The Great PNW

July 2019
Pacific Northwest that is. We took a trip to Eugene to visit family, then extended that into a couple weeks in Oregon and Washington.

We hadn't even made into Eugene yet when we pulled off on a forest road near Willamette Pass to camp for the night. I stuck it in 4x4 low to just ease up the hill and into a nice camp spot we found. The next morning it wouldn't come out of 4 low. I spent a couple hrs trying to come up with something but failed. I was sure it was just the transfer case since the front axle was unlocked. It was a slow trip into Eugene later that day. When I could finally google the issue I learned that I could remove the transfer case shift motor and shift it by hand. So that's what I did and we did the rest of the trip without 4x4. Note to others: It turns out the transfer case control module (computer) had a brain fart and just seized in fear. Removing the battery terminals and letting it sit for awhile cleared it's head and it's working normally again. Like turning your phone all the way off.

While in Eugene we visited my (Doug's) mom, and brother and sister in law. We had even had a surprise visit with an old work buddy from the oil platform.

Joannie, Betty, Ma

Jim from work and his wife Tracy. Wyatt just interested in the "doggy box"

After a few days we headed back up into the mountains to visit Waldo Lake. Wow! what a beautiful place! We paddled for awhile then went and made a camp. In the afternoon we did a short ride along an ATV/snowmobile trail system. The following day Joannie took Wyatt paddling again while I did the Waldo lake trail. 20 miles around the lake on my mountain bike.

Now it was time to head north. Next stop, Mt St. Helens which I had climbed a couple times prior to the eruption of 1980. Very dramatic and a little eerie.

Then Mt. Rainier which I've climbed by 4 different routes. Always fun to visit. Through Facebook we discovered we had a friend on the Emmons/Winthrop route. From Sunrise we are fairly certain that we spotted his party descending from the summit and we camped at White River hoping to pass them a cold congratulatory beer. But they did one more overnight at their high camp before descending to the parking lot so we missed them. Maybe next time Rob!

Where's Rob?

Next we moved up the east side and made another camp in the Entiat River Valley. Uncrowded and very beautiful. Wyatt spent as much time as we'd allow in the river.

I had only just heard of the Angel's Staircase mountain bike trail despite having lived in Winthrop in the early 90's. It has the reputation of being the premier high alpine ride of the North Cascades. Of course we had to go there! It was just a short drive from our camp in Entiat so we stopped at Pateros Lake and Joannie took Wyatt out paddling. Pateros Lake lies at the confluence of the Methow River and the Columbia River.

After the paddle we headed for the Angel's Staircase trailhead. Not sure if we'd make it loaded up as we were without 4x4. We had gotten stopped on a steep dirt road in the Entiat. With this being a popular hiking, equestrian and biking trail though, I figured it should be ok. And it was. We camped at one of the campsites at the trailhead and had a good carbo loaded dinner. I was off early the next morning for the ride. The description says not to underestimate the difficulty and physical challenge. I still did. 20+ miles with 5k of vert didn't seem too intimidating. What a fantastic ride!!! A well deserved reputation indeed! It started off steep right away but soon eased to a more sustainable climb. I did the loop clockwise and I think I hit prime wildflower season! Once up to Cooney Lake I was faced with the mandatory hike-a-bike section. It went relatively quickly, though I did my first shoulder carry hike-a-bike! I was totally kicking myself for not bringing the go-pro to record this gorgeous route.

Well, you know selfies aren't my strong point!

Cooney Lk. below

First ridge of the climb

Merchant Basin

Heading out there!

Looking into the heart of the N. Cascades from the high pt of Angel's Staircase.

Slight zoom of above

I made it down alive!

 

Boiling Lk.

Horsehead Pass ahead

Boiliing lk. from above

View from Horsehead Pass down toward the trailhead

Today we were off to visit Winthrop and get an ice cream cone at the Tenderfoot general store. I guess we're not all that excited about nostalgia so a quick visit and we were on the road to Diablo Lk. where we intended to paddle. This was the first sort of disappointment of the trip. In all the dozens of times I had driven by the lake and campground I had never seen it crowded. Well it was a zoo. We grit our teeth and found a campsite just as someone else was leaving. In addition there was a cross country bike event that had reserved practically all the sites. I'm all for these events but it was easy to change our plans in the morning after getting rain most of the night.

We were sadly on the return trip now. Second disappointment. We hit the I5 corridor and although I'm used to traffic through Seattle, due to construction it was a traffic armageddon from Everett south past Portland. We had hoped to stop and see some friends south of Portland but due to the traffic we were much later than hoped so we didn't give them a call. Playing road warrior I drove all the way back to our former camp spot near Waldo lake arriving pretty late. Waldo was just as beautiful the second time around.

Epilogue. We had no more issues with the truck after that first 4x4 issue. When we got home I could do some more trouble shooting and googling. So it's all back to normal. It was a great trip even though we didn't come home the coast route as we originally planned. Waldo Lake was an outstanding find and the Cascade Lakes highway is full of gems. For anyone wanting a great though demanding ride I cannot over emphasize how awesome Angel's Staircase is. I'm sure we'll return to try Diablo lake again. We just weren't into the crowds. I already forgot the planned completion date of the construction project causing all that horrendous I5 traffic but be warned...

Up next: Via Ferrata baby!