I'm Constantly Amazed

After living at Trinity for the last 3 years I am constantly amazed with how many people around Leavenworth don't know what Trinity is or where it is located. One of the things I enjoy most is getting out and seeing new places especially with all of the beautiful places to go around here and I have to admit I'm very spoiled living here and with what is in my backyard I don't need to go anywhere but I like to know where things and places are. There are those that I meet that have fond childhood memories of coming out here as a kid, then there are those hikers I meet from all over that are cruising the PCT either from Canada to Mexico or vice versa that have been coming by here for years. I feel truly blessed to live here and just exploring the places around here are enough to fill a lifetime of adventure. The disadvantage to living out here is finding people to go explore with, it does take some effort but is well worth it, so if you are up for an adventure and would like to explore places you have never seen before let me know.
To give a brief history of Trinity began back in the 1920's and was really developed by Royal Development Company of Canada and the original mine was actually started up at Spider Meadow but after not being able to access it in the winter decided to try to access Red Mountain from the Trinity townsite and they dug a 2 mile tunnel through Phelps ridge I've included some photos of what Trinity loked ike back then with over 400 people living and working here. They did produce copper, silver and gold but the compant went bankrupt and most of the workers ended up going over to Holden Mine to work. Mining was tried here until the 70's off and on but nothing to amount to much. It was purchased about 17 years ago and turned into a conservancy. I've had the opportunity to live here going on my 4th winter and everyone is different, I meet lots of people snowmobiling and hiking and then those that just can't read the NoTresspassing signs and try to get past us with out detection and that is where Peace comes in she is becoming a great watchdog and doesn't let anyone get by without getting caught. This is the one time it is much better to ask permission instead of asking forgiveness once people cross the gate I might not be as cordial to them. Anyone that has ever had enough respect to not cross the gate but stay there until invited in have often been given tours of the powerhouse or shown around especially if they have been here long ago and have memories of coming here as kids I do my best to accommodate them and it is how I have made many of my friends out here, most are from the west side of the mountain and I hear from the often. It's funny to me but I see a summer camping group and the winter snow junkies that can't wait to see the fluffy white stuff falling, and hear the whining of snowmobile engines. Do yourself a favor and if you haven't ever been out this direction take the effort you'll be glad you did, the road out here is a rough road but the beauty all around more than makes up for it. Living in Washington offers every kind of outdoor activity you can imagine and being surrounded by mountains and rivers & creeks all around me is what makes this place Paradise to me. Get out and see all of the beauty around this wonderful state we call home and keep your eyes open, you will be surprised at the things you've been missing, especially taking time to enjoy it. What I usually see are people from the city out here and driving so fast and crazy like they are still in traffic in the city, take your time and enjoy it, life it too short to be rushed through, you might miss what you have been looking for.
We found our Paradise, hope you find your's too.

The Jury is still out

This past year I purchased from Mattrack's their M3 tracks for my Polaris Ranger after totally destroying the set of Polaris tracks I purchased when I bought my Ranger. Mattrack's makes 2 different sets of tracks which have a 1" lug and the M3's which are longer, wider, and have 1 7/8" lugs and I thought they would be better for living out here. When I was first looking at them one of the concerns I had was the longer lugs and how they would fare on dirt during the melt out time and I was told that they could handle any type of terrain as long as it was done under 40mph and I figured that would be great because with the tracks on my Ranger will only do 5-7mph because of the torque I have to run in low gear. When I was talking to the sales rep I was told that 60% of the M3 tracks would never see snow and I thought that meant that they were very tough tracks so I ordered them thinking they would be just what I needed to get around out here. I installed them just before going to Texas at the beginning of Nov and drove the ranger up to the dam on the tracks up a dirt road 3 miles. They weren't used again until I returned from Texas when we had 4+' of fluffy snow and drove it back to Trinity. I used them around here for about 2 weeks while we were getting snow days of 1' or more every couple of days and then the day before Thanksgiving we drove the Ranger out to Fish Lake which took us almost 6 hours to go 21 miles, very deep snow that hadn't been groomed so it was difficult to get through but we did until destroying the transmission in the deep snow Thanksgiving day. While I had my Ranger jacked up and was trying to see what was damaged I inspected the tracks and noticed that many of the middle tabs were torn or completely torn off, not only that but I also noticed that some of the big lugs were torn at the base of the lug where it attaches to the track, this really concerned me because if this happened with snow what would happen during the melt out. It took me until Feb to get it back from the shop so for 2 months it wasn't even used but after that I used it some but not all the time especially if I needed to make a quick trip I relied on my snowmobile. By the end of the snow season in June many of the lugs were torn and most of the smaller tabs in the middle of the track were totally torn off making them not as effective as they should be. I was late in getting the information back to Mattrack's but once I sent photos of the damage it was addressed very quickly, and just under the wire for the 1yr warranty so I received the paperwork I needed to fill out and sign and got it back to Mattrack's now I'm waiting to see what will be done to correct this problem. It is getting close to that time of year when they will be needed again for another 6 months of snow. I do like the tracks but definitely need to have more power than what the Ranger can do with the way the motor & transmission are set up . I have some thoughts of how to maybe fix that but it is still in the thinking stage right now. I'll let you know what I find out and how this is handled by Mattrack's.
We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

My Favorite Time of Year

I have to admit that this is the beginning of my favorite time here at Trinity, summer is officially over because the Labor Day weekend just past, schools are starting back, hunters are getting ready for the archery & high hunt, and the PUD & NCRS are coming out to do their SnoTel Maint which means that they stage here at Trinity and I get to go flying for the 4th year. It is definitely great getting to catch a ride and see everything around here from the helicopter at 5000-8500' up it gives a whole different perspective of the beauty all around here. I'm hoping to get as much flight time as possible this year and for sure to get to see Lyman Glacier or what is left of it this year and compare it to what I've seen the last 3 years and what it looked like back in 1985 when David Morris and friends hiked from Plummer to Lyman Glacier and Spider Meadow, it could be quite dramatic. Not sure how many people will be here this year just depends on how much work needs to be done while they are here. I knew it had to be getting close to that time of year because of all the horse & mule teams that have been making the trip up to the high country getting ready for deer season and some early bear hunters, I knew it meant that there would soon be the sound of helicopters and people moving around here in a flurry of work to get the SnoTel stations ready for this years snow, since we only have about 1.5-2 months before winter/snow starts showing up here and goes from green to white. It will be nice to see crew members I've known for the last 4 years and some of the new volunteers that have come to help them out, having them here means the snow isn't far behind and once that happens everything here changes. The one thing I'm not sure of yet is who the pilot will be but for the last 3 years it has been a pilot named Doug even though he's been here with 2 different helicopter companies last year was Northwest Helicopters and I assume that is who will be here again this year, he is a wonderful and very good pilot who I have every confidence in, safety is his first concern, without a safety meeting you won't fly in his copter. It is the opportunity of a lifetime and I get to do it each year, and every year gets better. Once they are gone I'll put up new photos of this years activities and what I see from the air.
We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

Labor Day is almost gone

That means that there won't be that many people out in the campsites now since school is starting back up and summer is over so maybe things here will get back to normal sorta. Bow season & the high hunt will be starting soon which means there will be more hunters here but that usually goes pretty smooth. This has been a very busy time out here this year lots of folks getting out in nature but still acting as if they were in the city especially the way they drive, these aren't the type of roads to go 60 mph on but they try leaving large clouds of dust staying around. It should be rather quiet now until it snows and then the snowmobilers will start up tearing up the snow. It would be nice if they would take their trash when they leave. I am always amazed as we walk everyday to see what has been left by hikers and campers, they brought it with them but they want to leave it here when they leave and that is sad. This is such a beautiful part of the state and I am amazed how little some of the visitors here care about all the beauty all around them. All I can do is try to educate and pick up after them because it does get to me to se the stuff left on the ground and in campsites, this is my home and I like it to be nice. We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.
We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

Trinity Mine circa 1937

This is what Trinity looked like in 1937 when the mine was in full swing with over 400 people working here. For those of you that have been here in the past 25 years or so wouldn't recognize the beautiful place we call home, compared to what it looked like then. Thanks to David Morris Napeequa Winery winemaker and history sleuth. More to come soon. We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.