Herman Creek Hike, June 29 and 30, 2004

This hike started off more or less like many others.   I had often done the hike up Herman Creek to Cedar Swamp, 7.5 miles from the trailhead.   My notes indicate that this was the 6th time I had done the walk.   But I had always done it as a day hike in the past.   This time I was going to do it as an overnight trip.   But to keep things simple and to keep the pack light, I decided not to take a stove.   Rather, I would merely take trail food to eat in the evening with some granola for breakfast.    I only carried a light weight sleeping bag, and shelter was provided by a bivouac bag.   I started with 2 liters of water, which was replenished along the way.  

All of the ground was familiar.   I plodded up the hill to Herman Camp where several trails diverge, including the new low elevation Trail 400.  I continued, generally on flat ground for a while until the trail began to narrow.   What used to be an old logging road was soon to become a mere trail.   At the last wide spot in the road I found two all terrain vehicles parked, certainly an unusual thing to see. They had US Government license tags, suggesting that a trail crew was working to clear some windfall further up the way.    I continued, passing some of the familiar landmarks including views across the canyon to the headwall leading up to Benson Plateau and some waterfalls and small creeks.      An unusual variation was at the boundary to the Wilderness Area where I found a small motorcycle parked, again with a US Government license plate.

I was nearing the camp where the Casey Creek trail hits the Herman Creek trail when I hear an explosion like nothing I had ever heard before.   This was way beyond the pop from a firecracker or even the boom from a neighbor's toy cannon.   This is one that you could feel.   I continued a short distance around a corner to encounter a bright red sign along the trail stating that there was a blasting zone in 1000 ft.   Another smaller sign ask that all two-way radios be turned off.   Feeling a bit apprehensive,  I shouted "Yo," or "Hello" a few times as I slowly continued along the trail, but heard no returns. I soon came to the Casey Creek trail on my left and just beyond it, the associated camp spot.   Prior to this I encountered quite a bit of wire strung out along the trail.   The camp had a couple of piles of paraphernalia including what may well have been dynamite.     There were some workers there who had just finished a blast.   They explained that a 4 ft diameter tree had fallen just up the trail and around the corner from the camp, and had destroyed about 40 feet of trail in the process.   The topography was steep on both sides of the trail, so it would not have been easy to walk around.     The crew had trimmed the tree and were in the process of removing large rocks and dirt to rebuild the trail.   They explained that they were using surface charges rather than ones in a hole in the rock, which accounted for the loudness.  They had the trail in good enough shape that I was able to get through, so I continued my hike.  

 My view along the trail.

There was a well defined procedure used for the dynamite activity.   Evidently, there were up to three circuits on the wire spools they used, allowing several charged to be attached and detonated.   In some situations I heard but one explosion while I heard two in quick succession at other times.     While at Casey Camp, I witnessed one of their blasts.    Prior to a blast, a runner would be sent out in either direction to be sure that there were no trail travelers in harm's way.   Then the guy or gal (the crew had one lady) to do the blast would shout "fire two"   followed by "fire three."     Then a hand held radio would be used to communicate with those at the ends to confirm that all was clear, and the fellow would now shout, much louder than before "fire in the hole" and he would push the button.   This is when I got my fingers in my ears.   But I could still feel the shock wave of the blast.   Most interesting.

Quite a few people get up to Casey Camp.   If you take a short trail down from there, you reach the confluence of the east and west forks of Herman Creek.   It's usually cool and quite scenic.

I got past the trail repair sight and the second blasting zone sign and entered an area with a different flavor.   The trail was less traveled, so the undergrowth from the sides encroached more.    Also, the trail started to climb a bit more steeply than it had before.   The trees were larger, and there was now no hint of any prior logging.    I was often in areas completely devoid of undergrowth as I progressed through the old growth forest   While there were no great sweeping views to adjacent peaks, the views under the canopy could sometimes extend for a ways.    The trail seemed to be in good shape, with but one example of windfall that was easily walked around.

The afternoon was a bit warm and I had to exercise care to be sure that I did not get in trouble with heat exhaustion.   So I was a bit later getting into camp than I might have planned.   Still, I got to Cedar Swamp in time for a leisurely dinner of a bagel and some of the new cured steak cubes, supplemented by lemonade.      Cedar Swamp is a grove of Cedar trees that must be at least 200 ft tall.    A few have fallen, and two or three have been cut down, leaving stumps.   Years ago there was an open sided shelter at Cedar Swamp, largely built from cedar, probably from the felled trees.    When I first saw the shelter, it had a fallen tree across it.   It has since been completely removed by the Forest Service as part of a program to return Wilderness Areas to a wilderness status.   I saw no evidence of the old structure on this trip.  

After dinner I grabbed a flashlight (just in case) and continued on the trail for a while until I came to the river crossing.   I looked around a bit and returned to camp for hardly any sunset and an uneventful night.      A  dull layer of haze robbed me of the few stars that might have been available between the trees.    

A morning view through the cedar.

The views in the morning were a bit better with blue sky.    I ate a quick breakfast of granola (missing my cup of coffee) and packed to head down the hill.      The hike out was really quite delightful, especially the higher section in the old growth forest.  

As I got lower in the valley I began hearing the kaboom of further explosions, growing in intensity as I got closer.    I came around the corner to find the crew hard at work on the new trail.    They were most accommodating when I ask if I could get by.   I hiked through to Casey Camp and stopped for a snack and water break, and a chance to watch one more explosion.   Sure beats a 4th-of-July fireworks display!

My experiment with a light weight overnight pack for a quick overnight was quite successful.   My pack weight, with two liters of water, was 26 pounds, still more than I would like it to be.    I'm sure I can shave a couple of pounds from that, but going much deeper would not be easy.   On the other hand, switching nothing more than the weight of my sleeping bag would allow allow hikes of this sort, even in winter.