of rock and ice

The Tetons were formed recently (geologically) by uplift.  The jagged peaks were divided by steep-walled canyons.  Over time, ice formed in cracks on the walls and broke loose rocks, which made their way to the bottom of the canyons.  There, water flow eroded and continues to erode these rocks, slowly moving them downhill toward the plains below.

Glacial ice took a more aggressive role.  When the glaciers were substantial enough, they carved a valley characterized by a U shape, rather than the V shape formed by water flow.  Avalanche Canyon is perhaps the most iconic of these U-shaped carvings.

As the glaciers moved east out of the canyons, they gathered the rocks dropped from the peaks as well as those scraped to form the U shape.  These rocks were carried down and east with the ice.  When the ice retreated the rocks were left behind in a moraine, and a lake formed between the moraine and the peaks.  Taggert Lake is one such, nestled below the canyon.

To the north of the Lake, part of the moraine that shapes the Lake can be seen.

From the road, the lakes so formed are not visible.  Trails lead up and over the moraine, providing access to the Lake.  Along the way, alpine vegetation including birch, aspen and a variety of wildflowers decorate the trailside.

Taggert Creek splits into two flows.  The larger is crossed low on the moraine rise.  The middle part of the trail follows the lesser, northerly flow for a while, revealing several small waterfalls.

All in all, it is one of my favorite hikes.

Entering Death Canyon

Before you ask, I don't know the origin of the name, except perhaps to hazard a guess.  In the Tetons, there are several east-west canyons set between peaks.  Some that I have wandered into include Cascade Canyon and, more recently, Death Canyon.

From the east, Death Canyon is notable for its narrowness and its precipitous walls. 

Perhaps in my best days, with Herb to back me up, and with the best climbing equipment, I MIGHT be able to climb those walls to escape that canyon.  More likely, it would be a trap for us, and more likely so for early explorers.  That is my totally unresearched guess as to the name.

The trailhead begins in a forested area, and climbs to an overlook, before descending toward the entrance to the Canyon.  Along that climb, green forest is balanced by an abundance of flowers - stands of Lupins and Paintbrush grow along the trail at these high elevations.

The overlook gives a spot of shade, usually with a breeze to bleed off some of the accumulated body heat.  I was ready for it, both inbound and outbound.  Below the overlook is Phelps Lake.

The trail drops down from the overlook, with continuing views of the lake.

Near the low point, the trail splits.  One part turns left toward the lake.  The other, my route, turns right toward Death Canyon.

The approach provides a partial view of the south wall.

Getting closer, the north wall, with a thready but high waterfall begins to appear, and that narrow canyon base begins to appear.

Entering the Canyon, the views become very vertical, with rock shouldering in close to the trail, and extending more than 1000' above, with the constant sound of a rushing stream dropping along the floor of the Canyon.

Not the place to be if you are claustrophobic...

I made it 3.2 miles in, the furthest I have managed in several attempts over the past few years.  Maybe, later this summer, I might get a bit further...?

Sawtooths to the Tetons

On the way to the Tetons, I traveled a bit out of the way to pass through the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho.  I am definitely going back there.  Leaving there, the route took me through a long valley with mountain peaks to each side.  Then, in front of me, the road seemed to head straight into a wall of rock.

Eventually, the way became clear.  They placed the road in a really narrow defile between vertical rock walls.

The plan was to get to the Tetons, and I did.

After a short warm-up hike yesterday, today I did an exploration, departing from the Taggert Lake Trail to follow the shore of Taggert Creek.  It was rough going in places, and definitely bear country, not a place to be all alone, but I was making plenty of noise and I had my bear spray.

 

For me, the risks are justified by the rewards.

Glass Butte

In 2010 I heard about Glass Butte, a mountain of vari-colored obsidian, where collecting was permitted.  I searched for it, without success.

About a week ago, I left Eugene, headed for Steens Mountain.  On the way, I stopped at a BLM campground, the Chickahominy Reservoir Recreation Area.  I was talking with the campground host and noticed some pieces of obsidian.  She confirmed that they were from Glass Butte.

"Where is it," I asked?

She pointed.  "Right there.  Only 17 miles away."

I got directions, signed up for a week, and went exploring.  The results were quite rewarding.

This is Oregon's high desert area, and the skies can be delightful.

So I collected obsidian, but what I really wanted was to hike to the top of Little Glass Butte.  After a few exploratory wanderings, I set out today to meet that goal.  The way up was steep, with no trails, but the views were worth it.

I made it to the top, where there was a small cairn of stones.

The skies were giving me a really fine cloud show.

Descending, I followed a different route, always exploring.  It became quite challenging in places.  I had to work my way around cliffs and outcrops.

The way sometimes led across slopes of volcanic rocks that shifted and slid underfoot.

Somewhere, along that challenging descent, my rock hammer was pulled out of the loop on my pants where I had been carrying it.

The mountain giveth, and the mountain taketh away...

I figure it is a fair trade.

Are there bears in the woods?

You betchum, Red Ryder.  But - just how many?

If you ask today, the most accurate answer is "A lot".  In the near future, that answer will be much more precise.  The state Fish and Game Commission is setting out bear bait - balls of bacon swabbed with bacon fat, placed securely 10 feet up on tree trunks.

They come back in a few weeks to see if a bear has taken the bait.  Marks on the tree from claws will let them distinguish between birds, raccoon, squirrels, cougar and bears taking the bait.  The bait is laced with tetracycline, which will leave a distinctive ring on a bear's tooth.  If a hunter kills a bear, or if one is killed by other means (vehicle accident, law enforcement, animal control) the tooth is to be extracted and sent to the Fish and Game Commission.

In a given area, there will be a known number of bears that take the laced bait.  In that same area, a random sample of bears is obtained by the tooth collection.  From that, the percentage of bears with a tetracycline ring is determined.  Once you know how many bears took the bait, and have a good sampling of the percentage of bears with the tetracycline ring, simple math tells just how many bears there are.  Example - say there are 70 bears that took the bait, and 10 percent of the teeth have the tetracycline ring.  That equates to 700 bears in that area.  Pretty cool way to establish the bear population, huh?

How do I know this?  I spoke with a pair of Fish and Game folks who were setting out bait.  The bait below is about 200 yards from where I am camped.

Oh - they also said there are a lot of cougars in the area.  I am now carrying my bear spray on hikes again.

Proxy Falls

It starts as a walk in the woods.  Not woods familiar to many of us - this is old growth forest on a lava field.

The trail takes you to an overlook with a break in the trees, allowing Proxy Falls to be seen.  (Apologies are in order.  These were shot straight into the sun.  I had three options - move the sun to the north instead of the south, turn the mountain to the south, or work with photoshop to try to cut out the sun glare.  Guess which I chose.)

First, the falls.

The sparkle at the top was like watching diamonds.

Now, frame the falls with the forest around them.

The base of the falls was hard to get to, but rewarding.

Well worth the effort, I think.

… At The End Of The Road

Exploring sometimes pays off.  A friend told me of a boon docking site near the McKenzie River.  I stayed there for a night, then took my car for a walk up the forest service road by that site.  I found a jewel.

The road in is narrow and steep and, at times, tucked under tree branches.

At the end of the road, I found a clearing that fits Enterprise quite nicely.

The view is remarkable.  Last week I did my best to show the central Cascades to Alice and Andy.  Well, all within 50 yards of Enterprise I bring you:

Mount Jefferson and Three Finger Jack, to the north

Mount Washington to the northeast

and The Three Sisters to the east

For the botanists out there, can anyone tell me what this is?  These 3" diameter lacy flowers are scattered around at the base of the pines, all around my site.

Finally, the rhodies are blooming.  These rhododendron line the road in places up here.

Sweet site…