2010 Field Trip Reports

July 24: Geology Field Trip – Landslides

Dr. Paul Hammond led an excellent geology field trip to the 2009 Nile landslide. This landslide had a major impact on cabin owners travelling to their cabins and all the people in the Nile area. However, this was a very small landslide especially compared to the Sanford Pasture Landslide in the same area, which could be one of the 10 largest landslides in the USA.

Thirty seven people participated in the field trip, which was a record number. In addition to cabin owners and friends, two people from the USFS and one person from the Department of Ecology attended. It truly is a privilege to attend Dr. Hammond’s field trips, because he knows so much about the geology of the area and he can discuss it so non geologists can understand much of it.

Dr. Hammond spends considerable time preparing for these field trips, which is evident from the handouts he made for all participants. A complete copy of these with notes about each stop, aerial and geological maps is posted on this CPCOA web site so everybody can use it. This was his fourth field trip, and we hope he will lead another one in 2011.

September 12: Bull Trout Field Trip
Gary Torretta, District Fisheries Biologist for the USFS at the Naches District, lead a bull trout field trip at Union Creek. All during Gary’s presentation and discussion we watched a pair of bull trout about 15 feet in front of us. At the very end of the discussion an otter – or – mink crossed the creek and startled another bull trout that swam past us.

Bull trout are classified as a threatened species, and they live in the American and Bumping Rivers and Bumping Lake. Then they spawn from late August into mid September in the upper reaches of the American River, Union Creek, Kettle Creek, Deep Creek, and upper Bumping River, which means that all cabins in the CPCOA area are located in a threatened species habitat and we will or have had regulations that affect our activities. The main regulation is how we handle the vegetation and hazard trees on our lots.

Gary shared with us the past 25 years of spawning site monitoring in the Yakima sub basin. There does not seem to be any imminent problems in our area and the fisheries people and we cabin owners want to keep the population increasing.

We want to thank Gary for taking his Sunday to share his knowledge of bull trout and lead an excellent field trip. Everyone who attended knows a lot more about an important fish that lives near our cabins and can have appreciation for what the fishery biologist are doing to protect this threatened fish.

2011 Field Trip Reports

September 3: Bull Trout Spawning Field Trip

Laura England and Ashton Bunch from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife led this field trip. As Interns with the Bull Trout Task Force, they have spent the past summer educating the public about bull trout in the Yakima Basin. Laura and Ashton gave an excellent introduction to the biology, life cycle, identification, and status of the bull trout in our area. They even had a program for the children!

After the presentations we walked over to Union Creek and watched several bull trout in the crystal clear shallow water guarding nest sites and males chasing other males away from the females they were claiming.

It was an excellent field trip with everybody from young children to adults have a good time learning about the threaten fish that lives right next to our cabins. The well being of these fish has an impact on cabin owners and what we can do on our lots. Bull trout need cold clear water with the proper cover to successfully spawn. The fact that we can not use hazard trees near bodies of water for fire wood is because of these and other fish.

September 24: Bumping Lake Geology Field Trip

This field trip was led by Kelsey Collins and David Huycke. They presented information about the geology of the Bumping Lake area with the main emphasize on the glaciations in the area, but they also discussed the Mt. Aix caldera which goes through Bumping Lake.

Then we went over to the lateral moraine near the spillway. Some people had not been to the old growth area(which Jack Nelson called the Sanctuary), so we walked among the huge trees and observed the dense growth, mushrooms, moss, and ferns. It is amazing how you can walk a short distance and go from a sparse lodge pole pine forest growing on glacial moraines to an old growth forest.

Kelsey then discussed why Bumping lake is being considered for expansion and if the new dam is built were the footprint of the new lake would be.

Since this trip was scheduled for late in the season, it was poorly attended. However, Kelsey and David said they would be happy to lead this trip again if there is interest. Please let Carl know if you would be interested in attending this trip in 2012.

2012 Field Trips

August 18: Bumping Lake History Walk
Leader: Suzy Cyr

Suzy Cyr lead a walking tour of the camp that was used during the construction of the Bumping Lake Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation. There still are remains of log structures, bee hive baking ovens, and food storage areas that were built into a hill that was deposited by a glacier, and historical debris lying around.

This area was later used for a CCC camp. Several concrete foundations remains from this time. Suzy also gave insight into some of the historical atmosphere of the time, like segregation of the work force. The immigrant workers were housed in a separate section of the camp.

Suzy had many of the old photographs from the camp and dam construction, which showed what it looked like back during construction. Then we drove to the dam and leaned about its construction with the help from many pictures. What is amazing is that much of the construction was done with horse and mule power and very little power equipment. The dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, because they could not get private contractors to work in so remote an area.

The third stop was Suzy’s cabin, which was the lodge that Jack and Kitty Nelson operated. At one time there were also many rental cabins around this lodge. We toured the lodge both in and outside. Even got to see an old pelton wheel in operation which still supplies the electrical power to the cabin.

It was a special treat to have Betty Ford Gallant attend. She told about working for the Nelsons when they operated the lodge, and she and her husband operated the marina for several years.

Twenty eight people attended this field trip. Carl is hoping that Suzy can lead another field trip on places that we did not have time to visit.

August 25: Bull Trout Presentation and Viewing
LEADER: Ashton Burch and Cassandra Anderson of the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife

Ashton and Cassandra presented and answered questions about the biology, history and concerns for this threatened fish. The well being of bull trout is important to Chinook Pass cabin owners because they have been designated a threatened species. If bull trout are not doing well in the Naches River drainage there could be more restriction placed on cabin owners.

Currently bull trout are doing well in our area and we should strive to keep their population constant or increasing. After their presentation we went to the American River and watched five bull trout in in a clear deep pool below a cabin. Eight people attended this field trip.

June 2: Spring Mushrooms!

This will be an excellent opportunity to learn how to identify the spring mushrooms that are in the woods around our cabins. You will learn which mushroom are edible, which are questionable, and which are poisonous. They will describe how to pick mushrooms, care for them, and even prepare them for the best eating.

You might want to bring some mushrooms that you have found near your cabin and they can identify them for you. If you have an area that you know where there are some mushrooms that you would like to share with the group let us know. We do not have exact locations where we will be looking at this time, because that will depend on the weather and when the snow melts. However, there are many good locations in our cabin areas for mushrooms.

The YVMS has a web site (www.yvms.org) that lists many good mushroom resources that you should check out.

UPDATE: We had over 20 people join us for this fun, informative and productive field trip!

2013 Field Trips

August 10: Bumping Lake History Walk
LEADER: Suzy Cyr

Suzy Cyr lead the second of her field trips on the historical aspects related to the construction of the Bumping Dam. She put a lot of effort into this field trip, even constructing small wooden bridges to make it easier for cabin owners to cross a stream and wet area where the old road had decayed on the way to the sanctuary.

Twenty some people went on this field trip and learned much more about the area. The more we learn about our surrounding the greater are our cabin experiences.

October 12: Fall Mushrooms!
LEADER: Yakima Valley Mushroom Society (YVMS) members

The fall mushroom field trip on October 12 was highly successful with 28 people participating. People came with mushrooms that they had collected already, which was a good indication of how extensive the mushrooms were this fall. The Yakima Valley Mushroom Society lead this field trip.

We made stops at Mesatchee trail head, Pleasant Valley trail head, and Hell’s Crossing parking area. At each stop we would each go exploring for mushrooms and bring them back so everybody could see them. Then the leaders would identify them and share their knowledge about them. Some of the ones we found are highly prized for their excellent taste like chanterelles, hedgehogs, bears head, and matsutake with a few that were poisonous like fly amanita.

Not only did the cabin owners have a good experience at this field trip, but Jim Christensen (one of the YVMS leaders) said it was very rewarding for him because there was so much interest about mushrooms from the cabin owners.

The YVMS has a web site (www.yvms.org) that lists many good mushroom resources that you should check out.

July 27: Geology by Paul Hammond
LEADER: Dr. Paul Hammond

Trip Report: On July 27 Dr. Paul Hammond with the help of his research assistant Sheila Alfser lead a geology field trip following the USFS 1500 road starting from the Woodshed. There was a total of 23 people on this field trip. Two geologist from local community colleges, one geologist from the WA Department of Ecology, one USFS person, and the rest were cabin owners and their friends. The field trip started at 12:00 PM and finished at 5:00 PM. We learned a lot about the geological history of the area with the sedimentary rock in the Ellensburg formation deposited by several lahar’s, Columbia Basin Basalt lava flows, valcanos, and a very large caldera in the Mt Axi area.

Again it was a privilege to be on one of Paul’s field trips with all his knowledge and enthusiasm for the geology of the area. We look forward to another field trip with Paul next year.

2014 Field Trips

July 12: Geology
LEADER: Dr. Paul Hammond

Starting Location: Intersection of Highway 410 and the Bumping Lake road
Final destination: end of Deep Creek road

Bring (if you have them): rock hammer, eye protection, gloves, hand lens, binoculars.

Rest spots along the way: Bumping Lake campground, horse camp near the end, and Deep Creek camp. Planned geology stops: 2 stops along road to the dam, Bumping Lake dam, Deep Creek falls, old quarry, miner’s camp, road cuts, and Deep Creek camp.

One of Paul’s comments: ” The Deep Creek road traverses the heart of the Mt. Aix caldera, 25 m.yrs. old, one of the largest volcanoes in the ancestral Cascade Range, larger than Crater Lake. Oregon”.

August 16: Copper City History Walk
LEADER: Suzy Cyr

Suzy Cyr will once again lead a history walk, only this time it’s to Copper City! For those who are not aware of the area’s history, there was a pretty good sized mining operation up Deep Creek (south of Bumping Lake) during the first half of last century. While the last of the buildings is pretty much gone, there are still a lot of foundations to see and a lot of history to learn!

Don’t miss this trip! The Forest Service is working on a plan to do an environmental cleanup of the site so this could be your last chance to see the site as it exists today.

Suggestions: Be sure to leave extra time to get up there. It’s a pretty rough dirt road from the entrance to the Forest Service Bumping Lake Campground up Deep Creek to the site. Count on it taking 25-30 minutes for just this part of the drive, and take it nice and easy. You don’t need a 4 wheel drive vehicle, but there is a lot of ruts and holes to avoid. Better yet, car pool up with a neighbor to conserve on parking space and fuel!

September 6: Thundereggs!
LEADER: Carl Buchholz

Meet-up Location: Kaner Flats Campground on the Little Naches Road. Then we will drive to the site which is off Forest Service road 1901, park and walk 15 minutes up a trail.

Suggested Things to Bring: stout round pointed shovel, stout bar about six feet long, rock hammer, cold chisel, pack and / or bucket with good handle (for carrying things in and thundereggs out), gloves, plenty of water especially if hot, hat, lunch if you didn’t already eat it. If you don’t have all the suggested equipment come any way, somebody will share. I have several bars and rock hammers.

The thundereggs are in a heavy compact clay and you need stout tools to remove them.

2015 Field Trips

August 29: Geology – Edgar Rock Volcano
LEADER: Dr. Paul Hammond Meet Up Location: Whistlin’ Jack Lodge parking lot

Erupted between 27.7 to 25.7 million years ago, an active volcano over about 2 million years. Volcano is cut in half by a major fault, a zone, which follows the SE-striking Naches River.

A question here: If the volcano was a major landform, why does the major stream in the area flow through the volcano and not around it? Flanks are warped, probably at about same time as volcano was faulted. Last structural deformation in region was between 5 and 10 million years ago.

Field trip will be in NE part of volcano, along roads WA 410 and FS 1703 and 1705. Trip will culminate along SE flank of Manastash Ridge. Total distance along roads will be about 30-35 miles. We’ll make between 8 and 12 stops. Roads are windy, slow going.

We’ll examine lava flows, interbeds of tuff (volcanic ash), some dikes or feeders to lava flows, fault zones and evidences of folding of the layered deposits. Composition of volcanic rocks is andesite to basalt. Common minerals in rocks, although small, are whitish plagioclase, black pyroxene of both augite and hypersthene, small occurrences of cat’s eye green olivine and yellowish-brown sphene.

If time is available, hardy troopers may hike fairly level trail #966 at end of road about 1/2-3/4 mile to overview of Devils Slide (landslide) in Milk Creek valley.

Bring rock hammers, collecting bags, hand lens, gloves, cap, dark glasses, blockout crème, binoculars; wear stout shoes.

September 12: Morse Creek Mining
LEADER: Tod Rossire

The field trip will be an introduction to Morse Creek and the Summit Mining District. Mining here started in the mid 1800’s and is still active with today’s hobby miners. We will find mines, prospects, claims, artifacts, ruins, landmarks, and mystery since there is very little written history and few photographs. You’ll have the chance to try to visualize what it was like it its “heyday.”

High clearance vehicle a must. 4×4 even better. Carpooling best (narrow road, few turnouts) Walkie-talkies and binoculars helpful. We will be driving and hiking

September 19: Thundereggs & Plant Fossils!
LEADER: Carl Buchholz

This is the same meet up location and time as last year for people who have gone before. We will be going to another location where the thundereggs are smaller but have more colors in them than where we were last year. Some have green areas and red veins in them with crystalline quartz centers. We will also stop along the way and look at plant fossils in road cuts. These sites are right next to the roads, so there will be NO hiking like last year. The thundereggs are in loose soil at this location, so they are easier to obtain.

Tools to bring if you have them: rock hammer, shovel, trowel, a three prong scratching digging garden tool, containers like zip lock bags to collect into, we may try screening, so if you have a 1/4 inch hardware cloth screen bring it, some flat boxes like grapes are packed in to place large rocks and fossil in, some pieces of carpeting, rags, old towels, or newspaper to place between the rocks to protect them when packed in a box, gloves, knee pads are nice, water, and your lunch. You probably don’t have all these things, but bring what you have. I have extra rock hammers and army shovels that you can borrow.

I think that this will be a good field trip for children, because it is easy digging and they can find some excellent thundereggs and fossils.

October 10: Fall Mushrooms! Cancelled!

LEADER: Jim Christensen, member of the Yakima Valley Mushroom Society

The fall mushroom field trip slated for October 10th has been canceled. The fall rains have not been sufficient enough to stimulate the mushrooms to form their fruiting bodies. There are a few mushrooms in some wet areas next to streams or swampy areas, but there are not enough to have a field trip. Everybody would get lots of walking and very little or no mushrooms to take home.

We will continue to monitor the situation, and if there is enough rain and the weather stays warm enough, we could have a mushroom field trip later in October . We will let everybody know via email and on the web site (CPCOA.com) if there are enough mushrooms present to have the field trip later.

You can bring mushrooms that you have found for Jim to help you identify. Then we will drive to an area where the mushrooms are growing the best. At this time we do not know where this will be. This field trip will take place even if it is raining, so bring appropriate clothing.

2017 Field Trips

July 29: Thundereggs & Plant Fossils
LEADER: Carl Buchholz

This is the same meeting location and the same thunderegg and fossil location as in 2015 for people who have gone before. The thundereggs are small but can have excellent color. Some have green areas and red veins in them with crystalline quartz centers. We will also stop along the way to look at plant fossils in road cuts. These sites are right next to the roads, so there will be NO hiking. The thundereggs are in loose soil at this location, so they are relatively easy to obtain.

Tools to bring if you have them: rock hammer, shovel, small pick, pry bar, trowel, a three prong scratching digging garden tool, containers like zip lock bags and/or plastic jars to collect into, if you have a 1/4 inch hardware cloth screen bring it, some flat boxes like grapes are packed in to place large rocks and fossil in, some pieces of carpeting, rags, old towels, or newspaper to place between the rocks to protect them when packed in a box, gloves, knee pads are nice, water, and your lunch. You probably don’t have all these things, but bring what you have. I have extra rock hammers and army shovels that you can borrow.

I think that this will be a good field trip for children, because it is easy digging and they can find some excellent thundereggs and fossils.

August 12:  History of Goose Prairie
Leader: Betty Ford Galland

Betty Ford Galland, who is reported to be in her 90s, with assistance from Sharron Ford and maybe other relatives, will share the history as she lived it in Goose Prairie. She plans to ride around in a golf cart showing us the different historical places like where the store and post office were. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn about Goose Prairie’s past from somebody who lived through a large portion of it.

Gary Jackson has made all the arrangements for this field trip.

July 8: Old Growth Forests  – CANCELLED
Starting Location: intersection of Bumping Lake Road and the road that goes over the dam
Leader: Christina McKernan

There are some beautiful special old growth forests in the Bumping Lake area, and this field trip will give us an opportunity to explore and learn about them with Christina McKernan, a botanist with the Forest Service located at the Naches Ranger station.

Hope to see you and your family and friends on this old growth forest field trip.

Paul Hammond’s Geology Field Trip
Date: to be announced

This field trip was scheduled for 2016, but was postponed due to a health issue that Paul had.

The field trip will be from Whistlin’ Jack Lodge , same as last year, heading north on WA 410 and FR 1900 (Little Naches River road) where the geology stops and discussion begins. After a couple of stops, we turn off west onto FR 1902, and follow 1902 west to Raven Roost with scenic views in all directions. I’d like to know what the towers were for atop Raven Roost. It’s a long one-way trip. Participants should bring rock hammers, gloves, field glasses, camera, and probably a coat or sweater in case it’s windy at Raven Roost. I’d like to emphasize the formation of the Cascade Range and its volcanoes with nearby Fifes Peaks volcano as an example, one of the largest volcanoes in the early geologic history of the range. The field trip ends at Raven Roost and the participants return along the same access road.

If you know other geologists who would like to attend, please invite them. Let me know if you do and if you know of other people who are planning to attend. Then I can give Paul an idea of how many people may be attending his field trip. Usually he has had handouts and would like an estimate on how many people maybe attending.

2018 Field Trips

September 1: Bull Trout Field Trip
Leaders: Fishery Biologists from Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group

Bull trout are listed as a threaten species and live and spawn in the streams near our cabins. Some of the restrictions ( like vegetation management) that the Forest Service places on cabin owners are directly related to these fish. As cabin owners, we want these fish to be successful and increase their numbers. If they do not and become listed as endangered, there will be more restrictions placed on cabins near where bull trout live.

Come and learn about these large, beautiful fish that live next to our cabins. We will also learn and see what effect last year’s fire is having and will continue to have on these fish. Hopefully, the bull trout will be spawning in Union Creek the day of our field trip, and we can observe their activities. Some are already staging (getting ready to spawn) in the American River near Union Creek. I would encourage you to bring children of any age as they can tailor part of their presentation to younger people. Also bring Polarizing sunglasses, because they reduce the sun’s glare on the water and you can see the fish easier.

Union Creek tract is located on the north side of highway 410 between mile post 78 and 79 just east of the bridge that crosses Union Creek.

July 7: Boulder Cave Guided Field Trip
Leader: Kelsey from the Forest Service

Kelsey will guide us on an approximately 45 minute tour of Boulder Cave. She will go over the geology, history, and current issues like bats and their white nose disease. After the tour for those who want, we will have a group lunch at the picnic tables. Bring a bag lunch.

Bring: walking or hiking shoes, a flash light, and federal parking permit of some kind. I will use my Golden Age pass. You can purchase one day parking permits there for $5.

How to get to Boulder Cave: take Forest Service Road 1704, which is on the west side of the Naches River just north of Cliffdell. On Highway 410 just north of Cliffdell turn west (there is a sign for Boulder Cave) which crosses the Naches River and then almost immediately turn right (north) on to Forest Service Road 1704. Go 1.2 miles and you are there.

2019 Field Trips

July 13: Cabin Tour
Location: Meet at Gold Creek Restaurant

We are still working on the final details for this tour but we will see the log cabin used as a community gathering place for the Kloshe Gold cabin owners. It is over 100 years old and is in a mostly original condition. We have have 1 or 2 cabins at American River and 2 or 3 cabins at Bumping Lake. One of those cabins is the caretakers cabin owned by Tom & Suzy Cyr. There is a lot of history that they will share with us.

Our tour last year was a great opportunity to see cabins in various states of improvement to some that were in an almost original condition.

July 20: Old Growth Forest
Location: Bumping Lake Area at The Sanctuary
Leader: Lenard Rolph

Meet at the intersection of Bumping Lake Road and the road that goes over the dam

Lenard Rolph is a retired professional forester that has spent 38 years managing forests in the Klickitat area. He knows the Bumping area,+ having vacationed there as a child when his parents rented the spring house. He has even snowshoed with his wife from Goose Prairie to Bumping Lake and stayed with Kitty and Jack Nelson.

This will be an excellent opportunity to learn about an Old Growth Forest from a very knowledgeable person.

August 3: Wenas Mammoth
Location: 2741 South Wenas Road, Selah,WA 98942
Leaders: Doug and Bronwyn Mayo

This field trip will be outside our cabin area at the Wenas Mammoth site. Everybody may not know about this, especially if you are from the west side. The remains of a mammoth was discovered and has been studied in this Wenas area, which is northeast of Yakima. Doug and Bronwyn Mayo, who own this site and also are cabin owners, have offered to have a field trip for cabin owners, their families, and friends. Go to their web site at wenasmammoth.com to learn more about what is in store for us. I hope that you will bring your children and grandchildren also on this field trip as they have activities especially for them.