Sahale Arm, North Cascades, WA Part 5

Setting up camp.

Sahale Arm, North Cascades, WA Part 4

The toilet up there deserves it's own post. I don't care how much your bathroom remodel cost, you're not topping this.

Not only a great perch, but with the wind rocketing up that face, it's a bit of an adventure just to hang on whilst you take care of business.

Sahale Arm, North Cascades, WA Part 3

Continuing on



Came around a corner to this little guy in the trail. He led us down the path for a bit



Then took a side route



He posed for the paparazzi



My sweet sweet wife wanted some pictures of wildflowers, they weren't quite in full glory yet, but there were some blooming





Then we climbed for a long time. It got windy and we started to catch little glimpses of our surroundings




The worst part of the hike was upon us and picture taking stopped for awhile



But we did make it..

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 last post

The ladies joined us and we headed over to the far shore



Found a nice little inlet to explore





The end of the inlet. Nice.



Coming back out




Clear water



Not a reflection, you can see to the bottom




Morning- leaving our island.



Peaceful paddling




Coming up on Ross Lake Resort to order our shuttle truck



Back to Diablo Canyon



Pool water in the canyon




A relaxing way to end the trip



If you'd just like to look at big photos without all the writing, go here

The end

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 7

We setup camp, and just as we were finishing lunch the rain came. When I say rain, I mean monsoon. Fortunately we saw it coming and were prepared, all cozy in the tents. One thing I really enjoy is reading a book while rain is falling hard outside and I drifted off to sleep listening to this fine sound.

A couple hours later the rain stopped, we peeked out and were presented with a fine evening for another cruise. Jenny and Jennifer claimed to be too comfy to get out, so my sweet sweet wife and I had the lake to ourselves.



For most of this trip, the water was just unreal. I found myself thinking about a wakeboard. If only they made quiet towboats.




We couldn't keep it to ourselves, so we headed back to our island to roust the womens.


If you look closely, you can see our other canoe on the island on right, birds still hanging out to the left of the smaller island

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 6

The girls got tired of waiting around on photos and cruised on ahead



The sweet sweet wife was stuck with me though. You marry a photographer and you just gotta put up with it





She does have her limits, this is her secret code that it's time to move on.




Moving on



The ladies headed for land to the sounds of rushing water. Pulled into a cove and hiked a bit



This was the only time we ran into mosquitos the entire trip and they weren't bad but we didn't want to have to spray on deet or cover up, so I took a couple pics and we headed back to the water




Ominous looking clouds started rolling in so we booked it back to the camp, packed up gear and headed for our second nights stop- Cougar Island.

This was previously my favorite spot to camp as it is a small sland(about 200 yards long 100 yards wide?) There are only 2 sites on the island but we always get it to ourselves.. The south side gets the weather, the north side has a nice calm little pool even when the weather gets crazy. It also has a little sister island to the east that it's fun to swim or boat to.

Arrival at Cougar Island. If you look closely you can see a flock of birds hanging out on the sister island.

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 5

I'm a big fan of glassy water in the morning(or anytime really) At the risk of sounding fruity, there's something almost magical about gliding through flatwater in the wilderness, taking in the sounds of silence and sharing those moments with friends. Even better when the water is so clear you can see to the bottom as you move over the water. I had all the glass I could want the next morning and I rousted people out for an early morning glide.

The campsite is just behind the girls and canoes. I'm out on the tip of Roland Point here.



Turned around and looking South here. When it gets windy, it blows all the driftwood/water debris to this side of the island.



Then we were off






For some reason the hill in the center strikes my sweet sweet wife as funny, she still giggles every time she sees it.



One thing I can watch for hours is the "paddle art" on smooth water.

Drips



Whirlpools