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When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees.
had it really been seven whole years since my last backpacking adventure? to be honest I was a bit nervous about the idea of being out in the woods again, alone with the environment with the unpredictable. maybe that’s the real fear: the unknowing about what may happen, and yet in that unknowing lies the promise of excitement and adventure.
another year, another EPIC Frasier/Casertano/Lucier/Williams/Smith family gathering! we had to switch gears for this trip: the original plan was to head north to Canada for a two week stint in Banff and Jasper National Parks. COVID however had other intentions with the border closed, and when Canada finally declared July 22nd as the opening, our plan was shot given our reservations previous to that date. luckily we had a decent backup plan with some campground reservations right on Lake Quinault on the Peninsula.
it’d had been a few years since visiting the Oregon coast, but my brother gave me an invite to come down to his wife’s family’s amazing home in Cannon Beach, right in front of the iconic Haystack Rock). after loading up the Subaru, Bill, Sheena and I took off on Friday for a long weekend. after some sluggish traffic on I-5 (there’s always a slowdown through Tacoma and the joint airforce bases just south) we headed west on 30 along the mighty Columbia River, then south after Astoria along highway 101 and made it there at dusk.
Over a warm April weekend I pulled together my car camping kit, kayak and SUP (stand up paddleboard) for a fun getaway to the Columbia basin area with my friends Brian and Sarah. After a long, dusty drive to eastern Washington we pulled off highway 26 onto a gravel packed road entering the Columbia Wildlife Refuge Area. About a few miles into the park, we landed at the Overlook camping area, a stunning scrubland full of shimmering clear lakes and waterways surrounded by basalt columns and cliffs.
Living in the Northwest for almost 3 decades and not (I think?) ever visiting the Methow Valley seemed like an absolute crime, so I nailed a couple dates down and made the 4.5 hour trek from Seattle. After cutting up through Blewett’s Pass from I-90 I drove east to Wenatchee, then headed north on I-97 before entering the Methow Valley on highway 153 (part of the Cascade Loop). The warm weather and sunshine made the drive more enjoyable, as well as the scenery along the mighty Columbia river.