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Weekly current recreation report covering all outdoor activities including fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, skiing, mushroom, berry and firewood gathering around Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams in the Cascade Range forests along the White Pass Highway in southwest Washington State.
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Recreation Report from Shopper
for March 10, 2010Submitted by Dave Bunting, Editor.
Here are the current Fishing Prospects as predicted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Here are the Washington State Spring Reports of Fish Stocked, Updated Weekly
Here are the Washington State Spring Plans for Fish to be Stocked in this year
See the guide listing resorts, restaurants, motels and businesses serving every tourist need in this beautiful recreational area!
Recent Earthquake Activity
For information on recent earthquakes in Washington State go to:
Quick clicks to our various areas:
Info for ALL of Shopper CountrySnow & Pass Conditions, Sunrise & Sunset, General Fishing Seasons
Information for all of Shopper Country
Snow
Snow- Last Monday Mar. 8 the snowline, above which snow was standing on the ground, was below Packwood, as there was a half inch of fresh snow on the ground—after Satuday’s beautiful sunny 70°! But this snow is expected to melt quickly so we report here the snowline of the months’ old winter snow after this half inch melts. The “real” snowline is varying between 3,000 and 4,000 feet both westside and eastside. At elevation 4,500 feet such as White and Cayuse Passes, Bumping Ridge and Sawmill Ridge snow was four to five feet deep. At elevations of 5,000 and higher westside, such as at Paradise and Chinook Pass, snow was generally five to ten feet deep, but farther over on the eastside at Green Lake and Lost Horse there were only about four to five feet of snow.
Snow Depths Mar. 8
excluding today’s half inch.
Place Elev. Ft.
12-123 Jct. 1,600 0
Johnson Sno*Pk 2,400 0
E CanyonCkBrg 2500 0
Rd 52 BearPrair 2,600 0
Rd 46 Dam Ck 2,600 <1
Jct. 21 & 56 2,600 0
Packwd Lk Prkg 2,800 0
Rd 5270 Trlhd 2,800 <1
Hwy12 LavaFalls 2,900 0
Rd. 21 MP 10.6 3,000 <1
Rd21WalptLkJct 3,300 1
Ryan Lk Rd 26 3,400 <1
Rd. 59 Gate 3,500 <1
Rd. #99 jct. #26 3,700 <1
Hwy 12 Viewpnt 3,700 <1
KnuppenbergLk 4,300 2
Crystal Lodge 4,400 5
Potato Hill 4,500 5
White Pass 4,500 4-5
Cayuse Pass 4,700 9
Morse Lake 5,400 10
Paradise 5,500 10
Pigtail Peak 5,900 7
Corral Pass CG 6,000 5
Crystal Top 6,300 8
Green Lk 6,000 5
Lost Horse 5,000 4
Sawmill Ridge 4,700 5
Bumping Rdg 4,600 5
Dog Lk 4,200 2
E Slide Bottm 3,600 1
Rimrock Lk 3,000 0
Rimrock Retrt 2,300 0
Oak Ck Game 1,700 0
Naches 1,500 0
White Pass Ski area reports Monday, Mar. 8 at 7 pm: Base 24° & 65 inches, Summit 17° and 95 inches. Two inches new. Weather Snowing. Snow in our future! Just in time for Hope on the Slopes this weekend. Lifts: Quad, Far East, #4, Platter & Carpet. Grooming: Grooming: All standard grooming. Ben Turnin says, "I said that spring was 'near' last week and here comes the snow to remind us it's still winter."
Sno*Parks see below under Westside.
Be prepared; keep your vehicle winter-ready: antifreeze, fan belts, battery, wiper blades, washer fluid, tank above half. Load the Ten Essentials- the list is run periodically in the Shopper.
The three-month outlook for Feb.-Apr. is for warmer temperatures and less precipitation than in average years.
Highway Conditions
• White Pass Highway US 12 at 7 pm last Monday Mar. 8, was slush at the top, with no tire restrictions. Weather was snowing at 27°. Call 511 for update.
• Cayuse Pass Hwy. 123 and Stevens Canyon Road and Chinook Pass Hwy. 410 from Morse Ck. to Crystal jct. are closed for the winter.
On Mon. Mar. 2, 2010, WSDOT avalanche forecasters reported that they will assess the avalanche danger on Chinook Pass in mid March. If weather allows, maintenance crews will have the needed machinery in place to start clearing the roadway the first week in April. The goal is to have Chinook Pass open for travel by Memorial Day weekend.
The Sky
Sun and Moon Rise/ Set:
Moon 21% waning, high 8:38am
Tue. 3/16 Sun 7:20am/ 7:17pm
Moon 1% waxing, high 1:51pm
On press day Mar. 10 we are 79 days past the shortest day of the year on Dec. 21 and the days now are about 3 hours and 2 minutes longer! In 10 days we’ll reach the vernal equinox Mar. 20 when our days and nights are equal, each 12 hours.
We’re also about 66 days past the average coldest day of the year. The lowest daily average temperature in Packwood is 35° and occurs on Dec. 26; in Yakima it is 27° and occurs on Dec. 28.
Using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists have detected ice deposits near the moon's north pole. NASA's Mini-SAR instrument, a lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, found more than 40 small craters with water ice. The craters range in size from 1 to 9 miles-- 2 to 15 km-- in diameter. Although the total amount of ice depends on its thickness in each crater, it's estimated there could be at least 600 million metric tons of water ice.
Earthquakes
There haven’t been many earthquakes in Shopper Country large enough to report since mid- or early 2009. However, almost every week for months we notice small micro-earthquakes of magnitude 1.0 or so reported typically 14 miles deep under the west half of Riffe Lake, or nearby lands, which is about 20 miles NNW of Mt. St. Helens. There is something--- evidently small but interesting--- happening there. The earth may still be adjusting to the weight of Riffe Lake. City-Data.com says, “Mossyrock-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Washington state average. It is 875% greater than the overall U.S. average.” The somewhat frequent small earthquakes of two to three years ago under the Allen Mt. area midway between Randle, Packwood and Ashford have ceased. Even Mt. Rainier has been quiet.
Fishing
General Lakes, Ponds and Reservoirs Fishing Season is open year-round. However many of the most popular large "traditional" lakes are CLOSED to fishing from Nov. 1 until the last Saturday in April.
General Fishing Season on most Rivers, Streams and Beaver Ponds is CLOSED from Nov. 1 through May 31.
However very many waters have seasons different from the above so read your regulation pamphlet!
Lower Cowlitz Fishing
On the lower Cowlitz below Mayfield Lake, fishing seasons for salmon, trout and other species are open in various months, but are too complex to report in detail here; read your regulations.
Karen Glaser, Barrier Dam Campground, Salkum, reported last week:
“Fishing on the Cowlitz has picked up some. And that has brought out a few more people. They have started picking up a few more spring chinook down here at Barrier Dam. That’s what a lot of the guys have been waiting for. Even though it’s early, maybe this is an indication of the big run we are supposed to have. We’ll take ‘em! Unless it’s just a little push, but who knows?
“We are seeing more of the late winter run steelhead now. And there are some nice steelhead out there. A few in the twenty’s, and quite a few teens being caught. I have heard of a few with a fin, so they’ve had to be released. But mostly, it’s been hatchery fish.
“We have some nice photos on the board of fishermen that have been down at Barrier and at Blue Creek. Blue Creek is where most of the bank fishermen have been fishing. But not everybody is headed for Blue Creek; we do have a little more pressure up here at Barrier. And they are picking up some steelhead up here also.
“Most of the boats are either on the lower river, or putting in at Blue Creek they can work both ways. In the Toledo area I heard that boats are picking up some nice fish. Some of the boats are getting limits on steelhead for their clients. And I do hear of the occasional springer coming from the boats. But the fish have to come through down there to get up here, so you never know.
“The water level has been staying pretty steady. The other day they brought it up to 6,200. I don’t know why. But we are back down to 5,170. Hopefully it will hold there. Some times the fluctuation of water does hurt the bite. If they keep it at one level it’s better. Anyway the fishermen are happier!”
Marshall & Tracey Borsom at Fish Country Inc., Salkum, report last Monday,
“As of Monday, March 8, the fishing on the Cowlitz River continues to improve. The water lever is running about 5,100 cfs and clear. We have had several reports of spring chinook being caught at the Barrier Dam from the pool at deadline and on down. The guys free drifting eggs seem to be picking up the most. We did have some guys using buzz bombs and getting a few. The steelhead fishing is still doing best at Blue Creek with the boaters pulling divers with bait and bank anglers using sand shrimp or corky and yarn. Our proposed awesome springer run is just getting started.
“Riffe Lake is still producing good numbers of silvers being taken daily - everyone seems to be getting their limits in no time. Cocktail shrimp and worms are working very well. Although the water is still quite low - it is time to start targeting the bass. Mayfield Lake is hit and miss - some getting a few trout, but nothing red hot. Swofford Pond has been kind of slow - no reports of fish being taken and not a lot of people fishing it.
“Hope you all have a great week! Get out and hook a springer!!!”
Tacoma Power reports for the week ended Mar. 8:
“Last week, Tacoma Power recovered 132 winter-run steelhead, one spring chinook adult and one cutthroat trout during five days of operation at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator.
“During the week Tacoma Power employees released 14 winter-run steelhead into the Tilton River at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton.
“Tacoma Power employees released 28 winter-run steelhead and one spring chinook adult into Lake Scanewa behind Cowlitz Falls Dam during the week.
“River flows at Mayfield Dam are approximately 5,050 cubic feet per second on Monday, March 8. Water visibility is ten feet. River flows could change at any time so boaters and anglers should remain alert for this possibility.
““On Monday, Mar. 8, Riffe Lake was at 717 ft. elev., 61 feet below full level, three feet lower than a week earlier, now 15 feet lower than six weeks earlier. The only launch useable is Mossyrock Park. Taidnapam North, Taidnapam Park and Kosmos launches are not useable.”
WDFW Biologist Joe Hymer’s Creel Survey Report for the week ended Mar. 8:
“Salmon/Steelhead
“Cowlitz River – 18 boat anglers kept 8 steelhead and released one. 19 bank anglers kept 1 steelhead.
“In Abernathy, Cedar (Clark Co.), Germany, Mill (Cowlitz Co.), Rock (Skamania Co.), Salmon (Clark Co.) creeks and Coweeman, Elochoman, Grays, East Fork Lewis, and Washougal rivers– March 15 is the last day to fish for steelhead.
“Lower Columbia mainstem below Bonneville Dam – Last week we sampled 1,013 boat anglers (471 boats) with 31 chinook and 3 steelhead. In addition, we sampled 324 bank anglers with 0 chinook and 3 steelhead. Overall, 87% of the Chinook and 83% of the steelhead caught were kept. Of the 26 chinook sampled, 81% were lower river stock based on Visual Stock Identification (VSI). Effort was high with nearly 800 boats and 500 bank anglers counted during last Saturday’s March 6 flight.
“From Buoy 10 to the I-5 Bridge, fishing for hatchery Chinook, hatchery steelhead, and shad is closed on Tuesdays through March 30. From March 15-April 3, the section from the I-5 Bridge to Bonneville Dam will be open only Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
“Sturgeon
“Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam – Boat anglers in the gorge and near the mouth of the Cowlitz were catching some legals; slow elsewhere.
“Effort remains fairly light with 72 boats and 56 bank anglers counted during last Saturday’s flight.
“Smelt
“Mainstem Columbia from the mouth to Bonneville Dam is open through March 31, seven days/week, 24-hours /day. Daily and possession limit 10 pounds per person. All other Washington rivers are closed to fishing for eulachon smelt.”
Retention of late winter steelhead with a clipped right ventral fin and a healed scar at the location of the clipped fin is allowed in the Cowlitz River from boundary markers at the mouth to Mayfield Dam. Right ventral fin marked steelhead are surplus to broodstock needs.
Starting April 1, anglers who fish for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries including essentially all of our salmon streams will be required to purchase a new endorsement that will help maintain and improve fishing opportunities throughout the basin. The endorsement will cost $8.75 total, which will help offset a $30 million cut in state funding for the WDFW.
2010 Mt. St. Helens Climbing Rules, Permit Processes and Field Seminars have been announced by Mount St. Helens Institute at: . http://www.mshinstitute.org/climb-the-volcano
Windy Ridge Viewpoint south of Randle has its access road, Elk Pass Forest Road #25 gated and blocked, probably until at least May, by an unstable slide below Benham Creek. Windy Ridge now probably has about a foot of snow. However Rd. #99 accessing Windy Ridge is reported accessible by Quartz Ck. Rd. #26. We have no report of whether #99 is then open to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint.
Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Johnston Ridge Observatory is closed for the winter as it has about three feet of snow. Its high-standard State Highway 504 from I-5 at Castle Rock or Toledo remains open through the winter until closed by snow; its highest ten miles at Johnston Ridge is closed by snow now. A Mar. 8 report does indicate snow was being removed to MP 43 at Coldwater Lake but that’s ten miles below the observatory. The implication is that Hwy 504 is closed by snow at MP 43 Coldwater Lake.
Detailed information about the Mount St. Helens climbing permit system is available on-line at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/mount-st-helens/permit-system.sht
Westside-
Packwood & RandleFishing
High Lakes are open year round but probably now have two feet of snow.
Mineral Lake is closed until April 24.
Packwood Lake closed until April 24.
Walupt Lake closed until April 24.
Alder Lake is open year-round. Boat launch at Alder Park is open year-round. Limit is five fish.
Silver Lake- (3,000 acres) Open year-round with min. size 9 inches, limit 10. Silver Lake is the best largemouth bass fishing in Washington. Planted with 1,811 catchable size rainbows Feb. 1.
Swofford Pond (240 acres) Open year-round.
Mayfield Lake (2,200 acres) is open year-round. Mayfield offers good fishing for yellow perch, rainbows, catfish, german browns, a few largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill and crappie. Tiger Muskies will resume biting as the water warms in May and June; they must be 50-inches to be kept.
Riffe Lake (11,830 acres) behind Mossyrock Dam is open year round. On Monday, Mar. 1, Riffe Lake was at 720 ft. elev., 58 feet below full level, unchanged from a week earlier, still 12 feet lower than five weeks earlier. The only launch useable is Mossyrock Park. Taidnapam North, Taidnapam Park and Kosmos launches are not useable.”
Lake Scanewa behind Cowlitz Falls Dam (610 acres) is open to some fishing now. It is totally closed March 1 to May 31 but open for trout and salmon during various other seasons and with complicated restrictions. Read your fishing regulations. The PUD’s free Day Use Area and boat launch are open year round. These are located southwest of Randle, down Falls Road about 3 1/2 miles.
During the week ended Mar. 8 Tacoma Power employees released 28 winter-run steelhead and one spring chinook adult into Lake Scanewa.
Tilton River- from its mouth to the West Fork is open for salmon June 1- Dec. 31, and open for other fish including steelhead June 1- Mar. 31. Above the West Fork it's open from June 1 through Oct. 31. During the week ended Mar. 8 Tacoma Power employees released 14 winter-run steelhead into the Tilton River at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton.
Skate Creek fishing is closed until June 1.
Cispus River – Fishing seasons are too complex to report here for the lower stretch of the Cispus River from its mouth at posted markers at the Lewis County PUD kayak launch on Lake Scanewa upstream to the North Fork. Read your pamphlet. Above the North Fork fishing season is open June 1 through Oct. 31.
Upper Cowlitz River from the posted PUD sign at Lake Scanewa on Peters Road, upstream to the confluence of the Ohanapecosh River and the Muddy Fork, fishing season is open from June 1 through Oct. 31 with a limit of two trout with minimum size 8 inches.
Cowlitz Muddy Fork and Clear Fork and Ohanapecosh River- fishing is closed Nov. 1 through May 31.
On the lower Cowlitz below Mayfield Lake, fishing seasons for salmon, trout and other species are open in various months, but are too complex to report here; read your regulations.
Sno*Parks
Parking in all Cowlitz Valley Sno*Parks is free, require no Sno*Park permits because of no snow.
Forest Roads
All higher forest roads have snow, and roads above 3,400 feet are impassable under one or more feet of snow.
Roads through Wildlife Protection Areas have been gated.
#1260 Packwood Lk.: 2/24 Open to Parking Lot & Trailhead at MP 5.7 elev. 2,900 ft. No snow.
#1270 Backbone closed at gate before flood-ruined bridge. Fine $75 for hiking across.
#21 Johnson Creek, Randle end- was free of snow to between Adams Fork and Cat Crk. Campgrounds and on Mar. 3 someone reported reaching Walupt Lk. #2160 jct. elev. 3,300. Packwood end on Jan. 15 was open to 1.4 miles beyond the Sno*Park, to beyond Mission Ck. culvert.
#23 Randle-Trout Lake is open to MP 26.5, three miles beyond East Canyon Bridge. Another report says it’s open to one mile before jct. 2328. Babyshoe Pass on Road #23 is blocked by at least two feet of snow.
#25 Elk Pass is gated, blocked by a slide just below Benham Creek at apx. MP 10, probably until next May. The rumor that #25 was reachable above the #99 jct. via Rd. #28 was false. We appreciated very much a man who stopped our reporter in a Morton parking lot to give a report that he’d found the gate closed on #25 at MP 38, but Rd. #25 is only about 30 miles long all the way across to the Lewis River Rd. #90; something was misunderstood. But sincere thanks, sir, for the attempt to help us!
#26 Quartz Ck 2/24 Open past Ryan Lake elev. 3,400 ft. to jct. Windy Ridge Rd. #99.
#28 Yellowjacket 3/3 Open to one mi. past jct. #2809, just before jct. #2810.
#29 McCoy is open 14.5 miles, to near the Dark Meadow Trailhead.
#44 Carlton Ck. 2/23 Thanks to Richard Moller who emailed, reporting #44 is snow and tree-free to the first destroyed bridge location, but as always is full of chuckholes.
#45 Cortright 2/23 The bad washout at MP 1.3 is repaired. Open & OK for car travel to 6” icy compact snow at MP 4.3 elev. 3,400 ft. at quarry at jct. 4500.053.
#4510 Summit Ck 2/23- Summit Ck CG at MP 1.9 elev. 2,500 ft. is completely snow-fee. Open & OK for car travel to 6” icy compact snow at MP 3.5 elev. 3,500 ft. near Fish Ladder Falls, 1.5 mi. short of Soda Springs CG.
#46 Lava 2/23 Open & OK for car travel to 6” icy compact snow at MP 4.9 Dam Ck. culvert elev. 2,600 ft.
#47 Willame Ck. Closed at Skate Creek Bridge, Packwood end, by bridge damage, and washed out at the East Fork three miles from the Randle end.
#4725 Exchange is open “quite a ways” if you wade or cross Skate Ck on a log bypassing the closed bridge on #47.
#48 Hager Ck. 2/24 Open & OK for car travel to the big slide & rock pit at jct. 4830 MP 6.4 elev. 3,100 ft. Steep at far side of slide barely passable with 2-wheel drive, best with 4x4. Open to 12” snow at MP 7.1 elev. 3,400 ft.
#4830 Hager Lk. Rd.: Hager Lk end 2/24: 4x4 required for first 100 yds. No snow at Hager Lk. elev. 3,100 ft. Open to 6” snow at MP 1.9 elev. 3,600 ft. Packwood Lake or north end: 2/24 Open to 5” snow at MP 1.6 elev. 3,600 ft.
#52 Skate Creek: 2/25 Open, bare & dry all the way, no snow at highest elev. 2,650 ft. at Bear Prairie. Good 35 mph double-lane paved condition except three small chuckholes. THANKS FOREST SERVICE ROAD CREW FOR THE EXCELLENT MAINTENANCE LAST FALL! This important highway link between the White Pass Hwy. US12 at Packwood and State Route 7 at Elbe has remained open all winter for the first time in 30 years because of this winter's unusually light snowfall.
#5240 Bear Prairie to Silver Pass Shortcut 2/25 Open to 5” snow at quarry at MP 2.6 elev. 3,400 ft.
#5270 Butter Ck 2/28 Open to Trailhead #161 elev. 2,800 but not recommended for trailers or motor homes, deep ruts along wheel tracks.
#59 Copper Ck.: 3/3 Open to the gate at elev. 3,500 ft.
#84 Berry Ck- Silver Pass 2/25: Open to 6” snow at MP 5.0 jct. 8400.059 elev. 3,000 ft. Doubtful 3/3 rumor it’s open to elev. 3,500 ft. Many short stretches of bad chuckholes.
#74 Nisqually Loop 3/3 Being repaired after years washed out.
#7404 is to be repaired.
#99 Windy Ridge Road 3/3 Accessible via Rd. #26 but can’t be reached via the normal and better Roads #25 & #99.
Campgrounds
All major campgrounds are now closed for the winter. All higher elevation campgrounds now have snow. The high lakes and Walupt Lake campgrounds have about two feet of snow. Dispersed campsites and some campgrounds, with water systems off and no services, if not posted closed, can be used but campers must pack out all trash.
Summit Creek CG- 2/23- It’s open, completely snow-free. No water service and pack your own garbage.
Soda Springs CG, 2/23 Access blocked by snow. Est. snowfree by about mid-April.
Trails
All trails above 3,500 feet have snow, a foot at 4,000 feet, and above 5,000 ft. trails now have five to nine feet of snow.
#78 Packwood Lake- 2/24 A hiker called reported a small rock slide at 1.5 miles.
Forest Products
Permit activity is now mostly limited to firewood, salal, ferns and vine maple.
Forest Products
Permit activity is now mostly limited to firewood, salal, ferns and vine maple.
Permits
Cowlitz Valley Ranger District
In general, a permit is required to remove anything from the National Forest. Permits are being sold at the Ranger Station for firewood, posts and rails for fencing, commercial salal, and beargrass. Free use permits are available for landscape rocks.
Firewood
The 2009 Firewood Permits expired Dec. 31. New orange 2010 Permits are available.
Firewood permits for cutting on the westside in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest are available at the ranger station and cost a minimum of $20.00 for four cords.
An updated firewood location list is available monthly at the Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station. Only firewood painted yellow is legal for cutting, unless it’s in a designated, posted cutting area and noted in the current monthly firewood list.
Firewood cutting is always closed all winter on the eastside Wenatchee National Forest.Books
The non-profit Discover Your Northwest or DYNW sells outdoor books and other items at ranger stations to raise funds for interpretive projects and programs that very limited Forest Service budgets cannot fund. These books make excellent gifts!
Road Guide to Mt. St. Helens, 48 pgs., by Robert & Barbara Decker, $5.95.
Cascade- Olympic Natural History, A Trailside Reference, 610 pgs., by Daniel Matthews, $24.00.
The Restless Northwest, A Geological Story, by Hill Williams, $19.95.
Washington and Oregon Nature Guide, 213 pgs., by Erin McCloskey, $19.95.
All prices are plus tax.
Randle Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station Info
Open 8:00-12:00 and 1:00- 4:30 Mon.-Fri. Address: P.O. Box 670, 10024 Hwy. 12, Randle WA 98377. Teletype for hearing/speech impaired 497-7566. Regular phone (360) 497-1100. Report fires (360) 494-0603.
Web: www.fs.fed.us/gpnf.Local Packwood and National Forest information is also available at Destination Packwood office, located in the former Packwood grade school, phone 360-494-2223.
Packwood Ranger Station to be sold.
The U.S. General Services Administration opened online bidding for the former Packwood Ranger Station on Dec. 1. The minimum bid was earlier reduced to $250,000, with bid deposit $25,000. The bidding is being done on their web site: http://www.auctionrp.com/Property_details.cfm?id=1122#More
As of 9:00 p.m. on Mar. 8, the high bid was $305,000.
The minimum raise above the previous high bid is $5,000. The bid closing date had been set as March 3, 2010 at 3:00 pm PST. However, in an internet auction, because of the likelihood that a bid would be delayed in transmission by our “faultless” technology through no fault of the bidder, the bidding remains open until at least 24 hours have passed without a bid. As of Mar. 8, thirty bid packets had been downloaded, and eleven bids had been placed by five different bidders.
Those interested in bidding should go to the web site above.
Information may be available from Vicky Wessling at (360) 891-5222 or the District Ranger Kristie Miller at Cowlitz Valley R.D. (360) 497-1105.
The U.S. General Services Administration opened online bidding for the former Packwood Ranger Station on Dec. 1. The minimum bid was earlier reduced to $250,000, with bid deposit $25,000. The bidding is being done on their web site: http://www.auctionrp.com/Property_details.cfm?id=1122#More
As of 9:00 p.m. on Mar. 8, the high bid was $305,000.
The minimum raise above the previous high bid is $5,000. The bid closing date had been set as March 3, 2010 at 3:00 pm PST. However, in an internet auction, because of the likelihood that a bid would be delayed in transmission by our “faultless” technology through no fault of the bidder, the bidding remains open until at least 24 hours have passed without a bid. As of Mar. 8, thirty bid packets had been downloaded, and eleven bids had been placed by five different bidders.
Those interested in bidding should go to the web site above.
Information may be available from Vicky Wessling at (360) 891-5222 or the District Ranger Kristie Miller at Cowlitz Valley R.D. (360) 497-1105.
Fishing
At Getaway Sports, John Orengo said things are pretty quiet except for some rowdy winter whitefish fishermen plying the Naches and Tieton Rivers with good success.
“After last winter’s muddy mess I’m surprised at the numbers of smaller fish. With all the silt on the whitefish and trout spawning beds it was not a good situation.
“Flies like Hares Ears, San Juan worms, and Golden Stone nymphs are taking fish.
“There are already folks scouting turkey season, looking for birds up Soup Creek and lower Lost Lake. With the mild winter it might turn out to be a good season.
“Tight Lines!”
Clear Lake is open year-round.
Dog Lake is open year-round.
Leech Lake is open year-round.
Lost Lake is open year-round.
Rimrock Lake (2,530 acres) is open for fishing year-round. However, when the lake is drawn far down for irrigation as it is now, fish are disturbed and not biting. On Mon., Mar. 8, it was about a third thawed, at 2,882 feet elevation, 44 feet below full, two feet higher than the week before, and 52% full with a low discharge of 75 CFS. The west end of the lake now reaches Silverbeach.
Tieton River fishing closed Oct. 31 but is open for whitefish only from Dec. to Mar. 31.
Oak Creek Game Feeding Station has quit feeding elk and bighorn sheep.
Forest Roads & Highways
• White Pass Highway US 12 at 7 pm last Monday Mar. 8, was slush at the top, with no tire restrictions. Weather was snowing at 27°. Call 511 for update.
• Cayuse Pass Hwy. 123 and Stevens Canyon Road and Chinook Pass Hwy. 410 from Morse Ck. to Crystal jct. are closed for the winter.
On Mon. Mar. 2, 2010, WSDOT avalanche forecasters reported that they will assess the avalanche danger on Chinook Pass in mid March. If weather allows, maintenance crews will have the needed machinery in place to start clearing the roadway the first week in April. The goal is to have Chinook Pass open for travel by Memorial Day weekend.
Pinegrass Area incl. Rds. #1204, #1205 & #1241, and Little Naches Area incl. Rds. #1900, #1904 & #1902 are now closed to wheeled vehicles, open only to snow sports.
Morse Creek gate is closed.
#1702 has logging traffic.
#1808 Deep Creek is bermed; there’s no grooming in the road. Temporary bridges have been requested but the application processes are not yet finished.
#1200.530 is closed.
Campgrounds
All Naches area campgrounds are closed. Almost all will open on May 20. Some dispersed sites with no water or services may be used while closed, but campers must pack their own garbage. The new concessionaire can be contacted at Hoodoo.com, and may have some host positions open.
Reservations are still made at Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.
Trails
All trails above 3,500 feet have snow now, and those above 5,000 ft. have three to nine feet of snow.
Permits
Permits are required for gathering forest products including firewood, transplants, rocks and minerals, posts and poles, floral cuttings, cones, and boughs. Free use permits are available for small quantities of certain items for personal use.
Firewood
Woodcutting is closed until summer on the eastside Naches Ranger District. If you cut firewood while camping, you must leave any extra at the camp.
Sno*Parks
Sno*Park signs are up and Sno*Park Permits are required for parking in the Sno*Parks on the eastside Wenatchee National Forest. Roads out of the Sno*Parks are now signed closed to wheeled vehicles and open only to snow recreation.
However, if the snow keeps melting back, they will soon end the Sno*Park operation for this winter, remove the signs and open the roads to vehicles.
Motorized permits are purchased annually with the snowmobile license. Non-motorized Sno*Park permits for snowshoers and cross-country skiers are available online at http://www.parks.wa.gov/winter/permits/ or from the Discover Your Northwest products sold in ranger stations for $41 Annual or $21 Daily.
The Naches District web snow report on Feb. 22:
“Snow conditions on the district continue to deteriorate as unseasonably warm weather and rain take their toll. No sooner do you get a good dusting of snow than it is either washed away by rain or melts with warm temperatures. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t snowshoe, cross-country ski or snowmobile, it just means it isn’t going to be that great.
“Groomers are finding it difficult to groom trails in many lower elevation areas due to the lack of snow. Some trails have barely enough snow for snow machines to travel on. Also as of last week the grooming machine was broken down.”
Books
The non-profit Discover Your Northwest or DYNW sells outdoor books and other items to raise funds for interpretive projects and unfunded Forest Service programs.
The New Savory Wild Mushroom, 241 pgs., by Margaret McKenny & Daniel E. Stuntz, $22.50.
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks, The Lives of Pioneering Naturalists, 62 pgs., by Jeannine Atkins, Illustrations by Paula Conners, $8.95.
Hey Ranger 2!, More True Tales of Humor and Misadventure from the Great Outdoors, 264 pgs., by Jim Burnett, $19.95.
Gold Mining In Washington State, 123 pgs., by Ken & Vida Martin, $19.95.
All prices are plus tax.
Naches Ranger District
InformationWelcome to the new Naches Ranger District, Irene Davidson! Former District Ranger Randy Shepard, who was also formerly District Ranger at Packwood, has retired.
MAPS: National forest maps are on sale at the Naches Ranger Station, Whistlin' Jack Lodge and Rimrock Grocery.
Naches Ranger Station is www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee, 10237 U.S. Highway 12, Naches WA 98937. Open 7:45-4:30 Mon- Fri. (509) 653-1401.
The office foyer is open 24 hours a day where handouts and forest information are available to the public during non-office hours. Web: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/
For other area information: . www.nachesvalleychamber.com
General Information for All Areas
See the guide listing resorts, restaurants, motels and businesses serving every tourist need in this beautiful recreational area!Local Current Weather Reports
from U.S. NOAA National Weather Service's Network Information Center
Scroll down to your zone in the hourly current Washington State Weather Forecast by Zones
Today's Seattle Area Pollen Levels
Current NASA Reports on El Niño.
Elsewhere in Washington-
Current Headlines
Information from Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia WA 98501-1091, phone 360-902-2256 or www.wa.gov/wdfw. Obtain details from WDFW on rule changes mentioned below. Anglers and hunters who wish to be fully up to date must visit the WDFW's web site http://wdfw.wa.gov/.
Read the regulations in your fishing and hunting pamplets! Many rules are changed. Violations and dangerous wildlife – 1-877 933-9847.
Reports below are by or excerpted from WDFW reports.
Razor clam digs are planned for Mar. 26 through Apr. 1, and for Apr. 16- 18.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today approved a plan that will send 58,118 large triploid rainbow trout – 16,708 over last year’s total – to 104 lowland lakes statewide.
The commission voted to modify the stocking plan developed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff to more closely balance stocking percentages between eastern and western Washington. .
Under the approved plan, 55 percent of the fish will go to western Washington lakes, and 45 percent will go to eastern Washington waters. .
Triploids – trout bred so that they cannot reproduce – average 1½ pounds apiece. WDFW purchases the popular triploids from a private grower under a program authorized by the Legislature in 1999.NEW Mainstem Columbia River Spring Chinook Seasons
Buoy 10 upstream to I-5 Bridge: Daily salmonid limit is 6 fish (hatchery chinook or hatchery steelhead), of which no more than 2 may be adults and no more than one may be an adult chinook. Release all wild chinook. Mar. 1- Apr. 18: Fishing for salmonids and shad is open 7 days per week, except closed on March 9, 16, 23, 30.
I-5 Bridge to the I-205 Bridge: Daily salmonid limit is 6 fish (hatchery chinook or hatchery steelhead), of which no more than 2 may be adults and no more than one may be an adult chinook. Release all wild chinook. Mar. 1- Mar. 14: Fishing for salmonids and shad is open 7 days per week, except closed on March 9. Mar. 15- Apr. 3: Fishing for salmonids and shad open only Thur’s,, Fri’s., and Sat’s. .
I-205 Bridge upstream to Bonneville Dam: Bank fishing only. Closed to fishing for salmonids and shad from boats. Daily salmonid limit is 6 fish (hatchery chinook or hatchery steelhead), of which no more than 2 may be adults and no more than one may be an adult chinook. Release all wild chinook. Mar. 1- Mar. 14: Fishing for salmonids and shad is open 7 days per week, except closed on March 9. Mar. 15- Apr. 3: Fishing for salmonids and shad is open only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
See WDFW's other Fishing Rule Changes
See WDFW's weekly Trout Stocking Report
SEE WDFW's Weekender for
More Information Pertinent to All Areas:
Dog Salmon Sickness
Dogs which eat dead salmon may become ill with salmon sickness.
The disease, which causes internal bleeding, is usually effectively treated by a veterinarian if treated early in the infection, but it is often fatal if untreated.
Numerous salmon carcasses are now being placed in rivers and streams; these carcasses replace nutrients which were there years ago when salmon were naturally migrating to and spawning and dying in local streams. Such nutrients are important to the attempts to re-establish natural salmon runs.
So if your dog becomes sick after eating salmon, you must take the dog to the veterinarian.
WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR? Every autumn short daylight hours and cooler temperatures induce a chemical change in trees resulting in magnificent palates of color. Three known pigments are responsible for the varying colors. Chlorophyll, which absorbs red and blue light from the sunlight, carotene which absorbs blue-green and blue light, and anthocyanins which absorb blue, blue-green, and green light. When chlorophyll and carotene occur in the same leaf together they remove red, blue-green, and blue light from sunlight that falls on the leaf. The light reflected from the leaf appears green.
Energy from light absorbed from carotene is transferred to chlorophyll where it is used in photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is a very unstable compound and will break down quickly under the right conditions. On the other hand, carotene is fairly stable and will remain in the leaf much longer than chlorophyll; therefore you get leaves that appear yellow.
During the warm summer months, the leaves of trees produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water by the action of light on chlorophyll. Water and nutrients flow from the roots, through the branches, and into the leaves. The sugar produced by photosynthesis flows throughout the tree and is used for growth and some is even stored for energy.
As the days become shorter and nights cooler, chemical reactions begin to take place. A very significant change is the development of a corky membrane between the branch and the leaf stem. The flow of nutrients is interrupted and chlorophyll production stops and as it does carotene turns leaves from green to bright yellow. In some trees the concentration of sugar in leaves increases, the sugar reacts to make anthocyanins. This pigment causes yellow leaves to turn bright reds and purples.
Temperatures are the big factor in the change of colors. Cold temperatures destroy chlorophyll and if the temperatures stay warm, sugar production remains high and anthocyanins form. Bright sunshine also destroys chlorophyll and increases anthocyanin. Dry weather increases sugar production and anthocyanin so the brightest colors are produced when dry, sunny days are followed by cool, dry nights.
Bear & Cougar Contacts
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife reminds outdoor people that black bear and cougar populations are growing rapidly following the 1996 citizen-initiative prohibition of hunting with hounds. Cougar populations have doubled since the 1980's. People must never feed or approach wild animals, especially animals with young. Campers must store food in odor-proof sealed containers in cars or hung in trees, never in their camp or tent. If a bear comes around your camp, very probably it is interested only in food it smells; get rid of or away from the smell of food, especially on your clothing.
If an encounter turns serious: 1) Don't run, and hold children to keep them from running; running makes you look like prey; 2) Make yourself look larger by raising your arms or standing on a rock or stump; 3) Maintain constant eye contact with a cougar to establish dominance, but totally avoid eye contact with a bear as, like a dog, a bear interprets a stare as a challenge; 4) If a cougar stalks you, follows you, or comes toward you so that you can see it, it is preparing to attack you; you must constantly stare at it, holler angrily at it, pick up any weapon you find such as a stick, and move carefully, probably walking backwards, toward shelter like your vehicle; 5) If attacked, get really angry and show it, fight with rocks, heavy sticks or anything, and try to remain on your feet.; these actions give you about a 90% chance to survive..
Another effect of the hound hunting prohibition is a drastic increase in deer predation, as every adult cougar kills about one deer per week year-round.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Elk Herd Plans
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Web Site including much information and live pictures of Mt. St. Helens
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Sno*Park Reports
For your planning for summer, information about National Forest Campgrounds including number and type of campsites is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.netbiz.net/~nrrc/main.html. You must know the exact name of the campground. If you specify your "dream" requirements for a campsite, the system often will return, "none available." However, if you specify your minimum campsite requirements, you will usually get the results you desire.
Reservations of some National Forest Campground Campsites is available by phoning 1-800-280-2267. In most campgrounds, only a few sites are available for reservation by this method, but in a few campgrounds, all sites are reservable by this method and none are available first-come-first-served.
Forest visitors enter the forest areas to encounter an environment more natural, less "constructed" by man, and nearly always have an enjoyable and safe outing. However, these areas by definition inseparably include, and visitors expect, prepare for and take responsibility for encountering slides, rocks, fallen or falling trees or branches, narrow single lane roads with two-way traffic, log trucks, steep grades, no shoulders, loose gravel, sharp corners, potholes, washboards, mud, ice, snow, avalanches, cliffs, severe weather and natural impurities in water.The Ten Essentialsto have with you whenever you hike, and to keep in your car:
The Five Extra Essentials
National Forest Camping Limits
Parking at Trailheads
Only one vandalism occurs per approx. 1,000 nights parked, but that one will be very painful if it's your car.
This information is obtained from many sources including sport shops, hunters & fishermen, our own observations and the US Forest Service Ranger Districts & the US National Park Service.
E-Mail: outdoors@wpshopper.com
Visit the Gifford Pinchot National Forest web site for more recreational and other forest information.
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