Around Olympia: Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 2

The Diablo/Ross lake waterway is a favorite of ours and we try to go camping up there at least once a year, sometimes more. As you will see, it's beauty is beyond compare and big bonus, it's free! There are about 25 campsites along the lakes, but they are all fairly small units(sometimes just one campsite at a spot) so you have a good chance of not having to camp around anyone else. You do have to get a backcountry permit for all sites, but these are issued at no cost. The only fee on the lake is if you wish to have a truck come down from the Dam that seperates Ross and Diablo, pick up your gear and canoe and haul it to the upper lake.(this service is definitely worth paying for- $25 one way for single canoes, $15 each way if you have more than one canoe in your group)

Joining us for this trip are Jenny and Jennifer. My sweet sweet wife met them at the gym a year ago and have become good friends. Jennifer is quite a marathon runner and has just turned her considerable endurance talents to triathalons. Jenny is a high jumper training hard and you can look for her at the next summer Olympics!

Permits are first come, first serve and when I called the Ranger station on Thursday afternoon, they recommended showing up at the crack of dawn because a horde of Boy Scouts were supposed to descend on the lake and would probably snake a good many, if not all, of the campsites.

I informed the ladies that we would be departing promptly at 3 am Friday morning, to be at the Marblemount Ranger Station at 6:30 - 1/2 hour before it opens. This was met with some resistance, but I'm a smooth talker when I need to be and it was agreed on.

The ride up was uneventful and once we got off I5 headed for Darrington, the drive was stunning, with low lying fog rolling through the fields and valleys and quick glimpses of the North Cascades with the pink of early morning. We couldn't stop for photos however, knowing that we were in a heated race with those resourceful Boy Scouts for campsites.

We were victorious, snagged a couple great spots, and could fully enjoy the rest of the trip.

Neither Jennifer or Jenny have cars with racks or canoes, so we pulled both Pearson vehicles into action. I got to drive our favorite car(in front - if you'd like to know more about this fine vehicle of ours, read on here), my sweet sweet wife got the cushy Subaru with the ladies.

Stopped to stretch, Diablo WA - my sweet sweet wife, Jenny, Jennifer

I might have said this before, but the really nice thing about canoe camping up here, is you get back in the wilderness, but don't have to worry about shaving weight off your backpacks. You can pack the kitchen sink if you want to, and we pretty much did. Canoe camping is all about comfort, people.

Last bit of the canoe packing