Pregled posta

Marketing

SPECIFICS:
Early Friday morning 8.21.09 headed for the Twin Creek Falls camp, to meet a gathering of flickr friends, organized by Starlisa. After a short side trip up Windy Ridge at Mt. St. Helens I made my way up Forest Service road 90 that hugs the Lewis River above the Swift Reservoir. I stopped at Big Creek falls, then at the Lower, Middle, and Upper falls of the Lewis River. The lower falls is easiest to reach, the middle falls is the nicest hike, and the upper falls is an exercise in photo frustration, since the only shooting angle you can get on the falls is “down” and not a good down angle at that. I included a photo of it though, so others can see what they would be hiking to see. I had been to the lower falls of the Lewis River many times, but never to the other waterfalls, so it was well worth the time to do so.

THE STORY:
Thursday August 20th:
1. Took a challenging cross country hike to a beautiful set of waterfalls on Walupt Creek, where it enters the Cispus River. The hike was not long but required some nasty bushwhacking (most I found on my way out, could be avoided); a steep descent (I took the wrong way into the canyon and my route was MUCH steeper than it need to be).

Friday August 21st
2.I drove up early in the morning to Windy Ridge to see if I might bet a peak “up” at Mt. St. Helens or a peak “down” at Spirit Lake. Fogged in completely, a bust. It is amazing though how the entire area is growing back. The down timber that use to be so impressive to view, that was laying on the ground like matchsticks, pointed away from the Mt. St. Helens “blast” are quickly disappearing as “new life” takes over and covers the area.

3.I continued on down Forest Service Road 25 and then up Forest Service Road 90 to take a lot more waterfalls photos a long the way. Most involved just a short hike. Some like the Lower Falls of the Lewis River; I had visited many times before. Others like Big Creek; Middle Lewis; Upper Lewis; and Twin Falls Creek - - I viewed for the first time.

4.Starlisa, a flickr photographer, had done a masterful job of organizing a get together at a non-fee, secluded camp site on the upper Lewis River, across the river from where Twin Falls Creek falls, jumps into the river. A truly lovely place to camp. I felt honored to be invited on this get together. Seven flickr folks showed up (plus Starlisa’s dog, Rio). I had never met any of the other six, so it was truly a great experience. Three of us, who arrived at the rendezvous, visited a short while with the group, then headed on home. Four set up tents and planned to spend Friday night at the site. Thank you Darlisa!

5.I left the flickr group at 5 pm and returned to Randle via Forest Roads 90 and 23. I took a short four mile round trip detour to get “fading light” photos across Takhlakh Lake of Mt. Adams. I got back to my home in Eastern Washington at 9 pm Friday night, with a few mosquito bites, a little darker tan, a few bushwhacking cuts, AND a ton of great memories of beautiful places seen and nice people met.

A couple of those little happenings on a trip like this that will always stick fondly in the memory bank.

The Italians: A mother and son from Italy were taking the “back way” (to say the least), from Portland to make their way to the Olympic peninsula. They actually put faith in their rental car’s voice navigation system and ended up ACROSS from the Flickr camp, with a flat tire and completely lost, without map or any idea how to get out of where they were. The mother spoke good English but her son did not. Praise to the flickr encampment folks, who worked with the lady (and gave her a map), so they could make their way back to “civilization”.

The Weenie dog:At Takhlakh Lake, there was an assortment of people “using” the lake for recreation. There were a couple of swimmers; a fly fisherman with flippers fishing from a float tube; canoes; a young mother wading out in the lake with her grinning young child; AND a kayak, with the most smug weenie dog “kayak navigator”, you can imagine. Not many things make me laugh out loud, but the sight of the weenie dog, ears flapping in the wind, in the front of that kayak, was more than I could handle.

Now some stuff for you “detail” type people:
Waypoints for the waterfalls that I will be uploading:
Walupt Creek Falls (the cross country hike) N46 25 54 W121 29 58 *
Big Creek Falls (off FR90)N46 5 40 W121 54 26
Lower Lewis River fallsN46 9 17 W121 52 48
Middle Lewis River fallsN46 10 2 W121 52 48
Copper Creek fallsN46 10 6 W121 51 59
Upper Lewis River fallsN46 10 32 W121 51 5
Twin Falls Creek fallsN46 12 54 W121 40 5

* I do not recommend you try hiking to these falls without some “specific” route information, or you will find yourself in an alder tangle or standing on a cliff edge with scenes from the movie “Deliverance”, swirling through your head.

Flickr photo handles for those that gathered with Darlisa at the Twin Falls Creek falls camp:

Through truss bridge over Big Creek on CR210 Le Flore County, Oklahoma.
Relocated here from unknown location in 1938. Judging by design
it was most likely built in the late 19th century. Also the massive
beams used under the deck suggest that this was a railroad bridge in it's former life.
Currently open to vehicular traffic. Taken 1-17-10 with a Canon A640.