

We’ll quit early enough on this one to insure folks can get home to enjoy
festivities in the evening.



For both work parties:

No experience is necessary, all tools and helmets are provided.  We’ll
typically knock off early enough to be back to the cars by 3:30 or so.



*If you’d like to join either or both of the work parties, please reply (to
north350blades at gmail.come) and indicate which one(s) you’ll join so that we
can bring enough tools and helmets.*



Dress and Personal Equipment:  Come dressed in your favorite work gloves,
long pants, long sleeve shirts and boot like foot wear (no running shoes,
no flip flops, and no sandals – with swinging tools and spinning blades,
substantial footwear is an essential part of your personal protective
equipment).  If you have safety glasses, please bring them.  Bring other
weather appropriate clothing (rain gear, extra warm top, etc).  Bring a day
pack with lunch, water, sun screen, bug spray, personal medications (epi
pen, etc), sit pad for lunch, etc – typically what you might bring for a
day hike.

Barry