This year had been consumed with work. My summer had no breaks and fall was here. Those boyhood fantasies of trees to climb was coming back to haunt me. I needed a break. I decided to take action and do something about that. I took a couple weeks off work in search of the Larix lyallii or Alpine larch. Native to the eastern flanks of the northern Washington Cascades they should be easier to spot at this golden hour. It was one of two favorite fall trees that I have been able to see in their native habitat. The other being the Aruacaria araucana. While diametrically opposite, these two species achieve the same affect in the fall. The bright golden burst in color of the deciduous Alpine larch in a evergreen forest. Equally intoxicating is the Chilean pine's evergreen appearance in the fall of a deciduous lenga forest of the Andes. I'd been to Chile to see the native stands of the Aruacaria, or monkey puzzle tree. You can even find them here in Portland planted as an ornamental in some parks and yards. Wanting to walk among one of these trees in their native habitat, it was going to be much easier going to see the larch.
Most of these photos were taken with an inexpensive cybershot camera and it only works about so good. I started thinking my right eye was out of focus
It is the camera. There are a couple 6X7 captures, but that is a winter project that I enjoy more these days. - Larch trees in Windy Pass on the PCT a few years ago.
- Araucaria trees in a fall lenga forest.
So I'm certainly not speeding on this road of a posted 60 mph. What I took for a couple locals came up behind me and I pulled off the road far enough to let them speed by. They were in a bigger hurry than I and those suicidal deer were out there. I entered one of those one house towns of forgotten name with a posted speed of 30mph. You known the ones that seem like an inconvenience to take your foot off the gas pedal, but you wonder what is lurking around the corner. A guy is sitting in his crew cab with the cab light on next to the house I passed by. Rounding a curve in the road I swerved just in time to mostly miss a large pile of brush in the road. The guys that had passed a few miles back had their vehicles off to my side of the road with one of them turned completely around. Their headlights blinding me making it harder to see what exactly was blocking the road. One young man was walking up to the pile with a look of disbelief on his face as I passed waving, shrugged and kept on going. I didn't want to get stuck in some poorly scripted plot of tit for tat in Podunkerville with local residents. I had a mission and wasn't going to be waylaid.
I stopped in Twisp, which had rolled up the sidewalks and gone to bed other than the quicky mart. I needed more ice as I wouldn't be back that way for a few days. Had a discussion with the local guy running this store about the changes occurring in the Winthrop local. He said it had gotten a lot more crazy in recent years. I supposed it was the usual suspects of a successful tourism program. This has changed other small western theme towns of the west. I had seen new million dollar homes in hills to the south before dark and expected the same for Winthrop. It seems to always be the same story. Locals wanting to have steady income turn to tourism to promote their area. Success brings as many problems as it solves with a love it to death scenario. Many locals end up leaving the area their families had been living and dying in for generations. We have all seen this happen. Myself I had seen this in Sedona, AZ, Jackson Hole, WY. to name a couple.
I headed up the Twisp River road to one of the circle the wagons campgrounds of 4 units. I was the only wagon for 3 out of 4 days there. South Fork campground wasn't much more than a round about of four tables with fire pits and an outhouse for the deal of 8 USD per night. I always go to the bank and get a bunch of 1s,5s,10s before I leave town. I know the campgrounds take checks, but who carries a check book anymore? I tell the teller I'm going camping and she laughs. I mean why 8 dollars? Why not 5 or even 10. Nope 8. Unless your sure your staying several nights you need 4 bills every day. I needed a big envelope for all the small denominations. It was late September and the nights were now growing longer than the days. The campground fire in the evening would warm my bones before bed and give me a reason to stay up past the wee hour of 8pm. I had given up backcountry fires many years ago. At this point it was headed for the middle of the night and I set up camp best one does at that hour. I was now a small walk away from the Sawtooth Wilderness.
- What a tidy camper. Even the firewood is shrink wrapped.
Day 2: Sept 27th: Louis Lake: The South Pass trail was right next to the campground. There was a junction out there that would connect me to what was supposed to be an equestrian destination, Louis Lake. As I loaded my day pack with my 40 essentials, I thought about the late great George Carlin and his monologue about "stuff". This trail was chosen as a reality check on my physical condition. The trail was surprisingly in great shape. Amazingly so was I. I powered along with my new trekking poles on the 10.5 mile RT hike. I had to see if I understood the concept of their use having watched the video in our gear section. It did seem like a natural rhythm to their use after many years of hiking. I was doing so well I picked up several hitch hikers in the form of slowly warming yellow jackets. They were warming up on my socks and were in the process of taking on an aggressive attitude as I left them beside the trail ASAP. I was soon at the lake that was wedged against a great wall of Rennie Peak.
- One thing about equestrian trails. They have better bridges.
- Larches spotted..
- This lake even had an island of its own.
Brushy at first it was clear that the hikers were on the other trail to Twisp Pass. The trail turned to a path as it continued to climb past a twin waterfall of the North Fork of the Twisp River. Then on up through what appeared to be a couple acres of blow down. Not Opal Creek stuff where you convince yourself that the trees are log paths and you end up fifteen feet in the air. More an uphill hurdles and I was soon past it. The area was opening up and the trail turned to a rocky dry wash of sorts as it got into heather meadows and expanding views. Up in the pass it was beautiful. Views included the Copper creek drainage then off to peaks of the park Cascades, thou much of the area was taken up by views of the southeastern side of Early Winters Spires. I climbed higher on the ridge for photos, but it wasn't a sit down affair as the cold wind bit at me and I soon retreated down below the pass to a small larch grove. I believe some folks climb over this ridge headed for Twisp Pass to make a shorter loop than the loop down into the park.
Part 4: Continued from moving: Before long I was out of Winthrop and headed to the eastern edges of North Cascades National Park on WA 20. This highway isn't actually ever in the park as the corridor was left out of the park even though it passes thru the park. Make any sense? I didn't think so. I headed for the Lone Fir campground. I had stayed there before as it was close to the Cutthroat trailhead and Washington Pass not much further up the road. It's 12 USD a night. Not an even 10. Even thou the water faucets are turned off by this time of year. I would purchase several days together as to not burden the government with those 1s again. I like this campground though it's right off of WA 20. You can always tell who is speeding by the noise from the highway. It has one of the vibration strips if you cross into the center of the road. Thankfully I didn't hear any responses when people went over the center. The campground has some open area camps out in the front, but most persons prefer the back. I like the open areas out front. The high mountains around the campground block a lot of the horizon. So you get a slice of the sky. I did get afternoon sun from an open western sky, which was nice as I setup camp and just hung out with the sun and Deschutes on a warmish clear afternoon. At night time there was no moon as in the past, but I had a picture window of the Milky Way. When I got warm enough from my fire I could walk a few feet to the campground road for the night sky. I would occasional see a meteoroid streak thru my window as it got caught up in a fatal attraction with mother earth and became just another burned meteor.
If any of you tech savy persons know how to put this sprawling report together have at it.
