Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Opening pic
Pouring down with rain Sunday morning, we figured our only hope of a semi dry hike was to Go East! So we decided to checkout the Klickitat trail. We thought we would take a methodical approach to our exploration of the Klickitat Trail & begin at the beginning .. At 9:00am we were the only car in the Lyle TH parking lot, it had rained heavily all the way to Hood River but now out least it was only a light drizzle.
The first 2 miles up to the bridge crossing were very pedestrian! It reminded me a lot of the Spring Water trail between Boring & Portland.
We soon arrived at the fancy trail bridge over the Klickitat, it seemed to have unreasonably high railings! You certainly wouldn't be able to fall over them by accident! Though you might when you find that you have to climb up the railing to be able to take a photo ..
The next half mile from the Bridge to the Lyle Falls Yakima Nation fish research facility had many Fishing Platforms on both sides of the river some positioned quite precariously on the cliffs.
I've absolutely no problem with these fishing platforms but I was disappointed to see all the trash that was left around some of them, I'm sure that's not part of traditional Native American Heritage. It looked like this food bank box had been commandeered from it's original purpose!
There were clean & open toilets in the parking lot in front of the Research Facility.
About half a mile North of the Facility we saw this in the River. Does anyone know what it is? I was wondering if it was some kind of modern Fish Wheel?
Onwards we hiked some nice board walks around the 5 mile mark.
I thought these folks had done a pretty good job of blending their Fifth Wheel Trailer into the landscape!
Around MP 6 we came across a collapsed river side cabin, the garden Yucca was still defiantly growing though..
Now you just can't leave stuff like this lying around & not expect a guy to climb it
Just up the trail from the Collapsed cabin was another house that we could not decide if it was abandoned or not. Lots of outbuildings but no signs of life.
The access suspension bridge had been taken out though.
By the time we tagged MP 7 we had closer to 8 on the clock with all the little side trips & so decided it would be a good turn around point. We had just past a hill at a bend in the river, it seemed a crime to come out on such a long hike & not climb anything so we decided to have lunch on top & enjoy the view.
We had been pretty lucky with the weather on the hike in but got a bit wetter on the hike out! We took the road bridge instead of the trail bridge back over the Klickitat just for a change! From here we could see a few more "loony" fishing platforms below the bridge!
Back at the trailhead by 2:45pm we were still the only car in the parking lot! 15 miles & a whopping 615' of EG. (Mostly from climbing the tower & the hill for lunch)
Hiking the Klickitat this way I think it will take us another three 15 mile out & backs to get the whole trail hiked! Next time we'll do the section between MP 7 & the washed out trestle just outside Klickitat.
A few more pics here & a map below.
Last edited by Guy on December 4th, 2013, 3:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Nice! We did it with a car shuttle back in April, making that my only hike all year with negative EG!
http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... =8&t=15018
That thing in the water is apparently a stream flow gauge. Here it is in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OYvdVH8 ... r_embedded
http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... =8&t=15018
That thing in the water is apparently a stream flow gauge. Here it is in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OYvdVH8 ... r_embedded
Karl
Back on the trail, again...
Back on the trail, again...
- Waffle Stomper
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Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Great shots. The barrel looking thing is a fish trap. They have something similar on Cedar Creek near the Cedar Creek Grist Mill. The Fish and Wildlife department use it for counting fish. I don't think this one was trapping that day.
Fishtrap by Janice L, on Flickr
Fishtrap by Janice L, on Flickr
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir
Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Hmmmmm, and I took Jerry's and Bobcat's suggestions it was to measure stream flow. Sure seems like the fish would clog that sucker up pretty quickly, if they were getting trapped in there? I remember pondering that very thought, as I watched it turning in the stream. Which raises the question, why would a fish trap need to spin like that? Now I'm more curious than before...Waffle Stomper wrote:The barrel looking thing is a fish trap. They have something similar on Cedar Creek near the Cedar Creek Grist Mill. The Fish and Wildlife department use it for counting fish.
Karl
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Back on the trail, again...
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Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
I don't believe it operates unattended. The one I have seen is rigged up to move from the stream to a fish station on the river bank.kepPNW wrote: Hmmmmm, and I took Jerry's and Bobcat's suggestions it was to measure stream flow. Sure seems like the fish would clog that sucker up pretty quickly, if they were getting trapped in there? I remember pondering that very thought, as I watched it turning in the stream. Which raises the question, why would a fish trap need to spin like that? Now I'm more curious than before...
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir
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Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Sorry do not want to take this thread off course but here is some info about the screw trap. It makes sense that it is for juvenile fish.
http://fishbio.com/field-notes/chinook- ... ount-is-on
Back to the originally scheduled program.
http://fishbio.com/field-notes/chinook- ... ount-is-on
Back to the originally scheduled program.
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir
Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Fascinating! Seems on-topic, too, since Guy asked. Appreciate the definitive answer.Waffle Stomper wrote:Sorry do not want to take this thread off course but here is some info about the screw trap. It makes sense that it is for juvenile fish.
http://fishbio.com/field-notes/chinook- ... ount-is-on
Karl
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Back on the trail, again...
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Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
It was more of a guess than a suggestion
There's something similar on the Metolius at Monty Campground, actually upstream a little. PGE people go look at it daily. So, I figure it measures stream flow. No migrating Salmon there.
Sometimes they have similar spinning things to keep them from clogging with debris. Any leaves or sticks will get get carried over the mesh and fall off. I don't know exactly how that would work with that contraption. If it got clogged, it wouldn't measure stream flow or catch fish as well.
Like at 8 Mile Campground West of Dufur there's a spinning thing to keep the fish out of the canal. I remember once it didn't work, the canal was full of fish, the canal flow was cut, so all the fish were getting progressively less water, so my wife and I were rescuing the fish. Then they put a new diverter with the spinning mesh.
There's something similar on the Metolius at Monty Campground, actually upstream a little. PGE people go look at it daily. So, I figure it measures stream flow. No migrating Salmon there.
Sometimes they have similar spinning things to keep them from clogging with debris. Any leaves or sticks will get get carried over the mesh and fall off. I don't know exactly how that would work with that contraption. If it got clogged, it wouldn't measure stream flow or catch fish as well.
Like at 8 Mile Campground West of Dufur there's a spinning thing to keep the fish out of the canal. I remember once it didn't work, the canal was full of fish, the canal flow was cut, so all the fish were getting progressively less water, so my wife and I were rescuing the fish. Then they put a new diverter with the spinning mesh.
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Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Inquiring minds need to know.
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir
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Re: Klickitat Trail - Lyle to MP 7 (& back) - 2013/12/01
Interesting link WS
That's sort of like an Archimede's Screw water pump, only they pump fish
Now I'm going to have to go back and look at the Metolius River one and see if it rotates, I don't remember. It is suspended from a cable that goes across river.
That's sort of like an Archimede's Screw water pump, only they pump fish
Now I'm going to have to go back and look at the Metolius River one and see if it rotates, I don't remember. It is suspended from a cable that goes across river.