[pct-l] timberline trail

[judson at jeffnet.org (Judson Brown)]

Just got back from a 3-day trip on the Timberline Trail over Labor Day
Weekend. Never before have I hiked a trail that was so consistenly
beautiful! Considering the recent discussions on this forum, I was very
mindful of the stream crossings. Almost every one showed evidence of recent
flooding. The trail approach to most of these crossings looked as if they
had been lopped off with a knife, often requiring steep, awkward scrambles
down crumbly banks of flood deposits. The crossings themselves were easy if
you were willing to get your feet wet, occasionally tricky if you weren't. I
wish I had brought my Chacos!  Here's a run down of what I found:

Zigzag River: easy approach, easy rock hop
Sandy River: easy approach, very difficult rock hop, easy wade about 150'
upstream
Muddy Fork: Holy crap, what happened here?? I hadn't heard about the massive
mudflow that has obliterated the entire north half of the canyon bottom.
(Anyone know when this happened?) Now I understand why the PCT was rerouted.
The approach was difficult, following cairns and pink ribbons across terrain
that looked like something from Mt. St. Helens. Sometimes it took some
searching to find the next pink ribbon. Crossing the two major branches was
only a tricky rock hop, even during late afternoon runoff. Found a viewful
campsite below the trail just before it re-entered the forest. A bit
unnerving camping on the debris of a recent mudflow, but I've never camped
in spot with more awe-inspiring scenery.
Coe Branch: moderate approach, tough and scary looking rock hop, easy wade
Eliot Branch: the trail had been extensively re-routed here- the new
crossing is about 1/4 mile upstream from the old one, and has a steep trail
accessing it on both sides- the creek is crossed via a narrow, sloping
1-railing bridge
Newton and Clark Creeks, and White River: all these had tough, bouldery,
roundabout approaches with easy to moderate rock hop crossings.

When it comes to pack weight, I don't suppose it's much of an issue if
you're wading- it may well help anchor you. But with all the rock hop
crossings I was doing, I was very glad I had a 20-lb. pack.

Judson
Ashland