builder206 Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 Trip: North Cascades - Mt. Logan via Banded Gl. Date: 6/30/2007 Trip Report: Went in from Colonial Creek CG and up Thinder Creek Trail. Thunder Creek trail is beautifully maintained. 1. Lots of blowdown and one washout on Fisher Creek Trail but it only slows momentum, none of it is a barrier. 2. Two fords, one a bit of a lip-biter. 3. One single-log crossing---had to butt-scoot that one for safety. 4. Mosquitoes were quite a bother but not as bad as I have encountered elsewhere. 5. Substantial rockfall/talus challenge descending from Christmas Tree Col on the mountain side. A better way to reach the glacier is to pass through the col then immediately traverse on the highest contour possible around to the glacier. Once we were on the glacier and could see back to the col, this route is obvious and was the way we departed. The chosspile surrounding the col on its mountain side is crazy dangerous and slow to descend. Stepped over two small cracks in the snow high on Banded Glacier. I have an aerial photo of the glacier in late season and it is a mass of crevasses, almost an icefall, but our ascent was just an easy snow slog. Saw a VERY freshly-disemboweled porcupine during the bushwhack back down to Fisher Creek. Around here, it had to have been a mountain lion that got it. The guts were so fresh there were not even flies on it. We must have scared the cat away while it was eating. Beautiful weather. Gear Notes: DEET Approach Notes: Thunder Creek Trail and Fisher Creek Trail Quote
mythosgrl Posted July 7, 2007 Posted July 7, 2007 Nice work! Did the Fremont Glacier approach last year. I agree- the decent from the mountain was quite chossy. I second the call for Deet. Although i was wearing it at our campsite (camped on the west side of park creek pass since we came from Stehekin) and i was still getting bitten and swarmed. Who knows if it helped. Quote
Superman Posted July 7, 2007 Posted July 7, 2007 (edited) Sweet! Could it have been a Fisher that got the porcupine? After all, you were in Fisher Creek. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/fisher.htm http://www.geocities.com/bobarnebeck/ppines.htm Edited July 7, 2007 by Superman Quote
rob Posted July 7, 2007 Posted July 7, 2007 (edited) nice job man. Hope to see more reports coming soon Post some pics! Edited July 7, 2007 by robmcdan Quote
builder206 Posted July 7, 2007 Author Posted July 7, 2007 (edited) Could it have been a Fisher that got the porcupine? Now that I read the info at the two links you posted, this makes much more sense. I do some volunteer work in the park and have been told that mountain lions are rather rare there. The pictures I took show the viscera neatly laid out, as if those would be the first to be eaten as one of the links says. I also know that the fisher population in the park is in OK shape (not great)...many more fishers than lions...and I think porcupines can quill a lion whereas your links say that the procupine's #1 predator is in fact the fisher. At the time I had an intuition that it was not a cat that killed the porcupine. That is great info, thanks a lot! Edited July 7, 2007 by builder206 Quote
PickleJuice Posted July 9, 2007 Posted July 9, 2007 Nice work! Did you take any photos? A third for DEET... the little soldiers are out in full force (think my BP dropped a few mm this weekend). Quote
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