Northwest Area

I've updated the photo guide for the northwest area in the National Park (NP) which is accessible via Highway 165 through Wilkerson where the road splits into the two entrances, the Carbon River Valley and the Mowich Lake area. You can get an overview of the separate quadrants and Paradise areas. The goal is to provide more detail information for each area to help you with your visit and photography.

Over the next month or so, the other areas will have the Web pages updated similar to the other on-line areas. Everyone is welcome to send e-mail with suggestions or questions they have about the areas and would like to see more information. Over time, each of these areas will be more fully expanded with more information, references and photos. For now I want to get an initial framework up to see what direction I need to go with the Web pages.

In addtion, work will continue on the other Web pages, labelled "forthcoming", meaning overviews and guides to other aspects of Mt. Rainier NP which should help your visit and photography. Some of these areas are beyond my experience, and I will be using help from friends and available resources to develop the Web pages, so your help would be appreciated. You can see where I'm at from the table of contents.

Carbon River Road Plans

The National Park Service at Mt. Rainier NP have updated their Website with the proposals for the Carbon River, see alternatives. This includes images of the maps they displayed at the two public meeting forums in late June and early July, along with a more complete description of the alternatives.

I hope you review alternatives and send the NPS you comments and suggestions via e-mail, see the link in Web pages (above) or use the form (MS .doc, see link) to mail your comments and suggestions. This is your chance to be heard about the Carbon River, and while there is a wide view on the issue of what to do with the Carbon River road, everyone's view counts.

The plan is to review all the public comments to develop a draft final proposal this fall for another round of public review and meetings to be revised and submitted later in the fall or early winter, so any funds for fiscal year 2009 and 2010 can be identified in NPS and DOI appropriations bills by Congress.

If this sounds like a long process, think of the diligent NPS folks who have worked on this for years already after the November 2006 floods, and all the public meetings they and the Superintendent of Mt. Rainier NP has overseen along with the many management meetings within the NPS. They've worked hard and deserve the recognition for their work, as well you deserve the chance to voice your view.

So, there it is, and it's your turn now.

Trail Overview

I've added a new Web page to the photo guide giving an overview of Trail Overview. The trails in Mt. Rainier NP have been around for centuries from the various Indian Tribes who visited the region for the meadows, resources, and wildlife. Almost all of these trails were for going through the NP area and to the meadows where Tribes established temporary camps for ceremonies, seasonal hunting and simply vacations.

After the Indians came the settlers looking for food and timber, and eventuall minerals. Along with them came the explorers, adventurers and climbers and then the surveyers and scientists. The first of the trails were in the southwest quadrant from Ashford to Longmire and eventually to Paradise and in the northwest quadrant, the Grindstone Trail to the upper elevations of Mt. Rainier which is now the Mowich Lake road and Spray Park trail.

From there surveyers and scientists established more extensives trails and the miners who filed claims to mineral and coal, namely in the White River and Carbon Rivers valleys. During the 1910's into the 1930's some of the trails become roads and new areas were opened with roads and later trails. During this time the Wonderland trail was fully established and improved over the decades.

Anyway, that's the Web page, which you can find on the Photo Guide.

Carbon River Road

View more images of Carbon River flood damage, courtesy of NPS.

The Carbon River road in Mount Rainier National Park (NP) is the least visited entrance, mostly because the access is via rural highway 165 through Wilkerson. It's also one of the unique areas on the NP, a temperature rainforest which has some of the oldest climax Hemlock forests in western Washington and the Cascade Mountains, and has one of the lowest elevation glacier, the (Carbon Glacier).

The Carbon River entrance has the five-plus mile drive along an historic, often flood damaged and repaired, road to the Ipsut Creek campground. The road once extended another two-plus mile to the toe of Carbon Glacier, but was abandoned ago due to frequent washout from floods. The Carbon River road was a road until the November 2006 which destroyed about 40% of the 5 miles, see trail damage map (PDF).

Since then the Carbon River road has been closed to cars at the NP entrance and open to hikers and bikers only. This may have been the way it would be and the National Park Service (NPS) simply improve and maintain the trail from damage, but the management of the Carbon River valley is regulated by the General Management Plan (GMP) and the road, built, repaired and improved throughout the 1900's, is part of the National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) registry.

And so the NPS is currently reviewing options, with public meetings and through July 31st, gathering public comments on the options. These options, described below, will not necessarily be the only choices, and elements of some may be incorporated into the final proposal to be ready for public release and comment this fall.

The NPS have developed three preliminary alternatives, two with short and long term alternatives, and were presented to the public at the meetings with public comment sessions. I personally am grateful for the hard work of the NPS folks and especially the team that did the work and conducted the meetings. They presented overviews of the flood damage to the Carbon River valley, the history of the area and some geomorphic work that will continue to effect the river for decades and beyond.

And so here is the alternatives for public comment.

Carbon River Road Public Scoping
June 30 - July 31, 2008
Preliminary Conceptual Alternatives

Alternative 1: No action (continue current management): Minor road stabilization to reduce further deterioration of historic Carbon River road. Maintain and Informal Multiuse (hiking / bicycling) trail within or adjacent to historic road corridor. This includes:

Informal hike and bike trail in historic road corridor,
Parking at entrance,
Patrol Cabin relocated to entrance or Ipsut Creek,
Continued picnikding at Chenuis and Ipsut,
Add picnic area at entrance,
Eventually remove or relocated facilities to boundary expansion area,
Ipsut Creek hike and bike camp.

Alternative 2: 2a (short term) Construct and maintain a formal multiuse (hiking / bicycling) trail within or adjacent to historic road corridor. 2b (longterm) Over time construct additional sections of the trail to link sectios of the former roadway. This includes:

Short-term,
Formal hike and bike trail in historic road corridor,
Parking at entrance,
Patrol cabin at Ipsut Creek,
Ipsut Creek hike and bike camp,
Continued picnicking at Chenuis and Ipsut,
Temporary access to decommission Ipsut Creek area.

Longterm,
Same as alternative 2a except
More sections of trail link intact sections of former roadway,
Remove entrance station and maintenance facilities,
Relocate bunk house and expand parking,
Maintain hiking and bicycling access to Ipsut Creek campground.

Alternative 3: 3a (short term) Maintain a sustainable one lane road with turnouts to Chenuis area and construct and maintain a hiking / bicycling trail beyond Chenuis within and adjacent to the historic orad corridor. 3b (long term) Over time construct a new sustainable hiking only trail outside the Carbon River road corridor to replace the Carbon River road. This includes:

Short-term,
Similar to alternative 2a except reconstruction to near Chenuis,
One lane road with turnouts,
Parking at entrance, Old Mine trail and Green Lake trail,
Expanded parking and turnout at Chenuis,
Construct hike and biking trail to Ipsut Creek Campground,
Patrol cabin relocated near Green Lake trail.

Longterm,
Same as alternative 3a except,
Parking at entrance,
Remove entrance station and maintenance facility and relocate bunkhouse,
Construct new hiking only trail on high terrace outside historic road corridor,
Construct loop trails to historic road corridor,
Replace Ipsut Creek hike and bike campground with backcountry camp.

Public comment open until July 31, 2008, and to add your voice, follow the link to open for public comment.

MPG V2.2

Click on photo for Photo Guide

I've updated the guide with two Web pages. The first is a Monthly Report Web page. This page is for general information for each month, currently for July 2008. It's not meant to be specifically or completely accurate or complete, but for something the news and information the news and information won't or doesn't normally provide.

The second is the updated Paradise areaWeb page and the new Southwest area via the Nisqually Entrance, both updated for July conditions. The key here is the addtion of the NPS shuttle service from Ashford to Longmire and to Paradise. Parking at Paradise is still restricted by the snowpack, Paradise Inn construction, and still closed Paradise Valley Road. The message is get there early or use the shuttle.

So what are the prospects for July? Well, for one, the snowpack is gone below 4,000 feet in most areas except shaded and shelter areas and north slopes, and melting quickly between 4,000 and 5,000 feet. This means the lower elevations trais are clear with only patches of snow, and the mid-elevation trails clearing. The road to Sunrise from White River campground is still open daily depending on road work, but should open continuously by early July.

Two other things.

Bugs. They should be late this year, good thing, but lots more as there is more meltwater and warming temperatures, bad thing. Be prepared for bugs through mid-to-late August or the first freezing temperatures.

Wildflowers, Same thing with bugs, lots of them but later than usual. You should begin finding them in the lower elevations, and eventually at mid and higher elevations through July. Bring your camera.

That's it for version 2.2 for July.