[pct-l] Eagle Creek Trail In Winter Ice

[jdawud at yahoo.com (Junaid Dawud)]

image stored in file pct/eaglecreek/tunnelfalls/ice

-------------Junaid #41PCT2006

--- Sharon & Chuck Chelin <chelin@teleport.com> wrote:

> 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
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