Day 7 (July 18, 2014)

Day 7

As told by Yoko Chaumont

We woke up around 7:30am to another beautiful day in the park. There’s something refreshing about waking up and seeing the sky and surrounding trees instead of the inside of your tent. After rolling up our sleeping bags, Tim, Matthew, Serena, and I ate the rest of our granola for breakfast. We took our time eating and chatted in our cook groups during breakfast. I was grateful for a relaxed morning, after the tough day of hiking we had yesterday. Our leave time was supposed to be 10am, but it ended up being 10:45am. Before we left, we had a stretching session, where we went around in a circle and each person led a stretch of his or her choice. All the stretches felt amazing on our sore muscles.

The last shot of our camp as we left Cameron Pass. (Photo credit: Yoko Chaumont)

Then we were off! We headed up a steep section and hiked for at least an hour. It was pretty difficult. When we neared the top of Mt. McCartney, we dropped off our packs, had a quick snack break, and then headed off without packs to climb about 15 minutes more to the peak. It was a very rocky and steep climb to the peak, so Merrick’s achilles tendon was bothering him a little too much. Although he made it most of the way to the top, he did not get to the peak. When the rest of us arrived at the peak, we found that there was not a lot of space. But we all fit, took pictures, and admired the gorgeous view from an elevation of almost 6800 ft.

Climbing up Mt. McCartney. Left to right, Carter, Yoko, Tess, Jake, Serena, and Matthew. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Olympic Mountain Aster (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

A butterfly resting on Tim's pack (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

At the peak of Mt. McCartney. Left to right, Serena, Matthew, Carter, Yoko, Miranda, Tess, Jake, and Anthony. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

The view from Mt. McCartney of the massive snow field in the valley that held remnants of the Lillian Glacier as recently as 14 years ago. The snow in this picture will all melt by the end of summer. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Ready to head down into the Lillian Glacier. Left to right, Tess, Anthony, Matthew, Merrick, Miranda, Carter, Serena, Yoko, Jake. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

We hiked back down to grab our packs, took out our ice axes, and went down into the Lillian Glacier. The first section of snow was very steep, so a few of us slipped and ended up glissading down. Then we plunge-stepped further down until we got to an extensive downhill section free of rocks. Most of us glissaded down, and a few people plunge-stepped down. Sliding on the snow was abrasive and cold (especially for the people wearing shorts!), but everyone had fun.

Miranda glissading down Lillian Glacier. (Photo credit: Anthony Dang)

Plunge-stepping down some steep snow. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

We regrouped on a rocky moraine. Before Tim plunge-stepped down to the moraine, he went to a spot in the Lillian Glacier to look for ice and the presence of ice worms. Unfortunately, he did not see any ice, and only a little snow, so there were no ice worms. On the moraine, some of us ate a quick lunch of Wasa crispbread, peanut butter, and almond butter.

Resting on a moraine deposited by the Lillian Glacier. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Half of the group heads out--Park Service regulations dictate that group sizes cannot exceed 6 in this part of the park.

An ice filled lake below the rock island, just melting out.

Carter hikes away from the rock island.

Half the group remains, stranded on the moraine.

Tess remains on the moraine to work on her journal.

Then we split up into two groups. In the Lillian Glacier Valley, you are not allowed to walk in groups greater than six people. This restriction minimizes the impact of large groups on the wildlife in the area. Since there was no trail to follow, Tim took the first group of five, and Serena, Jake, Anthony and I waited for 45 minutes on the moraine. About 20 minutes after the first group left, we noticed someone was coming down the steep snow that we had just come down. We got really excited to see who that person was and meet them. About 10 minutes later, the person arrived. It was a park ranger! She looked like she was in her mid-to-late twenties. She was surprised to see us, and also happy and impressed that we were following the rules by splitting up our group. We chatted with her for a while, and then she left to continue doing her rounds in the park.

Striations left by the now extinct Lillian Glacier.

Tess observing glacial striations made by the Lillian Glacier. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Historical photo of Lillian Glacier in 1905 (photo by RC Spicer).

View of Lillian Glacier valley in 2006 (photo by Tim Billo) .

Aerial view of Lillian Glacier valley in late summer 2010 (photo courtesy of glaciers.us).

About 5 minutes after the park ranger left, 45 minutes had passed since the first group left, so we followed their footprints in the snow. Tim had told us to follow the first group’s tracks until we got to another moraine where he would leave his pack. We found Tim’s pack and waited by it for another 30-45 minutes. Tim led the first group a little ways, before giving them a map and some instructions for how to navigate the off-trail terrain our next campsite, Moose Lake. Then Tim hiked back to where our second group waited to help us continue the same off-trail trek through snow, rock, meadow, and trees towards Moose Lake.

Group 2! Yoko, Anthony, Jake and Serena. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

By the time Tim arrived at the moraine where we were waiting, all of us were eager to get going. We hiked through more snow, and then re-created a historical photo from 1905 of a lady standing next to the Lillian Glacier. Serena did a great job posing as the lady, even though she did not have wool knickers.

 Historic photo of a lady at Lillian Glacier in 1905.

Re-creation of the historic photo in 2014 with Serena. Note the U-Shaped opening to the valley, with moraines on either side. These should help you line up the photos. In the historic view, a massive tongue of ice fills the U shaped opening. Rock and gravel with tiny patches of snow in the background, fill the same U shaped frame today (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Then we crossed through a meadow-like area filled with heather. Going through the heather was a little tricky because there were large rocks that were not visible under the heather, making it easy to lose your step. We got through it, and then headed up towards Grand Pass. It was steep, full of marmot holes, and a little scary at times, but we made it through that, too. We tried to keep up a good pace and took few breaks, as it was starting to get late by the time we made it to Grand Pass. The view from Grand Pass was gorgeous and we were all shocked at how far we had come since we left the moraine in the Lillian Glacier.

Miranda journals below the Lillian Glacier valley.

Hiking through heather--we had to navigate over the ridge at right in order to drop down to Moose Lake for the night. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Heading towards Grand Valley by beginning the trek up to the ridge in the last photo. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Lillian Glacier valley behind us in the distance as we near the ridge. (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Olympic Larkspur (Photo credit: Tim Billo)

Thankfully, there was a trail we could follow from the ridge down to Moose Lake. Going off-trail is a great experience, but following a trail felt nice after a long day. The beginning of the trail down was pretty steep, and then it got to a more gradual downhill with stone steps. The trail seemed to keep going on forever, but eventually we made it to Moose Lake around 8:20pm. All of us were happy and relieved to see that the first group was already there.

Finally at Moose Lake! (Photo credit: Anthony Dang)

After about five minutes of not being able to move from tiredness, Serena and I set up our tent and started dinner with Tim and Matthew. We made couscous and angel hair with dried mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, seasoning, and parmesan. The food tasted especially good after a long day. After we ate, it started raining a little, so we packed up our stuff and got ready for bed. With Merrick’s achilles and everyone feeling tired in general, we decided that tomorrow Tim and Carter should hike the 10 miles to Deer Park to get the vans and drive them to Obstruction Point. That way, we would have a much shorter hike on our last day.

Around 10pm, it stopped raining, so we decided that we should do Matthew’s discussion on conservation genetics. Despite the difficult circumstances of being tired and cold, Matthew did a great job leading and everyone participated, making it an interesting discussion. Matthew talked about the challenges of balancing the genetics in a population to conserve the species. He talked about Olympic marmots, where there are a lower percentage of females in the population than males. We discussed whether introducing some Vancouver Island marmots to the Olympic marmot population would be a good idea, and how that could change the gene pool. We also discussed whether or not we should alter genes to help a species combat climate change. Is it our responsibility to help a species that is going extinct due to climate change, since we caused it?

During the discussion, Tim talked about the two schools of thought where we either use what knowledge we do have about nature and try to do what we can to intervene and save a species, or say that there is a lot about nature that we don’t know, so we should not mess things up by intervening and just let nature take its course. I think most of us stood at a middle ground between these two viewpoints. Personally, I think humans should intervene as little as possible, but we should also focus on dealing with our own pollution and prevent our practices from harming other species.

We ended at 11:20pm, and after the long discussion, everyone was eager to crawl into their sleeping bags. It was a great day, and for the first time on this trip, I fell asleep pretty quickly.

Personal Reflection:

The word that comes to mind is respect. Through this experience, I have come to have a new respect for wilderness. This park has taught me that life is not easy for a lot of plants and animals. Simply surviving can definitely be a full-time job. This makes me really appreciate the relative ease of living in a city. I also have a newfound respect for our ancestors and past generations who lived in these wild areas.

In wild areas, there is so much more going on than we realize. Standing at the top of a mountain, you look down and everything seems so small. Yet, each little patch of green or brown is bustling with life. Similarly, looking over at the Olympic mountains from Seattle, I feel like it is so easy to dismiss the situation of the plants and animals in Olympic National Park. From afar, it looks insignificant. Without the firsthand experience of seeing everything and living side-by-side with the plants and animals for 9 days, it is difficult to have strong feelings for conservation. After going on the trip, I feel like Olympic National Park is part of my home, and any threat to the park would be like a threat to my home.

I feel that preserving wild areas is extremely important, and spending time in the wilderness is something I wish everyone could have the opportunity to experience. I now realize that this preservation is not just for the sake of beauty or to keep the earth healthy by protecting species. I believe that it is also really good for people to just experience some healthy fear and respect for wild areas. People should appreciate what the landscape was like prior to humans changing everything by clear-cutting forests and making everything manageable from a human perspective.

Going off-trail was also eye-opening for me. Being on-trail felt very safe and easy compared to being off-trail. When you are on a trail, I feel like you can’t fully experience the thrill of wild areas. When you are off-trail, you are thrust into the middle of wilderness, you have to find your own way through, trust your navigation skills, and watch your step more than ever. I think being off-trail is what allowed me to truly develop a respect for nature.

Coming back and readjusting to life in the city has been harder than I expected. I find myself thinking about the experience often and planning more trips out in wilderness. Although I found the trip both physically and mentally challenging at the time, it was certainly an experience of a lifetime and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Everything about this class was amazing – from the professor to the readings, my fellow students, and the experience in the park. As a biology major focusing on ecology and conservation, I thought I had love and respect for nature before this trip. However, the feelings I had before don’t even compare to the love and respect I have towards nature now.