Wednesday 19 August 2015
Our days have had leisurely starts and even more so today as it was the first night without logging trucks rumbling past at all hours.
As usual, we got up, made coffee, did tasks, read a bit then proceeded to breakfast which this morning was hash browns and eggs over easy. After doing dishes and tidying up, we are on our way to Cutthroat Lake. This is a very easy hike to a cool lake in an alpine setting.
Driving back, off to the south is a huge plume of smoke. I wonder if the Chelan Fire has increased, though as Kari points out, this plume is much closer than we are to Chelan.
We drive into Winthrop which seems awfully busy for a Wednesday even for a tourist town in summer. We stop and get ice at the in-town gas station. There is a line of about ½ dozen cars which surprises me, but this is a tourist town and the last gas station until Newhalem on the west side of the Cascades on Hwy 20.
I ask about the fire. The overworked cashier’s response was ‘which one’.
After that we head north out of town with a stop at the ranger’s station. Turns out, the fire is on the north side of the Twisp River Valley on private property. The town of Twisp has been evacuated. Also, highway 20 west of Winthrop is closed but the ranger is unsure of why.
We head back to camp. It’s pretty smoky the whole way and everything has that red cast and I am reminded of learning to kayak and the Glenwood Springs Coal Seam Fire. Gary was hanging out with us, paddled hard down river to get the truck and dogs. When the kayak class got to the take out, the sheriff was none too thrilled that the BOC guys insisted on loading the boats before driving away. The a couple of weeks later for the make-up class, pretty much everything was burned at the South Canyon takeout, including the spot where the trucks were parked. I tell Kari this story which is as vivid as ever, 15 years later.
We stop at the Flat Campground and get water and chat with the guests there, fly-fisher people, one from Florida and a young man from Seattle. After, we head back to our camp at Ruffed Grouse. It’s smoky and bits of ash are raining down.
Saturday 22 August 2015
I fly back today but not till afternoon so we check out yet another Seattle City Park. Once home, I wonder what the implication of the sale of Dot Hill to Seagate will be and focus on resting in preparation for my upcoming close on the new townhome and move
Thursday 20 August 2015
By morning, it is clear but we drive up the road to hike. It’s a steep uphill in a narrow canyon with no lake destination and we do not hike for very long. Afterwards, we drive back to the Ranger Station to check out the fire situation which is still burning.
Monday 17 August 2015
It’s a lazy day for us today. We head to Buck Lake and I take a lap or two around then we both swim a bit. An interesting lake, it looks like the bottom drops immediately and deeply off the sides, yet the ends come gradually up to the shore.
Tuesday 18 August 2015
Our day today was spent packing, moving camp to Ruffled Grouse and unpacking. We did do a short hike up the road and along the river
Seattle to Winthrop
14 August 2015 - 21 August 2015
Friday, 14 August 2015 and Saturday , August 15, 2015
My plane’s scheduled departure was 6:55. I left work before 3, drove south on 95th to Hwy 52 to Ft Lupton and Hwy 85; south on 85 to 120th, east to Tower then south to the USA Airport Parking. I think this took around an hour, so I was there by 4, bags were loaded and off to the terminal, baggage check, security and then the train to concourse B.
There was quite the storm in Seattle so I don’t think we actually left till around 8:30. We arrived in Seattle around 11 or so. Kari picked me at the airport and we spend the night at her place.
Today included a stroll to Lincoln Park, a city park with access to Pugent Sound. This has come to be a regular jaunt for us whenever I go to visit
Sunday, 16 August 2015
We are up early to get supplies, pack, and pick up a sea kayak Kari has arranged for me to borrow. Then we head north on I-5, getting off at Arlington, then east and north on Hwy 530, picking up Hwy 20 at Rockport. We pass thru Oso which had a huge landslide in Mark of 2014. We continue east on 20 to Winthrop, past Newhalem, Past Ross Lake National Recreation Area, over Rainy Pass and Washington Pass then down the other side through Mazama to Winthrop. Our destination is the Okanogan National Forest North of Winthrop. Our plan was to camp at Buck Lake but it seemed pretty buggy so we back track and continued up Eightmile Creek Road. We found a nice spot at the next campground but this turned out to be a big mistake since there were logging trucks passing by most of the night.
In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Friday 21 August 2015
We pack up and say goodbye to this adventure. We head back but Hwy 20 west is closed, so we head east and drive back on US 2 thru Leavenworth and stop along the way for a short hike and picture taking along the river.