Tue Oct 21, 2003 6:18 pm

Just got back from Robe Canyon, arrived there this morning at 11am. I went as far as about 100' past Tunnel 6. The water was really roaring thru the canyon and had to be 8-10' lower than high water yesterday (21’+). BUT, it was incredibly powerful and you would be dead if you slipped in.

There was flotsam and jetsam on the old railroad grade, as well as in Tunnel 6 which leads me to believe without a doubt that there was water flowing thru the tunnel! After Tunnel 6 there was an obvious eroded "culvert" down to the river, along with some piles of tree limbs, etc crammed up ON the railroad grade against trees. Right at where the first concrete retaining wall begins a shirt is wrapped around a tree next to the river AT grade height. There is no way in hell I would want to have been in that canyon during highest water!!! The river next to Tunnel 6 cascades around a bend with a volume and intensity you can't imagine during summer visits! And remember, the water level was much, much higher yesterday!

I knew the river was high because I heard it as soon as I started down the hillside, dropping down to meet the old Robe "Wye". BTW, fall colors were fantastic down in the canyon- what a beautiful day! As I neared the river on the railroad grade the first evidence of flooding appeared in scattered pools of water and a layer of wet sand everywhere. Where the trail goes along the river on a high bank, the river has eroded it and caused sloughing and cracking of the bank to maybe 10' inland. I managed to find my way thru boot high wet sand/mud and brush to a minor "stream" crossing that was jumpable, then the larger creek crossing Jim probably alluded to- where during high water the river runs up this creek. Well, the water had receded quite a bit and it was just a matter of jumping across rocks in the water to cross.
As I entered the canyon proper, the humidity level was very high and a mild fog rose above the river- very spooky. You didn't have to move much before you were sweating bricks- the air was thick. Then I saw the t-shirt wrapped around a tree, and there were a lot of small waterfalls cascading down between the grade and the hillside to my right. Suddenly I heard a large "crack" (I was extremely alert to any sounds of falling trees after the rains had soaked their roots!) and a tree across the river did a header into the river with a loud splash- and you could hear this ABOVE the roar of the Stilly. Very impressive. That made me stop and reconsider if I was being smart going any further into the canyon. Well, that dumb explorer spirit won out....

The whole trip was a constant stopping to take pics and starting, oohing and ahhing at the majesty of nature in her fury. I remembered Jim saying to bring some earplugs because it will be loud down there, and I completely understood and put some in- after an hour or so in the canyon it was getting to be a bit much. It was getting late so I headed back to the car after spending some awesome time enjoying the "show". When I left Bellevue at 10am the Stilly water level was at 13.9'. It didn't appear to drop any in the canyon while I was there for a few hours but upriver it was noticeably lower than when I had started. As stated earlier by others- the Mtn. Loop Hwy was closed except to local traffic further on towards the Pilchuck turnoff. There was a "road closed" sign right next to the Old Robe Trail sign.

P.S. I forgot that a bald eagle flew by me at one point in the canyon, right down the middle of the river heading upstream-