To begin with, Joe and Angela, who left several hours before us, called to let us know that all the reservable and first-come-first-serve campsites were taken--not to worry, they had followed the road further and found a nice little spot for us. Somehow, in all my mental preparations for this trip, I never prepped for miles upon miles of axle-cracking dirt roads at dusk {not sure if we were even going the right direction}, no cell phone coverage, and wilderness that looks very bear-friendly.We were in the Wenatchee National Forest, surrounded by these wooded mountains. There were several occasions that night when I was certain I'd heard a bear.
We all survivied the night without being mauled by wildlife, though I never again want to sleep on the ground. Never. Not even with two sleeping bags and a blanket as "padding." I used to be able to sleep on the ground, hardwood floors, concrete--now if I do that, I feel like death. I must be getting old.
Mike oversaw the cooking of bacon on a little grill. I made pancakes over a propane burner. They were more like pancrackers. Syrup couldn't even redeem those puppies.
I'm not sure of the name of this river, but the water was breathtakingly clear! I kept telling Mike it was "Hawaii clear"--the only other place I've seen such deep, clear water is Hawaii. You can't really tell from these photos, but we were on a huge rock outcropping that was a good 15-20 feet above the river.
Isn't this pool amazing?
In spite of the fact that it was overcast, chilly, windy and at times sprinkling, Mike and Joe jumped into the river. From the rock outcropping, into the pool you see above. Angela and I weren't keen on risking hypothermia.
My man {love how black the soles of his feet are!} plunging into an icy mountain river of his own accord. I guess I will never understand him completely!
wow Nikki, that water is amazing amazing!!
ReplyDeletespecially for a lake. I love swimming in clear water where you can see whats on the bottom :)
WA is such a gorgeous state :)
Yay - you did it! Thankfully with no bear encounters :) Looks like a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteYour camping trip looks like so much fun! I can totally relate to the sleeping on the ground thing- it has definitely changed as I've gotten older- that is why we usually camp with an air mattress :)
ReplyDeleteHope the weather holds out for you guys to make it out again this weekend!
xo
P.S. And Katie, I totally agree- WA is so so beautiful!
Love this! lol And so happy you survived. I too, was in the same boat when my Mike and I got married. We had always used an RV when I was growing up and I loved "camping." Fast fwd to married life and Mike decided (when I was 3 months pregnant) that we should go "camping." I said great! Mom and Dad will let us borrow the RV. Nope, he said, that's not "camping." Needless to say, it was a rough camping trip and pregnant too! We didn't venture out on another tent camping trip until Olivia was 3 1/2 years old and I was by then 23 weeks pregnant with Sadie-Rose! And let me tell you, nothing compares to being 23 weeks pg, sleeping on an air mattress and getting up (twice) in the night and having to go potty on the child's training potty your sweet husband brought along for just such an occasion because he was determined that we should have the camping site furthest away from the bathhouses. It's funner the way, he said. sheesh
ReplyDeleteAnd the older I get the less comfortable camping is. Our last trip (last Sept) was super miserable for sleeping even though I used an air mattress with a mattress pad and a very thick comforter as padding. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to getting our own RV. :)