Seattle History Field Trips

Name: Wellington Winter Rendezvous
Start: 2021-03-20T10:00-07:00
End: 2021-03-21T18:00-07:00
Location: Scenic

Seattle, WA

656 members
Public group

Organized by Pat D.

and 2 others

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What we're about

We are amateur historians with an interest in Seattle. Newbies to Seattle most welcome. Once a quarter this group organizes a field trip to visit sites that are significant in Seattle's history and share what we know about them. In the past we have visited the grave sites of important personages and the locations of famous events. This Meetup is for anyone who has an interest in Seattle's history or who would like to learn more about the founding and growth of Seattle and the surrounding cities, towns, native peoples, highways, dams, natural resources, industries, famous events & dignitaries, famous visitors, etc.

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Wellington Winter Rendezvous

Sat, Mar 20, 10:00 AM PDT

Wellington Winter Rendezvous

Scenic

So this particular history field trip is for the hale and hardy among you who have also done a little snow camping. A few Wellington enthusiasts and myself are headed up to Wellington on the evening of Feb 28th - Mar 1st to commemorate the 111th anniversary of the United States' greatest avalanche disaster which occurred at 1:42 AM on March 1, 1910. Historylink has a nice synopsis:

https://www.historylink.org/File/5127

On the afternoon of Sunday Feb 28th we will cross-country ski 4 miles up to Wellington from Scenic along the old Stevens Pass Highway. On the snow-covered highway/trail we will be safe from the avalanche chutes that wrecked havoc 111 years ago and continue to wreck havoc today along the old abandon railroad grade, now the Iron Goat Trail. Let me re-emphasize that we will be skiing up the other side of the valley from the Iron Goat trail--the side the Forest Rangers consider safe.

We will make camp at the old Wellington townsite which has been re-forested and is now considered safe from avalanches. But just to make doubly sure, and to protect our tents against any possible rainfall, we will camp under the old concrete snowshed at Wellington--put there over a century ago by Big Jim Hill, the "Empire Builder", along with his stupendous (and now haunted?) High Cascade Tunnel.

Now this next is just between you and me...Those of you who were on the "Escape from Wellington" trip this fall will recall that I stashed a bundle of firewood and a box of presto logs back in the tunnel for use on this trip. So we will also have a nice bonfire around which to retell the stories of Old Wellington and Big Jim.

Contact me or signup for further details.