THAT WAS EASY
I was up early the next
morning, as it would be my final day in North Cascades National Park. I had to drive all the way back to
Bainbridge Island that afternoon, but I wanted to squeeze in one more hike in
before I left.
I ate the last of the eggs
and hashbrowns and broke camp. Then I
headed east, which is technically in the opposite direction from Bainbridge
Island. I wanted to hike to Easy Pass
though, and going out of my way didn’t seem too bad, considering that I was
driving the North Cascades Scenic Highway.
The drive only took 30 minutes, and I was on the trail by 9AM.
I hiked into the woods, and
crossed a footbridge over Granite Creek.
Beyond the creek, the climb began.
Initially it was a pleasant climb in the woods, but soon I found myself
passing through a brushy avalanche field.
The trail was overgrown, and the vegetation was still soaked with
dew. It didn’t take long before I was
completely drenched.
The climb didn’t get serious
until I neared the pass. Then, the trail
got steeper and steeper. Easy Pass may
be many things, but easy isn’t one of them.
Easy Pass has one of those ironic names – kind of like calling a great
big tall fat guy “Tiny”. That last
stretch seemed to go on forever, but I eventually reached the final scree
slopes. A few minutes later, I arrived
at the pass, which features a pleasant meadow and a few scattered trees. The view is rather limited here, but it
opens up a short distance down the trail.
There I was treated to a fine view of Mt. Logan, its glaciers, and
more. I paused there to enjoy the view,
before beginning the return hike.
On my descent, I noticed a
large animal browsing in the avalanche chute below. I retrieved my binoculars, and confirmed that there was yet
another black bear down below. This one
was unusual, in that its head was black, but its body was cinnamon. It was the third bear I’d seen in the past
week, and the 13th of the entire trip. In fact, it was the 15th bear I’d seen in the last two
months. That was pretty incredible,
considering that I’d seen only 14 in my entire lifetime, prior to this
summer. (Yes, in a dull moment, I
counted them).
He was browsing near the
trail, so I waited for 15 minutes or so.
However, he showed no inclination to move away from the trail, and I was
already running late. I resumed the
hike, moving cautiously. I walked until
I was getting too close, and stopped again.
I must’ve made a noise, because he turned in my direction and rose up on
his hind legs. I love it when bears do
this! On this occasion, I got so
excited, I peed a little!
He went back to browsing,
but started slowly working his way towards me.
I got some good photos, but eventually was forced to skirt off the trail
to avoid him. Once off-trail, I
continued down the mountain, in an attempt to give the bear a little more
space. Once I was well beyond him, I
regained the trail, and resumed the hike back to the car.
The drive back to
civilization was tedious. Several
construction delays slowed me down considerably, and it was late afternoon
before I got lunch at the Subway in Sedro-Wooley. I ran into heavy traffic near I-5, and spontaneously decided to
take the back way to Bainbridge Island.
Rather than taking the highway towards Seattle, I continued out towards
the San Juan Islands.
This was certainly the more
scenic route, as it offered views of the islands and the sound. Best of all, I was treated to several
crystal clear views of Mount Baker in all its majesty. However, the scenic route was probably not
much of a shortcut. Many of the islands
are heavily developed, and there was a lot of traffic. It was a relief when I finally reached the
ferry terminal at Keystone. I arrived
two minutes before the next scheduled departure, and briefly thought that I’d
gotten lucky for a change. Then I saw
the “No Left Turn” sign. For some
bizarre reason, accessing the ferry requires driving a full mile away from the
port, making a U-Turn, and returning.
I’m sure there is a truly excellent reason for this, but I can’t imagine
what it might be. Keystone consists of
a marsh and, well, a marsh, so I can’t believe that they have traffic
problems. Oh, and did I mention that
the speed limit along the 2 mile detour is 25mph? I arrived with 2 minutes to spare, but I had to drive an extra 2
miles at 25mph. You do the math.
So I missed the ferry by 2
minutes. I shouldn’t have been
surprised, as I missed nearly every ferry I took on this trip. On the upside, I got to spend 45 minutes
exploring the Keystone Ferry terminal.
In case you’re wondering, the terminal consists of a pay phone, a
toilet, and a vending machine. So, I
sat on the toilet, ate a twinkie, and made some phone calls. Simultaneously.
The ride over to Port
Townsend was nice, and the drive from there to highway 101 was beautiful. A little while later, I met up with Brian,
Jill, and the girls at the Albertsons in Poulsbo. Brian and I had to get groceries for our backpacking trip in the
Alpine Lakes Wilderness, which we were starting the next morning. Once that mission was accomplished, we
headed back to their place on Bainbridge to sort our gear.
It was a trip I’d been
looking forward to for months. We had
permits for the Enchantment Lakes, in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The Enchantment Lakes have the reputation
for being one of the finest backpacking destinations in Washington. I knew it would be a great place to spend
the last few days of my vacation. Best
of all, Brian would be joining me.
Brian had accompanied me on the first extended backpacking trip of my
life, a 4-day trip in the Wilson Creek area of North Carolina. Since then, I have been nothing short of
passionate about exploring the wilderness.
Brian, however, got married, had kids, and hung up his boots. Now that he was living in Washington though,
he was ready to get back to nature, and I couldn’t wait to join him.
Continue reading about my trip as I backpack with Brian in the Enchantment Lakes.
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!