SNOWTREK.org

macelius wrote:Tinkham and Denny Creek are still blocked, but Hyak is not, and covered in fresh snow. I could only get so far in before i started sinking off the sides of the packed tracks under the fresh. It's all fresh up on NF-9070-120.

Isn't Hyak a groomed ski trail?

I don't think so, Hyak Drive East connects to Nf-9070-120 but i've never been up there in the snow.

Took the fam sledding off exit 42 today. Checked out tinkham and loaned a strap to some guys pulling a jeep back out of the ditch on the side of the berm. Then a big jeep and yota made a bit of a show going straight over them. We actually checked out 47 on our way up the pass to eat just in time to help a renegade that was stuck on the bridge that leads to tinkham (dunno wtf they were doing there) get moving back towards the overpass, and witness the jeep and yota take the berms on the north side, I was pretty amazed they made it through.

macelius wrote:I don't think so, Hyak Drive East connects to Nf-9070-120 but i've never been up there in the snow.

Took the fam sledding off exit 42 today. Checked out tinkham and loaned a strap to some guys pulling a jeep back out of the ditch on the side of the berm. Then a big jeep and yota made a bit of a show going straight over them. We actually checked out 47 on our way up the pass to eat just in time to help a renegade that was stuck on the bridge that leads to tinkham (dunno wtf they were doing there) get moving back towards the overpass, and witness the jeep and yota take the berms on the north side, I was pretty amazed they made it through.

No pictures? Sounds like a good show. I'd like to see those berms.

Got a little pre game snow wheeling in on Sunday. The snow was great.

Went up Tinkham to the pit, beyond there ruts were only in for another few hundred feet. It was absolutely impossible to break trail. I had no expectations for the day, snowpack was deep bottomless unconsolidated water-saturated slush with a few inches of fresh snow on top. Always a good day when it's snowing though.

Tinkham is now blocked by 4 berms, one small one at the exit and a series of three at the road entrance. There is a slightly off-camber bypass that's not too bad. I imagine DOT will take care of blocking the bypass after the next storm.

Finally got around to the pics from the last trip.

Gallery: http://www.snowtrek.org/snow-wheeling-20170205/















Wearing my MSR snowshoes with the flotation tails, I was still stinking almost to my knees.

trying to get out in the snow every weekend. pictures go back as far as the 3rd week of dec. to last week. Most pictures are in Gifford Pinchot National forest south of Mt st Helens and west of Carson.

Welcome to the forum. Keep 'em coming!

here is a few from last Sunday .

Do you have any video of tackling those sidehills?

do not have any current videos ... upload speeds are super slow here.
Cascades has avalanche warning in effect due to high temps and rain . Might wait till Sunday , or next weekend to go back out.

The seasons have changed, and now it's slush-crawling instead of snow wheeling. Took exit 38 up an untraveled spur to about 2500ft then climbed another 2000ft and skied the North Couloir of McClellan Butte.

It's also the season of tree branches, ripped off two fenders and picked up a good bit more paint damage

And now it's snowmobile-trail-season. No wheeled vehicle signs are down for the year here, went out FS4330 to 1.9 miles from Mt. Daniel trailhead. Decided to call it quits where the road had half melted out and I didn't feel like probably winching through.

23 miles on 4-6 feet of snow in less than 2 hours. Old groomed trails are so easy.

Good stuff. Thanks for the trip report! We finally had a decent snow year.

Went up Glacier Creek Road on Saturday. Still probably 3-4 feet of snow for the last 2 miles. Had to cut out one tree and some medium-difficulty spring slush wheeling.

Then skied baker to 9200ft. Turned back from there due to wind, cold, and ice.

The best snow season is just getting started!

Started out doing a loop on 4934 at Gold Creek. Went to the tower at 4970ft on old groomed roads, then down on the untouched remainder of the road. Many miles of heavy snowpack, great destination for a while still.

Then did Jack Pass over near Teanaway. Mostly melted out, just a little bit of snow up at the top (4800ft highest elevation). Big difference in snow depth as you head east.

Was 82F at Keechelus lake coming home!

Good to see you still getting out! Thanks for the updates. The jeep is working great

Went to Gallaher Head Lake today. The last 0.75 miles or so had snow, but it took about 3 hours to go that section so I'll count it as a full snow wheeling trip! Difficult side hills, a steep snowy hill climb, and then patchy meadow where you fall through the snow into mud holes.

Brought skis in hope of going up Hawkins Mountain, but there was basically no snow up there.

Loosened up a bead flooring it up a hill climb at 2-3PSI and then rotated the tire a quarter turn on the rim... so I guess even double beadlocks aren't a guaranteed solution. At least I'll never actually lose it.

That's it for me, see you in the 17-18 season thread!

Nobody wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:47 pm

Scoobienorth wrote:Nothing to hardcore. Just touring around with kids gaining experience. I knew this season my wj would be way over weight for 33'. The early season powder and sugary stuff it did great in. But now as the snows adding up I'm geared to tall to crawl slow enough and to heavy to float. Still did alright. The auto trans over temp once badly too. Not sure how long light was on but it took 15-20 mins too cool down. Also got pushed for a ways. I need to build a dedicated snow rig. My grand works great and I hate to ruin it but it may happen anyways.

Thanks for sharing. Good to see the kids out there! I "almost" put an automatic in my Bronco, had both a C4 and a 4R70W on my garage floor at one point. I just couldn't do it and stuck with the NP435. Too bad they don't put V8's in more mid-sized vehicles. Fingers crossed for the 2020 Bronco.

I’ve come a long ways from this video. I’m on 36” bias iroks , 15x10 wheels and have finally learned to drive the auto trans. Cool system upgrades helping keep temps down and rpms off idle without spinning. When my trans piles up I can foresee a manual trans swap with a low first gear.