Black Diamond NOW

The Green River is Alive with Salmon

While taking a look at several of the restoration sites that Judy and I participated in with tree plantings, we stopped by the Soos Creek Hatchery.  Wow - there are a whole lot of big fish in the river right now.  Mostly Coho but Chinook too.  Following are several pictures taken just downstream of the hatchery.

So pretty and looking healthy.

The holding pond at the hatchery was plum full.

The poor fishermen.  All these fish and none to catch.  Fishing season is closed September through October to protect these runs.  If you get a chance to visit the hatchery, it is well worth it.  Staff is very accommodating in allowing visitors to observe their facilities and operation.

 

King County DNRP Site Restoration Projects - A Program That's Working

It's always nice to see government programs that are working.  In King County, site restoration projects seem to be getting results year in and year out.  While on the board of the Green River Coalition, I had the opportunity to participate in restoration projects in the Bass, Beaver and Dandy Lake complex and also several sites in the Green River watershed - one near Auburn Narrows, another along Soos Creek close to the fish hatchery and another just below the Highway 18 bridge overpass.  I recently revisited several of these sites and what a difference a few years have made.  The trees that we planted are getting tall and big enough to shade out some of the invasive species such as reed canary grass and those nasty Himalayan black berries. 

In 2015, DNRP with help from volunteers, planted over 25,000 native trees and shrubs.  This year, they are working at 25 project sites, including another part of Bass Lake wetlands.  Over 35,000 willow stakes and 3,300 native trees are being planted here.

 

 

Photo courtesy King County DNRP

Like a dummy, I forgot my camera on this trip.  I plan to visit each of the sites Judy and I worked on in years past and will share some pics.  There's nothing like knowing and seeing that you've made a difference for the future.  For more information about the program, follow this link to King County DNRP Restoration Projects.  With fall rains approaching, it will soon be tree planting time and volunteers will be needed.

Bridges of King County 1931-1934

Steel truss bridge construction appears to have been all the rage in King County during the early 1930's.  The county even devotes a full exhibit in their archives to these bridges.  Why were so many built during this period?  A need to replace existing wooden structures?  New roads needing bridges?  Surplus steel availability?  Advances in truss design and construction technology?  New Deal economic stimulus programs?  Whatever the impetus, it's fun to see them when they were brand spanking new. 

Following are a few bridges close to home.  All photos courtesy King County Archives.

Bridge #949B, Jones Road on the south side of the Cedar River, April 1934

Bridge #877A, Carr (Cedar Grove) Bridge, July 1932

Whitney Bridge crossing the Green River just west of Flaming Geyser State Park, June 1932

Maple Valley Bridge #1638A, 1 mile west of Maple Valley crossing the Cedar River, April 1934

Landsburg Bridge #3075, crossing the Cedar River at Landsburg, July 1932

Where did the Cedar River go?

Which of these can you identify as still being used today?

 

 

Birds Eye View of Puget Sound Country Circa 1891

Saturday's post focused on The White River & Mud Mountain Dam.  Dams were built on virtually all significant regional watersheds accompanied by lots of dredging and riverbank reinforcement.  Diversion of streams also played a big role for both the Cedar River/Black River and Green/White Rivers.  Included in Saturday's post was a map showing area watersheds as they were in 1933 after river diversion.  Bill Kombol suggesting showing a map with these same streams prior to diversion.  Good idea.  Following is a map dated 1891 showing these local watersheds in their more "natural" state pre diversion. 

Image courtesy Washington State University - Go Cougs

At the top, you can see the Cedar River flowing into Lake Washington pretty much as it does today.  However, at the time the Black River connected Lake Washington with the Duwamish River and on into Puget Sound.  No more.  With construction of the ship canal connecting Lake Washington with Lake Union and Puget Sound, this all changed.  The Black River is gone.  For more about the Black River, follow this link to The Black River Circa 1899.

Historically, the White River and Green River also joined together and flowed into the Duwamish.  As you can see in the map above, their point of confluence is quite clear.  We even see some water bodies along the White that no doubt grew and receded in rhythm with seasonal rains and snow melt.  Flooding along both rivers and downstream through the Kent Valley was nearly an annual occurrence.  During one flood, a side channel opened up diverting some flow from the White to the Stuck River just below Lake Tapps.  Farmers in King County liked this since it made their life easier.  Not so good for farmers near Sumner.  A war of words erupted between farmers in King and Pierce counties accusing each other of using dynamite to purposefully divert the river during flooding.  At one point, a commission was formed to investigate whether King County was behind this.  The commission's conclusion was that no county dynamite was used but this did not mean that there was no "encouragement" provided to county farmers.  Eventually a pact was reached between the counties and state and the White now flows into the Stuck and Puyallup rivers.

One other observation from this map - it shows both Lake Sawyer and path of the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad which served the coal mines in Franklin and Black Diamond.  Covington Creek which flows out of Lake Sawyer into the Green is also prominent.

I love historical maps.  Thanks, Bill, for the suggestion.

The White River & Mud Mountain Dam

What was the #1 civil engineering problem in the Puget Sound region at the turn of 20th century?  It was probably flooding.  Whether it was the Snoqualmie to the north, the Cowlitz to the south or any of the watersheds in between, seasonal flooding was a persistent problem.  The history of the White River is particularly interesting - see my earlier post The White - The River That Nobody Wanted.  While doing further research on both the White and Green Rivers, I ran across a map that shows the location of these watersheds in relationship to each other.  This map was used as part of the documentation during the planning for construction of Mud Mountain Dam.

Image courtesy of King County Archives, circa 1933

Note how close together geographically the headwaters for each of these rivers are.  Notice anything unusual about the map?  Hmmmm,  they forgot to include the Cedar River watershed with its own flooding problems.  I wonder if engineers at the time had errors and omissions insurance?

As a footnote, each of these rivers now have dams and as an expensive by-product - salmon hatcheries and salmon recovery programs.

 

Building the Kummer Bridge 1931-1933

Imagine trying to get to Enumclaw and Mt. Rainier without the Kummer bridge.  In the early 1900's, our choices were limited to the single lane Franklin bridge or crossing the Green and White rivers in Auburn.  King County planners saw the need for a "cutoff" and the end result was the Kummer bridge - what is now SR 169 connecting Renton, Maple Valley, Black Diamond and Enumclaw.  Following is a photo of the bridge crossing as it was in 1931.

All photos courtesy of King County Archives

Now that's a major undertaking.  Even road construction looks pretty "rough".

A good old donkey engine supplied much of the power.

Mandatory attire for the engineers and county big wigs looks to be formal with suit, vest, tie and hat.  Though not used as a component of the bridge (it's steel truss), local timber provided an important construction tool.

Eventually, the bridge began to take shape.

Total bridge span is 688 feet, 28 feet wide and stands 155 feet above the river below.  The bridge was completed in October 1933 and is pretty much the same today as it was then.  Except for a short period of shut down in 2009 for repairs, it's served us well for over 80 years.

 

 

 

Stampede Pass - Switchbacks and Other Mysteries

The building of Stampede Pass by the Northern Pacific Railroad offers one of the more interesting sagas in Pacific Northwest history.  There were so many twists and turns, you could make a TV mini-series out of the story.  Why select the Stampede Pass route across the Cascades when Snoqualmie Pass would seem to be a much preferred route - easier, faster and lower cost?  Why was Tacoma the chosen terminus rather than Seattle?  Why did they build switchbacks over the pass rather than waiting for completion of the tunnel?  How did it get to become known as Stampede Pass rather than keeping the "official" name Garfield Pass?

Two historical publications offer some interesting insight re both name and switchbacks - "The Mountaineer Annual" published in 1955 and "The Trainmaster" number 129 published in November, 1969.  First, the name.  According to these publications, the pass was first discovered by Virgil Bogue, a civil engineer working for the Northern Pacific.  He named it Garfield Pass in honor of recently inaugurated president Chester Garfield.  Some weeks later, however, a crew who had been fighting their way through the forests and mountains to get to the summit had had enough and went on strike.  A no nonsense hard driving foreman from another crew was brought in and made it clear that they would not get fed so long as they remained on strike, upon which notice the crew proceeded to "stampede" off down the hill.  Using a piece of (hot?) charcoal from their fire, some men who remained then wrote on a large fir tree the words "Stampede Camp" - and the name stuck.

Why build switchbacks over the pass?

Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2008.70.2, F.J. Haynes photographer, circa 1887

According to "A Brief History of the Northern Railway", a switchback with 5.6 percent grade was studied as early as 1884.  Drilling the tunnel through granite using hand drills was tedious and proceeded slowly.  Perhaps the railroad's engineers and owners were worried about how long it might take to complete the tunnel.  For whatever reason(s), work on the switchbacks commenced in 1886 and completed just 4 months later.  There were three switchbacks on each side and a double horseshoe at the summit.  Construction required a mile of solid log cribbing, 3/4 miles of snowsheds and 31 trestles.  Over 2,000 men were employed, mostly Chinese laborers.  However, due to heavy snowpack, the first train over the summit using the switchbacks did not occur until nearly a year later in the summer of 1887.

Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2001.58.0.37, circa 1888

The above photo shows the switchbacks on the west portal.  Following is a photo showing switchbacks on the east portal.

Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1940.42.331, circa 1892

With the tunnel completed just a year later in 1888, the switchbacks operated for just one year, though they were also occasionally used into the 1890's to facilitate maintenance of the mainline and tunnel.

In addition to the time and expense of building the switchbacks, the Northern Pacific also ordered the biggest locomotives ever built to make the grade over the pass.  More about this in a future post.

 

 

 

Sleuthing to Find Eagle Gorge

A couple of years ago, I did a post about Eagle Gorge - Lost Town of the Upper Green River Valley, which was an important hub for the Northern Pacific Railroad.  But where exactly was Eagle Gorge?  Without maps and given that the upper Green River valley is now within the City of Tacoma watershed and off limits, it can be hard to place this and other lost towns in relationship to better known landmarks.  The following photo of Eagle Gorge sparked my interest in seeing if I could better pinpoint where it was located.

Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2003.3.33, Edward Nolan Collection, circa 1916

Given the handwritten message written on the image, I would not be surprised to find that this was a postcard picture - Instagram circa 1916.  

To begin my sleuthing, I looked at area maps from both Google and King County.  Google actually shows Eagle Gorge but to avoid copyright violations I chose to use King County iMap.  First, looking at the bigger picture, here's the broad area of interest.

The more specific area of interest is along the Green River.  Enlarging this area, we can see some familiar landmarks like Lester, Nagrom and the Howard Hanson Dam reservoir.

Unfortunately, the print is less than clear at this level of magnification but you can see Lester to the far right (east).  Moving left (west) you then come to the sawmill town of Nagrom and eventually make it to the dam reservoir which is made up of two distinct bodies of water connected by a narrow channel connecting the two.  This narrow channel is a gorge through the mountains and once the location of aptly named Eagle Gorge.

 

 

 

Sheep Ranching - Green River Valley Circa 1906

If you drive Green Valley Road today, you'll see some dairy cattle, horses, a few beef cattle and even the occasional alpaca.  Go back to the early 1900's and sheep ranching was big, particularly in the upper Green River valley just west of Lester. 

Photo courtesy of Washington State Historical Society, 1981.94.627.31, Bingham Waters photographer, circa 1906

Note the sheep herding dog and various pens used to separate sheep for sheering?  Apparently, railroad tracks served as no obstacle.  That's a whole lot of sheep.  Also in the background, the building appears to be that of the Green River Hot Springs resort (thanks Ken Jensen).  As we can see, the hillsides were pretty well denuded by logging by this time.  The Nagrom sawmill was located just a bit further west of here.

 

Exploring Flaming Geyser State Park - The "Other Side"

Flaming Geyser State Park represents another of our area's crown jewels along the Green River.  Downstream of the gorge, the river begins to flatten out, making it one of the top "tubing" locations around and home to an area set aside for flying remote control model airplanes.  At 480 acres, it's also one of the largest State Parks.  Though I have visited the park innumerable times, I've never explored the area of the park located north on the "other side" of the river, which appears to be at least as large as the main park area.  Following is a map from King County's i-Map website.

This map shows that there is access to the other/north side via SE 354th street from Green Valley Road, so that is where I went.  The road dead ends just after winding down the hill but there is parking near the gate for about 10 vehicles.  From here, you have several hundred acres to explore, including several points of access to the river.  Just beyond the gate, you will find an old barn that still looks in surprisingly good shape.

The land is generally flat and looks to have been farmed not long ago.

River access but not much beach area.

There are signs of recent equipment activity on the site with some areas having been mowed apparently to take out black berry vines.  Old roads/trails will take you east, west and south from the barn and getting lost should not be a problem.  On the old road to the east, you will find some large wetlands that are home to birds and amphibians.  It also looks like beavers have made their presence felt with some trees now submerged and dying.

Walking further east will take you to a side stream of the Green River.  The stream is crossable and will take you to an island area located just across the river from the main park facilities.  Lacking time, I didn't make the crossing but will save it for another day.

Pretty fun.  Lot's of new places to explore and close to home too.

 

The Merging of Salmon Recovery and Flood Control

While a member of the King County Regional Water Quality Committee, I had the opportunity to become more knowledgeable about salmon recovery and flood control efforts along the Green/Duwamish River watershed - also known as Water Resource Inventory Area 9 or WRIA 9 for short.  From what I learned, the agency responsible for WRIA 9 project implementation is one of those rare government structures with clear priorities, effective implementation and accountability for performance (Medic One is another favorite of mine).  They have quite an enviable track record.  Though focused on salmon habitat recovery, over the years we can see a significant merging of salmon recovery and flood control effortts.  Following is a map showing the Middle Green River and projects undertaken to date near us here in Black Diamond.

Before and after photos of the Pautzke Levee removal project near the Highway 18 bridge are illustrative.

Standard engineering practice for flood control during the early and mid 1900's called for dams, dredging and levees.  Unfortunately, this destroyed salmon habitat and required ongoing dredging to remove the build up of silt in the river and levee repair.  Removing these levees and acquiring land along the river both restores salmon habitat and reduces flooding.  There is more land for high flows caused by snowmelt and heavy rain to spread out and dissipate, reducing the risk of flooding in downstream urban areas.  It's also a far better expenditure of money, buying land rather than spending more dollars every year on maintenance.

Since its inception in 2005, WRIA 9 and it's partners in local government, Tribes, agencies and local government have secured over $137 million from all funding sources to implement Chinook salmon recovery projects and programs. 

• 918 acres protected through acquisition or easement
• 80 acres of riparian area planted
• 1.2 miles of levees removed or set back
• 57 acres of flood plain reconnected
• 3,370 feet of marine shoreline along Puget Sound restored

I certainly appears that we are getting a good return on our investment.

Exploring the Green River Natural Area

Looking for more local hikes and access to the Green River?  Try the Green River Natural Area, wonderful open space along the river and close to home - and no crowds.  Following is a map showing the area and key points of access.

Over the last several years, King County has been successful in acquiring and consolidating properties around three former separate park sites - O'Grady, Metzler and Green River Waterways, now totaling 1,039 acres.  Add in the 2,000 or so acres of County, State Parks and DNR properties in the gorge and we have public open space along a wild and scenic river unequaled anywhere in the state.  And it's all right in our back yard.  Recent trail work at O'Grady makes it a must do even if you've been there before.  For more information, follow these links to Exploring the O'Grady Natural Area and Metzler Park Natural Area.

Canon Mine Trestle - Then & Now

The Canon Coal Mine was located along the Green River just below Franklin.  Because it was on the south side of the river, a trestle was needed to get across.  Coal cars were transported across the trestle and then hoisted to bunkers near the rail line above.  Following is a photo of the trestle taken in 1915.

Photo courtesy of MOHAI, SHS19184, circa 1915

The Canon mine began operation in 1913 and closed in 1924.

Today, less than 50' west of the Canon trestle site, you will find the suspension bridge used to deliver water from the City of Black Diamond's current springs water source across the river and up to storage tanks located on Lawson Hill.  Here's a photo taken this summer of today's trestle.

Obscured by leaves in this photo, you can usually see the Canon mine shaft entrance just to the left and across the river.  This photo was taken during water quality testing conducted this summer.

Flood Control Circa 1955

This year's flooding seems to have caught many by surprise, including dam operators.  Though flooding is less of a problem today, it's clear that mother nature reigns.  Over the years, man has attempted to harness our rivers - most often relying on dams and dredging deeper channels to protect us.  Deeper channels meant more erosion, greater silt build up and even bigger floods in some places.  The solution?  How about placing old cars along the banks of our streams.  The following photos show derelict autos placed on the banks of the Snoqualmie river in an attempt to prevent erosion and keep the river from overflowing its banks in 1955.

Photo courtesy of King County Snapshots, L 87.44.14, circa 1915

I guess that's one way to dispose of "junkers".

Photo courtesy of King County Snapshots, L 87.44.15, circa 1955

Thankfully, times have changed and we hopefully have learned from our past mistakes.  For example, flood control measures along the Puyallup and Green rivers often rely on buying up land previously farmed and letting mother nature flood these areas naturally rather than trying to engineer a solution.  Orting is often held up as a success story for this strategy.  Although flooding remains a problem, it is more rare with less adverse impact on town residents.  Dams remain man's primary solution of choice but even here, there are big challenges.  For example, try getting consensus from agencies that have often conflicting missions - the Tribes to protect fisheries, electric power generators such as Seattle City Light, water supply agencies such as Tacoma Water and of course the Army Corps of Engineers who operate these dams.  Pretty hard to get decisions made in a timely manner while water levels rise rapidly like they have this week.

Exploring the Springs at Icy Creek

It's been awhile since I trekked down to Icy Creek and the Green River Gorge so time to go exploring again.  I never did make it all the way down to the river, getting side-tracked by going to the springs that feed Icy Creek instead.  Following is a view of Icy Creek at its origins.

Pretty fun - water just all of a sudden starts flowing out of the ground.  With all of the rain, it's flowing pretty strong right now.  Further downstream, this is what you see.

The springs area is also the site of an old abandoned fish hatchery.  The dam is a bit rusted now but you can still scramble across.

Note the ferns growing on top of each flume structure.  It was pretty dark so to get this picture I had to crank up the ISO and slow the shutter speed down to 1/100th of a second.  For perspective, when I'm doing wildlife photography, I usually try to use a much higher shutter speed of 1/1000th or more.  To experiment, I lowered the ISO, decreased the aperture to f11 and decreased the shutter speed to 1/4th of a second - slowing it down even more.  Doing this, here is what you get.

Now you have fluffy water since a lot more of it flows while the shutter is open.  I would usually use a tripod with this shot to avoid shake and keep the surroundings sharp but didn't have it with me and had to do this handheld.  But for those interested in photography, perhaps you get the idea.  Following are a couple of more photos of water flowing through the old dam at slow shutter speed.

Using a tripod makes this much easier and much sharper except for the water, of course.

One word of caution, getting to the springs and dam requires a bit of bushwacking.  The "trail" to the springs is fairly straight forward.  Follow the trail as if you are going down all the way to the gorge and river, but turn left instead when you see a pile of gravel - just before you start the steep downhill to the currently operating salmon/steelhead hatchery.  An old road now unmaintained is easy to follow and you will be able to hear the stream well before you get there.  But be prepared to fight branches if you go upstream to see the springs and navigating your way around the dam can be challenging - getting wet is a risk.  For directions to Icy Creek and the Gorge, follow this link to Icy Creek Salmon Hatchery.  Then, take the detour and have fun.

 

 

Flaming Geyser State Park - History Update

In past posts, I have featured photos of Flaming Geyser Park, dating the history of this State Park back to 1925.  Thanks to Charles Luttrell with Washington State Parks, I have recently learned that Flaming Geyser became a State Park much later than this - not until 1969.  To quote:

"This was not one of the first state parks like Moran, Lewis and Clark, Jackson House and etc.  Rather, Flaming Geyser Park was a private development associated with the Riverdale Farm Company, Inc.  It continued into the 1960s as a private park.  Our state development began ca. 1969.  I know the private park was open for business July 4^th 1924, but it is a bit unclear when exactly private development started.  The corporate office was in Seattle and I ran down the articles of incorporation and a bunch of early newspaper articles that mention the park.  Other park amenities of that time included a barn with pack horses, 18-acre fishing pond, and trout hatchery to stock the pond." 

The hatchery is still used today - not for trout but for steelhead.  This early photo taken in 1925 was apparently of the private park.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, Seattle PI staff photographer, P124764, circa 1925

Thanks Charles for helping us keep our history straight.  And for those who love wildlife like me, it won't be long before migratory birds will be transiting through and/or wintering over in the park.  Great photo ops.

Cool Spring Water

Last week, I had a great excuse for again hiking down into the Green River Gorge - to observe testing now underway to determine the feasibility of relocating our city's source of spring water used to supply drinking water to Black Diamond water customers.  Today, water is collected from springs located south of the river near Shangri-La On the Green, piped north across the river and then pumped to storage tanks for distribution.  The following photo shows the pipeline crossing the Green.

 

The current collection system and pipeline are aging and in need of repair.  There is also some risk of hillside collapse that could wipe out this point of collection altogether.  If proven feasible, relocation of the point of collection to the north side could substantially reduce the costs of repair and ongoing maintenance - to the benefit of our customers.  Importantly, relocating collection to springs on the north side of the river would NOT increase the city's water withdrawal capacity.  Same water withdrawal rights, just different point of withdrawal - and only if proven feasible with NO adverse impacts on the watershed, fisheries or water quality.

The prospective new spring water collection point would be less than 50 yards from where this pipeline crosses the river today.  To test water withdrawal capacity, a pump is placed in the new well and run at a high rate for an extended period.  In the above photo, you can see water pumped from this new well being discharged back into the river.  Here's another view.

RH2 Engineers are doing the testing.  Their gear and the pump can be seen in the following photo.

It will be interesting to see test results, which we should have available next week.  I will share one early observation that I find particularly interesting - water temperature.  Water temperature in the Green River today at this location is 18.5 degrees Celsius, or about 66 degrees F.  The water temperature from the springs on both sides of the river is 8.5 degrees C or about 47 degrees F.  Nice and cool.

Will share results when I have them.

Cooling Off in the Gorge

The Green River Gorge has certainly been among the more popular spots for young people to escape the heat this summer.  Take a drive across the single lane gorge bridge and you will see cars parked all over.  The resort has opened their parking area and is charging $5 to park and $5 to take the trail down to the river, with many people apparently taking them up on it. 

To enjoy the gorge and avoid the crowds, I prefer to access the river via Washington State Parks property - and it's pretty easy.  I first park in the parking area next to the historic cemetery.  You will see this on your left as you head north from town just before reaching the gorge bridge.  I then walk along the road to the gate on your right.  Although this is private property, State Parks has an easement that allows you to walk along the gravel road until you reach another gate and a sign indicating that you are now on State Parks land.  From here, you can either head up the hill to the ghost town of Franklin or head down to the river - following an old roadway on your left that will lead you all the way down.

The last 100 feet or so getting down to the river is a bit steep, but fortunately steps have been carved in the hillside and a rope gives you something to hang on to as you make your way down.  I continue to marvel at beauty of the river and gorge.  You might note the old coal car near the far bank by the big rock.  Not sure how it got there - perhaps a relic of coal mining days past.  Here's another view.

I was surprised at how strong the river was flowing.  Perhaps dam operators are releasing more water in anticipation of salmon beginning to make their way upstream to spawn.

Pretty neat spot.  And if you are looking to explore another, head back uphill to the main trail, follow it uphill for just a bit and you will see another old road bed on your left.  Follow this and you will soon find yourself at the river again - with more area for swimming here.

Resort Boom Extends to the Green River

Our area's resort boom of the 1920's - 1940's was not limited to lakes.  Several resorts located along the Green River also enjoyed wide popularity.  These included Rudge's Green River Gorge Resort and what is now Flaming Geyser State Park.  According to an article in the Auburn Globe-Reported dated July 10, 1925, a huge sign was located along the highway directing tourists to popular destinations:

Photo courtesy of Bill Kombol and Charles Luttrell with Washington State Parks

I never realized that "billboard" advertising had such a long history.

Green River Gorge Camping Circa 1920

Tis the camping season and time to get out and "rough it" a little.  Although we see lots of RVs at camp sites now, I am surprised at the number of tent campers still braving the elements sans the comforts of home.  As noted earlier, Kanaskat-Palmer State Park is one of our area's gems along the Green River particularly popular with campers.  Though no longer available for short term camping, the Gorge has long been a major attraction.  Following is a photo taken in 1920 showing a Gorge campground.

Photo courtesy of Black Diamond Historical Society and thanks to Roger Perry

Looks like fun.