Shawatum Lakes, British Columbia

The weekend of August 23^rd  through 24^th  was going to be another short one in the mountains for me. It looked like it was going to be a good stretch of weather, barring a slight chance of showers on Sunday and I dearly wanted to get back up the South Fork of the Cascade in order to take advantage of all the brushing and trail scouting I had done the previous week.

The trip I was planning there though would take 4 or 5 days and Sacha’s birthday was on the 25^th. I decided to make another try at Shawatum (I have heard this pronounced Shuh-wa-tum though I don’t know for certain if this is correct) Lakes on the Canadian Skagit. I had tried to go into these lakes a little earlier in the year (see Birthday Trip 2014 and British Columbia-Again 8/14/14) and failed.

The maps I had showed a trail or a road either right to the lakes or very near them. So on the earlier trip I figured I could do these lakes on a day trip. What I found was an old road that led up the Shawatum Creek drainage that was fairly open until it crossed a stream named Pyrrhotite Creek, were it pretty much disappeared under a landslide.

Someone had been up there this year cutting a little brush here and there and hanging a few flags but it was obvious that the road/trail wasn’t well used.

When I got to Pyrrhotite Creek on the previous trip it was about 09:30 a.m. After about an hour beating the brush looking for the road I decided to call it quits. The brush I was looking at would take many hours to get through and, even though I was about half way into the lakes, this could take more time than I had left in that day to do. I also wanted to look at some air photos of the area via Google Earth to see if I could get more information.

Looking at the air photos, the road was obvious but it looked like it had been taken out at Pyrrhotite Creek and at a few other spots. I figured since the road up to Pyrrhotite Creek wasn’t well used, the road past that point would be well brushed in.

The best strategy appeared to be to go into Pyrrhotite Creek and camp there and then do a day trip into the lakes. It was only a couple of hours into Pyrrhotite Creek and, even if the brush was pretty bad, it looked like I could get into and out of the lakes in a day from there. I would leave camp set up in case the brush slowed me down enough that I needed to stay another night.

I started out on the morning of Saturday the 23^rd. I got a late start because I had to attend to some chores, take the garbage to the dump etc. I wasn’t in a great big hurry because, as I said, it should only take a couple of hours to get into Pyrrhotite Creek. But it seemed like I was hit with delay after delay. I wanted to pick up a few items of food along the way and it seemed like every place I stopped I had to wait an extra long time because the person in front of me had some issue or another. Then I got my pickup and pack searched at the border. My story about going into all the high lakes in the Skagit Watershed must have sounded wild enough to trigger some suspicions by the border guards. In addition I had a slight cold that I had gotten from the kids. Things weren’t looking very good at the start.

I did finally get to the trailhead in time though and made it to Pyrrhotite Creek with a few hours of daylight to spare.  

Sunday I reluctantly dragged myself out of my comfortable sleeping bag. As I have previously stated, I am not a morning person. After a fairly brief debate, I decided to cook and eat breakfast. With the first bite, I burned the roof of my mouth with hot oatmeal. This raised a nice blister. On a slightly brighter note, my throat was scratchy but not too painful.

I proceeded to the point where I had lost the road on the previous trip. This time though, I had studied the air photos of the area and had some copies with me. The road had had a switchback about where it is now slumped away which would mean the higher part might not be where I expected it to be. I also saw that there was another grade higher on the hill that connected to the one I wanted to be on.

I started straight up the hill with the idea that I might hit the part of the road I wanted above the switchback or I would hit the higher road which could then be followed down to the road I wanted to be on.

In less than ten minutes I hit the higher part of the road I wanted. It was very brushy. I followed it the short distance to Star Group Creek. Things were looking up until I continued past Star Group Creek. Just around the corner, a large slump had taken out the road. Part of it looked too steep to cross so I scrambled up the loose gravel of the slump to get above and around it.

I circled back down to the road and continued working my way through the brush. There was another intersection with a higher road that I wanted to take. This was so brushed in that I didn’t notice it and continued on along a lower road which technically, was the wrong one but actually, as I found out later, was much less brushy that the high road and much easier traveling.

The lower road finally petered out in a 30 to 40 year old logging unit. Unable to find the road, I struck out into the old unit. The trees were about 18 inches in diameter and grown up enough so they weren’t too brushy. The valley had flattened out as well and there were a lot of open meadow like areas that weren’t too brushy so the traveling was pretty good.

Finally the going got a little rougher so I decided to try to find the road again. Looking up the hill, I could see a steep rock bluff almost directly above me and not too far away. Though it wasn’t well marked on the map and I couldn’t identify it exactly on the air photos, it was pretty obvious that the road had to be between me and this bluff.

So I headed up the hill again and was on the road in about 5 minutes. The road was as full of brush as before. There were lots of slide alders (Alnus sinuata) growing in it with an overstory of cottonwood (Populus balsamifera trichocarpa). The cottonwoods frequently fell over in the road or their tops broke out and landed on the road with the same effect, which was usually to make the slide alder even harder to get through.

Finally, when the valley flattened out enough, I realized it would be easier to get out of the road and walk along in the old logging units next to it. I did this for about an hour, keeping close to the road and using it as a guide but staying out of it as much as possible.

I finally reached a spot where the road didn’t take me any farther in the direction I wanted to go so I struck out through an old logging unit and then an avalanche track. I could hear the waterfall below lakes at this point and used it as guide. I couldn’t see the waterfall because the brush, mostly slide alders, was so heavy and over the top of my head. It is hard to navigate well in these situations. You can’t see best path so you have to grope along blindly.

Finally I saw large patch of timber and headed for that. There were lots of timber patches on the air photos I had but I couldn’t determine which one of them this particular patch was. I lucked out. It was a good timber patch and I was able to follow it quite some distance uphill.

I was finally able to see waterfall and the cirque it fell over, above which the lakes sat. It was all cliffs in the immediate area of creek so decided to go up on the north side of the cirque cliffs. It looked like I could get above the cliffs and walk some relatively flat benches back south into lakes. I was hoping that I might find some remnants of old an trail to show me the way but all I saw was one old flag and no sign of a trail.

Finally I got above the cirque cliffs and started to sidehill back south into the lakes. There were no easy benches here. It was steep side hill and brush all the way, not too dangerous, just difficult. The brush was a double edged sword. It was handy to hang on to (veggie belay) but it also resisted every move I made.  

Finally I made it to some big timber out of the last of the avalanche tracks and was at lower lake in about 5 minutes. The last five minutes was pretty much the only brush free walking of the entire trip to that point.

The lower lake was pretty enough. I saw a mother duck and her young. But I didn’t see any fish swimming or surfacing and no immediate signs of amphibians. I didn’t initially stay long at the lower lake, heading for the upper lake instead.  

The trip into the upper lake wasn’t too bad. A little brushy but nothing compared to what I had just come through. There were a few steep spots as well but nothing too bad.

The upper lake was a little more scenic. You could see more of Shawatum Mountain just above. Again no fish but I did see some juvenile salamanders. They were pretty small and, judging from their size and the absence of large egg masses and the elevation (5550 feet), I am pretty sure they were long toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum).

I ate lunch at the upper lake and headed back down to the lower lake. Some light showers had begun falling. It wasn’t too bad but the sky was getting pretty black. If it rained too much, I would have a soaking trip back through all that brush.

I looked around some more at the lower lake and explored a small wetland area on it’s west side but didn’t see any amphibians. There was a lot of woody debris in the lake so lots of places for juvenile salamanders to hide. It wasn’t too surprising not to see anything in a place like that. I’m sure there were salamanders present, again no large egg masses so probably long toed salamanders but I would have been pure luck to see one.

I didn’t see any sign of fish either. I probably should have fished it a little bit just to make a better case for no fish but I felt like I was getting short on time. Also I didn’t see any signs of a human presence at either lake and it didn’t look like there was anywhere for fish to spawn. So chances are, if it was ever stocked, it hadn’t been recently, though again I can’t be absolutely sure of this.

I did see a black bear track as well as several piles of berry filled scat. I think I may have seen more trees stripped for cambium by bears in this area than any other place I have ever been. It seemed like every other tree was stripped and many killed. Often it seems certain individual bears will have a species preference for tree cambium but I saw almost every species present in that forest, Engelmann spruce, Pacific silver fir, subalpine fir, Douglas-fir and western red cedar stripped, although they did seem to go easier on the cedar.

I headed back out. There was one spot around the cirque that I had to hit just right to get down. Fortunately there was a lone western white pine nearby that I could use as a good landmark.

I made it down past the cliffs okay and picked up the old road. I made good time. I found the intersection I had missed on the way in. I was so brushed in that it was barely recognizable, though, if I had been paying better attention, I would have seen the road just above the intersection. It was all to the good though. The lower road I took was much less brushy than the upper one that I was supposed to be on.

On the way out, a pretty good shower fell and I got soaked going through the brush. The amount of rain that fell was insignificant but in going through all the brush, I was like a giant squeegee, collecting most of the water on the leaves and limbs. I decided not to put on my pack cover or rain gear. It was a little too warm for rain gear and I figured the distance was short enough to not make it worth risking tearing  the pack cover and the amount of water that the pack collected wouldn’t damage anything important. Right or wrong? I don’t know.

My last problem was that I was on the upper part of the road above a switchback that had disappeared in a landslide. I didn’t want to cut down too soon and somehow miss the lower road in the obliterated area and end up in Shawatum Creek below the road.

My solution was pretty simple. I was camped on the lower road at Pyrrhotite Creek. So when the upper part of the road which was heading in the direction of Pyrrhotite Creek turned back away from it, I kept going cross country until I hit Pyrrhotite Creek and followed it down to the lower road and my camp. The only thing I hadn’t considered was that the area around the creek was pretty steep. But I lucked out and found my way down without having to backtrack away from the creek.

I hit my camp at a little before 6:00 p.m. I had started out at about 7:30 a.m. So it was about ten and a half hours to make the trip. It appeared that I had made the right call on the previous trip. It had been about 10:00 a.m. when I abandoned the trip. If I had kept going, I wouldn’t have made it back out that day. Probably not the end of the world. It has happened to me before. But a little uncomfortable spending the night in the woods with just a day pack.

I figured there was enough time to pack up my camp and make it back to the trailhead before dark, especially since the road from this point down was in much better shape so the going would be easier. I could have spent the night and headed out in the morning but I wanted to get back sooner for Sacha’s birthday.

I don’t think I would care to ever go into Shawatum Lakes again. It wasn’t really that hard but it wasn’t easy either. The psychological aspect of struggling along a road that, at one time could have been driven with ease or at least walked with ease is hard to take and makes the thought of doing it again particularly unpleasant.

I made it out okay, hitting the trailhead around 8:00 p.m. It was another four hours home. When I got home around midnight, I found that the deadbolt on the door was locked and I didn’t have the key. So I ended up having to go around to the bedroom window and call to Sacha to have her let me in.

I felt pretty awful. What a dork. I had planned on it being a surprise and instead I ended up waking her up when she hasn’t been getting a lot of sleep lately. Even if I had gotten in the house, since she wasn’t expecting me, that could have been a pretty scary experience as well. I guess I should have camped out in the yard or my pickup.

The next day I was pretty shot. I took Vashti up to walk the dog. She had some fun wading in Diobsud Creek and then fell in, not so much fun. Then I spent most of the afternoon getting new tires on the car. Sacha had a birthday tea party with some friends that afternoon and I went too but by that point I was pretty worn out and not very good company.  I don’t know why Sacha puts up with me but I’m glad she does.

 

Pyrrhotite Creek. 

Star Group Creek, a tiny creek with a very interesting name. I took a drink out of this creek and filled my water jug just to be able to say I did. 

Looking up the road at Star Group Creek. 

Even though this looks kind of like a road it is an avalanche track I went through below the cirque on Shawatum Creek. 

Waterfall over the cirque on Shawatum Creek below Shawatum Lakes. 

Lower Shawatum Lake from the outlet. 

Lower Shawatum Lake from the east side. 

Lower Shawatum Lake from the east side.

Lower Shawatum Lake from the west side.

Lower Shawatum Lake. Wetland area on west side.

Lower Shawatum Lake. Wetland area on west side.

Lower Shawatum Lake. West side looking at inlet waterfall coming from Upper Shawatum Lake.

Inlet waterfall at Lower Shawatum Lake. 

Black bear track in wetland area on west side of Lower Shawatum Lake.  There should be grizzlies in this area as well. You can tell that this is a black bear track because the little outer toe (hard to see at the top of the frame) is mostly below an imaginary line drawn from the bottom of the big outer toe (at the bottom of the frame) across the pad. If it were a grizzly, the toes would be in more of a straight line with the small outer toe barely starting to go below the pad line. There are a few claw marks visible (at the right side of the frame). Claw marks are often taken as indicators of grizzly tracks. This is sometimes the case as grizzlies usually have bigger claws than black bears and more often leave claw marks but it is not always the case. If a grizzly has been digging heavily all summer, its claws may be worn down enough that they don't leave marks and, depending on what a black bear has been doing or how it steps, it can leave claw marks.   

Waterfowl, hen and ducklings. 

Young waterfowl. Based on the shape of the head feathers and body, I am pretty sure that these are in the genus Bucephala and are either common goldeneyes (B. clangula), Barrow's goldeneyes (B. islandica) or buffleheads (B. albeola). I am not good enough at birding to identify these at this life stage. Adults in breeding plumage are the easiest to identify for me. The hen with these ducklings was in eclipse, a brown earthy color for nesting, and I didn't get a really good look at her. That would have been my best bet for a good I.D. Common goldeneyes make a distinct whistling sound when they fly but I didn't see these fly. 

Silvertip Mountain from a vantage point between Upper and Lower Shawatum Lakes.

Shawatum Mountain from the outlet of Upper Shawatum Lake. 

Shawatum Mountain from Upper Shawatum Lake. 

Looking north on Upper Shawatum Lake towards the outlet. 

Salamander in Upper Shawatum Lake. Judging from the small size of the salamanders I saw, the elevation of the lake and the lack of large egg masses, these salamanders were probably long toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum). I didn't see any salamanders in Lower Shawatum. They were undoubtedly there but nearly impossible to see because there was so much debris in the lower lake for them to hide in. 

Looking west down Shawatum Creek Valley from a vantage point near the cirque below Shawatum Lakes. The old road I that followed is clearly visible as a lighter green line on the right (north) side of the valley that loops back down the left (south) side. 

The old road that I followed near the head of the valley. All of the trees with white trunks are black cottonwoods (Populus balsamifera trichocarpa). The lighter green foliage of the cottonwoods makes the road in the photo above stand out so well. The cottonwoods often fell into the road on top of the slide alder. This was sometimes helpful but, more often, it made the going more difficult.