Skyko

Friday, January 20 - We made it.

We made it to the washout today. There were a lot of trees in the road, including new ones on the first half we cleared yesterday. We have been over the route four times now, so our sled tracks are pretty firm and will support walking on top about 50% of the time. Punching through is usually just ankle deep or a little more. Two snowshoers came in on the tracks all the way after we finished, which will also help. Just before dark, we picked up two other hikers at the bottom. They found the snowshoers' trail around the washouts easy to follow. I prefer the upper route around the first washout, but they all came in on the lower one. At least three cabins are now occupied. We've been busy but still hope to tour more properties looking for damage, hopefully on Saturday.

Thursday, January 19 - Power Outage

We're having a power outage, but it's probably because they never installed any. There was no freezing rain here today, just more snow. Andrew and I have been clearing a snowmobile path to the washout. We made it about halfway today. There are a lot of trees down over the road. We only took a hand saw today. We got stopped just before dark by a larger tree. We'll go back tomorrow with a chain saw and try to make it to the bottom. Walking outside the snowmobile tracks is still very difficult. It's not that great yet in the tracks either. We're hoping that will improve after a few more runs.

Tuesday, January 17 - Buried in snow

I have seen more snow, but it was fluffy powder. This is deep and heavy. I have never seen the trees this loaded with snow. They bombed the cabin roof all night - sounds like thunder. It is well above the knees now and hard to get around on the property. We went down to the washout and back last night on snowmobiles, but cannot see the tracks any more (or the snowmobiles). Hiking the road would be impossible today. According to the winter storm warning which is now extended through tomorrow, we may get up to three and a half feet more.

Monday, January 16 - Lots of Snow

Andrew and I walked back in yesterday. Driving to the Index side of the washout was easy then but probably icy and treacherous by now. It was in the low 20's here all night. We trudged through 12-18" of moderately heavy snow all the way up the road. With heavy packs, some trail finding and a few stops, it took us almost four hours. We finished after dark, so I'll get more pictures today. Oddly, the snow was deeper down the road than it is here. It was about 10" when we got here. The trees are heavily loaded. There is new snow this morning and a lot more is expected. Index is named in the current winter storm warning for tonight through tomorrow.

Friday, January 13 - Snow on the way, lots of it!
Today is probably the last day to drive in until Spring. Five feet of new snow is in now in the forecast for Jacks Pass by the end of the week - maybe two feet here in the valley. Driving conditions are currently excellent. Tomorrow morning will be the last of it.

Thursday, January 5 - The road has been plowed.
There have been some questions about the breakin. If you do not already know that your cabin is involved, it is not. Most of the isolated cabins that are more at risk for this have been checked since this was discovered. No other incidents have been found. With some neighborly help, we were able to quickly secure the cabin from additional weather and animal damage. The owners were on site the next day with more help and material for improvements. There is still some neighborhood watching going on, but obviously it's not always going to be enough. I was near enough to the damage when it happened that I should have been able to hear it. I did not hear it or I would have intervened.

The road has been plowed all the way through and beyond the gate. I had been told that the Sheriff's Dept. may order this done for safety reasons. Apparently they were not happy about the difficult access in followup to this incident. Improved weather is due for the next few days. I hope some of you can make it up to take advantage of that and the good driving conditions.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - Vandalous Breakin, Possible Arson Attempt
There has been a malicious, destructive breakin at one of my neighbor's cabins. We found it yesterday and think that it must have happened within the previous day or two, possibly on New Year's eve. A large rock was thrown through a sliding glass door. Another plate glass window was destroyed from the outside. From the inside, dining room chairs were then thrown through a third plate glass window - presumably just for fun since they were already in. There was not a lot of ransacking done inside, but some. Most disturbing were the several indications that they may have been attempting to burn the place down. Propane lamp fixtures and oil lamps had been tampered with. A quantity of lamp oil was missing. Curtains were found partially burned at the corners. The cabin had not been recently occupied and was pretty damp, including the curtains. This may be the only reason it did not burn. The Sheriff's dept. is investigating.

Saturday, December 31 - New Year's Eve

This morning from the 9-mile bridge

About an inch of new snow overnight; 29 degrees and the sky is clearing. A Subaru Outback (no chains) came over the pass last night and was just barely able to make it. The issue was ground clearance in the center. The ground was not yet frozen but by now it probably is. There may be a lot of ice under the new snow on the many bare, wet spots that were exposed after the warm rain. There are a lot of rocks in the road in the slide area that will now be harder to see.

Wednesday, December 28 - Rotten Weather
That's not a complaint. I like all kinds and try to be here for all the extremes. I last went over the pass Monday evening. There was an inch of new snow on top from the earliest part of this weather system. Tuesday morning it was 30 and the valley was white with slushy snow that was gone by the end of the day. Since then it has warmed up quickly; the rain has been constant and is often heavy. It was 44 in the valley at 4 a.m. this morning. The river is very busy and rose quickly from 3 to 6 ft. overnight. If the temperature falls as much as predicted between now and the weekend, we'll have ice. About a foot of new snow is then expected to accumulate on top of the pass Friday evening through Saturday. The Garland area was dark and quiet when I drove in. There were no new tracks in the snow going that way. I think we're on our own now.

Sunday, November 27 - Cats & Dogs - Flood Watch - Short Term Snow Storm
First, that's what it's doing... raining cats & dogs. The river is rising quickly. The forecast is for dry weather tomorrow. Next, I found big cat tracks in the yard today that I thought might be cougar. I know bobcat and these were larger. I consulted an expert and they turned out to be coyote. I guess that's more of a dog. I have seen them here before. As far as I know, all the weekenders left and made it over the pass without chains. To the best of my knowledge, they all had 4WD. I see no reason to expect commuting difficulties for the coming week.

Thursday, November 24 - Thanksgiving Day - Winter Storm Warning
Happy Thanksgiving! I should have an update on pass conditions by noon today.

Monday, November 21 - Snow in the Valley - Avalanche Warning - Winter Storm Warning
It was still snowing in the upper valley this morning with now about 5" on the ground. Hikers report the snow trailing off near the lower end. Only one "monster truck" (judging from the tracks) has made it in recently that we know of.

Saturday, November 19 - Pass Conditions
The weekend weather is nice. Sorry, but I have no information on current pass conditions. There may be much new snow since the last crossing I know of, which was on Tuesday. Snow levels should be above 4000' by mid-week, so there is hope for commuting on Thanksgiving weekend. It may get very wet between now and then. The hydrologic outlook is interesting.

Wednesday, November 16 - Pass Conditions
This report is from a round trip over the pass yesterday by two trucks traveling together. They thought chained up and 4WD to be necessary and suggest two or more vehicles or a winch in case of trouble. The winter storm warning continues until Thursday morning.

Friday, November 11 - Propane Done, Winter Storm, New Gate
The propane delivery was completed on Tuesday. All went well. Please watch for your bills, or ask for them. Usually, the first bill is left on your door by the driver, but they know that doesn't work very well here.

Our first winter storm is here. The pass may get several inches of snow a day for the next few days.

This substantial new gate is just inside the old one, which will now be left open.
The same dual-lock system is here and is better protected.

Wednesday, October 26 - Propane Deliveries
Our winter propane deliveries will be within the next week or two - last chance until spring. Please advise Pam at Northern Energy of your wishes for a fill while they are here. They would like an estimate of how much we will take so they'll know whether to make a special trip or combine it with another. Please give them your approximate tank levels if you know. If you'd like for me to check on it for you from up here, let me know. Northern Energy: 800-683-0115

Thursday, September 22 - Howard Anderson
Sadly, I have just learned that Howard Anderson passed away unexpectedly this morning. His family wrote knowing that many of us would want to know. Howard and his mother Mary have been dear friends to me throughout my years here in the valley. Their time here began decades before mine. I have been told much about it, and of their country lifestyle on the Olympic Peninsula. Mary is still going strong in her 90's and never missed a trip to their cabin with Howard that I know of. Howard was loading their van for another cabin trip this morning when he experienced a sudden, massive heart attack. I spent some time with Howard and Mary here very recently. We will be seeing Mary's adult grandchildren now. I will share more of the Andersons' history here later if the family approves. Dear "Grandma" Mary and family, we are so sorry for your loss. Howard will be greatly missed. I personally will miss his great engineering mind and his memory of all things North Fork.

Monday, September 12 - Hwy 2 Closure Delayed
The Hwy 2 closure mentioned earlier has been delayed until further notice. You can follow the state DOT's news on this project here. There is also a more prominent link above.

Sunday, September 11 - Email Outage
If anyone has been trying to reach me over the weekend, I had an email server outage that I was unaware of until Sunday evening. I wondered why email was so quiet. I thought it was just because everyone was enjoying the great weather. Someone finally texted me to let me know and I was able to fix it from here. Sorry about that. It should be fine now. Those of you who don't know I can receive text can ask me for the number if you like. This has been useful sometimes for those who are on the road.

Thursday, September 8 - Hwy 2 Delays Imminent
A kind supporter and regular contributor sent this to me today for all of you, knowing that I rarely read any news and sometimes miss things that are potentially very important. This is not going to be fun: Sky Valley Chronicle, regarding Hwy 2 partial closure for 19 days - to begin this weekend near Gold Bar.

Saturday, September 3 - Geothermal Energy Drilling
Many have been curious about the drilling project at the upper end of the valley on the Garland property. This is a county PUD project involving contractors. Some of you may have noticed related announcements near the gate. I have not yet had time to track down all of the details. Previously, I thought this might be exploratory drilling for research or experimental purposes. We now know that there may be a lot more to it. Depending on what they find, there may be an intent to build a production, geothermal power facility here. You can read more about this in today's Everett Herald story by Bill Sheets. This story by Steve Wilhelm appeared in the Puget Sound Business Journal last week. I'll have more on this as time allows. This is posted, private property. We are not allowed to go there to watch and inquire. You will undoubtedly notice the noise as you come and go through that area. Later in September, they will begin drilling 24 hours per day for weeks with intent to reach a depth (through solid rock, I presume) of 5000 feet.

More County Road News
There is a recent development in the road reconstruction project. I would be guessing to call it a setback, but that is my suspicion. The county has posted a letter of determination by the Federal Highway Administration that a more intensive environmental assessment process will now be required. I do not yet know how this is expected to affect the timeline.

Friday, August 26 - Medical Emergency Update
Mike (the person we helped) hiked in and met me at the washout yesterday to pick up his gear. He is doing well. He said he "wouldn't have made it without us" and expressed his sincere appreciation to everyone involved for all the help. He said he woke up in the hospital at 2 a.m. and had no idea how he got there.

County Road News
The county has released their Public Involvement Plan for the road reconstruction project. You can see in this document and in this timeline summary that the planned completion of construction is now in 2015 (not 2018, as had been previously stated). But of course, this is projected based on multiple estimated times of completion for various dependencies, such as the environmental permitting process.

Sunday, August 14 - Medical Emergency
Yesterday (Saturday, 8/13) around 5 p.m. one of my neighbors found a fisherman incapacited here in the wilderness. We think it was a diabetic emergency. I arranged for the 911 call from here and we then drove him out to meet the ambulance on the Beckler side. For those of you who I passed in a big hurry (maroon Jeep), thank you for responding to the horn and pulling over. I'm sorry for the dust. Please know I don't normally drive like that. Our guest was in serious trouble and barely conscious. He was still conscious when the EMT crew met us on the other side, and they said he was doing OK when we left. Many thanks to my several neighbors who were involved, who brought the news quickly so we could make the 911 call, helped me to load him up, transport and keep him conscious enroute, stand by with a wide open gate and look after his gear. This was great community cooperation that probably saved a life. I'd like to see more of that up here. Please see me about the communication possibilities in my absence if you have not yet done so. We learned some things about the challenges of a 911 call from here, such as dealing with the inevitable "What is your address?" I will share what we have learned with each of you as we get the chance.

To the person we helped: We hope you are well! We have your bicycle and pack, but only part of your fishing gear. We were unable to find the rest. We'll look after it here until we hear from you. You can pick it up here in the valley, or we'll bring it into town if you prefer since you would otherwise have to hike in for it. My contact information was provided to the EMT crew but they may not have known that it was intended for you as much as for them.

Evin! There is finally some news! Thanks for the reminder! I'll have more news before too much longer. I thought this one was urgent to explain my dusty race from the valley.

Thursday, May 19 - More Road Clearing
The county grader just came through the neighborhood at noon today. I talked to the crew. They have now checked and cleared the road all the way to the Galena bridge. The rock slide area should now be cleaned up enough for all vehicles. There are still trees down over the road 1.5 miles downriver from Skyko 3.

Wednesday, May 18 - We can now drive in.

I drove in today for the first time this year. Many thanks to Travis and Laureen for their test run yesterday and for letting us all know. Some of you will have received their report from the county. Some county equipment was just leaving when I started over the pass this afternoon. I know some of you must be wondering... "they're not going to plow" (but now they have). This was not county road maintenance or USFS. Apparently PUD (also county) arranged for WSDOT to clear the route and provided the necessary funding. This is somehow related to the geothermal energy research project at Garland. That being the case, only that much of the route has been properly cleared. We got lucky on the rest. The route was much improved today over what was reported even yesterday by Laureen and Travis. The pass is bare gravel all the way and the potholes are minimal. Any tree issues have been cleared. The road is full speed (25 of course) until the pavement on the inside. There are plenty of rocks in the road in the upper slide area but many have been moved by the first few folks who drove in. Trees over the road have been cut out of the way in a few places from there all the way to the cabins. All is well with the gate. The lower slide area (one of the previous avalanche sites) where there has been some previous road damage is still a problem. There are shallow rock deposits here (nothing you can't shovel, carry or throw) over which we have all crawled so far in 4WD. This is the only place I needed to use 4WD today. By spending some time there moving rocks and choosing your route carefully, I think 2WD can get through just fine if you have enough ground clearance and decent tires, or of you take the time to clear a bare spot through each of the several patches of rocks (which I'm sure can be done).

This evening I saw a big, black bear just above the North Fork bridge. I have seen them in that spot several times before. I thought I was going to get a good shot (with my camera, of course) because I surprised it from behind. It was sitting on its butt in the road messing around with something but then heard me and did not like the looks of my car when I got closer. Winter is over. Memorial day weekend has been saved!

The county has posted a numnber of appendices to the design report on their website. See the county website for these. They are not included in the design report document linked above. Don't forget the public meeting coming up on May 31.

Sunday, May 15 - Plowing Update
The county has added an item of news to their website regarding the plowing effort that we have been wondering about. Apparently the USFS plowed for a mile or two on the gravel beyond the end of the Beckler pavement and had to stop because the snow was too deep to continue. This was on May 9 so it would appear that we have a long ways to go yet on the meltdown. I would like to drive around for a photo but that's just too much driving around until things look a little more promising. I'm still hiking in and have seen others doing the same. Supplies are of course becoming an issue for everyone. It's tough to carry them in.

Friday, May 6 - Road Project News
Note the new links above. The county has posted a newsletter summarizing the status of the road relocation project. The design report was completed in March and is now approved by the Federal Highway Administration. Notable is that this now appears to be a decision for road reconstruction with a planned course of action. This "paves the way" for final design work, permitting and funding. However, the timeline is disappointing, calling for completion of the proposed construction in 2018. There will be a county public meeting at the Monroe library on Tuesday, May 31, 6 - 7:30 p.m. See you there!

This was taken at peak snow this morning during the winter storm that was forecast. Overnight it was mostly rain and snow mixed. I could always hear it on the roof. We had two days of cold rain while in the mid-30's, so I'm sure the pass really got clobbered again. By late afternoon here, it was just slush.

Yesterday I walked around all the properties to see if I could find any roof or chimney damage or other issues you would want to know about. If you have not heard from me privately, there were no issues (there were very few, all minor). There are some trees down over the high road in Skyko 4 that will need to be cut away for vehicle access to a few of the uppermost driveways. No structures have been hit.

These were taken on my last walk out, which was on Easter weekend.

Saturday, April 23 - Hiking Conditions, New Road Damage
I'm back after a demanding quarter of city life. We should be talking about road conditions over the pass by now, but you can't get near it with a vehicle yet. While headed that way to check things out, I was intercepted by a neighbor with this news. I did not then finish the trip for pictures. One plowed lane on the gravel ascent beyond the Beckler pavement was encouraging, but it stops after a short distance at a snow wall where there is only a turnaround. The plowing looks like an experiment which ended when there was no place to push the snow any more. In other words, there is still a LOT of snow up there - probably several feet of it on top of the pass. Even the Jeeps have stopped going up. We're guessing at maybe a month or more for the meltdown still. The snow runs out miles above the cabins on the North Fork side, so the snowmobile situation is poor.

Hiking conditions are excellent. There are no high water complications right now. It is easy to follow the trail and stay dry. Travel time while in no particular hurry is 1:15. All is well in the neighborhood. A few trees have come down but all so far have been found to have missed all adjacent structures. I have a recent walkaround report from our watchman if you would like to write me for the details.

There is new road damage between Index and the washout (see photos). Erosion from snow slides and runoff has compromised the river side of the road above Skyko 2. The affected lane is closed and barricaded. The road is thus closed as you see beginning at Skyko 2, except for local traffic. I assume we are local traffic to park at the washout and walk in. The safe side of the road is still open and you can get by. If the road becomes fully closed at the damaged area, it won't be such a big deal. You can almost see the washout from there. I do not yet know what the County's plans are here, but they have obviously been there to consider it.

January & February, 2011
New Year trip

So what's new for the year? I retired from flying at the end of the year. After 40 years of it, I'm still figuring out that it's really over, and I like not going to the airport to leave town, or the country, just fine! I have been flying corporate jets for the last 25 years. I've been all over the world - even around it once or twice on the same trip. It was always better to be home. Now there can be more cabin time! I am also in the technology business and that work will continue. I never tire of it.

Some of us have been coming and going regularly on foot since driving became impossible (make that "almost" impossible, to be explained shortly) while hiking conditions have been good. I have not known them to be other than good yet this year. It was probably difficult during the high water. I missed it due to an around-the-clock technology project for a client. News from the others was that the flooding was no big deal up here. That's what I found when I got here - that it had been no big deal.

It was snowy here between Christmas and the New Year. This photo was taken while on the way out after New Year's weekend. Several of us were here and we went out together. The snow was not deep enough to be any special challenge. It barely affected the travel time. Since then we have only had less, and now there is none. The pass is still "almost" impossible due to the early snow. It was reported to be four feet deep on New Year's weekend, and still 2-3 feet deep this last weekend. Reported by who? That's what the "almost" is about. We were shocked to hear a vehicle coming our way as we were beginning this trip out. It turned out to be a lifted Toyota 4x4 with huge tires. They had been over that four feet of snow flotation-style with low tire pressure. I have known Jeep clubs to do that up there but this was the first time I had seen property owners in here that way. We saw this happen again last weekend, followed by someone else who made it with a Blazer the same way. That's where I got the 2-3 ft. report for current conditions up there. It probably went up from there quite a bit during the last day or two. It was very stormy here with a lot of cold precipitation which did not stick in the valley, but it was close.

Those who are doing this know the snow, and their vehicles, and are prepared to leave vehicles behind and trek for miles when it doesn't work out. Due to poor traction and the occasional need for winching, the crossing takes hours. The Blazer made it out just fine, but not without winching several times to make the steeper uphill grade on this side. I could have left when they did, walking out, and would have been passing Bellevue and almost home by the time they got to Skykomish. Still though, it was cool! I might have to try that sometime if I ever get a right vehicle for it (with a winch). In the meanwhile, my snowmobiles are ready to go. We expected to need them for the New Year's trip but there was too little snow on the valley floor by then. Either of these propositions for transportation are more for the fun of it, or to get here with supplies that can't be packed in. I'm pretty sure that the snowmobile trip will take longer than the hiking also, except when the snow makes it slow and especially when snowshoes are required. I have done that twice and it was pretty much terrible (6 hours of abuse that felt risky). I still don't know why I did it the second time. I must have forgotten the first time. Now I remember and that's why I bought the snowmobiles.

So for those who have been wondering about driving since there has been so much warm weather and rain, you can't chain up and get through that stuff with anything that I know of. And even for something that will go over it, traction was reported as very poor due to the often wet snow.

There were late night "explosions" up here the other night. They might have been worrisome except for the high-flying fireworks that appeared to explain them. You see the strangest things up here sometimes.

Thursday, December 30
Today we had 6" of beautiful, sunlit powder under mostly clear skies. More hikers came in sledding supplies and reported 6" to a foot of snow all along the road. It is going down in the teens tonight. Walking conditions are still very good. I expect more hikers tomorrow. The snowmobiles could have made it in by now, but we're concerned about getting them out due to the warmer weather and rain in the forecast for just after the weekend.

Tuesday, December 28 - Winter Storm
What winter storm? I came up to watch it and it missed! Promises, promises. It rained here last night down to about 30. This morning it was 33 and dry. Four of us made the hike yesterday. Hiking conditions are excellent. The road is bare all the way. Upriver, the road is still snow covered beginning at the Troublesome Creek bridge. Pass conditions have been seen as "impossible" even at the lower levels of the Beckler grade. We are still hoping for more snow on the main road before launching a snowmobile trip.

Sunday, December 26 - Group Hike
A group hike-in is being planned for tomorrow, Monday. Please write for details if you would like to participate. Due to too much melting, we no longer have suitable conditions for snowmobiles on the main road in the valley. This may improve next week, in which case we may organize another group trip on snow machines then.

Thursday, December 23
Most of our properties have been seen since the wind storm last weekend. One cabin may be somewhat threatened by a leaning tree. Those property owners have been notified. All others have been reported as OK. The road may be too bare above the cabins for a snowmobile commute over the pass now, but hiking conditions are still good.

Tuesday, December 21
There is news from the county that USFS has cleared the slide at MP 2.5 on the Beckler road. I know nothing of driving conditions beyond that and assume that the pass is still impassable. We are hoping for more news from the snowmobilers later in the week.

Friday, December 17
Some of the foot soldiers have checked in with their news. The lower road is now bare of snow, as is the hillside bypassing the washouts. The river level is back to normal and the runoff has let up on the wet spots, so it is now possible to stay dry on the best hiking routes with at least gaiters. Approaching the cabins and here in the neighborhood, there is still snow on the ground, about 2-3". The pass has been reported as impassable for vehicles without some means of staying on top of the snow. As far as I know, at least two trees in the road which had been an issue for snowmobiles earlier are still there. Since the recent warm spell and rain didn't open the route yet, the prospects for driving will probably continue to get worse. No new property damage has been found here.

Sunday, December 12
Highway 2 was blocked in both directions between Money Creek and Skykomish this morning due to a landslide. Both lanes have now been restored. WSDOT said... "US 2 - At 2:30 this morning there was a snow slide that brought down one hundred yards of material on US 2 three miles east of Money Creek near the town of Skykomish, WA. There is now one lane open for emergency vehicles only. We expect crews will reopen the roadway by 10:30 a.m. today. There is no damage to the roadway."

Wednesday, December 8
I have news both from hikers on the low route and snowmobile commuters on the high route. Sorry for the delay getting the news online. If you need information, feel free to write me for details. If you have news to contribute, that would be much appreciated too. The current winter storm will probably supersede all that was known about conditions through yesterday. The pass was already not likely to be drivable. More trees have been found over the road. This morning's severe thunderstorm warning, to include high winds, appears to include this area.

Sunday, November 28 - Got Here
I succeeded, more or less, with my group trip of one back to the cabin today. I made it over the pass, but encountered a very large tree in the road about 2.5 miles from the cabins. I had to walk the rest of the way after dark. The snow was not easy on the inside grade, or even down here in the valley. I didn't want to risk driving back over, not making it, and facing even a longer walk to the cabin. I'm probably the only person in the world you will ever see doing this carrying a laptop. I wish I had brought a chain saw instead. I don't know what the plan is yet. Stay tuned. If anyone with a proper vehicle and chain saw would like to meet me at that tree tomorrow, I'm all ears. If interested, write me for more details about the conditions up there. It was a fun crossing and a fun walk tonight, by the way. Just another North Fork adventure! I talked to Ranger Brad for a while on the other side before I started in (after he failed to talk me out of it). There was a lot of traffic up there today, which is why I succeeded.

Saturday, November 27 - Group Trip
A possible group trip over the pass is being considered for Sunday morning. This is inbound with supplies and for maintenance. Outbound is late Sunday or sometime Monday due to significant new snow in the forecast for Tuesday. This will probably require strong 4WD vehicles with four chains, but you might be able to catch a ride with someone else if you don't have one. Write for more details if you are interested.

Friday, November 26
I have some news about pass conditions. Write me privately for the details if you need to know.

Thanksgiving Day
The temperature has climbed from 18 last night to 22 this morning. It is cloudy with a dark sky and snowing lightly. Significant additional snow accumulations are expected today. Have a good one everyone!

Wednesday Morning
The temperature was 7 overnight and has been climbing since it became overcast this morning. It is now 14 at noon. It was crystal clear all night and very bright with the moonlit snow. There has been no traffic on the road down here. Any news from the Beckler side would be welcome. See "Monday Noon" for my taxi service comments.

Tuesday, November 23
It was 13 early this morning. At noon it is 15. The forecast low for tonight is below zero. I had hoped for sunny weather for snow pictures, but it has remained cloudy. It snowed more last evening with some wind and was near whiteout at times. We have about 6" now. Between the snow burdoned trees and a little more wind, there may be more obstacles in the road.

Monday Afternoon
OK, I am now officially having a blast. It snowed heavy (big flakes) for the last couple of hours. The Pathfinder is chained up for whatever, whenever. I made it to the washout and back. There are no trees down that we can't get around, just branches that I am driving over, so the taxi service offer is still good. I walked around in Skyko 4 and I don't see any tree problems. It is snowing lightly again now at 2 PM. Snow depth on the Skyko 4 bridge is about 4". I still think the pass can be done with chains, but I'm not sure I believe the 2" new total at the top for today that was in the forecast anymore. I'm not going up to try it until I need to. It is too far to walk back.

Monday Noon
It looks like 21 will be the high for today. The sky got dark and the snowfall is increasing. I have no plans to leave yet. If anyone would like to walk in (in case you cannot drive) for the holiday weekend and would like to be picked up at the washout, let me know. Bring a turkey in your backpack; or better yet, bring a live one and make it walk. I will chain up and check on the road conditions between here and the washout.

Monday, November 22
We have a trace of new snow this morning on top of an an inch or two from yesterday. It was 21 this morning and never above 28 yesterday. After the hard freeze, the ice is now more of a problem on the pass than the depth of the snow. The Subaru made it out yesterday with good snow tires. I drove up later and could not make it to the top in 4WD without chains. I have not yet tried it again with chains but I don't expect it to be a problem.

Sunday Afternoon
A Subaru Outback (4WD, no chains) just drove in for a short stay but the snow was near their limit on top of the pass, so they don't plan to stay very long. They warn... you'll slide off the road in the wide right turn about a mile below the gate if you don't go into it very slowly. I have done that before too. By the time you are into it and realize you are going too fast, it's too late.

Sunday, November 21
We were lightly dusted with new snow overnight. The temperature has been 28 all morning. Snowfall is increasing.

Saturday, November 20
As of last night, the pass is open with slightly better conditions than last reported. There is little new snow. It was dry in the valley last night and this morning.

Friday, November 19 - Driving Conditions
I made it in over the pass last night. My arrival time was about 9PM. The snow had been about 10-12" on top but was already fairly well traveled by previous traffic. The tracks were bare gravel on both grades except for the last mile or so near the top. I did not have to chain up my Pathfinder but I would have turned around about a mile from the top if I had not had chains available. I did use 4WD but it may not have been necessary if I had kept moving. Without 4WD and SUV ground clearance, I would say that chains would have been necessary. Hopefully you can judge the suitability of your vehicle from all that, but keep in mind that we may be getting new snow. I came prepared to walk out if necessary. I can probably add an afternoon/evening update after I hear from someone who will be driving out later today.

The trees were loaded with snow on top, which was pretty spectacular in the bright moonlight. It was possible to drive for a good while without headlights (I assume... I would never do that, of course). A large cat crossed the road in front of me while I was assuming that I could probably drive with my headlights off. The road stayed snowy until past Troublesome. There is some snow at the cabins, but not much. The road was trashy with limbs and quite a few trees had come down in several places. These had been cleared just enough to get through. The immediate surroundings of the cabins do not look heavily wind damaged. I'll check around more later.

The overnight low was about 30. There has been light rain and snow mixed this morning, and the trees are shedding their snow here. I assume that more snow is accumulating on the pass but only a trace of new snow is in the forecast for up there. This first winter storm has probably not yet killed our access (for suitable vehicles), but the next one may.

Monday, October 18 - Got Propane
The propane deliveries have been completed.