August 1, 2014

August 1, 2014

We woke up at dawn with the fisherman. I understand, you gotta get out early when the fish are biting. We stayed in bed another hour and then got on the road. Backtracking to Pateros, WA we visit a fruit stand we noticed last night. We were hoping to buy some apples, but we are told only baking apples are ripe. But they do have some apple cinnamon rolls just out of the oven. Just in time for breakfast! Delicious!

Talking to the clerk, we find the big fire, largest in Washington State history, went through this area just two weeks ago and devastated the region. It was a sagebrush and grass fire that spread so fast most people had little chance to prepare. 300 houses were lost. From Pateros we drove past much of the destruction. Much of the area is burned completely out. The only things untouched are the orchards that line the riverbanks. They get enough irrigation that the fires stopped at the edges.

After making it through the burned area, we come to the cute town of Winthrop. The little town is done up just like western towns in the movies. We are in no hurry so we stop and do some shopping. One store has some hard cider made from Chelan apples so we buy some. I’ll take hard cider over fresh apples any day.

From Winthrop we head west into the Cascade Mountains. At Washington Pass we stop at the overlook and have lunch. The mountains are steep and beautiful but still smoky from ongoing fires. Descending from the top we decide we need some exercise so we stop and do a two mile hike to Rainy Lake. This alpine lake is also pretty but hazy.

Continuing west we enter Lake Ross National Recreation Area. We stop at the overlook, and happen upon a ranger ready to give his talk. It is about how the North Cascades Mountains are so steep that they separated the two Indian cultures and the two biological ecosystems on each side. The Skagit River drops so steeply through a gorge that it was a prime choice for harvesting hydroelectric power. Three dams were constructed producing three lakes. The middle one, Diablo Lake, has the brilliant teal color, common to all glacier-fed lakes. The ranger tells us that the North Cascades has most of the glaciers in the lower 48 states.

We stop at the campground here and find it full! Uhoh! It is Friday afternoon at a National Park. That spells trouble. I try talking to anybody I can find to no avail. They send us on. We head to the next campground and it is the same story. This time I refuse to leave and badger the poor novice ranger until she admits there is some overflow camping in the picnic area for emergency. I almost give her a hug.