10-29-23
I
wanted to get in a second larch
trip. The alpine larch were about finished but there was a chance to
find some
western larch. We had been to the WF Teanaway several times in late
October and found golden larch. This year things have been early. I
hoped to find the western larch still golden. Gary and John were free
to join me. It would be cold. A spot forecast showed 21 degrees at 8:00
am and 28 at 9:00 am at the trailhead. We needed an early start but not
too early. We met at Eastgate at 7:00 am and headed east. An early
morning check of a weather station on the MF Teanaway showed 15
degrees. We hoped it would warm up a little. When we arrived the car
registered 15 degrees. That is really cold for Washington state.
Especially in October. The day before I did a hike near Seattle and it
was 25 degrees at the start. It warmed up quickly. I wore a polypro
layer and a long sleeve shirt with gloves and a wool hat. It was not
enough. The bright blue sky looked warm. The white grass looked very
cold. Gary and I headed out to a sliver of sunlight in the big meadow.
John met us a few minutes later at 8:33 am and we took off. We were all
cold. I held out until John stopped after half a mile to put on another
layer. I had an orange vest over the two shirts and put on a wind shirt
as well. There are a few different hunting seasons and we wore orange
just in case.
The faster we hiked to warm up the more wind we created. With enough clothing on now, we did not need to stop for any more clothing additions. Our route climbed out of the valley and into forest. On most of my visits there are wildflowers or fall leaves to stop and photograph. This time of year we just kept moving. It did not take long to reach the beginning of the wester larch area. We were disappointed to see that most of them had lost a lot of needles. There was some color but the sun was still low and the forest dense enough to provide little sunlight that makes the needles shine. The larch were not terrible but not as good as we expected. We then reached the road and turned right. This brought us to the second larch spot. These are usually the best ones. Here we found some past prime but others still had many green needles. That was not expected either. These were better. Not prime but better than the first grouping. We decided to continue cross country as we noticed we were not far from a slickrock slope we usually check out on the way back. This worked great and we reached the top of the slickrock. We had good views out from here. Mammoth Rock was visible and some snow peaks farther west. After a few photos we descended the slickrock back to the main road.
Now we headed right as the road descended to cross a creek. Back in shade it was much colder than in the sunshine. It was still much warmer than at the start of the hike. Warmer but still below freezing. We saw a few more golden larch trees just off the road. The route then descended down to the WF Teanaway River and reached the bridge. Across the bridge it was back into solid shade. We saw a few frozen puddles earlier and they went from breakable crust to solid ice. Across the bridge they were larger and more numerous. Gary and John set out to test their strength as they walked across or fell in many puddles. Teanaway Lake is the biggest one. It was big and deep enough to have a very thin skin in the middle. They found out by falling in. I guess we had some pretty waterproof boots. With that as a diversion we hiked fast and stopped at most puddles. We had a fast moving average speed and a slow total time speed. We sometimes go out and back on the main route to Exclamation Point Rock and sometimes do a clockwise loop. This time we decided to do a counterclockwise loop.
We had no problem finding where to climb up onto the rock ridge. It is all sandstone with pockmarks all over it. Climbing up was easier than climbing down. We had good views from the ridge top as we headed towards EP Rock. At one spot we stopped for brunch. We had nice views and could see some more larch trees mixed in with all the evergreen trees. The ridge dropped very steeply to the Middle Fork Teanaway River. After our food and water break we continued along the ridge. The last drop had us crossing a little fresh snow. From there it was steeply up to Exclamation Point Rock. Just below the Rock we had an unusual view of it. We had always come down this way and had not seen it from this angle. We took a few quick photos of Exclamation Point Rock and then headed on. The route up Mammoth Rock is to follow under the near vertical wall to the far end, climb up on top, and head all the way back across it. The rock is fascinating as it has overhangs to duck under and lots of colored lichen. Before the end we found we could scramble up a short way to the top. It is usually too wet and slick to ascend. It was bond dry this day.
There was a steady breeze across the rock and we headed to the far end where there are a few tall trees that rise up above the top of the rock and provide a small wind block. It worked pretty well. We still had bright sunshine and with most wind blocked it was not too cold with the four layers I still had on. We arrived at the far end at 11:58 am. That sounded like lunch time to me. On a summer drive back down the NF Teanaway Road John and I spotted a tower east of Highway 970 and I tried my phone. For the first time ever, I had a good signal driving down the valley. I have never had any signal at all atop Mammoth Rock. For fun, I looked east and turned off Airplane Mode. Low and behold, I had a solid signal. I was quickly able to upload 8 photos. This is good news especially as it is now possible to get an emergency call out if necessary.
Our break lasted nearly an hour. It 12:51 pm we packed up and headed back. Rather than retracing our route back to Exclamation Point Rock, we decided to descend to our left down the end of Mammoth Rock to the main road below. We crossed the Rock and headed down. On a 2019 trip Gary and I came down this way and heard water most of the way down. We bushwhacked a short distance to find a weird waterfall. Water ran over a sandstone cliff and fell a dozen feet. It immediately ran under ground. We climbed to the top and found the waster running under ground and coming out just before the falls. There was a falls but no inlet or outlet stream. We came back with John a year or so later and it was completely dry. It was hard to convince John that there is ever any water there. This day we again found the spot and.... it was bone dry. Someday I might see it once again.
We reached the road and headed down it. There are a few larch trees right alongside the road. We added a few more photos. We saw some trees well off the road and decided to make one more detour. As before, some trees were nearly finished, some were partly green, and some were golden. That was it for larch trees. We headed on down the road. We took one more break at the bridge. After the shaded road it was out in the sunshine and much warmer. So far we had heard a car or truck when on slickrock above the road. That was it. No cars, hikers, runners, bikers, or hunters. Since there are cabins after the bridge we thought we would see someone heading out in a car but never did. Our break was much longer than needed but it was very nice being out in the sunshine. It finally felt more like around 40 degrees.
We had no more detours. Along the river then uphill. Near the larch groves we turned off the road into the forest. I only took a couple more larch shots. We quickly reached the spot where we descended back into the big meadow. The frozen white grass of morning was now bright green grass. The big deciduous trees along the river were now bright white trunks set against evergreen trees on the slope just behind them. With the sunlight showing the bright white, it really contrasted against the green trees. I stopped for another dozen photos. Now we just had .80 miles to go. The meadow seems to go on forever but in due time we reached the car at 3:16 pm. There were no other cars. We saw exactly zero people all day long. Forty or so degrees was a lot warmer than in the morning but it was still not warm. We changed into dry clothes and were soon on our way. I never did take off any of the four layers I went too early in the trip. It is now late enough in the season that we drove home with no traffic slowdowns all the way to Eastgate. That is one benefit of late October.
This turned out to be a fun trip. We did see some peaking larch trees as well as some done and some just starting to turn. The total solitude was a plus. The drive was full speed ahead. The big frozen puddles turned out to be a fun distraction. A bunch of kids who just happen to be between their late 50s and 70. I have been out in temperatures lower than 15 on quite a few occasions but in mid winter on exceptionally cold days. Our mountains seldom get below 15-20 degrees on days that conditions are good enough to get out. 25 degrees on Saturday was cold. 15 degrees on Sunday was really cold. All in all, it was a great fall hike.
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Trips - 2023
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The faster we hiked to warm up the more wind we created. With enough clothing on now, we did not need to stop for any more clothing additions. Our route climbed out of the valley and into forest. On most of my visits there are wildflowers or fall leaves to stop and photograph. This time of year we just kept moving. It did not take long to reach the beginning of the wester larch area. We were disappointed to see that most of them had lost a lot of needles. There was some color but the sun was still low and the forest dense enough to provide little sunlight that makes the needles shine. The larch were not terrible but not as good as we expected. We then reached the road and turned right. This brought us to the second larch spot. These are usually the best ones. Here we found some past prime but others still had many green needles. That was not expected either. These were better. Not prime but better than the first grouping. We decided to continue cross country as we noticed we were not far from a slickrock slope we usually check out on the way back. This worked great and we reached the top of the slickrock. We had good views out from here. Mammoth Rock was visible and some snow peaks farther west. After a few photos we descended the slickrock back to the main road.
Now we headed right as the road descended to cross a creek. Back in shade it was much colder than in the sunshine. It was still much warmer than at the start of the hike. Warmer but still below freezing. We saw a few more golden larch trees just off the road. The route then descended down to the WF Teanaway River and reached the bridge. Across the bridge it was back into solid shade. We saw a few frozen puddles earlier and they went from breakable crust to solid ice. Across the bridge they were larger and more numerous. Gary and John set out to test their strength as they walked across or fell in many puddles. Teanaway Lake is the biggest one. It was big and deep enough to have a very thin skin in the middle. They found out by falling in. I guess we had some pretty waterproof boots. With that as a diversion we hiked fast and stopped at most puddles. We had a fast moving average speed and a slow total time speed. We sometimes go out and back on the main route to Exclamation Point Rock and sometimes do a clockwise loop. This time we decided to do a counterclockwise loop.
We had no problem finding where to climb up onto the rock ridge. It is all sandstone with pockmarks all over it. Climbing up was easier than climbing down. We had good views from the ridge top as we headed towards EP Rock. At one spot we stopped for brunch. We had nice views and could see some more larch trees mixed in with all the evergreen trees. The ridge dropped very steeply to the Middle Fork Teanaway River. After our food and water break we continued along the ridge. The last drop had us crossing a little fresh snow. From there it was steeply up to Exclamation Point Rock. Just below the Rock we had an unusual view of it. We had always come down this way and had not seen it from this angle. We took a few quick photos of Exclamation Point Rock and then headed on. The route up Mammoth Rock is to follow under the near vertical wall to the far end, climb up on top, and head all the way back across it. The rock is fascinating as it has overhangs to duck under and lots of colored lichen. Before the end we found we could scramble up a short way to the top. It is usually too wet and slick to ascend. It was bond dry this day.
There was a steady breeze across the rock and we headed to the far end where there are a few tall trees that rise up above the top of the rock and provide a small wind block. It worked pretty well. We still had bright sunshine and with most wind blocked it was not too cold with the four layers I still had on. We arrived at the far end at 11:58 am. That sounded like lunch time to me. On a summer drive back down the NF Teanaway Road John and I spotted a tower east of Highway 970 and I tried my phone. For the first time ever, I had a good signal driving down the valley. I have never had any signal at all atop Mammoth Rock. For fun, I looked east and turned off Airplane Mode. Low and behold, I had a solid signal. I was quickly able to upload 8 photos. This is good news especially as it is now possible to get an emergency call out if necessary.
Our break lasted nearly an hour. It 12:51 pm we packed up and headed back. Rather than retracing our route back to Exclamation Point Rock, we decided to descend to our left down the end of Mammoth Rock to the main road below. We crossed the Rock and headed down. On a 2019 trip Gary and I came down this way and heard water most of the way down. We bushwhacked a short distance to find a weird waterfall. Water ran over a sandstone cliff and fell a dozen feet. It immediately ran under ground. We climbed to the top and found the waster running under ground and coming out just before the falls. There was a falls but no inlet or outlet stream. We came back with John a year or so later and it was completely dry. It was hard to convince John that there is ever any water there. This day we again found the spot and.... it was bone dry. Someday I might see it once again.
We reached the road and headed down it. There are a few larch trees right alongside the road. We added a few more photos. We saw some trees well off the road and decided to make one more detour. As before, some trees were nearly finished, some were partly green, and some were golden. That was it for larch trees. We headed on down the road. We took one more break at the bridge. After the shaded road it was out in the sunshine and much warmer. So far we had heard a car or truck when on slickrock above the road. That was it. No cars, hikers, runners, bikers, or hunters. Since there are cabins after the bridge we thought we would see someone heading out in a car but never did. Our break was much longer than needed but it was very nice being out in the sunshine. It finally felt more like around 40 degrees.
We had no more detours. Along the river then uphill. Near the larch groves we turned off the road into the forest. I only took a couple more larch shots. We quickly reached the spot where we descended back into the big meadow. The frozen white grass of morning was now bright green grass. The big deciduous trees along the river were now bright white trunks set against evergreen trees on the slope just behind them. With the sunlight showing the bright white, it really contrasted against the green trees. I stopped for another dozen photos. Now we just had .80 miles to go. The meadow seems to go on forever but in due time we reached the car at 3:16 pm. There were no other cars. We saw exactly zero people all day long. Forty or so degrees was a lot warmer than in the morning but it was still not warm. We changed into dry clothes and were soon on our way. I never did take off any of the four layers I went too early in the trip. It is now late enough in the season that we drove home with no traffic slowdowns all the way to Eastgate. That is one benefit of late October.
This turned out to be a fun trip. We did see some peaking larch trees as well as some done and some just starting to turn. The total solitude was a plus. The drive was full speed ahead. The big frozen puddles turned out to be a fun distraction. A bunch of kids who just happen to be between their late 50s and 70. I have been out in temperatures lower than 15 on quite a few occasions but in mid winter on exceptionally cold days. Our mountains seldom get below 15-20 degrees on days that conditions are good enough to get out. 25 degrees on Saturday was cold. 15 degrees on Sunday was really cold. All in all, it was a great fall hike.
 Frigid Meadow |
 Gary & Low Sun |
 Sun On The Meadow |
 Long Shadows |
 First Larch Trees |
 A Little Light |
 Gold & Some Green |
 Evergreen & Larch |
 Puddle Ice Art |
 Blue Sky & Larch |
 Big Mushroom |
 Sunlight Up High |
 From Green To Golden |
 Backlit Larch |
 John And Larch |
 Nearing Slickrock |
 View Across Valley |
 Descending Slickrock |
 Gnarled Log |
 Another Larch |
 Closer Look |
 Distant Larch |
 Golden Leaves |
 Shadows From Bridge |
 Puddle Stomping |
 Icy Teanaway Lake |
 Onto Rocky Ridge |
 John On The Rocks |
 Gary And I |
 Gary On Ridge |
 More Larch Trees |
 Guys On The Ridge |
 Looking Back |
 A Little Snow |
 Exclamation Point Rock |
 Exclamation Pt Rock 2 |
 Mammoth Rock Wall |
 Duck! |
 On Mammoth Rock |
 Break Time |
 Relaxing On The Rock |
 Looking Dow The Valley |
 Leaving Mammoth Rock |
 Steep Slickrock |
 Mucky Mud |
 Lit Up Larch |
 Detour To More Larch |
 Great Color |
 Around The Lake |
 On The Road Again |
 Last Larch |
 Forest Trail |
 Back To Big Meadow |
 Late Light On Trees |
 Entering Big Meadow |
 Lit Up Bare Trees |
Trips - 2023
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