I've always been a soccer fan, going all the way back to the days of the Globe Kicker magazine (which i subscribed to) and Soccer Made In Germany (on PBS) in the 1970s. I'm very excited about our own, very successful local franchise The Seattle Sounders, (officially known by the rather silly Seattle Sounders FC name). I've been lucky enough to have friends take me out to 3 or 4 games in the last few years.
The Seattle Sounders have a long history as a lower division team, this is now their fourth year as a first division team. They have been 4 very successful years. They've done well in the Major Soccer League standings, but most notably they've won the US Open Cup, the oldest soccer competition in North America, three consecutive times.
Unlike what we are familiar with in sports like Baseball & American Football, Soccer teams worldwide participate in several tournaments simultaneously, during the course of one 'season'. An Association Football (slurred and shortened to 'soccer') team in England (or anywhere else) might play 4 games in 2 weeks all in different tournaments with different regulations. For example, earlier this year, the English team i follow, Tottenham Hotspur, played a Premier League match, followed by a European Champions' League match, followed by another Premier League match and then an FA Cup tournament match all in a 10 day period.
The Sounders are half way through the MLS season, and well placed in the standings, while they have unfortunately already been knocked out of the North American Champions League. But their campaign for a fourth US Cup started yesterday. Because they are a first division professional team, they got to skip the first two rounds and joined the tournament in the 3rd round. They played The Atlanta Silverbacks, a lower division team that is a strong candidate for the MLS when the first division league next expands. The Sounders, playing in the smaller of their two home stadia, dominated possession and won convincingly 5 to 1; the lower division NASL team that won so commandingly in the first and second rounds was overmatched.
I've been following the the brackets for the US Open Cup for the last few weeks and i noticed something interesting. This match was originally listed as an away game for Sounders FC, but changed at the last minute to a home game. The Sounders played a league game in southern California this weekend and came home afterwards.
I wonder if this game would have been such a blowout if The Sounders had not spent some money. They bought the home field advantage from Atlanta, utilizing a loophole in the new rule that is supposed to make the tournament more fair this year. I wonder if this was why the Sounders game was a day later than all the other 3rd round games.
In the past, during the US Cup, clubs submitted a sealed bid to the United States Soccer Federation, saying how much they would pay for the right to host the match. Since it was secret, the other club didn't know how much they bid and that helped the USSF because it made the winning bids higher. If you really wanted home field, and you had money to burn, you just promised a big payout. Sounders FC has had a reputation for bidding very high and that's why they've had so many home games in previous Cup tournaments. Other clubs complained about that, and there were accusations that Sounders FC was "buying the tournament" so this year the process was changed to a simple coin flip to make it "more fair".
The Portland Timbers figured out a loophole early on. They realized there was no rule against paying off the other team. MLS clubs obviously have a huge monetary advantage over lower division clubs. Before the tournament even started, the Timbers straight out bought their home field advantage for the their entry in the third round (which they didn't need because the team they paid off lost in the first round).
After the second round last week The Sounders bought home field advantage from Atlanta. Real Salt Lake then bought home field advantage from lower division Minnesota (also a strong candidate to join the MLS.). The ploy didn't work for RSL, Minnesota, beat them, in Utah!
It helped The Sounders both financially and in wear and tear on the players to avoid making 2 cross country flights in a week (from LA to Atlanta and then back to Seattle) and the home field advantage is certainly helpful in winning. They also pocketed a bit of money from tickets, although they still had to pay USSF for the right to host. ($12K i believe.) I don't know what the percentage is, but the home team does share gate receipts with the visitors. The game was played at Starfire, the Sounders second home field. Their first home field seats 60,000. This stadium seats 3,700. Atlanta's stadium seats 5,000 and they were expecting a sell-out.
Playing at home, Atlanta would've made more money on tickets and spent less on airfare. Traveling to Seattle they saved money on hosting fees and they got money from The Sounders. The amount was not released, however Atlanta announced what they are going to do with the money: sign new players, give away all the tickets to an upcoming home game, AND host an MLS exhibition game. Wow, Sounders FC must have paid A LOT to move the game. They are one of the richest clubs in the US and they want their 4th straight US Open Cup pretty badly.
Since the payoff money went to the Atlanta TEAM instead of the USSF, i suspect this loophole will be filled next year as the federation would rather be getting that money themselves, like they did in the secret bid process.
In a rather nasty response to accusations that richer clubs buying home field advantage "spoils the purity of the tournament" Sounders general manager and part owner Adrian Hanauer, said: “… It’s to their benefit as well because they got something out of the deal in terms of cash … That’s sort of a win-win situation.”
While the Atlanta GM's quote also sounds quite ominous: “Sounders FC presented us with an offer that we simply couldn't refuse,"
Atlanta fans were furious of course. A meaningful game against an MLS opponent had the loyal fans very excited. Somehow the promised exhibition doesn't quite do it for them. It was a chance to show off and grow the brand and demonstrate their ability to advance into the MLS. Granted, the money may help with that too, behind the scenes. Many fans said they felt betrayed.
I'm fascinated, as always , to see how things work behind the scenes. But as a Sounders fan, i have to admit it spoils some of my excitement for a fourth cup. Sports are a business, i recognize that. This is the way the game is played, and it's not really much different than previous years. But it still feels a bit dirty.
Several blog posts and newspaper stories that i read were highly critical of this move by RSL & Sounders FC. The comments boards on soccer websites show the fan frustration in Atlanta and Minnesota over the sale, and many Sounders fans weighed in with embarrassment too. Of course the conservatives were outspoken in these discussions with their 'money solves everything' and 'if i have the money i can do what i want' arguments.
Eight of the remaining 16 teams are lower division teams. The brackets get tweeked a little for regional purposes so not all future matchups can be predicted. Sounders next match is at home against a very low division (5th level i think) team from California. After that Sounders will likely play only MLS teams in the 4 more games to try to win the cup.
bibliography:
US Open Cup
Soccer Newsday
Bellingham Herald
Soccer Union Dues
Sounder At Heart
22 May 2012
Dry Socks
I love the feeling of rain streaming down my face. We are in a pace line, flying down the Green River Valley surprisingly fast. The light rain we have been enjoying all day has turned into a torrential downpour. And we're loving it. We're talking about how much fun it is. My fenders are keeping the spray down and Nadine says that water is pouring down the inside AND the outside of my buddy flap! Dressed well, we're wet but warm. I'm wearing a poly turtleneck, wool shirt and wool socks and bike tights (kicking myself for not wearing the wool kinckers!). I'm soaked.
Earlier in the day we pedaled up the Cedar River Trail, which after it leaves the highway and the pavement ends, takes us through rain forest that is just so beautiful it is hard to believe. It fills me with joy. I love that trail and look forward to it, and i'm always surprised at how magnificent it is. Today, in the rain, the ferns and mosses, the cedars and alders were glowing. It feels so RIGHT to be in the rain forest in the rain. It just made me stronger, my legs had all the power i wanted pushing the bike up the gravel trail. It just doesn't get any better that that.
A few minutes later i found myself in a log shelter in a park eating a sandwich looking out through the rain at the moss covered roofs and trees. I couldn't be more happy.
My peanut butter looked exactly like the banana slugs we were dodging on the wet trail!
Right now, i'm sitting at home, warm and clean with wool socks on. Dry socks.
I love riding in the rain, i'm very happy getting wet. It feels good. And i love getting dry afterwards! I appreciate the dry in a way i wouldn't otherwise appreciate it. Warm dry wool socks feel so good right now!.
Earlier in the day we pedaled up the Cedar River Trail, which after it leaves the highway and the pavement ends, takes us through rain forest that is just so beautiful it is hard to believe. It fills me with joy. I love that trail and look forward to it, and i'm always surprised at how magnificent it is. Today, in the rain, the ferns and mosses, the cedars and alders were glowing. It feels so RIGHT to be in the rain forest in the rain. It just made me stronger, my legs had all the power i wanted pushing the bike up the gravel trail. It just doesn't get any better that that.
My peanut butter looked exactly like the banana slugs we were dodging on the wet trail!
I love riding in the rain, i'm very happy getting wet. It feels good. And i love getting dry afterwards! I appreciate the dry in a way i wouldn't otherwise appreciate it. Warm dry wool socks feel so good right now!.
20 May 2012
Eclipse Party
As a kid i was fascinated by astronomy. Of course this was when the Gemini and Apollo missions were going on and that helped, but i really loved the movement of the planets in particular and i couldn't learn enough about it. I subscribed to the newsletters and magazines… not the ones for kids, but for adults, for astronomers. And i desperately wanted a telescope. In 1977 my dad gave me 4½ inch reflector which i still have and still use.
Eclipses are one of the most fascinating things about planetary astronomy. The moon is one of my favorite things and i think it's amazing when the moon moves between me and the sun. Orbital dynamics are so cool.
There was a 94% eclipse in my front yard in Washington DC when i was 6 years old. We ran inside to watch totality (in North Carolina) on TV in the basement and then ran outside again. From that time onward i really wanted to see a total eclipse. I had my hopes set on 1979 in Montana or 1991 in Mexico.
I saw both of those eclipses, but only as partial eclipses from home. In 1979 i went to a friend's farm and i used my telescope to project the 55% eclipse. In 1991, i couldn't make it to Mexico, but there were people projecting the 21% eclipse at the electronics company that i worked at in Wisconsin. Finally in 1999 i traveled to Germany to see a Total Solar Eclipse. I was extremely lucky to find a friend who took me to an amazing hillside in the path of 100% and then got very lucky when the clouds parted at exactly the right time.
I had been looking forward to yesterday's eclipse for a long time; we haven't had a partial solar eclipse in Seattle for 10 years -- usually it's only 2 or 3 years between them.
For 6 months i have been planning an eclipse party at the park. As Sunday May 20th approached, i was quite excited. I was not particularly disturbed by the rainy forecast. I was, as always, optimistic. I would be happy with just a peek through the clouds. In fact, sometimes you can see the disk of the sun through thin clouds and it acts like a filter. I was kind of hoping for that.
I packed up my "big" telescope in my bike trailer. I also brought 5 or 6 smaller hand held telescopes, binoculars, sun filters for the telescope, aluminized mylar for direct viewing, eclipse glasses from Germany 1999, a camera, cards and paper to make pin hole cameras, tripods for mounting pin hole cameras, a globe and some balls (for demonstrations) and cookies.
I rode up to Volunteer Park in the rain. The trailer tracked nicely and smoothly, and felt fine, but i did try to ride gently and did my best to avoid bumpy pavement. I arrived at the park right at 5pm. I set out the bright red plastic telescope on the platform and stood by my bike looking at the clouds. I was ready.
We were due to have a partial solar eclipse starting at 17:01. The moon was going to move between the earth and the sun. Slowly over about 2 and half hours the moon would start to cover the sun, starting with just a little bite and then slide off the other side. At it's greatest point, at about 6:15 pm, the moon was going to cover 82% of the sun.
The eclipse was annular in parts of Japan, the Pacific and Nevada, but not here; it was a partial eclipse here. In Portland my brother was going to see a partial eclipse with 87% coverage, and down in Nevada it would be an annular eclipse with the moon covering 95% of the sun, leaving only a ring (an annulus in Latin) of sun around the edges of the moon. They will see the mountains on the moon! That's pretty amazing.
Of course in the months approaching the eclipse there was not a peep about it in the newspapers, on the radio, TV & websites and then in the two days beforehand the media went batshit crazy reading off any idiotic thing they could find, occasionally even finding something that was true. I couldn't believe how much mistaken and just made up things they broadcast as eclipse news.
And by the way NPR and Cliff Mass, and others, it's an annular eclipse, not an annual eclipse! Duh.
You also heard again and again the silly scare tactics about eclipses making you go blind. Staring at the sun is bad for your eyes, but staring at the sun also really HURTS and so if you try, you just look away and amazingly, that prevents damage. The other, perhaps more important thing is that staring at the sun during an eclipse won't help you see the eclipse! The sun is too bright. So it won't help and it hurts so no one is going to do it, but they keep repeating the thoughtless frightening alerts because the of old superstition of eclipses being portents of evil. They are not evil and you won't go blind.
To watch an eclipse you either have a filter to protect your eyes, aluminized mylar works very well i have a thick piece for my telescope and a thin one for direct viewing, or you project it on a white card using a pin hole, binoculars or as i planned on doing, a telescope. It's the same for viewing sunspots on a normal sunny day, which i do frequently.
I had invited a lot of people to come join me, i was hoping for a party, but with the prospect of rain i wasn't expecting many. A few people did come and one friend waited out the whole thing with me which i really appreciated.. I also figured that my telescope might attract some passersby because even at 82% of the sun covered on a sunny day, people wouldn't be likely to notice unless they were looking. The sun is so bright that even that much blocked wouldn't be readily apparent.
I stood in the rain watched the clouds but they didn't clear or even thin. I didn't see anything. I was a little disappointed. A little peek would've been nice. But i enjoyed the time in the park. And it wasn't a complete loss: i was very pleased that i managed to carry my fragile, expensive, not small telescope by bicycle! I packed a thick fleece blanket around it in a plastic tub on my one-wheeled trailer.
The next eclipse is in 4 years. (Not 60 like i heard on the TV news.) In fact, there are two partial eclipses visible in Seattle in the next 5 years, both pretty big.
Oct 23 2014 start 12:35 end 15:19 max at 14:00 - 55%
Aug 21 2017 start 08:08 end 10:38 max at 09:20 - 92%
Here in Seattle, before yesterday, we were 120 months without a partial solar eclipse, the longest wait in 200 years. The 1990s were good, with a big cluster of eclipses about a year apart, now we're entering a period of 3 to 4 years between them here.
Here's a graphic i made of all the eclipses visible from Seattle between 1900 and 2100. The date is along the bottom and the height is the months wait since the last eclipse. The size of the circle indicates (slightly confusingly) the amount of the sun that is eclipsed: bigger is more. Total eclipses would be the largest circle and filled in. There are none. The last total solar eclipse visible from the (current) city limits of Seattle was July 18, 1860 and the next one will be May 17, 2645.
Notice yesterday's eclipse at the top of the chart. I've put the year on a few notable ones.
I've been in the path of 18 solar eclipses, and i've seen at least 6. All were partial eclipses except for the 1999 Total Solar Eclipse that i traveled half way around the world to see.
In December 2001 there was a tiny little 8% partial solar eclipse which i saw from my apartment. I used my telescope to project the eclipse on the ceiling. It was really cool. In June 2002 i took my telescope out to Seacrest Park on Elliot Bay in West Seattle for the 37% eclipse in the evening.
So since there are no photos of today's eclipse, here are a couple from the December 2001 eclipse that i projected on my ceiling. It was a very small eclipse, only 8%. Notice the red plastic telescope in the bottom of the photo, that is what.is projecting the image.
Eclipses are one of the most fascinating things about planetary astronomy. The moon is one of my favorite things and i think it's amazing when the moon moves between me and the sun. Orbital dynamics are so cool.
There was a 94% eclipse in my front yard in Washington DC when i was 6 years old. We ran inside to watch totality (in North Carolina) on TV in the basement and then ran outside again. From that time onward i really wanted to see a total eclipse. I had my hopes set on 1979 in Montana or 1991 in Mexico.
I saw both of those eclipses, but only as partial eclipses from home. In 1979 i went to a friend's farm and i used my telescope to project the 55% eclipse. In 1991, i couldn't make it to Mexico, but there were people projecting the 21% eclipse at the electronics company that i worked at in Wisconsin. Finally in 1999 i traveled to Germany to see a Total Solar Eclipse. I was extremely lucky to find a friend who took me to an amazing hillside in the path of 100% and then got very lucky when the clouds parted at exactly the right time.
I had been looking forward to yesterday's eclipse for a long time; we haven't had a partial solar eclipse in Seattle for 10 years -- usually it's only 2 or 3 years between them.
For 6 months i have been planning an eclipse party at the park. As Sunday May 20th approached, i was quite excited. I was not particularly disturbed by the rainy forecast. I was, as always, optimistic. I would be happy with just a peek through the clouds. In fact, sometimes you can see the disk of the sun through thin clouds and it acts like a filter. I was kind of hoping for that.
I packed up my "big" telescope in my bike trailer. I also brought 5 or 6 smaller hand held telescopes, binoculars, sun filters for the telescope, aluminized mylar for direct viewing, eclipse glasses from Germany 1999, a camera, cards and paper to make pin hole cameras, tripods for mounting pin hole cameras, a globe and some balls (for demonstrations) and cookies.
I rode up to Volunteer Park in the rain. The trailer tracked nicely and smoothly, and felt fine, but i did try to ride gently and did my best to avoid bumpy pavement. I arrived at the park right at 5pm. I set out the bright red plastic telescope on the platform and stood by my bike looking at the clouds. I was ready.
We were due to have a partial solar eclipse starting at 17:01. The moon was going to move between the earth and the sun. Slowly over about 2 and half hours the moon would start to cover the sun, starting with just a little bite and then slide off the other side. At it's greatest point, at about 6:15 pm, the moon was going to cover 82% of the sun.
The eclipse was annular in parts of Japan, the Pacific and Nevada, but not here; it was a partial eclipse here. In Portland my brother was going to see a partial eclipse with 87% coverage, and down in Nevada it would be an annular eclipse with the moon covering 95% of the sun, leaving only a ring (an annulus in Latin) of sun around the edges of the moon. They will see the mountains on the moon! That's pretty amazing.
Of course in the months approaching the eclipse there was not a peep about it in the newspapers, on the radio, TV & websites and then in the two days beforehand the media went batshit crazy reading off any idiotic thing they could find, occasionally even finding something that was true. I couldn't believe how much mistaken and just made up things they broadcast as eclipse news.
And by the way NPR and Cliff Mass, and others, it's an annular eclipse, not an annual eclipse! Duh.
You also heard again and again the silly scare tactics about eclipses making you go blind. Staring at the sun is bad for your eyes, but staring at the sun also really HURTS and so if you try, you just look away and amazingly, that prevents damage. The other, perhaps more important thing is that staring at the sun during an eclipse won't help you see the eclipse! The sun is too bright. So it won't help and it hurts so no one is going to do it, but they keep repeating the thoughtless frightening alerts because the of old superstition of eclipses being portents of evil. They are not evil and you won't go blind.
To watch an eclipse you either have a filter to protect your eyes, aluminized mylar works very well i have a thick piece for my telescope and a thin one for direct viewing, or you project it on a white card using a pin hole, binoculars or as i planned on doing, a telescope. It's the same for viewing sunspots on a normal sunny day, which i do frequently.
I had invited a lot of people to come join me, i was hoping for a party, but with the prospect of rain i wasn't expecting many. A few people did come and one friend waited out the whole thing with me which i really appreciated.. I also figured that my telescope might attract some passersby because even at 82% of the sun covered on a sunny day, people wouldn't be likely to notice unless they were looking. The sun is so bright that even that much blocked wouldn't be readily apparent.
 |
| Seattle sun view at 18:17 (May 20, 2012 partial eclipse) |
The next eclipse is in 4 years. (Not 60 like i heard on the TV news.) In fact, there are two partial eclipses visible in Seattle in the next 5 years, both pretty big.
Oct 23 2014 start 12:35 end 15:19 max at 14:00 - 55%
Aug 21 2017 start 08:08 end 10:38 max at 09:20 - 92%
Here in Seattle, before yesterday, we were 120 months without a partial solar eclipse, the longest wait in 200 years. The 1990s were good, with a big cluster of eclipses about a year apart, now we're entering a period of 3 to 4 years between them here.
Notice yesterday's eclipse at the top of the chart. I've put the year on a few notable ones.
I've been in the path of 18 solar eclipses, and i've seen at least 6. All were partial eclipses except for the 1999 Total Solar Eclipse that i traveled half way around the world to see.
In December 2001 there was a tiny little 8% partial solar eclipse which i saw from my apartment. I used my telescope to project the eclipse on the ceiling. It was really cool. In June 2002 i took my telescope out to Seacrest Park on Elliot Bay in West Seattle for the 37% eclipse in the evening.
So since there are no photos of today's eclipse, here are a couple from the December 2001 eclipse that i projected on my ceiling. It was a very small eclipse, only 8%. Notice the red plastic telescope in the bottom of the photo, that is what.is projecting the image.
 |  |
| 2001-12-14 Solar Eclipse in Seattle (c) Mark Canizaro | 2001-12-14 Solar Eclipse in Seattle (c) Mark Canizaro |
15 May 2012
The Power of the River
The removal of the two Elwha River dams is moving ahead at a fast pace. Faster than expected.
This is a project i am very excited about. It was proposed around the time i moved to Washington 21 years ago (actually they first started talking about it only a year after the first dam was built 90+ years ago!) and i have followed it's tortured course through last year when they actually started the removal process. It's exciting that this wonderful river in the National Park will be restored.
Gene and i decided it would be fun to go out to see it first hand -- and to do a little hiking. I took the ferry Sunday evening and slept on Gene's couch so we got an early start. We had a great breakfast at the Oak Table in Sequim; it lived up to my memories.
All day Gene and i were joking about the self centered way that many travelers use the word 'explore'. You hear people say: "I flew to Europe and explored Prauge." No you didn't! It was there laid out for you and people had been there for 1,000 years. You can't explore any place you can fly to. You saw it, you learned about it, perhaps if you are lucky you experienced it but you didn't explore it! We wanted to see the dams and the new riverbed exposed behind it... wanted to learn something. And we wanted to spend some time in the forest.
Our first stop was the Elwha Dam. There is a short pleasant walk to an overlook to see progress on the dam.
A year and a half ago my cousins Ann & Pete & i walked across the top of this dam. Now it's completely gone! Upstream from the dam site the river is reclaiming the land that has been underwater for 90 years. It has re-exposed the location of the creation myth of the Elwha people!
There is a huge amount of sediment built up, over 30 feet deep in places, that should have washed out to sea over the years. The river is cutting through that like it would through a delta, cleaning out the clogged river bed, draining that sediment and rebuilding beaches and harbors and ecosystems in the Salish Sea at it's mouth in the process. It's fascinating. The Seattle Times 'Field Notes' had a good description of it.
From there, we drove into the park and paid our fee, although the ranger station was closed. I've been in the park through this entrance quite a few times. It was surprising to see that the road, and trail to Olympic Hot Springs is closed for 2 to 4 years. The hot springs must be very serene right now since it is a several day backpacking trip to get there. The good news is that when they are finished with the work on the dam, they are going to rebuild the crumbling pavement of a long closed road to the hot springs into a genuine hiking trail!
At the gate closing off that road, we went left and took the road on the other side of the valley, along the other side of the fake lake created by the second dam, the Glines Canyon dam. We only got a few peek-a-boo views of this dam because they are still in the process of tearing it down. The jackhammer didn't work (or rather, it broke) so they are now setting off explosives.
The Whiskey Bend road goes through the woods along the reservoir. They water level is still dropping but that same moonscape that we saw behind the lower dam was becoming visible up here too.
I was scared on the very narrow steep gravel road. I had some flashbacks to the crash i was in 8 years ago, when a terrible driver flipped the car we were in right off the mountain road and half way down the slope after bouncing upside down. I held my breath a few times, but there was nothing like that this time, Gene is a very, very good driver.
We booted up at the trailhead and set out on a wonderful trail through the thick forest. The Elwha, one of 15 major river systems on the Olympic Peninsula is the third of 7 major climatic zones. It's the border between the heavy temperate rainforest of the west and the continental pine forests of the "dry" east side. Still it was heavy with ferns and moss, salal and big cedars. Which i love. It was strange hiking in dry weather. That's unusual for me, especially in the Olympics.
After a couple of miles we dropped down off the ridge, in a short, very steep descent to the river. These raging mountain rivers are a favorite of mine. They are so powerful, so beautiful. The Elwha, which comes down out of the high mountains fairly straight, encounters a major uplifted basalt ridge a couple of thousand feet high (which we were on) and turns left and flows along the edge of the ridge for a couple of miles. At the point we descended it was finally able to punch through the ridge and form a canyon. There is a very sharp turn in the river (rare for water don't you know) as it cuts through a narrow deep gap called Goblin Gates.
We sat there for quite some time taking it in, listening to the roaring water and watching a couple of ducks which seemed to enjoy extreme sports. They would swim out into the strong whirlpool, getting knocked around a bit, and then dive. Perhaps they were finding good food under the turbulence, but it sure looked to us like they were just having fun.
The Elwha here is a torrent of milky blue glacial water. It's fantastic. Sitting next to it is amazing. This is a stunning place. There is a beautiful little meadow across the river from where we were which would be a fantastic place to camp. I've hiked the other side of this valley 3 dozen times, or more, but i never knew this was here, and so easy to get to. After 45 minutes or so we doubled back towards the woods, and down on to the rock bar alongside the river. We took off our boots and dangled our toes in the icy water. It felt good.
I didn't want to leave, i stood for a long time before climbing back into the forest. I found the spiritual power of the river almost overwhelming.
The trail paralleled the river for a little bit, but then turned up the steep slope again. We were walking a loop and had to get back to the start, so what came down (us), had to go back up the steep trail. One step at a time. Hiking in the hot sunny weather is much more difficult than in the cool rainy weather, but i had put the in extra preparation it demands and other than the expected mild discomfort and tiring quicker it wasn't a problem.
We hiked a 5 mile loop total, which was a perfect length for me, especially in the heat, as i'm quite out of shape. It was just enough to feel like i'd worked hard, but not enough that i couldn't walk the next day. It was far enough in to the forest to experience some truly wonderful places, knowing that there is more further on for next time.
Here's a map of our route. Soon this map will be out of date as Lake Mills is slowly draining.
We enjoyed experiencing the Elwha river, the canyon and the forest. We didn't explore it, clearly many boots had preceded ours. The experience however, feels very much our own.
The restoration project is fascinating. Here are some links for further information.
Elwha dams webcams!
Dam Removal overview
National Park Dam Removal blog (great photos!)
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
Wikipedia Elwha Dam Removal
Bureau of Reclamation Elwha Dam Removal project
a photo of the Glines Canyon Dam under construction
Elwha watershed map
This is a project i am very excited about. It was proposed around the time i moved to Washington 21 years ago (actually they first started talking about it only a year after the first dam was built 90+ years ago!) and i have followed it's tortured course through last year when they actually started the removal process. It's exciting that this wonderful river in the National Park will be restored.
Gene and i decided it would be fun to go out to see it first hand -- and to do a little hiking. I took the ferry Sunday evening and slept on Gene's couch so we got an early start. We had a great breakfast at the Oak Table in Sequim; it lived up to my memories.
All day Gene and i were joking about the self centered way that many travelers use the word 'explore'. You hear people say: "I flew to Europe and explored Prauge." No you didn't! It was there laid out for you and people had been there for 1,000 years. You can't explore any place you can fly to. You saw it, you learned about it, perhaps if you are lucky you experienced it but you didn't explore it! We wanted to see the dams and the new riverbed exposed behind it... wanted to learn something. And we wanted to spend some time in the forest.
Our first stop was the Elwha Dam. There is a short pleasant walk to an overlook to see progress on the dam.
 |
| Reclaimed site of lower Elwha dam May 14, 2012 |
A year and a half ago my cousins Ann & Pete & i walked across the top of this dam. Now it's completely gone! Upstream from the dam site the river is reclaiming the land that has been underwater for 90 years. It has re-exposed the location of the creation myth of the Elwha people!
 |
| Sediment from drained Lake Adlwell 2012-05-14 (c) Mark Canizaro |
 | |
| Aerial photo by Tom Roorda, of Northwestern Territories, Inc. the surveyors for the dam removal. From National Park Service website. |
At the gate closing off that road, we went left and took the road on the other side of the valley, along the other side of the fake lake created by the second dam, the Glines Canyon dam. We only got a few peek-a-boo views of this dam because they are still in the process of tearing it down. The jackhammer didn't work (or rather, it broke) so they are now setting off explosives.
The Whiskey Bend road goes through the woods along the reservoir. They water level is still dropping but that same moonscape that we saw behind the lower dam was becoming visible up here too.
I was scared on the very narrow steep gravel road. I had some flashbacks to the crash i was in 8 years ago, when a terrible driver flipped the car we were in right off the mountain road and half way down the slope after bouncing upside down. I held my breath a few times, but there was nothing like that this time, Gene is a very, very good driver.
We booted up at the trailhead and set out on a wonderful trail through the thick forest. The Elwha, one of 15 major river systems on the Olympic Peninsula is the third of 7 major climatic zones. It's the border between the heavy temperate rainforest of the west and the continental pine forests of the "dry" east side. Still it was heavy with ferns and moss, salal and big cedars. Which i love. It was strange hiking in dry weather. That's unusual for me, especially in the Olympics.
After a couple of miles we dropped down off the ridge, in a short, very steep descent to the river. These raging mountain rivers are a favorite of mine. They are so powerful, so beautiful. The Elwha, which comes down out of the high mountains fairly straight, encounters a major uplifted basalt ridge a couple of thousand feet high (which we were on) and turns left and flows along the edge of the ridge for a couple of miles. At the point we descended it was finally able to punch through the ridge and form a canyon. There is a very sharp turn in the river (rare for water don't you know) as it cuts through a narrow deep gap called Goblin Gates.
We sat there for quite some time taking it in, listening to the roaring water and watching a couple of ducks which seemed to enjoy extreme sports. They would swim out into the strong whirlpool, getting knocked around a bit, and then dive. Perhaps they were finding good food under the turbulence, but it sure looked to us like they were just having fun.
The Elwha here is a torrent of milky blue glacial water. It's fantastic. Sitting next to it is amazing. This is a stunning place. There is a beautiful little meadow across the river from where we were which would be a fantastic place to camp. I've hiked the other side of this valley 3 dozen times, or more, but i never knew this was here, and so easy to get to. After 45 minutes or so we doubled back towards the woods, and down on to the rock bar alongside the river. We took off our boots and dangled our toes in the icy water. It felt good.
The trail paralleled the river for a little bit, but then turned up the steep slope again. We were walking a loop and had to get back to the start, so what came down (us), had to go back up the steep trail. One step at a time. Hiking in the hot sunny weather is much more difficult than in the cool rainy weather, but i had put the in extra preparation it demands and other than the expected mild discomfort and tiring quicker it wasn't a problem.
We hiked a 5 mile loop total, which was a perfect length for me, especially in the heat, as i'm quite out of shape. It was just enough to feel like i'd worked hard, but not enough that i couldn't walk the next day. It was far enough in to the forest to experience some truly wonderful places, knowing that there is more further on for next time.
Here's a map of our route. Soon this map will be out of date as Lake Mills is slowly draining.
As always click on the pictures to see a bigger image.
We enjoyed experiencing the Elwha river, the canyon and the forest. We didn't explore it, clearly many boots had preceded ours. The experience however, feels very much our own.
The restoration project is fascinating. Here are some links for further information.
Elwha dams webcams!
Dam Removal overview
National Park Dam Removal blog (great photos!)
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
Wikipedia Elwha Dam Removal
Bureau of Reclamation Elwha Dam Removal project
a photo of the Glines Canyon Dam under construction
Elwha watershed map
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)