[pct-l] Eagle Creek Trail In Winter Ice

[chelin at teleport.com (Sharon & Chuck Chelin)]

Good afternoon,

 

The elevation of PCT alternate Eagle Creek Trail only varies from 150 ft. at the trailhead, to about 1,200 ft. Tunnel Falls 5.5 trail miles to the south.  At such low elevations snow is not often a problem on a winter Eagle Creek hike, except in this last week there has been weather that caused snow, freezing rain, and lots of good, old regular rain.  I hiked to Tunnel Falls yesterday, and about 80% of the trail was covered with 2-4 in. of slushy snow.  In the exposed areas .. exposed on that trail means blasted into the side of a cliff .. the snow had drifted to totally cover the trail 3 ft. deep at the wall tapering to about 6 in. at the cliff edge.  On top of the snow had fallen tons of ice from the cliffs above, some of it the consistency of cocktail ice all the way up to chunks of mega-icicle 2-3 ft. long and of a diameter to probably weigh more than I.  But wait, there's more:  Water was dripping and running off the cliffs above to keep the ice well polished and the snow well saturated.  Quite a lot of sticks, dirt, and rocks had also fallen to provide an attractive contrast of texture and color.

 

Crossing those portions of trail was a real hoot.  Along much of it, the trail builders have installed a wire rope handrail on the cliff wall.  Locally they are called "chicken wire", because supposedly only a chicken holds onto the wire.  Well, start calling me a chicken, because even though I have never used them in dozens of previous trips, I used them yesterday and was extremely pleased to have them.

 

Inside the Tunnel was a solid, uneven floor of wet ice, with both icicle stalactites and stalagmites, some 3-4 ft. long.  I didn't pass out of the tunnel to the south.  East Fork of Eagle Creek was running heavily over the falls, and flow and spray had nearly covered the trail with a slope of ice.  Ice climbing gear would have been necessary to cross, and only then while standing under a deluge of ice-cold water.  

 

All you '06ers can remember that image of the trail as you pass by in the heat of next August.

Steel-Eye