Winthrop WA

Time flies when you are enjoying life, we "just " started our 16th RV summer trip in June and we are very close to wrap it up and fly home for the winter, wow that was really fast..

Yesterday we traveled the HWY 20 from the North Cascades Eastbound missing a lot of the most beautiful scenery in this part of the country because of the smoky air , but quite lucky to still be able to hike earlier and see great views around Mount Baker.

Will be storing the rig in Spokane for the winter while using the International Airport to fly out and in again in the next summer.

Driving East we made a few stops and one that we liked the most was in this Old Town of Winthrop.

The Old Miner Town has a great atmosphere, with resturants,hotel and shops all along the main street, even the gas station is "nostalgic" but unfortunately with updated fuel prices that are close to 3.30 a gallon of diesel...

Great place to spend a day or more strolling the main drag or having a drink facing the river…Lots of fun.

Newhalem and Diablo Lake WA area

Hwy 20 in the North Cascades provides numerous nature spots, hikes, lakes ,mountain peaks can be found all along this Hwy.

Unfortunately we got to explore Newhalem and Hike to vista point on Diablo Lake when the air was full of dust from the numerous fires in the area.

It was imposable to know when the wind will pick up in the right direction and clear the air, therefore we did not change our plans and started the day in Newhalem, a small nice town with some old buildings and a beautiful gardens and Ladder Creek Falla that are lightened at night, it must be a real treat.

The hike is easy and only 1 Mile roud trip .

Leaving the town driving East we stopped George Creek Overlook , a short walk from the parking area this high falls could be seen and at the end of the summer it sure is not in a full swing.

Thunder Knob Trail is a 3.8 Mile round trip to a vista point above Diablo Lake , with no expectations due to the smoky air we climbed the trail gaining 600’ to the top and tried to imagine how it would look with clear air.

We could hardly see the lake and the mountains, wow we have to come back when it will all clear up..

Still we enjoyed the hike and the area that offers great hiking , camping and swimming opportunities , before heading home we drove around the lake that is created by a huge dam and took  a break next to the beach getting as much as possable from the situation.

There is a mountain at the “end” of this shot….

Wish all the fire fighters to come safely home, while we are complaining about the smoke they are doing the hard dangerous work.

Baker Lake & Mount Baker NRA

We settled down for 4 days in Marblemount on HWY 20 in the North Cascades, a simple small Camp Ground with full hookups, week WiFi , only 27 sites , only cash and a friendly manager.

We called ahead to reserve a spot from the 1st of October and thought we will have problems getting in on Labor Day , but it all went well and smooth

The location is great for touring the Baker Lake area and the Newhalem area, you have to be prepared to low or almost no cell phone signal, very limited grocery shops and high gas prices and pray for good weather (which we had).

On the next day we explored Lake Baker area. a huge lake with many C.G (no hookups) around it ,lots of water activities and all in a beautiful surroundings.

A short hike in the Shadow of Sentinels is worth taking to see the big trees ,ferns and moose , there is a loop good trail usable with a wheelchair .

It was time for our traditional picnic just before starting our hike towards the glacier on Mount Baker and we found a great spot with a view of the Lake and the snow on top of the Mountain.

To reach the Trail Head we had to drive 10 Miles on a bad gravel heavily used road that for some reason the Forest Service is doing too little to maintain it, there were parts that I had slowdown and almost stop to overcome ditches, but finally we made it to the parking lot loaded with cars and had to park long side the road.

A Park Ranger had a table near the parking lot but had no maps of the trails and could only explain verbally about the routes that later we found not accurate at all, so next time I will bring trail maps from home...

It is our second time hiking Mount Baker but first time from the East side (see my previous blogs)

We chose to hike High Camp trail one of the hikes that lead to a glacier with panoramic views when reaching the last third of the hike.

The hike gains 1200' and is 3 miles all the way up, we passed 2 rivers on rocks, one river on a bridge , most of the trail is in shade , it was challenging but very rewarding, the good parts are the views and the way down....

Another great adventure ended with a hot shower followed by dinner wine a bottle of wine, life is good.