August 2003 |
 Home |
Camp Sherman - the final week
All good things must come to an end they say? but instead of dwelling on the fact we only have one more week in this heavenly spot we are thinking positively, looking forward to a few days near Mount Rainier NP followed by a a month at Leavenworth a Bavarian town in Washington state. With the Glacier Peaks Wilderness to the north & the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to the south we should have plenty to occupy our minds, feet & soul. However the first priority is to enjoy our last few days in idyllic Camp Sherman.
Tam McArthur Rim/Broken Hand - This was a hike we had planned to do all along as it attains an elevation of 8,200 feet underneath Broken Hand. Because of the elevation we left it until the end of our stay to ensure that the snow was gone and the wildflowers would be in bloom. In spite of the high alpine elevation the gain during the hike is only 1,200 feet to Tam McArthur Rim & 1,650 feet to Broken Hand. The truck does most of the climbing (good idea) and the round trip is only 10.2 view filled miles.
Three Creek Lake adjacent to the trailhead provided a "must capture" photographic opportunity, a mirror image of Tam McArthur Rim. The first 1.2 miles of trail was quite steep but the views started opening up early alleviating any fatigue in the leg muscles. On the early steep part of the trail we passed a married couple who were in their 70's chatting as they ascended at their own pace. They came to live in the USA in the early 1950's from Austria and still loved hiking in the the mountains. Tam McArthur Rim slopes upward to its high point of 7,730 feet and the views improve with each step so you never feel you are climbing.
The meadows at this altitude, dominated by yellow, orange & red Paintbrush, are very fragile, most plants having stunted growth and a a short life cycle. It was so clear that we could see as far north as Mount Adams in Washington state which we were told is over 100 miles as the crow flies, plus all the other volcano's in the Cascade range lined up for our inspection. We continued the extra 1.3 miles to Broken Hand, adjacent to Broken Top & the Three Sisters, traversing a cinder pile which reminded Wullie of his youth and the "burning bing" in Glencraig.
A "burning bing" is not a well known American crooner of the past enveloped in flames! For those not familiar with the Scot's language " bing" is to heap or pile up. In the mining villages of "The Kingdom Of Fife" the pile of waste from the coal mine was called "a bing". The burning bing referred to above was named by the kids, who although prohibited from climbing it did so in any case. There was so much coal in the bing that it was actually smouldering below the surface and as we kids ran downhill we left smoking footprints behind. The penalty for being spotted or caught was severe and would result in a prison sentence today for those dealing out the punishment.
Beneath Broken Hand it seemed we could reach over and pick snow from the glaciers on Broken Top. The views extended north into Washington, south to MT. Thielsen in the Crater Lake area, southern Oregon, mountains in northern California and maybe as far east as Idaho? We had left the best hike to last. A few different hawks small and large were searching for food as we made our way downhill to the trailhead. Another must do hike.
Lake Billy Chinook Recreation Area - At this very popular recreation area the Metolius & Crooked river join the Deschutes which heads north to the Columbia River gorge. Damming of the rivers formed Lake Billy Chinook within a deep & strikingly beautiful canyon, that in a small way resembles the last deep Oregon canyon we visited, Hells canyon. We traveled around 35 miles of more dusty forest roads to reach the lake and climbed from the canyon bottom to the strategically placed viewpoints above all arms of the lake. There are quite a few campsites dotted around the lake and the boating/fishing/waterskiing fraternity were having fun under the inevitable clear blue sky. We combined our sightseeing trip with a truck oil change, a chicken lunch at DQ in Madras, and a visit to Walmart in Redmond. During the return journey signs of electrical storms appeared (not welcome as they can cause forest fires) and a few raindrops splattered the windscreen.
STOP PRESS: After a few days at Leavenworth the local news broadcast a distressing item about 2 large forest fires in the Camp Sherman Area. We worried about damage to the natural beauty and all the people with homes, summer cabins and businesses there, as apparently they had to evacuate. We later heard from Malcolm & Linda (our neighbours at Camp Sherman) that both Hwy. 20 & 126 were closed for a few days. The forest service provided special firefighters to protect the structures of Camp Sherman although the fire was a few miles away. The evacuation meant the permanent residents had to stay with friends & relations or use accommodation provided by the Red Cross. The fire was so hot & the humidity so low that it was considered unsafe for helicopters to overfly and drop fire retardant. The buildup of ash in some places was 6 inches deep on the forest floor. The smoke from the 90.000 acre fire, was so thick that Black Butte which towers above Camp Sherman was invisible. Residents were allowed back in on 8/30 but evacuated again on 9/4 as the fire broke out of the containment area to within 2 miles of the fish hatchery. They eventually returned to begin the cleanup after another 5 days. George W Bush was due to visit Camp Sherman to make a speech the day the fire broke out and some rumours suggest that the fire may have been started to shut him up? Politicians get the blame for everything but perhaps that's their own fault? We are relieved that everyone seems safe but sad that so much damage was done to the surrounding forest. Although this has been a quiet? year for forest fires in the western USA, nearly 2.93 million acres (still counting) compared to 6 million last year the cost is still huge. The financial cost can be estimated but the human and natural costs are impossible to quantify.
Washington State
Camp Sherman to Squaw Rock Resort (Naches area)
We had previously travelled most of the 260+ miles to Naches except for the last 15 miles on Hwy.418. however any road that leaves the central Oregon Cascades and crosses the mountains before descending to the Columbia River Gorge and then climbs back up on the Washington side of the gorge skirting MT Adams etc. is definitely not boring!
Squaw Rock Resort is situated on the banks of the Naches River. We had a choice of sites but none were level and some were too small for our rig. The one we chose had no water so we had to hook up to the next site. During our stay nobody seemed concerned enough to repair the fault, they seemed pretty laid back.
Our prime reason for choosing this area was to be within reach of Mount Rainier National Park without going too far off the highway for our 2 day stop.
Mount Rainier National Park - Vista Trail, Paradise
On this our third visit to MT Rainier NP we took Hwy. 410 via Chinook Pass (5,432 feet) where we had our first view of Rainier. Although we could only see 2 thirds of the mountain as the top was covered by cloud it was still a very dominating presence. We made the slow winding drive up to the Paradise area of the park. We had never hiked here before as this is the most popular area of the park and it's not unusual for the car park to be full. We arrived early enough to beat the rush and even some of those staying at the lodge at Paradise. Because we had so little time we chose the Vista Trail for it's flexibility and promised views, and what a good choice it was.
The trail starts at 5,500 feet and with the snow not long melted this must be the best time of the year to do the hike. The wildflowers were exceptional, so bright. A carpet of magenta Paintbrush, fresh Lupines, bright yellow mountain Dandelions, spreading blue Phlox, Pasqueflower and the beautiful Mountain Bog Gentian which only flowers at high elevation. The views were wall to wall as the path ascended steeply towards Nisqually Glacier with numerous waterfalls tumbling into the milky Nisqually river far beneath us. The trail ascends to Panorama Point where on a clear day you can see MT. Hood in Oregon, but today was cloudy so we had to make do with MT. St. Helens, MT. Adams and the beautiful Goat Rocks amongst many more peaks. We watched hikers/climbers crossing the snow fields on Rainier's flank making for a weekend camp (probably Camp Muir, 10,188 feet). The more doughty & experienced would no doubt make it to the top of Rainier, rather them than us at that altitude. We could not see the top of Rainier today so they would be spending quite a bit of time in cloud. As we made our slow descent we encountered many more wildflower meadows, mountain views, and waterfalls. Marmots were feeding on the flowers trying to fatten up for winter - their summer is very short up here so they must feed up for hibernation. Deer also enjoyed feeding on the flowers. Ptarmigan with young hid amongst the greenery alongside the creeks. As we ate our lunch a young lady in her first year as a park ranger stopped to chat. She was from Alaska and was enjoying her first year out of college working in the NP. We chatted finding out about her home while she was interested in Scotland which she hoped to visit one day. We made our way back to the truck savoring every minute of this hike which we will remember for a very long time. We returned to the RV park
on Hwy. 12 across Whites Pass (4,500 feet) enjoying the scenery all the way.
Squaw Rock Resort to Leavenworth
Our route took us back towards Yakima and a choice of the fast route on Interstate 82 to Ellensburg, or scenic Hwy. 821 that parallels the Interstate but winds alongside the Yakima River through a deep canyon. We chose the latter as we are no longer fearful of these types of roads and had plenty of time to travel the mere 150 miles. During the twenty two scenic miles we passed numerous riverside campsites still full with weekenders making the most of their last hours before packing up and heading home. From Ellensburg we shared Hwy. 97 with a cycling club who had the arduous task of cycling up Blewett Pass, 4102 feet and down into Leavenworth. Some looked more tired than others and it seemed like a better bet in a truck even if we were pulling 12,000 lbs. behind us.
We arrived at Icicle River RV Park well before booking in time but thankfully our site had been vacated so we could set everything up for our months stay. Although we had booked sometime ago we knew we did not have the same pitch for our entire stay. With a busy holiday weekend at the end of August we have to move to make way for people who booked before us. The Bavarian themed town of Leavenworth is a very popular tourist area so all RV parks in this area will be fully booked at that time.
Leavenworth - population 2,100
A few settlers started to arrive in the Leavenworth area in the mid 1880's. They cleared land, farmed, logged and raised livestock, mainly sheep. Big changes were wrought when the Great Northern Railroad completed its line through Leavenworth in 1892 and over Stevens Pass, to the west, in early 1893. This brought growth to the area and Leavenworth became incorporated in 1906. 
Logging was the main industry but the good climate encouraged the planting of fruit trees in the valley, beginning an industry that was soon supported by the construction of irrigation ditches. The boom faltered when the railroad was diverted from Leavenworth in the 1920's, depression in the area continued well into the 1950's. In 1962 the townspeople who were left said "enough is enough". This beautiful town nestled amongst numerous mountain peaks still had so much to offer. The setting seemed ideal for a Bavarian village. Existing buildings were re-modeled while new buildings all had to have the Bavarian look. The area, all the way down into the Wenatchee valley, is still dominated by the fruit industry which has increased over the years. Leavenworth is now a very popular tourist area with festivals throughout the year resulting in 1.5 million tourist visits each year.
Swimming Deer Lake - 10+ miles, el gain 1600 feet - Stevens Pass, el. 4601 was our starting point for this hike meaning less climb than most hikes in this area. This one was a little different from our norm as, not only did the trail gain 1,600 feet in the first 1.5 miles but lost 500 feet over the next 1.25 miles The trail took us under a couple of ski lifts before we reached the small Susan Jane Lake. Just past there we had our best view of a very blue Josephine Lake where we would partake of our lunch on the way back from Swimming Deer Lake which promised great views of the Stuart Range. These turned out to be only partial views because of the density of the trees. Not bothering to venture down to the lake we retraced our footsteps and descended to Josephine Lake for lunch. This was not a good choice as the path was steep and rutted, the lake looked far better from above and large black flies were a problem. The uphill part of our return journey was not as bad as we thought it would be considering it was extremely hot, dry and dusty. We passed lots of campers heading for the lake for the weekend, didn't envy them at all. Wildlife encounters included one grouse with young, a marmot and a gray Jay. A good open path with very little shade from the sun, very few views and we wouldn't do it again.
Icicle Creek - This canyon road, with many trailheads, was carved centuries ago by Icicle Creek. Mountains line both sides of Icicle Creek road and the many forest campsites are well patronized. A large carpark is provided for this easy stroll alongside the creek. The circular trail took us along Icicle Creek, French Creek and back to the carpark. Started early so we could be back before the heat of the day. Enjoyed this easy hike.
Alpine Lookout - el. gain 2400 ft. Ten mile round trip. 4.7 miles on a forest road took us to 3900 ft. saving 1000 ft. of ascent. In 1994 Round Mountain, a large part of this hike, was badly damaged by fire so there were large sections of the trail that meandered through tree trunks still standing but bare of life. These open sections were hot (no shade) but provided good views. The first 1/2 mile was extremely steep - breathtaking in fact and the next 1 1/2 miles was a steady ascent. We made lots of stops to admire the views, which were plentiful. We got our first good view of Wenatchee Lake after a trail split at 1.5 miles. The trail then followed Nason Ridge providing uninterrupted views beyond Stevens Pass, back to the Leavenworth area and beyond. We got our first sighting of the fire lookout about a mile out, at least we thought it was a mile out. At yet another stop to admire the view we were joined by the fire watcher who had just completed four days at the lookout. His normal job was trail maintenance so we took advantage of his knowledge of hikes in the area to add to our list. We eventually reached the strategically placed fire lookout, where else could you get views like this. MT. Rainier, Henman and Daniel Glaciers, MT. Stuart to the south, Sloan and Glacier peaks, Seven Finger Jack to the north, and as far as the Entiat Mts. to the east, plus hundreds of small peaks. We shared the viewpoint with a fellow hiker and his 10 year old dog. He enjoyed 'capturing lookouts' , had hiked to a few over the past couple of days and had intentions of visiting another today. We think this one was a more strenuous hike than he was used to as he told us he was feeling quite tired but we suspect he took a different access route than us. While partaking of lunch we chatted to the lady firewatcher. She had just arrived back after four days in civilization and this was the start of new 7 day stint. She only works 6 months of the year, the rest of the time she enjoys skiing at various locations. The first two months of the summer she worked in Alaska which sounded interesting as her job took her to locations off the beaten track. There is no easy way to arrive at this outpost, she had to hike the same strenuous 5 miles we had just completed, but she said it was far more enjoyable than sitting in busy traffic on the way to the office. She helped us decipher some of the peaks and told us that today was exceptionally clear - the best for a long time (are we lucky or what). We were also joined by some of the mountain goats that the hiking book told us about. A herd of about 20 had been seen by the firewatcher, but we only saw two adults and two kids, enough for a group photograph. We spent more time than usual enjoying the views and company before heading down in the heat of the day. Although now hot the views helped to take our mind off it. As we entered the small forested area that was untouched by fire we saw our first Black Backed Woodpeckers - another first for our book. We had also seen Mountain Bluebirds, Nuthatches, Junco's etc. We also noticed the large old growth trees we missed on the way up due to the steepness of the ascent. A good hike, great views, nice people and gorgeous Mountain Goats.
Lake Caroline. 11 miles. elevation gain 2870 feet. When we set out this was not our intended hike but the Stuart Lake trailhead a further 1.5 miles along the forest road was closed to hiking, and the Lake Caroline trailhead was conveniently situated where the road terminated. After 2.5 miles, quite steep in places, we reached Little Eightmile lake for a welcome stop. This early in the morning the mirror image of Eightmile Mountain (over 7,900 feet ) provided a studio type photo opportunity. A very large tree on the shore of the lake provided shade at all times of the day, something we would value by the end of the day. 
From the lake it was a steep slog with a gain of a further 1,552 feet in just three miles. In open burnt forest numerous bushes heavy laden with various types of berries enticed many birds. Trying to identify the birds stopped us thinking of the pain this steep trail gave us. At the top of the trail we looked down on beautiful clear blue Caroline Lake where we found a waterside log to rest while taking lunch. The first thing we did before participating in lunch was to pour water over our heads using Wullie's baseball hat. It was really cool man! The vegetation around the lake provided good habitat for a few different species of birds. We rested for quite a while taking in the various mountains that gave a backdrop to the lake once again making for good photo's. The return journey was a lot easier, although the hot afternoon sun beating down on the open, steep downward trail did cause a certain amount of perspiration. We stopped at Little Eightmile Lake once again utilizing the shade of the magnificent old tree after pouring copious amounts of cool lake water over our heads. The polished nature of the trees roots provided evidence of many earlier hikers resting their weary backsides here before before descending the last 2.5 hot miles back to the truck.
This hike had everything, excellent clear views, Meadows with some late flowers that included Paintbrush and Gentian,lots of birds including a male Black Backed Woodpecker. We both thoroughly enjoyed this hike, a fortuitous second choice.
Poet Ridge/The Bump El. gain 1900 feet. Distance 6 miles. A steep winding forest road took us to the trailhead and the first part of the trail was in the open and we saw a variety of birds adding the Townsend's warbler to our spotted list. The next section up to the ridge was in dense forest and extremely steep in parts. The narrow tree covered crest, at 4900 feet, was reached after 0 .5 miles but the trees did not impede our views much. Some of the trees here were covered in Bears Tears/Spanish moss and some late blooming Columbine were evident. As we crested "The Bump" we were welcomed by two rather plump Marmots, one feeding while the other relaxed waiting for the sun to reappear. It was a relatively cool/cloudy day so we could not see as far as MT. Rainier but Longfellow Mountain (one of the Poet's group) with its pleasing shape was an adequate replacement. During lunch it was cool enough for Linda to don her lightweight raincoat to keep warm and this was the first day for a long time we have not finished all our liquid. When we arrived back at the RV it was in the low 80's so no need for the air-conditioner today.
Chatter Creek Basin. 10 miles, el. gain 3900 ft. Our Hiking Guide book got this one wrong - the basin where we finally stopped was about 5 miles and not the 3.5 the book said. It was very steep all the way - this meant NO uphill on the way back. When we finally arrived at the Pass it was certainly beautiful with very clear views. To the north we could see Nathan Ridge and into the eastern part of Glacier Peaks Wilderness. Looking south east we could see the eastern edge of the Stuart Range and Eightmile Mtn. Although the views were good this is not a good day hike at all as it is very, very strenuous. After putting in all the effort to get up there you would want to stay at least overnight and explore the "Mormon Ladies Lakes" area at your leisure. On the way down we passed a couple of day hikers each carrying a small child on their back, don't know why we complained? Just to make us feel really old we stood open mouthed as a youngster jogged up this backbreaking trail - young and stupid we said!
It was hot on the way down and we were so glad to get to the bottom.
Seattle Mariners Ball Game Trip
Drove directly to Seattle and arrived in time for Linda to have fish 'n' chips at the waterfront but sadly they weren't all that good. Booked into Best Western, Pioneer Square - nice and central for both the ballgame and Pike Place Market. Went to a new Microbrew pub for a meal before walking to the Baseball Stadium.
The Ball Game - Over 43,000 people at the game which started with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays getting 3 runs in the first innings - was this going to be yet another defeat for the faltering Seattle Mariners? Oh ye of little faith, they rallied behind the pitching of Jamie Moyer and the hitting of Carlos Guillen to win 9 - 3. A terrific atmosphere was generated by the family crowd even although it got a bit cool later on in the game.
Pike Place Market - the big attraction for Linda is the fish throwing and today it started early. Customers were buying large salmon, halibut etc. all to be packed and shipped home. Most people come to this famous fish market just to watch the fish flying through the air and take photo's. Numerous fresh veg, fruit and flowers stalls were kept busy with customers. As it was quite cloudy in the morning we decided against the scenic forest road drive we had planned as we thought the cloud would be hanging on the mountain tops.
Next month - Washington, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota.
Miles traveled this month: 1,587
Total miles traveled since May 1999: 96,132
Interesting Hyperlinks:
Leavenworth - Bavarian Village
