Seventeenth Stop - North Cascades National Park - Newhalem campground - July 20-24, 2018

We said a final goodbye to the Pacific coast and Puget Sound, and headed east.   Destination:  North Cascades National Park.   Just a few hours away; a beautiful drive.  Another great campsite at Newhalem campground - in the forest - short walk away from the Skagit River.   We discovered that the Skagit River had various dams built along its path.  The Visitor Center gave us great advice on what to do the next 3 days . . .




Day One:  We hiked the Diablo Lake Trail.  maybe 8 miles in total.   WOW scenery.   The trail led to a suspension bridge next to the dam between Ross Lake and Diablo Lake (called lakes, but all reservoirs created by damming the Skagit River).    Great hike.  Overlooking the "river" which we would be paddling the next day.  (I hiked with my big backpack to start training for the backpacking trek in Glacier Park in August -- the big pack definitely impacts your center of gravity!)
















The next day, had calm winds and sunny skies for kayaking.   Drove maybe 15 miles to another campground with a small beach, and then headed first to the Ross Lake dam, which had narrow channels, and then back to the Diablo Dam.   maybe 10 or 12 miles paddling?   Another WOW day!  
















Our last day at North Cascades National Park, we drove to the Rainy Lake trailhead and hiked the Maple Pass Trail.   about 7.5 miles and 2,000 feet elevation gain, to over 6,000 feet.   Totally spectacular on the way up . . . forest, meadows, glacier-fed lakes, sub-alpine forest and wildflowers, snow, and amazing vistas of surrounding mountains.   on the way down, (the steeper side) I just wanted to get down because of the drop-offs.    Amazing day. 
























Last stop on our way out of the North Cascades . . . Washington Pass overlook.    







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