Holden Washington Trails Association Volunteer Vacation 15-22SEPT2018
I try to include 7-10 days/year as a volunteer for the WTA working on trails. I love to backpack, and certainly have not done it as much as I’d like over my lifetime, yet I still feel that a few days “pay-back” for all the hard work that goes into building and maintaining a trail is worth it. Even on national lands, much of the trail maintenance is performed by volunteers, and it is hard work, so I feel that I can afford to do some trail work each year. I had already spent time with the PCTA on a Goat Rocks work project, and a long weekend on Mt. Rainier with the WTA. This trip was originally full, but when an opening came up, I quickly signed up, in that I had never been into this area, save for climbing Glacier Peak 40 years ago with Hannes Zuercher.
Holden Village is not reachable by vehicle. Either one must backpack in, or take the boat ⅔ the way up Lake Chelan to Lucerne, and then be shuttled in 9 miles to the village. It was started as a mining camp in the 1930’s, the principle focus being copper from a mountain in the vicinity. The village was abandoned in the late 1950’s and then purchased by the Lutheran church as a retreat center. Later, it was discovered that iron leachings from the tailings were leading to a 2 mile section of Railroad creek not having any fish. $600 million later, and much further destruction of the area has led to a possible recovery of the Cutthroat trout in the short creek segment, but uncertainty remains about long-term viability of the entire project. We were not at the village to help with mine remediation, but to fix and clear the trails that run into and out of the village. Our focus was to brush the MonkeyBear trail and the Holden Lake, Hart Lake trails, while building a culvert/turnpike on the Hart Lake trail. The work was a success, though much was still left to be done. Our leader was Jackson Lee, who was incredibly delightful to work with, probably one of the better leaders that I’ve had to work under, and very motivated at the task at hand.
In mid-week, I did a 16+ mile hike to Holden Lake and then to Hart Lake, a stupendously beautiful venture of breath-taking quality. Holden Lake sits right under Bonanza Peak, the tallest non-volcanic peak in Washington. Hart Lake was on the trail up to Cloudy Pass and the PCT, and currently used as a bypass for PCT thru-hikers owing to an Agnes Creek fire just north of Suiattle Pass. The other Ken and Carol were close behind me. On my way back from Hart Lake, I got to walk out with 3 thru-hikers who have stayed together since departing Campo.
Holden Village is run by the Lutheran church. They have Vespers every evening for 30 minutes, starting at 19:00. I usually attended. The services were quite different from traditional Lutheran liturgical worship that I was familiar with, having a focus on personal therapy as religion and worship of the “happy feel-good eco-artsy-pacifist-inclusive-of-everything-god”. The staff were all very nice, and it was a joy to get to know them. Most of the workers were also volunteers. The closest thing I could think of to describe Holden Village was “The Village” portrayed in the tv series The Prisoner starting Patrick McGoohan, best known as the secret agent man.
The first work day had heavy rain, and then we had sunny weather until Thursday, when it was cloudy but without rain. Departure on Saturday had more rain. The boat ride out was late in the afternoon, and I was able to make it home by 21:15 that evening. Photos of the trip follow…
Tam on the trip inThe boat docked in Lucerne, headed up to StehekinOur crew gets a shuttle bus ride up to the VillageMy bed in the VillageOur cabin in the villageMountains surround the villageMore of the villageThe mine remediation projectMine remediation structuresDittoIron rich crud from the runoff collected downstream and then dumped upstream in this giant basin.Drain runoff Woman hole (gender inclusive)Attempt to reforest tailingsEager beaver workers waiting to play in the dirt.The turnpike crew, with a thru-hiker included on the far right, and forest service person in yellow.View from the villageOur day packs are dropped, tools properly placed by the trail, and work commencesMonkeyBear Falls, site of Tuesday’s lunch stop The beginning of the turnpike/culvertRod, playing in the mud, digging drainage for the culvertThe turnpike filled in with rock followed by dirt using burrito-roll techniqueDay hike up to Holden LakeHigher up to Holden Lake, Bonanza Peak in the centerHolden Lake beside Bonanza PeakHolden Lake, glaciers hovering above the lakeThe other Ken at Holden LakeCarol and Donald arriving at Holden LakeWild Ken in Wild-erness Hart Lake from aboveThe completed turnpikeCulvert running under the turnpikeDrainage beside the turnpikeCompletely exhausted trail workers, barely making it.Departure at Lucerne Landing, the boat arriving in the distanceVery happy trail workers, including Jackson, Elaine, and Pat
I’ve been amiss at writing book reviews. Of the four books here, I found all to be delightful and informative reads, gaining insight into the thoughts and minds of historical characters from the late 18th century and civil war. I will continue several more books on the era of the founding fathers, before plunging whole hog into civil war history. The book “Sherman” has wet my appetite for the era of the civil war. But first, we review “Washington”.
Ron Chernow clearly has done his homework, going through vast volumes of papers and references to the man George Washington. Much of the book details his years during the Revolutionary War, and as president. Chernow is excellent at painting both the strengths and flaws in the character of Washington. Washington made many mistakes throughout his life, especially in the conduct of the Revolutionary War, and without the help of France, we would have probably still been a part of the U.K. I don’t picture him as a brilliant general, even though the soldiers he had to work with were painted as less than stellar. Congress (and the individual states) were also quite remiss at helping Washington fight the war that they commissioned him to accomplish. Washington’s strength was that of being able to inspire people, and to play the political games that brought people together and agree on vexing matters.
Much of the mythology of Washington was debunked in this book. He did not throw a coin across the Potomac, or chop down a cherry tree. He did not kneel to pray at Valley Forge. His “god” was the nebulous force of “Providence”. Washington was a strong federalist, in that he wished for power to preside mostly in the central government, rather than the states. Oddly, it’s a battle that continues to this date. Chernow describes in detail but glosses over some extreme double-mindedness of Washington, such as his insistence on holding slaves, and not even allowing his most cherished slave to go free after years of dedicated service to his master.
In this book, we truly see not only greatness of the man George Washington, but also his horrid faults. Such a person would not have survived the twenty-first century. Thank God he lived in the eighteenth century. It is a book worth reading should one be interested in the founding fathers, and Chernow writes well, being able to hold your attention throughout the book.
Amazing Grace, by Eric Metaxas ★★★★
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the heroic campaign to end slavery, details the life of Wilberforce, one of the leading persons in the British government to remove slavery from the United Kingdom. Metaxas details the life from birth to death of Wilberforce, showing the rise and actions of a truly great man, who was willing to put his life and effort into abolishing the slave trade in British Empire. This was accomplished in stages, with first the abolishment of the slave trade, and then much later, just before his death, the abolishment of the practice of slavery within the United Kingdom. Wilberforce’s accomplishments were actually far more than just addressing the issue of slavery during his time in the parliament, where he made much effort to bring help to the poor and downcast.
Metaxas paints Wilberforce as being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He grew up in a privileged family, and thus really never had to work. He dawdled his way through college, never really excelling, but he was able to enter the house of Commons through his speaking talent. Through a deepening of his Christian faith and encounters with John Newton, the pastor and author of “Amazing Grace”, but previously a slave trader, Wilberforce’s focus was directed toward the abolishment of the slave trade throughout the United Kingdom. Wilberforce was in Parliament at the time of the American Revolutionary War, though this did not seem to garner much interest to William. Like politics in the USA, there was much wrangling and fighting in Parliament before a decision could be made, and Metaxas is excellent at detailing that process.
So, what are we to think of Wilberforce? In a way, I would hold him in disdain as an elitist. In another way, he was able to take a moral stance against all odds, fight for that stance, and win, making him a hero of the cause. Wilberforce was motivated by a Christian conscience, something that also drove our Civil War for the abolishment of slavery, yet many might ask if the abolishment of slavery could have happened without a Christian mindset? I think not, but that is a topic for lengthy discussion over a good bottle of Cognac and a Cuban cigar. This book is much worth a read, generates stimulating discussion, and Metaxas is a superb author who writes in an addicting style. I encourage all to read this tome.
1776; by David McCullough ★★★
This book begins in late 1775 and ends with the New Year of 1776. It repeats much material from Chernow’s text on Washington, though not focusing on Washington. The focus is mostly the first year of the Revolutionary War, and the activities in the North. The war in the south and at sea are really not mentioned. The campaigns in Massachusetts, the war to defend New York city, and the ending with Washington’s victory at Trenton are details. The end of 1776 left great wonderment whether Washington would ever be successful at overcoming the far more disciplined and vastly more numbered British army, supported by a large army of paid Hessian mercenaries.
Washington faced multiple challenges from a very highly undisciplined army, as well as a congress always slow at supporting the war effort. The individual states were quite unwilling to send their militia to the support of the war effort, making recruitment a near impossible task for Washington. Much of the book is quite dark, as it should be for the first year of the war, where defeat far outnumbered victory, and those victories were most providential with the rag-tag army that Washington was fielding.
The book would have been more successful, had McCullough carried on through the end of the war. I would have liked to see a more comprehensive review of what was occurring in congress, in the states, and other areas of the war, such as in the south. I would not put this book on the must-read list.
William Tecumseh Sherman: In the Service of my Country, by James Lee McDonough ★★★★★
This was a most delightful read of one of the greatest generals ever produced by America, and certainly a person that competes on the world stage as one of the greatest of the greatest mastermind in war. Sherman grew up in Ohio, being raised by adoptive parents. He went to West Point, much to the chagrin of his adoptive parents, did ok at West Point, and served in the military for a length of time, mostly in the south, but mostly attending high society parties. Eventually, he left the military, seeking fortunes in the banking industry in California. When California banking went south, Sherman moved back to the south to become one of the first military academies in the south, being released when the civil war broke out, and his strong disagreement with the south that matters should have been worked out civilly.
Without detailing the events of Sherman’s life, and especially his war years, I would like to summarize some interesting aspects of his life. First, though he was probably one of the most brilliant generals of the war, the newspapers frequently characterized him as insane, a looney, and crazy. Any time there would be a struggle with the enemy, the charges would be resurrected. Kind of sounds like the press today… they never seem to get it right. Secondly, Sherman was correct in seeing war as a total war; civilians often are a contributor to the war, as was especially true with the civil war on both sides. Yet, it was Sherman that first spoke the phrase “War is all hell”. He had a very realistic approach to war, while having a very sympathetic feeling toward the enemy. We quickly criticize Sherman and his march to the sea, and yet overlook the supremely evil Confederate general that frequently confronted Sherman, Nathan Bedford Forrest. Sherman’s innovation in developing supply off the land far from his natural supply lines seemed only natural and right, and certainly was effective of breaking the will of the enemy for war. Though long dead, Sherman continues to receive unfair criticism. Like the other truly great generals such as Patton, end results tend to speak louder than the curbside audience that could never start up to the heat of the moment of these generals while leading the army to ultimate victory.
Mount Olympus as seen from the trail to Grand Lake
04-07SEPT I had planned for a 3-4 day hike in the rain shadow region of the Olympic National Park. The Olympics tends to be challenging hiking, with the trails often showing no regard for real humans, heading straight up the hills without mercy. The land is rugged and not for the faint-of-heart, yet offers some of the most spectacular beauty to be seen. Every corner of the the trail, every vista, every pass, every step offers an ever unfolding realm of majesty; new snow-clad peaks, new valleys, new lakes and meadows, all discovered by the sweat of one’s brow and the toil of aching muscles and limbs… but, it was all very much worth it. Sometimes it could be a challenge to get permits into the Grand Valley basin. Fortunately, it was after Labor Day, and permits were quite easy to obtain. Even though the weather was spectacularly beautiful without a cloud in the sky, the campgrounds were quite empty. On the 8 miles or so of trail from the Grand Pass junction to Three Forks Campground, and the next day back up to Deer Park, I never saw a single other person of the trail. One needs not go to Alaska for solitude!
Day zero started by me leaving from home about noon, and reaching the Port Angeles ranger station where I was able to obtain my permit to hike, and camp at Moose Lake. I decided to start at Deer Park, which I didn’t realize was somewhat of a crazy drive up a VERY narrow gravel road 8 miles to the campground. I spent the night there.
One day one, the hike went from Deer Park to Moose Lake via Obstruction Point, roughly 11.5 miles and 3500 ft of climbing. Much of the trail to Obstruction Point was on a crest overlooking Port Angeles and the Puget Sound on one side, and a broad panoply of mountains on the other. The trail to the Grand Basin also followed a ridge overlooking Mount Olympus (see above) before steeply dropping down into the basin. A short further hike put me at Moose Lake, where I set up camp. There I met a retired chemical engineer named Ray, my same age, and we spoke of our joy for the mountains. I was just getting over a week-long bout of gastroenteritis, so a bit worried about eating. I tried some Loma Linda spaghetti bolognese, which tasted absolutely awful. The meal was remedied with pecan sandy cookies and Snicker bars.
Day two went further up the Grand Valley, beyond where most people do not go, up over Grand Pass. While the lower Grand Valley is V-shaped, the upper valley has a distinct glacial appearance as a large U-shaped cirque. The valley curves to the left, not seen from below, so the top of the valley as seen from Moose Lake was much lower than where Grand Pass actually was, a climb of about 3500 feet. The trail did not seem too difficult, until I had to descend on the other side. On the maps, the trail becomes a dotted line, suggesting not quite a trail. It was not terribly challenging to follow the route down, now with mountains on all sides of me. The hard part was that the trail condition was poor and not maintained. I was unable to hike any faster descending than when ascending the north side of the pass. I encountered three people on the trail, including middle aged lady, a younger man carrying a large tripod on his pack, and an old geezer slowly working his way up the pass… all were solo, like me. Once I reached the Cameron Creek trail, I decided to make this a three (rather than 4-5) day adventure and go down Cameron Creek. Everybody suggested that the trail was okay, and quite beautiful. It was a beautiful trail, though one was now in dense forest without views. The trail here was both poorly designed as well as poorly maintained. It was about 7 miles to Three Forks campground, which took me about 4.5 hours to achieve, much slower than my usual hiking speed on manicured trail. I am not sure why this trail is so neglected. It needs to be re-routed over many segments, and desperately needs a modicum of maintenance, after which I’m sure it would become a very popular trail. For dinner, I had my own specialty, where I combine freeze dried hamburger and vegetables into Top Ramen. It tasted great. The day was roughly about 12 miles, and 4500 ft of climbing.
The last day was a return to Deer Park on a trail that went straight from Three Forks Campground to Deer Park, about 4.4 miles with about 3500 ft of elevation gain. It was a persistent climb, but the trail was in stellar shape, making it not a terrible challenge. There was no available water on the trail, and knew that Deer Park had no water, so my CamelBak was filled with 3 liters, and I went through most of it. Toward the top, the vistas again opened up in their glorious beauty. Though this has been one of my more challenging hikes, I did not feel overwhelmingly spent or exhausted on ending it. I reached Deer Park by 10:30 in the morning, almost 3 hours of climbing.
On the trail to Obstruction PointLooking south toward the mountainsGrand LakeMy tent with the Bear Vault at Moose LakeMoose Lake in the Grand ValleyThe view from the summit of the Grand ValleyGrand PassLooking down the Cameron Creek ValleyA view in the upper Cameron ValleyMy tent at Three ForksThe structure at Three Forks
A few more notes need to be added here. Equipment-wise, I tried out a new pack, the Exos 58, most of which I loved. It was a very comfortable pack, even though I didn’t take sufficient time to fit it to me. There are a few things I didn’t like about it. First, I liked the pockets in the brain, but didn’t like that they competed with an additional optional flap. I would have liked to be able to remove the flap. The long cord on each side that was to help compress the pack seemed more troublesome than good. There were no hip pockets to place little things. Yet, it held everything nicely, including the mandatory bear canister, which one must have when camping in the Olympics. I liked the two very large side stretch pockets and large back pocket. This will probably be my go-to pack, though I might eliminate the “brain” and find a pocket to hold all my loose-ends in in the pack.
I also tried out two other things, including Dirty-girl gaiters and OP hiking gloves, both of which I loved. My feet were so comfortable in the Altas that I didn’t even bother taking them off at the completion of the hike… they just felt great, without blisters or soreness. The gaiters worked perfect at keeping out dust and rocks and sand from the shoe. I wore my pants over the gaiters, providing a secondary round of protection. The OP hiking gloves also were perfect, as my hands had no soreness while holding onto the hiking poles, didn’t become hot, yet allowed me access to my cell phone for gps purposes.
I also tried out the MSR pocket rocket mini-stove. Before this, I was very happy with my JetBoil stove, but many reviews and recommendations suggested trying this out. I did, and didn’t like it. It takes at least twice as long to boil up 0.5 liter of water, and requires a lighter to get the flame started. It offers no weight advantage. I’ll probably go back to my JetBoil Flash Lite system, and use the above stove as a back-up when I’m camping with a group.
Dirty Girl gaiters on my AltasOR ActiveIce Spectrum Sun GlovesFinal View on leaving the trail
