The top 2 pics are of the dam with Phelps Ck forcefully going over the dam. The creek is almost 2' higher than what it normally runs when it isn't melting out due to the very warm temps we have been having. The water is clearing up daily and lots of oxygen in the water. just being up there and listening to and seeing the power of the creek when it is flowing like this, seeing all of the gravel in spillway and hearing the rocks which sould like bowling balls underwater is a powerful reminder of what it can do. Below the main spill is nothing but large boulders and bedrock that have been cut and carved over the years by this creek but at this time you can't see it because of the quantity of water flowing over and down the creek right now.
This pic is of the inside of the spillway/aquaduct the bright side is the spillway which supplies the water through steel screens with only 3/32" holes to keep the fry from entering the aquaduct and making it to the powerplant
, this past winer it had 3-4' of ice on top of what you see here and why the powerplant froze up this past winter during the -10 nights, it froze faster than I could clear the screens so no power for 7 days. the spillway was 80% full of gravel and rocks when we got up there so had to pull the boards to lower the water level and get the rocks moving then assisted using a shovel to keep the gravel moving back into the creek, there was very little sediment it in, the screens are running down the middle. the darker side is still water that feeds the aquaduct which runs 9900' to the settling tank to get the debris out of the water and let rocks and gravel settle to the bottom of the tanks then send it on down to the powerplant to make power for the houses.The lower photo is looking up at the dam from the road, below the dam is bedrock and boulders that have been carved by the poser of the running creek, this creek is not glacier fed. Above the dam and around a bend is a very beautiful tropical looking waterfall and several pools which are nice holes for cut throat trout to hang out in. This upper section of the the creek only cut throat trout are found and about 1.5 miles downstream below a 30' waterfall you will only find Bull trout because they eat everything else. Just above the upper waterfall is Spider Meadow but very few have ever experienced this area, once they have they always want to return.
We found our Paradise, hope you find your's too. Peace
