20090914—Back in Washington State
I drove pretty steadily today, initially on US2, then, after crossing into Washington at Newport, generally following SR20 (except for ~40 miles on an unnumbered road between Usk and Chewelah) until eventually arriving at Twisp.
Much of this, like yesterday, was through National Forest land (the Colville NF, the Okanagon NF and the Paysaten Wilderness). This went over several passes (Sherman, Wauconda and Loup Loup), so was kind of slow going and needed a lot of attention. There were a lot logging trucks on the road, bringing shorter (8 foot?) toothpick size logs (for pulp or chipping) to two larger Simpson operations enroute. The drive was full of memories of the week or so that Patt and I spent in NorthEast Washington several years ago. We also spent a nice cross country skiing weekend in the Twisp area about 20 years ago.
I was able to pick up NPR for classical music, Terry Gross interviewing about Ted Kennedy's True Compass, and a call in program from National Native News discussing the National Park System in the USA, giving the perspective that these, among other things, have served to create 'conservation refugees' (given that he native populations who once lived there have been banished or at least prevented from using them in traditional ways). This later discussion was not a rant, but thoughtful, and brought up situations now developing in Canada, Africa, and South America where 'American style' National Parks are being established. This was an interesting and thought provoking viewpoint for me. See more detail at http://www.firstpeoplesworldwide.org/publish/MaasaiPressRelease08-27-2009.pdf
I'm spending a warm night at a nice commercial RV site with a great view of the Methow River.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Goodbye Montana
20090913—Goodbye Montana
I did a little more exploring at Glacier this morning, taking a quick look at the Fish Creek campground area, then heading North, just inside the park on the “inside west side road” . Fish Creek campground is a lot more to my taste than Apgar, with no commercial adjuncts and it is right on the shore or Lake McDonald. It was closed for the winter a few days ago.
The West Side road stayed low and flat on the perimeter of the Park. It cut through almost 10 miles of the area that burned in 2001 or 2002. The blackened trunks, most with some branches still on, and most with bark peeling off permitted open views of the rugged terrain to the East. The blackened trunks made a nice contrast with the emergent evergreens, now 4-6 feet high. There were a few isolated living older trees and even fewer isolated living clumps that even now are making some habitat diversity, but in general the feeling I got from the area reminded me of the visits I had to the Mt.St Helens devastation zone. While interesting, it was a relief to get back off that road and back to the greenery.
Leaving the Park, I traveled West on US2 most of the day. The road goes through National Forest and other protected lands, with some private inclusions, so, for much of the time, I had the feeling of driving in a natural area. A lot of this is pretty rugged and follows stream beds, paralleling the railroad (the Amtrak route) that I had traveled earlier. There were signs that there had been a few frosty evenings already, with some of the lower shrubbery in bright yellows and reds.
I left US2 for about 10 miles at Hope, ID for a RV site that was shown as a POI on my GPS. This was on the lake shore and had a lot of “permanent residents”. I had a welcome shower and am off to bed.
I did a little more exploring at Glacier this morning, taking a quick look at the Fish Creek campground area, then heading North, just inside the park on the “inside west side road” . Fish Creek campground is a lot more to my taste than Apgar, with no commercial adjuncts and it is right on the shore or Lake McDonald. It was closed for the winter a few days ago.
The West Side road stayed low and flat on the perimeter of the Park. It cut through almost 10 miles of the area that burned in 2001 or 2002. The blackened trunks, most with some branches still on, and most with bark peeling off permitted open views of the rugged terrain to the East. The blackened trunks made a nice contrast with the emergent evergreens, now 4-6 feet high. There were a few isolated living older trees and even fewer isolated living clumps that even now are making some habitat diversity, but in general the feeling I got from the area reminded me of the visits I had to the Mt.St Helens devastation zone. While interesting, it was a relief to get back off that road and back to the greenery.
Leaving the Park, I traveled West on US2 most of the day. The road goes through National Forest and other protected lands, with some private inclusions, so, for much of the time, I had the feeling of driving in a natural area. A lot of this is pretty rugged and follows stream beds, paralleling the railroad (the Amtrak route) that I had traveled earlier. There were signs that there had been a few frosty evenings already, with some of the lower shrubbery in bright yellows and reds.
I left US2 for about 10 miles at Hope, ID for a RV site that was shown as a POI on my GPS. This was on the lake shore and had a lot of “permanent residents”. I had a welcome shower and am off to bed.
Glacier--Day 3
20090912—Glacier-Day3
I reluctantly pulled myself away from Two Medicine this morning. It was another chilly morning, but the birds were very active. In particular, there was an 1.5 hour squabble among two adult male Belted Kingfishers who seemed to be vying to stake out a ~300 yard long section of the creek leading into Two Medicine Lake. I mistook them first for a bunch of chipmunks because they were making their rattling call constantly. Early during my time watching them, there was a third bird involved, but, without binos at that point, I could not tell if it was a male or female. They were fascinating-- one would land on a perch and rattle and extend his wings, the other nearby chiming in. Then they would exchange places or move to another area and repeat.
Finally I left them to sort it out on their own and headed out of the park to East Glacier and US2 which I followed South and West over Marias Pass to the south tip of the park. At that point there is a feature called Goat Lick Overlook where I pulled off to watch a mountain goat licking the goat lick (which is a steep rock face they use to lick up minerals that accumulate from seeps there).
I re-entered the Park at West Glacier, and got a site at Apgar Campground, after being told that all the other campgrounds short of Logan Pass were closed for the season. After lunch I drove the Going to the Sun Road till Avalanche Creek where signs warned me to go no further with my “long” vehicle. I complied, even though there was no enforcement apparent at that point. I walked the Trail of the Cedars and took in sights of Lake McDonald on the return trip.
The Park was a lot busier here than I experienced in the past few days—whether because of the weekend, or because it is more accessible somehow, I'm not sure. I suspect it is the weekend, since there are kids everywhere. However, it is still easy to go a few hundred yards on a trail and escape the crowds.
Still no cell phone coverage. Others have spotty coverage here, but not me with my AT&T 'service'.
I reluctantly pulled myself away from Two Medicine this morning. It was another chilly morning, but the birds were very active. In particular, there was an 1.5 hour squabble among two adult male Belted Kingfishers who seemed to be vying to stake out a ~300 yard long section of the creek leading into Two Medicine Lake. I mistook them first for a bunch of chipmunks because they were making their rattling call constantly. Early during my time watching them, there was a third bird involved, but, without binos at that point, I could not tell if it was a male or female. They were fascinating-- one would land on a perch and rattle and extend his wings, the other nearby chiming in. Then they would exchange places or move to another area and repeat.
Finally I left them to sort it out on their own and headed out of the park to East Glacier and US2 which I followed South and West over Marias Pass to the south tip of the park. At that point there is a feature called Goat Lick Overlook where I pulled off to watch a mountain goat licking the goat lick (which is a steep rock face they use to lick up minerals that accumulate from seeps there).
I re-entered the Park at West Glacier, and got a site at Apgar Campground, after being told that all the other campgrounds short of Logan Pass were closed for the season. After lunch I drove the Going to the Sun Road till Avalanche Creek where signs warned me to go no further with my “long” vehicle. I complied, even though there was no enforcement apparent at that point. I walked the Trail of the Cedars and took in sights of Lake McDonald on the return trip.
The Park was a lot busier here than I experienced in the past few days—whether because of the weekend, or because it is more accessible somehow, I'm not sure. I suspect it is the weekend, since there are kids everywhere. However, it is still easy to go a few hundred yards on a trail and escape the crowds.
Still no cell phone coverage. Others have spotty coverage here, but not me with my AT&T 'service'.
Glacier--Day 2
20090911—Glacier--Day 2
I woke up to frost on the picnic table and enjoyed coffee watching a beautiful sunrise light up the side of the mountain right across the stream. That firmed up my plans for the hike, so I packed the daypack and took off about 9:00.
The hike was to go around Two Medicine Lake. I started off, going clockwise and took all the “add ons” available: 0.6 miles to Paradise Point, then 1.8 miles to Aster Falls and Aster Park overlook (the later being quite steep). I had part of my lunch there. Then continued, getting pretty tired, with half the hike still to do. About 2:00 I skipped a short add which went down to the lakeshore. Then took another add on to Twin Falls. I still had 4 miles to go after that, and limped into camp about 5:15, after about 12 miles total for the day. My feet hurt—technically it was not that hard a day, but I was not in great shape for it.
I saw lots of chipmunks during the hike, a cow moose grazing in a beaver pool between Paradise Point and Aster Falls, and some fresh Black Bear scat on the trail along with some newly ripped up logs, about two miles before the end of the hike. Throughout the day I had been making a lot of noise, as recommended, to keep from surprising a bear and getting into trouble that way. I think it worked since I did not actually encounter any bears, but this also tends to put off the smaller wildlife and birds. The scenery was grand and the forest smells wonderful.
I had a can of soup for supper, commiserated a bit with the neighbor, looked for but did not spot any bears on the mountain side, and am now heading to bed early at 8:45.
I woke up to frost on the picnic table and enjoyed coffee watching a beautiful sunrise light up the side of the mountain right across the stream. That firmed up my plans for the hike, so I packed the daypack and took off about 9:00.
The hike was to go around Two Medicine Lake. I started off, going clockwise and took all the “add ons” available: 0.6 miles to Paradise Point, then 1.8 miles to Aster Falls and Aster Park overlook (the later being quite steep). I had part of my lunch there. Then continued, getting pretty tired, with half the hike still to do. About 2:00 I skipped a short add which went down to the lakeshore. Then took another add on to Twin Falls. I still had 4 miles to go after that, and limped into camp about 5:15, after about 12 miles total for the day. My feet hurt—technically it was not that hard a day, but I was not in great shape for it.
I saw lots of chipmunks during the hike, a cow moose grazing in a beaver pool between Paradise Point and Aster Falls, and some fresh Black Bear scat on the trail along with some newly ripped up logs, about two miles before the end of the hike. Throughout the day I had been making a lot of noise, as recommended, to keep from surprising a bear and getting into trouble that way. I think it worked since I did not actually encounter any bears, but this also tends to put off the smaller wildlife and birds. The scenery was grand and the forest smells wonderful.
I had a can of soup for supper, commiserated a bit with the neighbor, looked for but did not spot any bears on the mountain side, and am now heading to bed early at 8:45.
Glacier
20090910—Glacier
I intended to explore the park from the “Going to the Sun” road, but the Rangers stopped me a few miles in and checked the length of the RV by lining me up with some lines painted on the road. I flunked the test—exceeding the length limit by almost a foot (technically by 8 inches). I knew that Bob and Yvonne had taken this vehicle over the road and it would be OK, but I think the park is extra careful with limits right now, because there was (per report—I did not see it) a lot of construction going on above that point. At first I was disappointed, then soon realized that there were a lot of other ways to see the park. And I remembered taking that route through the park many years ago in the VW Bug with Jill and Stephan.
I headed to the Many Glacier access and looked around there. The campground had a lot of open sites, so I could have stayed, but drove back a few miles, pulling off to watch a Black Bear browsing the chokecherrys on a slope above the road. A few miles later I took one of the short hikes—to Apikuni Falls. This was very nice. It felt good to be outside and stretch, it smelled wonderful and the falls were a great lunch place. I took some pictures, then headed back out of the park, heading South, through St. Marys again and re-entered the park at the Two Medicine entrance. This was also very nice, with open campsites right up against the mouth of a stream feeding Two Medicine Lake, with the steep rocky side of 9500' Rising Wolf Mountain on the other side.
I had some chats with a neighbor who had been there a few days. He recommended a hike for tomorrow, that I think I will do. Later we watched a Grizzly Bear on the slope of the mountain above us. The spotting scope provided some great looks. There were also Goats much higher up, the scope being essential to seeing any detail at all.
The campsite was very clean and, especially considering that it was now at the end of an intense season of use, had an untrampled quality to it. Other campers seemed very respectful of the grounds. The rigs averaged smaller than those at Many Glacier, and there were a lot of tent campers, using the place as a staging area for back country destinations.
I intended to explore the park from the “Going to the Sun” road, but the Rangers stopped me a few miles in and checked the length of the RV by lining me up with some lines painted on the road. I flunked the test—exceeding the length limit by almost a foot (technically by 8 inches). I knew that Bob and Yvonne had taken this vehicle over the road and it would be OK, but I think the park is extra careful with limits right now, because there was (per report—I did not see it) a lot of construction going on above that point. At first I was disappointed, then soon realized that there were a lot of other ways to see the park. And I remembered taking that route through the park many years ago in the VW Bug with Jill and Stephan.
I headed to the Many Glacier access and looked around there. The campground had a lot of open sites, so I could have stayed, but drove back a few miles, pulling off to watch a Black Bear browsing the chokecherrys on a slope above the road. A few miles later I took one of the short hikes—to Apikuni Falls. This was very nice. It felt good to be outside and stretch, it smelled wonderful and the falls were a great lunch place. I took some pictures, then headed back out of the park, heading South, through St. Marys again and re-entered the park at the Two Medicine entrance. This was also very nice, with open campsites right up against the mouth of a stream feeding Two Medicine Lake, with the steep rocky side of 9500' Rising Wolf Mountain on the other side.
I had some chats with a neighbor who had been there a few days. He recommended a hike for tomorrow, that I think I will do. Later we watched a Grizzly Bear on the slope of the mountain above us. The spotting scope provided some great looks. There were also Goats much higher up, the scope being essential to seeing any detail at all.
The campsite was very clean and, especially considering that it was now at the end of an intense season of use, had an untrampled quality to it. Other campers seemed very respectful of the grounds. The rigs averaged smaller than those at Many Glacier, and there were a lot of tent campers, using the place as a staging area for back country destinations.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Glacier's Front Door
20090909—Glacier's Front Door
The campground was really cold this morning, it had no additional campers, and the few birds I saw last evening either had left or were staying snug abed awaiting the sun that would clear the east ridge in about 2 hours. I left. The Teton Canon Road out (to the East) was paved and faster than the Bellville Road I took West yesterday. I was back to Choteau by 11:00.
There were some peaches for sale at an organic food store. With them in the bag I headed North on US89 to Browning, then to St. Mary. The park entrance is a few blocks from the commercial RV site I took for the evening. I felt that I needed a shower.
St. Mary has no cell coverage for me. The RV campground promises Internet, and I will try that later.
The drive today was another one through spectacular country. Rolling hills to the West, with few trees (only in the stream beds), great lenticular cloud formations, long stretches without power or phone poles, and the Rockies rising in the background. There was a little wheat land, although most was open range for grazing cattle. Much of this was badly overgrazed. Near the end, approaching St. Mary I entered the foothills themselves. There were great swatches with standing skeletons of the firs and pines that burned back in 2002 or 2003.
Tomorrow I'll enter Glacier.
The campground was really cold this morning, it had no additional campers, and the few birds I saw last evening either had left or were staying snug abed awaiting the sun that would clear the east ridge in about 2 hours. I left. The Teton Canon Road out (to the East) was paved and faster than the Bellville Road I took West yesterday. I was back to Choteau by 11:00.
There were some peaches for sale at an organic food store. With them in the bag I headed North on US89 to Browning, then to St. Mary. The park entrance is a few blocks from the commercial RV site I took for the evening. I felt that I needed a shower.
St. Mary has no cell coverage for me. The RV campground promises Internet, and I will try that later.
The drive today was another one through spectacular country. Rolling hills to the West, with few trees (only in the stream beds), great lenticular cloud formations, long stretches without power or phone poles, and the Rockies rising in the background. There was a little wheat land, although most was open range for grazing cattle. Much of this was badly overgrazed. Near the end, approaching St. Mary I entered the foothills themselves. There were great swatches with standing skeletons of the firs and pines that burned back in 2002 or 2003.
Tomorrow I'll enter Glacier.
The Front Range of the Rockies
20090908—The Front Range of the Rockies
I left Choteau with the early traffic this morning after filling with gas for a trip to the outback. I was driving West, on Bellville Road with the sun behind me and illuminating the fields and the front range of the Rockies ahead. It looked great, so I stopped a lot for pictures. There were a few birds: Vesper Sparrows, a Merlin, some Prairie Falcons, Western Meadowlarks and American Kestrels.
I was able to locate a few spots that I remembered from the Wings over Big Sky field trip, and actually see the things that were mostly hidden by the snow and mist back in May. The area is spectacular and very sparsely populated. It abuts the Lewis and Clark National Forest, several Wilderness Areas (the Bob Marshall being the largest) and a large holding by the Nature Conservancy.
I pulled into the Cave Mountain Campground and was the only camper there through the night. It was chilly, in a steep canyon where the sun disappeared early. I practiced my fire building, and had a pleasant evening. Robins and Cedar Waxwings were the only birds I saw at the campground.
I left Choteau with the early traffic this morning after filling with gas for a trip to the outback. I was driving West, on Bellville Road with the sun behind me and illuminating the fields and the front range of the Rockies ahead. It looked great, so I stopped a lot for pictures. There were a few birds: Vesper Sparrows, a Merlin, some Prairie Falcons, Western Meadowlarks and American Kestrels.
I was able to locate a few spots that I remembered from the Wings over Big Sky field trip, and actually see the things that were mostly hidden by the snow and mist back in May. The area is spectacular and very sparsely populated. It abuts the Lewis and Clark National Forest, several Wilderness Areas (the Bob Marshall being the largest) and a large holding by the Nature Conservancy.
I pulled into the Cave Mountain Campground and was the only camper there through the night. It was chilly, in a steep canyon where the sun disappeared early. I practiced my fire building, and had a pleasant evening. Robins and Cedar Waxwings were the only birds I saw at the campground.
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