Sweltering weather, miserable pets

The weekend was hot, but today starts a series of progressively hotter days. To help the pets out I froze towels for the cats:


and a flat stone for the chinchilla:

Rescue Kitten has brief rush of energy...






Very brief.

Logging Truck

I hope my readers are sitting down because I am about to write about a logging truck. Specifically an elusive antique logging truck hidden along the Dirty Harry trail.

I had made half-hearted attempts to find this rumored antique before. The problem is the Dirty Harry trail itself is tiring enough that when you get in the are probable area you just don't have the steam to really tromp around and look for it.



Turns out what I really needed was a hiking partner as bent on exploring as I am who decided he wanted to find that truck more than see the peak. While I defeated gave up looking for the elusive way in through the thick route near Museum Creek; he ultimately sorted out the abandoned road (I couldn't even tell it was a road) that the truck came to rest on.

I didn't take a good photo of the upper mechanism on the truck that drags the logs but this is a photo of the engine that drives it.


This thread is worth visiting to see more photos of the truck (particularly one from the 1980s). It is amazing to see the tree growth in the area. My hiking partner did some research and found that this particular style was only made for three years from 1941 - 1933, after that the truck cab was given a canvas roof.

I loved the GMC logo. Other accounts I read of the area would suggest there used to be a lot more wreckage and equipment in the area, but between the tree growth, the creek and the humans I don't know that there is as much left to be found.

In addition to our success with locating the truck we did manage to find the last birdhouse (birdhouse 2) that I didn't find on my previous trip. The above photo is actually birdhouse 5 again, but it is a pretty photo of the woods.

North Fork Lakes

View of SMC Lake from road to the north and above it. Note the little minor peak above it that I can't figure out if it has a name (actually the area all around all the lakes has a lot of pretty ridges and odd peaks that are probably mostly unnamed but give the entire area a nice feel):



Today I wanted to find 3 lakes in the North Fork area all south of Lake Hancock. SMC Lake appears to be fed by the North Fork river, while Lake Nadeau and Lake Moolock are connected to Lake Hancock.

The first road that made sense on the map, eventually wasn't drivable, so I parked and kept hiking to locate the first two lakes (SMC and Nadeau).

SMC, probably my favorite of the three:


Lake Nadeau (taken from the road southeast of the lake):



I actually had a fair idea about where Moolock after finding the first two, but opted to return to the car and attempt to drive another road to these lakes. This road ended up not dead-ending but was in rough shape.

Taken from above Lake Moolock, where the road eventually ends. This is actually the tributary connecting Hancock and Moolock:


Moolock taken from the shore. With "Moolock Mountain" in the background: (At least I am pretty sure that is "Moolock Mountain" in any case, I think I will try the Middle Fork approach of that one rather than the North Fork which was one of two not-realized ideas of the day.)

Birdhouses

I headed up Dirty Harry via the "birdhouse" trail which cuts off the abandoned road route up to Dirty Harry's Balcony. It adds a little distance on the route but is honestly easier on the body than the cobble of the road. There should be 6 birdhouses, I managed to find 5 of them on the way up and down. I either missed number 2 or number 3 (numbers had fallen off some of the boxes). It is a cute idea for marking a trail.


This little guy (if you can see him) was on one of my early in the trail detours on the way up (always more willing to waste time in the beginning). I would learn on my way down after running into some evening climbers that they seem to call this area "Interstate Park" presumably because of the stunning view of I-90:



The "birdhouse" trail is also considerably prettier than the road route. Tons of cut little trees as you are started to near the Balcony:


Intersection marker of the "birdhouse" trail and the Balcony trail:



Marker coming from the trail to the Balcony and ready to really head up hill for Dirty Harry Peak:


The route is more abandoned road at this point and a lot of the ugly, slashy, weed stuff. Next time I want to bring flowers for the trail bucket:


I took a lot of photos from the top but it was a hot day and actually a bit hazy so most of them are not so impressive.

I believe the farthest north of the Granite Lakes:

Wildflowers on the knee-nagging downhill:





More bird houses in bad lighting...but again a good idea of the pretty woods.

Sampler Quilt

I completed this quilt for the Snoqualmie Valley Quilters following a sampler project that was put out a few years ago. It was supposed to done by completing a new block each week but of course I fell behind and set it aside for awhile.

Girl Scout Project

For knitters wanting to help in a community service project a Kirkland, WA girl is trying to complete her service project for her Girl Scout Gold Award and is looking for help with 7 x 9 inch knitted blocks.

Read her news story.

I wrote her and she needs the blocks by no later than July 29th. Mia and her friends have been using worsted weight on US8 needles. I have been burning through my project scraps so I am generally doubling up smaller weights; also on US8.