Upstream, Downstream

Day 60: Let me tell you this about that: I did not like being on the far side of either of these bridges (Kernahan Rd., top; Elbe, bottom) to take these pictures for you. While I was standing on the Kernahan bridge, a tree struck one of the pylons with a loud thunk. Okay, I did not feel the bridge shake. I won't claim that, although I was left with a profound sense of my mortality as I thought about what was going on under the Nisqually's roiling surface. I have not seen it this high since the November 2006 flood...you know, the one which ate Sunshine Point Campground and closed the Park for six months. As a matter of fact, the Kernahan bridge was rebuilt after the 2006 flood. Here's a mere 10 seconds of the action today.

 

 

High Water

Day 43: I have certainly seen the Nisqually running higher and faster than it was today, but it is still flooding low-lying areas and bringing a lot of debris downstream. November and February are typically our wettest months, and what brings the rivers up most dramatically is rain on top of an early snow-pack, as is the case in this event. Earlier this week, Paradise saw its first major accumulation of the year, enough that the Park brought out the plows and visitors were beginning looking forward to the snow-play season. A change to rain sent much of it coursing down the Nisqually while other areas (notably the Carbon River and Puyallup drainages) are also experiencing flood conditions. The Park was closed today when debris backed up behind a culvert, sending Kautz Creek over the road. While major flooding  is not expected, even minor events like this one can be inconvenient to Park personnel as well as to the visitors who come out in all sorts of weather.