Creeks & Rivers Raging

The Chiwawa River and Phelps Creek are raging right now and at the dam it is running everywhere, you can barely see the dam under all of the water right now. It is finally starting to clear up a bit after being muddy and full of debris from this past fall season. After finally getting to the dam for the first time since Nov which was not an easy task due to all of the trees on the road and the snow slide remnants on the road to the dam, one area still has over 6' of snow on the road along with trees and rocks from a late season avalanche. We had to walk the last 1.25 mi because of everything on the road. The screens have been filling up with debris or trees coming down the creek have been blocking the water flow to the powerplant so we have been going up a couple of times a day since Mon just to clear things out and keep the water flowing. I was amazed to see how high the water in the creek was and Reid mentioned that it was the highest he has ever seen. The Chiwawa River has cut new channels to the east this year and part of the river is running right through the back pond which is flooding the Buck Creek Tr and it is under 5-6' of water right now. Not only is there lots of water everywhere but the road into Trinity is only open to Atkinson Flats, the 2nd snow gate is closed due to large numbers of trees being down and blocking the road in places and even part of the road is gone washed out with a creek running across where the road was before Nov. It looks like a war zone and the question is now does the Forest Service have the funds to make the needed repairs & to clear the trees and debris from the road alongwith repairing the washout, not looking too good at this point. Back to going to the dam Peace and I have made several trips to the dam since early Monday morning after the plant dumped Sun night from lack of water due to the screens being clogged with debris and silt, we cleared the screens twice Monday and once Tues, this is my busiest time of year just keeping them cleaned and the plant up, once the water clears up it will be easier then there is more water than we can handle. Peace is a trooper and keeps up getting plenty of exercise and then sleeping after we get back, she's a joy to have here but definitely keeps me on my toes. So if you are planning to get out in the woods be prepared for anything especially with the high water and trees down everywhere pack a saw and shovel and some extra rope you might just need to tie off to be safe. Even with all of this that has happened out here and the difficulty driving in and out, it's still Paradise to me.
I found my Paradise, hope you find yours too.

10th Annual Bike & Brews Fest @ Gibbs Farm

This past Saturday at Gibbs Farm was the 10th annual Bike & Brew Fest with Chumstick Liberation Front. It was hot for most of the day but once the beer garden opened the crowd started growing in anticipation of the beer that was flowing & music by Chumstick Liberation Front a local band that has recently gotten back together with some new members and new songs. It was great getting to see many people that I haven't seen in some time and meeting many new friends.Spending the morning with Ivan and some of his friends and visiting all the homes at the farm, lots of exercise. When the music first started it was still rather hot so there weren't too many people dancing but as the evening got cooler the dance crowd got bigger, lasting well past dark. It was Peace 2Toes first big event in her short 6 weeks but she was a trooper she's a quick learner finding that the shade is much cooler than in the sun to take a nap. Peace had many volunteers to watch her especially Chelsea & Travis, thanks alot I appreciated it and so did she. It was my first Bike & Brew Fest but it won't be my last. A big thank you to all the Gibbs Family, and all of those others involved in making this happen. A great way to start of the summer in Leavenworth. This is just the beginning.
I found my Paradise, hope you find yours too.

Introducing Peace 2Toes

I'd like to take this moment to introduce the newest member at Trinity, she's my new road dog, Peace 2Toes. I got her from Jessica a friend of mine this weekend, she has a great temperment and yes she will be big she's Chocolate Lab, Rott/Pitbull/St. Bernard. She got to play in snow yesterday and is willing to go wherever I am going. She'll be a great companion. This weekend she went to Blackbird Is, and the Bike & Brews Fest and this morning early we even went up to the dam because we lost water to the powerplant, not that there wasn't enough but the screens were plugged up with debris as the creek is up and very dirty because of the warm days we have had this past week. This evening we went back up to the dam and she wanted to walk not be carried even in he slide areas, it's a great way to get her to sleep through the night. More soon on the Bike & Brews Fest.
I found my Paradise, hope you find yours too.

What a Difference a Month makes

It's been a few weeks since I've written about what is happening out at Trinity and I apologize for that first off, there has been a lot happening.
The snow has been melting rapidly in most areas but there are still several miles of road that still have as much as 2-2.5' of snow covering it, there are trees and debris everywhere from the Nov rains and Dec wind storms that happened out here. I've been cutting and clearing trees for the last 3-4 weeks just to make it to my vehicle. The river has cut many new channels and as I've mentioned has been feeding the pond that our tail race feeds into causing it to overflow and and erode the bulkhead so now the trail to Buck Creek is under about 5-6' of water so any hikers planing to make it to Buck Mountain or Buck Creek trail should prepare to get wet. The hummingbirds arrived in early May 6th, and the deer showed up the following weekend. There is a constant building of the deer herd coming into the backyard to the salt lick as many as 20-30 at a time and it is almost always deer out there during the day. That is until I get out moving around but then they are only gone for a few minutes. Haven't seen the martens lately but know they are around. This weekend is Memorial Weekend and we know that the Forest Service is wanting to open the campgrounds for it but something people need to know is that there is quite a bit of damage from trees crossing the road and from water crossing the road several places , unless people have 4 wheel drive vehicles they may not be able to get to many campsites. It will be interesting needless to say. There are still places for me to snowmobile or use the Ranger to get around. I've thought about taking my tracks off but still have enough snow to keep them on for another week or 2. Here are a few pictures of what is happening around here, the snow is almost gone behind the house but get in the trees and it can still be 4' deep and maybe even more in some places making it much more difficult to get around. The river and Phelps creek and many of the little creeks are all flowing very well right now making it harder for places where you have to ford them take extra caution around the swift moving water right now.

Sadie, Sam &?

I've lived here for 3 years and until a couple of months ago I had only heard about Martens or American Martens as they are known here but never seen one. The year before last there was a biologist for the forest service that put out traps to see where they were and out of all the traps( a steel plate that has been sooted and placed in the middle of white paper and they look at the tracks of the various animals) and I was told that the only trap that had martens tracks was from here at Trinity, but I had never seen one. Then this winter after Elaine came home we had a visit from 2 of them and were excited about that since one of them even ate from my hand. I've looked them up trying to find out more about them but there just isn't that much info avail except from MI and WI DNR's. What I have found says they are solitary animals except during breeding and that males will defend their area. Well we've been seeing them more since the snow is melting now and each day they entertain us with their antics they are very curious. The other day while Gizmo the cat was watching them I went to investigate had one of them out back but he really had an attitude then from a hole in the snow another one popped out which we know from her markings and size is Sadie. After about 30 minutes of watching and feeding them they were gone. That evening they returned but to our surprise there were not just 2 but 3 of them playing on our back porch, so they don't seem to be loners at all but we aren't sure but believe Sadie and the new member of the group we are naming Sophia are female and Sam is a male based on the information and size difference. They are very curious animals and try to look in the door often which drives Peppy & Gizmo crazy. It's a constant game of chase or hide n seek with all of them playing. To be so secretive they are sure being brave because we see them as much during the day as at night yet they are supposed to b most active in the evening night and early morning. I guess there clocks are off for now.
We also now have 5 pr of mallard ducks living in the back pond that is now being filled from the Chiwawa River because of new channels it has made after this winters storms. Now if we could only see Elk back in here it would be great. There is plenty of food and protection from roads and vehicles out here but no Elk anywhere out here, yet we have an Elk herd at Mt St Helen's that is starving to death and they are wanting to kill them off, instead I think some of them should be relocated to this area where there is great habitat and plenty of food for them, we already have more Mule deer than we know what to do with but having Elk would definitely make Paradise better and everyone could benefit then. I've contacted the Washington Fish & Game department about this but haven't gotten a response back. Maybe it's time to petition for some of the wildlife to be reintroduced into areas that were once habitat to them before they were killed off here because of politics and orchards, many of which are now being sold and converted to developments for more people. I'd like your thoughts about having Elk back in the area, getting things back in balance is what is needed.
We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

Happy 1st Birthday Avery

Today is Avery's 1st Birthday and we won't be there to share it with her but wanted her to know how much we think of her. These are the latest pictures that we had. Hope she has a wonderful day and many more to follow. You can do anything Avery that you want to do. Can't wait to see you again knowing how fast things happen at this time in your life. We Love You very much have you mom & dad give you big hugs for us. We don't want to forget Aiden who will be having a birthday next month, You'll get your chance to be on here too. We Love ya'll very much.

Late Snow Arrives @ Trinity

I was talking to the owners of Trinity yesterday and we were all commenting on how fast the snow is going and I mentioned that every year I've been here there has been a late March snow before it is gone for the season. The 2nd day of spring we saw a drizzle of snow and today it dumped this is There is still 6' of snow here but the last 9 miles out from Trinity starting around Chikamin Creek the snow is patchy all the way to the sno-park with many bare spots some 10' across others over 100' and I was trying to decide when to change the Ranger back to tires. It started raining yesterday afternoon and by evening it was raining very hard over 0.5" before midnight and it was raining again today but around 2pm it started snowing not just a little but almost whiteout conditions. It is so beautiful and a very wet snow that had the trees white in a very short time, it looked like the Dec & Jan snows we had. What a wonderful way to start out the week with everything turning white again and looking so pure and clean, a nice change from the dirty snow we had been seeing for the last week or two when we traveled out from Trinity. Enjoy the pictures.
We found our Paradise, hope you find your too.

Three Years in a Row

This morning Elaine and I were out riding around and just checking things out and as we were checking the back pond Elaine spotted the mallard hen resting in some brush.. What is so exciting about this is that this is the 3rd year she has come back here , usually she is seen in the company of a couple of drakes, that isn't so uncommon but one of them is a wood duck and the other is a mallard. LAst year she laid and hatched 4 eggs and were were able to see thewm when they first were swimming with mother in the back pond but as they got older we got see them journey to the front pond about 200 yds away before they were gone for good. It was very exciting then and again now to have her back again. Please forgive no pictures today as we are waiting for a power supply for the computer that has all of the pictures loaded on it. Spring is here that is for sure.
We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

Buck Creek Trail in Spring 3/23/07

The last couple of days Elaine and I have been going out and looking at how much snow still is on the ground and on the bridges, both the foot and auto bridge at the Trinity TH. That however isn't so unusual at this time of year but what is different is that the trail that hikers usually use to get to Buck Mtn, Chiwawa Mtn and the PCT is at the present time under water, not just a little bit of water as has been the norm but a lot of water because the Chiwawa River has cut a new channel and now is feeding the back pond then heading back to the river. It will be very interesting to watch during the melt out to see if it stays or not but right now it would be good to bring waders.
The 2 top photos are of the foot bridge just different sides but there is still 8' of snow on it, the bottom pictures are where the Chiwawa River has cut a new channel it used to be the trail, the pond is overflowing to the trail that runs behind it, normally hikers have no idea the pond is there, now they will. What else will happen as the snow starts melting. Both the river and Phelps Creek and running about twice as much as it usually does at this time of year and it will only get faster and deeper as the melt/thaw happens.
It's been great having Elaine home and being able to enjoy the snow with her, now she is starting to understand what I've been saying all along "Winter is my favorite time of year, it is so beautiful and clean". We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

2nd Day Of Spring

Today was the 2nd day of Spring. It was so beautiful. I love playing in the snow, it grows on you. Gregg, Peppy & I were out most of the day playing in the snow. I love driving the Ranger and making trails and packing the snow. It is so peaceful and majestic. We took lots of pictures today and I had my Mother in mind. She asked for pictures, so I think we got 138, wishing we had our best camera instead of the smaller one. Still we have a lot of really good pictures. Hello to Sarah, Chad, Breece, Chris, Kerry and last but not least Austyn! Peace&Love, Elaine

What a Great Weekend

This weekend was supposed to be a wet one but we didn't get much more than a sprinkle most of time. On Saturday Ivan came up and spent the weekend we had a wonderful time playing on the snowmobiles and going up to Phelps Creek Trailhead, it was so beautiful being able to enjoy the solitude and the beauty of the mountains. We found a new snowfield to play in that usually isn't accessible because it is covered in alder and brush but right now it's just buried in snow, it was great. We were able to see where the Chiwawa River had cut a new channel and is now coming up the normal trail and into the back pond bringing much more water than it normally has, and we got to play in the snow in the sun all day, every time we stopped it seems like we were having to take off more clothes until it was time for t-shirts. Bacon and waffles for breakfast with beautiful scenery and good music, what a great way to enjoy the spring like weather in the beautiful Cascades.
We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

A very nice surprise

Today was a beautiful day we woke up to sunshine on the mountains and clear blue skies, so I decided to go to town for some things we needed to get and to see what the snow conditions were like at the other end of the road. One thing I found was that there was no snow from the snowpark parking area to our garage, thankfully the fire road trail still had some snow with patches of water and mud that I could use to get my snowmobile to where our truck is parked. At our garage there was almost no snow compared to what was just there last week when I went out. This was a nice change from the 4" of rain we had gotten over the weekend which took our snow level here down to just above 8' of very compact snow, and last night got cold enough to freeze everything that melted yesterday, making it possible to walk anywhere in the snow without post holing while walking. I got home around 3:15pm with everything I bought stuffed into my backpack and saddlebags on the sled, it's heavy but it works quite well. We had just gotten everything put away when I looked outside and saw someone outside on the porch.
I went out and found a friend Ivan Gibbs had snowmobiled up with another friend of his Don, they had been enjoying the groomed trails out here and decided to come for a visit. It was very unexpected but such a great time, we went out to the powerhouse and bowling alley but mostly were looking at all of the back country skiing that is available and untouched at this time. You just never know who or when someone might show up. In the last few weeks we've had more friends out here than most people that can walk next door to their neighbor and it takes a little longer to get here. Yesterday the martens today Ivan & Don. What does the rest of the week have in store.
It was nice to see it start snowing just before they left to go home and has continued on through the night giving everything a nice white coat of snow. I can't wait to get out in it and play before it is gone .

Feeding Sadie & Sam

This morning when we first got up Elaine mentioned that she just saw the marten outside, so we got up to look. To our amazement not just one but 2 martens were playing on the front and back porch, we've named them Sadie & Sam. They are very curious and I even got one to take meat from my hand. Now they have Gizmo's constant attention and he keeps looking where he last saw them go into the snow tunnel outside in the snow off of the roof that is still hanging on. Here are a few shots taken from inside and outside while feeding them. Sadie is the one that seems to be fearless and will take food from me but Sam seems more reserved. Sam is more vocal but both are fun to watch. This is only the second time we have actually seen them but I have been watching their tracks and have often thought that there were more than one but couldn't confirm it until today. Not only will they travel over the snow but they also have tunnels under the snowbanks that have melted out. This weekend was a very wet one almost 4" of rain and the snow is now down to about 8 feet. What a wonderful and exciting way to wake up.
We found our Paradise, hope you find yours too.

A New Friend to Trinity

Yesterday afternoon we had some visitors & friends from out at Chiwawa Pines that came snowmobiling and we knew that some of them, Art & Jim were coming but they even brought their wives Janet & Niki and Jim's brother Tommy from California. We had a great time and the guys got to play in some of the virgin snow here at Trinity and see just how deep the snow really is here. We had a great visit. Here are a couple of pictures of them and more to come soon. Tommmy is the picture by himself & the other picture was taken as we were heading to the powerhouse for a tour.
We found our Paradise, and so have these friends, we hope you find your's too.