North Cascades Quickie

[home skillet]

So after some good advice from our friends here on WTW, Flutterby and I made a 3 day mad dash out of smoke filled Wenatchee, WA to do a little exploring of the Eastern side of the North Cascade Hwy and mountains. The fires around Wenatchee have left us with an air quality of around 500 (terrible) and we needed to clear our lungs.

We drove north on Hwy 97 then onto 135 and then to Hwy 20 through the towns of Methow, Twisp, and Winthrop. It was late on Thursday night and after stopping for pizza and a beer in Winthrop we drove to our first destination in the dark. We planned to camp at either Ballard campground or River's Bend campground on the upper Methow River. We wound up at River's Bend.



Friday morning we took a short hike up the Methow River. There had been a fire in the canyon a few years back (by the looks of it) but the river was still pretty and the trail well developed. Looked like people might even Mt. Bike the trail.



Around noon we headed up the Hart's Pass road toward the summit. Not exactly 4X4 road, but close in a few spots. Steep with some exposed areas.





At Hart's pass there was a spur road (even steeper) that went up to the Slate Peak lookout. The lookout was originally a military radar station and they had blasted the mountain top to make it flat. A nice little hike resulted in some awesome views despite distant smoke.





Our trusty trail partner seemed a little reluctant to make the climb to the lookout!

 

[home skillet]

The lookout is pretty well developed with Identification plates posted all around the top. There is still some evidence of the foundation of the previous radar station as well. There was a sign on the lookout saying that it was unsafe to climb, so we stuck to the ground.





I had no idea just how rugged the North Cascades really are and how many peaks there are. It was pretty clear that this is tough country and why there are so few access roads.







Impressive!

 

[home skillet]

With our thirst for scenic verandas quenched we headed down to Hart's pass again and drove out to Meadows Campground. Here, another fire had passed through and unfortunately they were only able to save parts of the trees around the campground. Still with some early fall colors coming on, it made for a great place to stay. There were a number of "serious" hikers staying there as well. Some may have even been traversing part of the Pacific Crest Trail which crosses right at Hart's Pass.







Life was good for Flutterby and I.....and our hiking partner!

The next morning we decided to take a trip into Winthrop and check out the town. We had been told that it was a quaint western style town with shops and such........it was. You can get a meal, a beer, and all kinds of nick nacks, if you are into that kind of thing. We weren't in the mood so quickly headed out on Hwy 20 and up to Loup Loup Pass on the eastern side of the Methow valley.

We were looking for a spot way up on some hill where we could disperse camp with a view. As most of you know, this can be tricky when in the forest, but after aboud 17 miles of logging road/track, we found a suitable spot and watched the sun go down while sipping beverages.





It was a nice quiet night......except for some critter trying to get into our cooler. Likely a raccoon since it wasn't big enough to do any real damage and it gave up after awhile. I wanted to check it out, but Flutterby forbade it. Next morning we woke to chainsaw noise as some locals were cutting firewood not too far from where we camped in yet another old forest fire site.

After a breakfast, which included some bacon, we broke camp and headed back to smokey Wenatchee with a burning desire to do even more exploring in the North Cascades!

 

[rotti]

I see another dog that refuses to sleep in the dirt. Foam dog bed on top of the table.
Glad to see I am not the only one with a humanized dog.

Looks like a great "quickie"....thanks for sharing.

 

[SunMan]

View attachment 15233



Love this shot! Nice report...looks like a fun getaway.

 

[ski3pin]

Home skillet, looks like you and Flutterby had a nice quickie. Sure is fun seeing that area again through your photos, makes us want to head up that way ahead. Thanks for the report!

 

[home skillet]

Home skillet, looks like you and Flutterby had a nice quickie.



LOL.........it was the perfect 3 day getaway.

 

[pods8]

Dude, when did you move to Wenatchee? I was over in the Leavenworth area the weekend of Sept. 7, I would have taken a side trip to try and meet up if I knew you were around.

 

[home skillet]

Dude, when did you move to Wenatchee? I was over in the Leavenworth area the weekend of Sept. 7, I would have taken a side trip to try and meet up if I knew you were around.



Well, just moved up here 2 months ago and had to get settled in some. Now been starting to explore some. I'd love to meet up sometime, maybe a camping meet up. But anywhere would be fine.

 

[pods8]

Well, just moved up here 2 months ago and had to get settled in some. Now been starting to explore some. I'd love to meet up sometime, maybe a camping meet up. But anywhere would be fine.


Damn timing is tight. We're packing up and heading for CO Oct 23rd.

 

[home skillet]

Damn timing is tight. We're packing up and heading for CO Oct 23rd.



LOL, it seems that we WTWers are all just part of some big shell game. Good luck with the move and completing the build! See ya on the boards here at least.

 

[pods8]

Haha, no joke. Definitely wish I knew you were over that way a few weeks ago since I wasn't too far off.

I hadn't really done much on the camper since June with a somewhat busy summer and a big lamination staring me in the face before I could make further progress. Yesterday I sucked it up and finally did the underside of the roof (I was worried it might get damaged in the move if I didn't). So once we get settled in at the new place I can get back at it since I'll just be joining the roof pieces together and I can break that work up into as long or short of a session as I like which is much easier to schedule.