Van Trump Park and Mildred Point

We were up early and in the car to score a parking spot at the 11car parking lot by Christine Falls.  We were the second car in the lot.  The clouds were pretty heavy as we started hiking today, and by the time we worked our way up past Christine falls we noticed we were getting closer to the clouds.  As we hiked up the canyon the clouds were thicker and thicker.  We could heard the water crashing through the canyon, but had no idea what it looked like.  With only day packs on today, Kathi was back to her billy goating style of hiking at a very good clip.  I was wondering how I was going to to get a chance to toss some rocks into her pack to slow her down.

At 1.7 miles you are suppose to get your first glimpse of Comet Falls.  We had only sound.  At 1.9 miles you have a full on look at the falls.  Our look appeared closer to water sort of just falling from the heavens.  I’m not sure we could even see the top of the falls.  Comet Falls was named for its striking resemblance to the tail of a comet during higher flow periods. Since the recession of the Van Trump Glacier, the volume of the creek has been reduced and it doesn't take on the characteristic shape quite as often as it used to.  

We keep moving up through the clouds and chilly mist towards Van Trump Meadows.  We find plea ty of evidence that there might be a vista on some of shoot trials, but no need to look as it is hard to see more that 50-75 feet ahead. At some point we reach the end of the maintained trail and proceed on until the trail is over grown and really just getting us all wet with all of the dripping wet foliage.  We stop and decide that we should just go out to Mildred point. So we turn around and hike back down to the junction.  The trip over to Mildred Point we hike over top of the water that falls over the top of comet falls.  While stepping over it we see the evidence from On August 14th 2001, a Jökulhaup, or Glacial Outburst Flood poured out from under the Kautz Glacier and ran down the Van Trump Creek valley. The flow scoured the streambed clean of vegetation and in many places dug a canyon 5-20 feet deep in the soil and as a result the entire area around Comet Falls changed. The pool formerly at the base of the main tier of the falls was filled entirely, and the streambed below the falls, which formerly resembled an idyllic sub alpine meadow, is now a 15-20 foot deep rocky scar on the valley floor. Further, floods in October 2003 then scoured away much of the muddy evidence of the debris flow, but the scars left behind were only amplified. The lowermost tier of the falls, which technically did exist prior to the debris flows, was almost buried after the 2001 flood, but then uncovered entirely and nearly doubled in height after the 2003 event. In the winter of 2012 a massive avalanche thundered over the cliffs at the falls, knocking over every tree in its path, and burying the valley in as much as 200-feet of snow which lingered for the entire summer which resulted in the trail being closed all year. We stood in the trough and you just can’t even imagine the size to the trough.  

The hike to Mildred point is suppose to be spectacular, we found it in the clouds with out a view.  I’m not sure who this Margret ‘is, but she has some views to look, but We will need to come back a different day to see them

Hike back was way more enjoyable. The clouds were lifting as we headed back down to the car.
8 miles, elevation gain of 2300 ft.  Seemed like many of steps were huge, sorta like spending the day taking the stairway two steps at a time going and then coming down two at a time.