Black Lake-Lake Creek Trail, Winthrop Washington

The morning started out great....we planned for a early leave time so we could beat the heat....Got about half way to Twisp and the little one decided that the apple sauce she had for breakfast didn't agree with her and riding in the car.....fun fun....so we scrambled around and got things cleaned up...rinsed out pant with water bottles and few spare paper towels for clean up....such a good way to start the day....after that little fiasco she seemed fine....we decided that if things stayed down we would continue.....The East Chewuch road is a beautiful drive...the ponderosa's are gorgeous....lots of flowers blooming on the 13 mile drive up the road.....saw a few deer...one or two with fuzzy horns.....The dirt road to the trail was free of blow downs...this is always a concern....I have been about a mile and a half up this road with a horse trailer and had a very large tree blocking the road....not fun backing up the trailer to find a decent turn around spot.....the weather was in the 70's with a blue sky and a slight breeze....the trail runs up the middle of a valley floor and with all the twist and turns you continually come back to the creek which is very full and very pretty.....the trail is fairly easy with only a few rolling sections...but nothing too strenuous....we saw some fresh moose tracks...two different sizes...but with the valley floor covered in brush and willow they could have been hiding anywhere.....the lake sits about five miles in....beautiful blue on a sunny day....the trail continues on down the side of it thru some avalanche rock slide areas.....very well maintained trail...only had to hop or climb over a few downed trees....going in that was fine...coming out....sometimes it was difficult to get the leg up high enough to get up and over the log.....a little bit of water on the trail in areas...but easy to cross with out soaking your boots.....lots of flowers blooming along the way....last time I hiked this trail it was a hot miserable July day....This is a trail you want to hike on a cool day or early season....We rested and lunched by the lake.....dipped our toes in the cold lake and watched the fish jump...from there we dropped our packs and hiked to the end of the lake....then returned the same way...it was a beautiful warm day...much hotter and we would have been roasting on the trail.

Comments

Cutthroat Trail.......Snowshoeing North Cascades Highway

I have a confession to make, I have been having some winter blues. Not sure if they can be officially called winter blues due to we have had little to no winter. I have been very impatiently waiting for the snow to arrive, it comes, blows through, makes the ground white, then its gone. The last few days we have been sitting at temperatures in the 40's. What is up with winter. One thing I can say for sure is I am very thankful for the few trips we made up highway 20 before the silver star gate was closed. Our trip to Cutthroat Trail was back in November, when we had visions of winter coming to the valley very soon. The snow was nice and fluffy and deep. Pleasant day to get out and enjoy it, one of those days where your not sure if the clouds where going to allow the blue sky to show it self or not. We parked right off the highway with a couple of other cars and Snowshoed up the road to the trail head. Wasn't very long and more hikers, cross country skiers, and furry

The Places We Can Go

Life goes on, things change, storms of life come and go. One thing that always remains the same is the feeling and quiet peace I feel from being in the mountains. This was a spur of the moment overnight trip. It was so needed and such a beautiful time. Left the house around 2:30 PM, traffic was so slow heading up Hwy 20, lots of folks heading out of Mazama. Arrived at the trail head a few minutes before 4 PM, and we were off down the trail in a few minutes. Three quarters of a mile down the trail a bee or some kind of flying ant decided to bite my nieces eye lid, talk about hysteria for a moment. I was pretty sure our trip was over, but we were able to move on with a very cold creek soaked multipurpose face mask. The sun was sinking fast and the wind was howling by the time we reached the top. Made some quick decisions on the best place to park the tents, and we set up camp. It was truly an incredible evening, hiked around a bit and watched the sun slip behind the mountains.

Carlton Complex Wildfire, Pateros Washington

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. I spent last weekend moving my animals back home to a mostly burnt out barn yard. We had a small patch of trees and garden space that escaped the fire, which was where my dog pens were located. So they were able to return to a fairly normal life. The horse pen was kind of a hit and miss burnt area, since there wasn't a whole lot of vegetetaion in it the fences took most of the heat. The metal panels got a nice rusty color to them, with some serious scorch marks. Besides my horse having red smudge colored marks on his nose from the fencing he seems to be adjusting to his return home. We have found temporary living close by so it has made taking care of my animals easier, and a stress off of where we be this winter. The town is slowly getting the debris removed and homesteads cleaned up. Lots of piles of rubble and cut down trees piled up in the city lot areas. I understand that Okanogan County and the Confederated Tribes Of the Co

Lost In The Right Direction

Search This Blog