Hitchhiking Paradise to Longmire

FWIW Hitchhiking in the park is illegal.
It's a silly law.
I think its a holdover from the media hyped hitch hiking scare in the 80's. . . though it has less to do with crime than that if they don't get picked up they'll have to camp along the roadside impacting resources. . . I digress. . .
Its on the books.
Edit: I'm not saying its a good law, or that it will be enforced, but it exists. LET THE NPS BASHING COMMENCE!!!

I, too, like Andy, have gotten lifts from Rangers, for all I, for all I know, despite rules and laws to the contrary (but I fail to recall which rangers it was... it must be the stroke, eh?  :).
My experience with the rank and file Ranger population is that they just like working in the outdoors DESPITE the red tape and bureaucracy of the NPS. I see many of them as just as frustrated with the system as the rest of us, but not frustrated enough to be willing to risk their job to change it. Kinda like most of the folks here, eh?
But the ones that I know seem to work hard to make the Park better and safer for the visitors and do their job, despite the bureaucracy they work for. And more of them seem to be backcountry skiers than ever before... And that can't hurt anything for us... I think… :

Neat idea Ron.  Is it possible to stay on the south sides of both Tatoosh Creek and then Paradise River around the constriction below the north and west aspects of Eagle Peak?  Or do we have to get across to the north side of the river and onto the Wonderland Trail?  I always just assumed it was nasty down there.
Thanks,
John

John - I haven't been there lately, but this time of year I have had no trouble crossing Tatoosh Creek or the Paradise River in the area of the Wonderland Trail. These water ways are usually more covered than open this time of year; and the snow pack is definitely not low right now. I have always skied down the Trail (north) side of the Paradise R. And from what Randy says there's good reason to do so.

The fact is the trail clearway is wide; the old maps actually show a building at the opening of the valley between Ricksecker Point and Eagle Point and that building (now long since demolished) was the old Hydroelectric plant that provided electricity to Paradise and Longmire, and according to Gary Vogt they even sold electricity to Ashford.

Anyway the old maps show a road into that Hydro plant and so the clearway is plenty wide. And further up from the Hydro plant was the huge (two feet around?) pipeline (much of it still visible) and the diversion dam the diverted the water to the pipe for the generator plant. So the trail upstream from gen plant looks wide enough (and rough enough) to have been traveled by the Model T work trucks that had to have been used to build the dam and pipeline in the early 1900's.

I'd second Ron's suggestion to exit via Tatoosh Ck if the snow is decent in the woods.  There is a simple log crossing in a grove of trees near the middle of the largest meadow below Lane Pk.  When the meadow ends and the creek dives into the forest to the west, the easiest way is to angle north to the Wonderland bridges over Paradise River.  The next easist crossing is probably at the old hydro intake dam (partially obscurred by blowdowns) at about 3800' above Carter Falls.  There is a bailout route from near the saddle W of Lane Pk, but beware of steep rock slabs masquerading as glades.  Also check  www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...dex.php?topic=9703.0

Sounds like a great adventure, good luck!

I wonder what Floyd Schmoe would have to say about all this talk of skiing down to Longmire from Paradise.

I wonder what Floyd Schmoe would have to say about all this talk of skiing down to Longmire from Paradise.

Didn't he make his pregnant wife snowshoe from Longmire to Paradise when he was house-sitting the National Park Inn at Paradise?

I'd second Ron's suggestion to exit via Tatoosh Ck if the snow is decent in the woods.  There is a simple log crossing in a grove of trees near the middle of the largest meadow below Lane Pk.  When the meadow ends and the creek dives into the forest to the west, the easiest way is to angle north to the Wonderland bridges over Paradise River.  The next easist crossing is probably at the old hydro intake dam (partially obscurred by blowdowns) at about 3800' above Carter Falls.  There is a bailout route from near the saddle W of Lane Pk, but beware of steep rock slabs masquerading as glades.  Also check  www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...dex.php?topic=9703.0

Sounds like a great adventure, good luck!

Thanks all for the info, my next question is how to cross the Nisqually River where the access road to the hydro plant meets it (roughly across from Cougar Rock CG). is this a trail bridge now for the Wonderland Trail. I can't imagine a road bridge over such a dynamic river.
John

Yeah, a trail bridge. Like the one in the last pic in boot's TR that Gary linked above.
Let us know how the trip went when you return.