Labor Day Weekend-Plus Road Trip

Beartooth Butte in early morning

28 Aug - 8 Sep 2013

After C.J. wrote a magazine article about all the Labor Day Fly-ins across the U.S., we picked the Sand Turn 30th (at least) Anniversary Fly-in near Dayton, Wyoming. To get there we would drive through Yellowstone, take the Beartooth Scenic Highway and cross the Big Horn Mountains on the Medicine Wheel Passage. On the way back, after crossing the Big Horns via a different route, we would drive forty miles north from Pinedale to hike the headwaters of the Green River, camp above Jackson Hole with a view of the Tetons, and spend a couple more days in Yellowstone before dropping in on our friends in Boise. Nope, no problem with fires, and we were gone long before the big storm hit the Rockies.


28 Aug, Wed - We pulled the Aliner out of the driveway around 1000, got gas at Costco in Coeur d'Alene

Sloway USFS Campground

(3.579) and shared an ice cream bar. Then we headed up over Fourth of July and Lookout Passes and down to Sloway Campground (USFS) just off I-90 east of St. Regis at 1730 PDT (1830 local). [I was aiming for Quartz Flats a bit closer to Missoula but it wasn't in our campground guide.]  After setting up in the lodgpole pine-shaded CG, we took a short walk along the Clark Fork then returned to our site for a chef's salad which we ate outside. The bugs were mostly absent except for a few bees, and we stayed outside reading until dark, around 2100. There is a busy RR track just on the other side of the river and there was a lot of whistling during the night.

29 Aug, Thu - We were on our way by 0745 (early for us) after cold cereal and a muffin. We passed through Missoula, but in Butte we stopped at a Starbucks so C.J. could work on the USHPA magazine editing (alpha) she had downloaded at home. I went across Harrison St. to a K-Mart where I bought C.J. a 16 gb flashdrive, and some other stuff that was on sale and returned to Starbucks. C.J.was concerned that maybe she hadn't brought her computer charger with us and, when we checked the car, it wasn't there. I used my phone to check with a couple of local electronics places and decided to try Staples which was close by. There, Jeremy, a tech guy, helped C.J. find the right charger and a wireless mouse. C.J. stayed at the tech counter (with electricity) while I went to get gas at Exxon (3.699). We didn't get far down the street before C.J. noted that the new mouse was not working and we took it back. Jeremy determined that the dongle was not properly seated and the mouse had a laser rather than the usual visible red light. With everything working (except that I should have remembered to bring the inverter from home), we got back on I-90 and climbed over the summit east of Butte. In Livingston we stopped for gas in light rain which persisted until we

Evening at Beartooth Lake

were almost to Gardiner. There, C.J. went to a bookstore/cafe and used their internet to upload the completed editing. We shared a fruit smoothie before we hit the road again. We checked on road conditions as we entered Yellowstone but didn't stop again all the way across the northern width of the Park. We saw bison, a few bighorn sheep and some pronghorn, but no elk. After clearing the touristy Cooke City area, we started getting into really scenic country on the Beartooth highway. I had considered getting all the way to the other side of the mountains but we were running late and we'd miss some of the scenery if we pushed on. Fortunately we lucked into a site in the Beartooth Lake USFS CG. After setting up in a pull-thru site, we took a walk along the lake with the sun setting just south of Beartooth Butte (which we had climbed searching for fossils back in 1990 when we took a Yellowstone Natural History course). Back at camp, C.J. made a delicious stir fry with our garden veggies and some ham. There was cake and tea/cider for dessert. It was already getting chilly outside in the dark at 9000 ft.

30 Aug, Fri - We woke at 0705 and were on the road by 0830. There was great morning light on Beartooth Butte followed by more great (!) scenery as the road climbed to the the nearly 11,000 foot summit. Near Long Lake there was a thirty-min. construction delay. We stopped at a turnout on one ascending switchback for a scramble to a view to the west. [I was guessing that we were looking at Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana, but the map could not confirm it. Later, nope, it wasn't Granite which is much farther to the northwest.] Scattered clouds and a brisk west wind made forays from the car pretty chilly. On the way down we stopped at Vista Point and took the 800 ft walk to the view of Rock Creek Valley and the switchbacks below us. Across the valley a road seemed to climb high up the far side of Rock Cr Valley. Descending the rest of the way to the valley floor we passed a recently burned area with lots of fire fighter vehicles, some with signs such as "Navajo Hotshots" and "Flathead Hotshots". We continued on to the edge of Red Lodge where we turned S eventually reaching Lovell where we filled up with gas (3.719). C.J. talked with Nick who was on a vol biv from St. George UT to Jackson WY and wanted her to handle the final edits. That meant we would have to find wi-fi somewhere and spend a couple of hours making up captions and fixing other stuff. Meanwhile we drove past the Wild Horse Sanctuary HQ and across the Big Horn River. Once across the valley, the Medicine Wheel Passage (Rte 14A) climbs steeply to the crest of the Big Horns (passing what we later found out was a flying site at Five Springs). Coming down the east side, we stopped at the Sand Turn pullout, site of the launch. We talked to Jim Bowman and Jeremy, the Wallaby Ranch chef,

Aframes at Connor Battlefield CG

and watched Walt skyout in his hang glider. In the LZ we stopped to talk with Jared and Ron. Fly-in organizer Johann showed up and gave us some information and told C.J. she could use the wi-fi at his house in Dayton. We drove on down through Dayton to Ranchester (five miles farther) to the Connor Battlefield State Park campground, a grassy area with some shade along the Tongue River. We found a long pull-thru near Dan and Linda Gravage's pop-up tent trailer, set up, and then headed back to Johann's where his wife, Suzy, helped C.J. get online. As a gust front hit Dayton, I headed back to make sure our trailer was safe. The storm never made it to Ranchester. I went back, picked up C.J. and returned to camp where I hung up the solar shower for a warm hairwash and sponge bath. We had company in our pull-thru: Bill Snyder and Lucy Stillson's Chalet. Later we visited with Dan and Linda, Ron and Walt until time for dinner (2000). The temperature dropped to a comfortable level after the sun went down. [The refrigerator pilot light must have gotten blown out because I had to restart it - first time that has happened.]

31 Aug, Sat - After pancakes for breakfast we drove the short distance in to the (closed) visitor center in town and used their electricity and wi-fi (No electricity was available at the campground, but also no fee envelopes were available, either, so we couldn't complain). After hanging out with Dan and Linda for a while, we left Ranchester around noon and drove up to launch to check conditions. It didn't look like a good day

Steamboat Point - 700 ft to the top

for paragliding so we continued a mile or so up Rte 14 to an unsigned trailhead for Steamboat Point. I didn't believe the trail went straight up to the cliffs - it looked more like a rock climber's approach trail - so I convinced C.J. to contour the slope below the cliffs until we ran into where the trail ought to be. It never happened so we started straight up the slope and passed through a gap in the cliffs and still didn't find a trail. It wasn't until we had gone a ways toward the Point that we finally found the very obvious trail. We quickly reached the 7916 ft summit where a fire tower had once stood. The Steamboat prow was a great place to eat lunch as long as you didn't look down. The descent was much easier on the well-used switchbacks of the trail. According to the trail description, the round trip was only 1.5 mi and the ascent was 700 feet. We returned to Sand Turn launch where no one else was flying. We met Chad, a local PG pilot who told us about a better site for PG - Red Grade west of the town of Big Horn outside of Sheridan. [Info from Google Earth: Launch: 44.618658, -107.082580; LZ: 44.638335, -107.071179] The description was sketchy but we weren't planning to go there, at least not by ourselves. We walked a quarter mile down the road from the Sand Turn launch to a launch sometimes used by PG - it looked pretty good aside from the brush. Then we returned to Dayton, had an ice cream, and went back to camp for a solar shower. It was 1830 or later when we finally headed for the party at Dayton City Park but we were right on time for Jim and Sarah's ranch-grown burgers, beans, salads, chips, pickles and cookies. It was well after dark that we left (2030) and the party was breaking up. The forecast for Sun was SE 5-10 which was supposed to be good for the site.

C.J. launching at Red Grade

1 Sep, Sun - Up at 0800, we headed to Sand Turn early so we could fly before the part of the setup area used for a PG launch filled with hang gliders. We laid out our wings right away and I forward launched in a decent cycle. I went right and caught some lift at the edge of the canyon but not enough to climb out. I went back to the left and scratched lower and lower and farther out. The LZ was thermally but my landing was good (:18). C.J. had almost no wind but she had a good forward inflation and run. But she got distracted by a pilot talking to her on the lip and paused momentarily and then continued her takeoff. She had to swoop left to miss the trees and then right to miss the rocks. The rest of her flight was much better than mine - her scratching over the white ridge above the LZ earned her 21 minutes of soaring. I got a ride up with a local pilot, grabbed the car and picked

Tongue River Canyon

C.J.up at the LZ. We drove into Dayton then out to Tongue River Canyon - spectacular rock formations in a narrow canyon but the dispersed camping (free) looked pretty crude. On the way back through Dayton around 1400 C.J. got an ice cream. We made a brief stop at camp to pick up a cold drink for me then ate lunch on the way south to the Red Grade flying site. The GPS took us through south Sheridan and on to Big Horn. From there we used the gazetteer to find Red Grade Road which became gravel and somewhat rough as it climbed steeply (4WD was recommended on a sign). Directions had not been very exact from either person we talked to and we missed the parking spot and went two or three miles farther up into the National Forest before turning back and stopping at a place that turned out to be close to the correct parking spot. Following a trail along a ridge we came out to an opening and soon spotted a wind streamer or two. We found a shorter trail back to the road and I moved the car to the now-obvious place to park. C.J. was willing to fly in what looked like light, smooth conditions so we divided her gear up and and followed an easy trail a couple hundred yards to the smooth, grassy launch. C.J. took off around 1700 and climbed 500 ft above the 6700 ft launch. I drove down and parked in one of the three snowmobile/ATV parking lots (5100 ft) and noted several wind streamers in the adjacent, sloping pasture. After grabbing some streamer tape and a pole, I wriggled under the fence and waited for C.J. to finish her flight (which was prolonged by a climb back to launch level as she came out). She landed neatly in the thermally LZ missing the many large rocks. On the way back we got gas in Sheridan at a Holiday station (3.609). Then we hurried to make it back to Dayton for the free BBQ at the Mountain Inn bar. We were a bit late and got only a few slices of pot roast and a spicy-hot pickle. Still, the price was right and we got to talk with other pilots about Red Grade. Back at camp we used the still-warm solar shower to wash up then joined many of the other pilots at the Jackson/Cowboy Up (Bart and Tiki) campsite to visit. C.J. wanted to get more information on the Free Flight Foundation-assisted purchase of the Sand turn LZ so we planned to pack up early on the next day and spend some time on launch before heading for an RV Park with electricity and showers near Lander.


2 Aug, Mon - Labor Day - We got up a little earlier, ate oatmeal and continued packing up. C..J. walked over to the Visitor Center and used the wi-fi to fix some problems with the alpha (again!). I folded up the trailer and met her around 1030. We drove to launch and hung out while visiting and interviewing folks. Around noon we headed west over the the mountain on Rte 14. Shell canyon, on the west side, is still jaw-droppingly scenic. There were some slower RVs but for most of the way we were able to move right along. We ate lunch while descending the last of the Big Horns to Greybull. We didn't really stop again until we reached Riverton where we had to make a decision which way to go - up through Dubois and across Union Pass on a gravel road to Green River Lakes Road, or through Lander, over South Pass then up to the Green River Lakes through Pinedale. We took maps and gazetteer into a Dairy Queen (the advertised Yellowstone Ice Cream store was closed as was about everything else on Main Street) and pondered our choices over mini-blizzards. The Passport America RV Park in Washakie was out since when I called, the manager said that the bathrooms were not available...and we're not that self-contained. We decided to go

Snuff and Sleeping Bear, Lander, WY

for a Good Sam Park in Lander, Sleeping Bear RV Park and Campground, which would put us in a place where we could go either way. We had already filled up at Loaf N Jug (3.609 discounted), not guessing that gas would be ten cents cheaper in Lander. At least the RV park was reasonably priced and we got our Good Sam 10% discount. We got to plug in all of our rechargeable stuff, plus we had wi-fi, and a clean rest room with showers. I must have dropped the hitch pin for the jack wheel back in Ranchester so we went to Ace Hardware to get a replacement. The enthusiastic guy that helped us thought that we ought to go for the Union Pass route because it was so scenic. We had dinner late but planned to get up for the 3 hr 35 min drive to Green Lakes for a hike with great views. That was the route over South Pass, through Farson and Pinedale since our campground host thought that taking a trailer on the Union Pass Road was not a good idea.

3 Sep, Tue - Without waiting around for a slooow download of topo maps for Green River Lakes, we were

Green River Lake, Osborn, Squaretop and Battleship Mtns

out at 0830. We stopped in expensive Pinedale for milk ($2.14 half-gal) and gas (3.999). Then we took the long (50 miles from Pinedale) road, half of it gravel and dirt, some washboard, some damp, to the Green River Lakes campground (USFS). There were lots of sites available and we chose one that gave us a view to the north.We left the trailer closed and drove the short distance to the trailhead parking lot. That was where all the vehicles were - kind of surprising for after Labor Day, but the weather was beautiful. Another

Lakeside "trail"

hiker let us take a photo of his National Geographic trail map and we were off at 1330. We took the lakeside trail along the west side of the lake. We must have missed the start of the main trail because we found ourselves walking along the edge of the lake some of the time. Later we went higher and found a much better trail. Around 1515 we reached the end of the lake and found the junction with the Highline Trail (Continental Divide Trail, CDT). After crossing the bridge over the Green River we followed the CDT to Upper Green River Lake (7968) and found the very view of Squartetop across the lake from an empty campsite that was featured in backpacker.com:

Wind River Range, WY
Upper Green River Lake

The remote, rugged, and remarkable Winds have a rep as an experts-only destination. But this sweet campsite requires just a two-hour hike along a mostly level trail. Kick back lakeside and enjoy the views, or explore nearby alpine terrain like Squaretop Mountain. To get there: At Cora on US 191 north of Pinedale, turn right on WY 352. Go about 40 miles; the road dead-ends at the Green River Lakes Campground and trailhead. Permit None required Map Earthwalk Press Northern Wind River Range ($10, onmimap.com) Contact fs.usda.gov/btnf
 By 1600 we were heading back following the CDT to go around the east side of the lake. Because I was out of water we stopped at the Clear Creek bridge and I used the Steri-Pen to treat enough clear, cold water for each of us. A little ways farther, just below the junction of the CDT and the Clear Creek Canyon Trail, we spotted a moose feeding in a pond near the lake edge. We were excited to see a moose and get some photos in the wild. The rest of the hike was a slog (total 6.5 mi) but with great views of Squaretop, Osborn and Battleship Mountains behind us.We crossed the Green River again and finally reached the car at 1820. We were pretty beat and it felt good to wash up back at camp even though it was shaded  and starting to get chilly. [The solar shower was not warm even after 5 hours in the sun, but maybe it had cooled rapidly in the shade.] Around dark we had some thunder and lightning and some rain, but it didn't last very long.

A little mud

4 Sep, Wed - We got up after 0800 because it was socked in and I wanted to give the muddy parts of the road time to dry out. We left about 1000 as the sun came out - no rush since we were going only to Jackson, a relatively short drive. Most of the nineteen miles of unpaved road was fine but there were short stretches of mud that liberally coated the front of the trailer and the Sorento's wheel wells. We cut across to the highway on Forty Rod Road then continued northwest through some scenic canyons, past Bondurant and Hoback to Jackson. We drove straight through town to the elk preserve and up to Curtis Canyon campground (USFS) which was right behind the launch.We tried a couple of pull-thrus and then broke for lunch on launch. Then we went back and chose a more level back-in site that had a more open view. During lunch I called several local pilots and got one response from Josh Riggs who said to meet at 1700 at the SnoKing parking lot. We left at 1600 so we would have plenty of time to stop for an ice cream which we did at Hagen Dazs near the town square. After ice cream we went to a nifty-gifty shop and bought a moose cookie cutter. Unfortunately when I backed out of the angle-in parking space I struck the right rear fender/wheel well of a truck that I thought had pulled out of my way. Traffic was really heavy and the next guy behind the truck had given me a signal that he would wait until I could back out. Minor damage to both vehicles - the truck had a dent and the Sorento had a broken taillight lens and a scuff on the bumper. We exchanged phone numbers (and I need to remember if there is a next time that I needed to get more info). There was a farmers' market going on at SnoKing and it wasn't obvious which parking lot was the meeting point. No one was there at 1700 but a few minutes later people who looked like they might be pilots began to pull in. After some discussion the decision was made to try Curtis Canyon, good for us because several other choices were hike-and-fly sites. Brad was going there and the winds were supposed to clock around more to the west later. Up at the launch it seemed kind of strong at 12-15 mph and the two guys who launched looked like they were experts at flying right next to the hill, swooping and toe-dragging. Then Brad took off from the middle launch and flew left, over the trees disappearing around the corner to the south. Joe and Jim (a Rat Race pilot) hiked to the upper launch and a third pilot with his girlfriend Tatiana hiked their tandem gear past where I had set up on the middle launch. Everyone but me flew sledders (even Brad sank out around the corner and had to hike back up in the heat). I waited too long and the wind died off then turned catabatic. I packed up and walked down to hang out with the other pilots until 2000 when everyone took off for home and dinner. Several were planning to fly at the tram the next day, probably an everyday occurrence. I needed to sponge off after the tension of the day and the long wait on a hot launch.

5 Sep, Thu - A leisurely blueberry pancake breakfast capped C.J.'s early rising to see the morning sun on

Dawn light on the Tetons

the Tetons from the launch. We left around 0900 and drove into Jackson to get gas (3.799). At Loaf N Jug I couldn't find my wallet and C.J. called  the Jackson Mercantile where I had last paid for something and then checked with the police to see if anyone had turned it in as lost and found. After using C.J.'s AmEx card to pay for the gas, we drove to the library parking lot and took everything out of the car (well, moved everything, anyway) and even opened the trailer. Finally, C.J. discovered my black nylon wallet under the front floor mat. I called the police to report it found. Then we could breathe again and head north. In Grand Teton NP I used a scenic pullout to call USAA to report the accident; it took about twenty minutes and I still would have to speak with an adjuster. The sky looked threatening over the Tetons but better to the east. We continued on into Yellowstone and stopped for restrooms at Lewis Lake, and for a weather report at Grant Village VC. The weather now did not look so promising for flying near Livingston on Friday. C.J. called Dan Gravage and he confirmed that the weather looked monsoonal; also he could not fly on Friday due to a funeral. We decided to head up the east side of the Park and maybe camp at Canyon and go to Artist Point, then continue on to Missoula the next day. C.J. called Andy McCrae (who she thought lived in Missoula, but was actually living in Bozeman). He thought flying would be good Friday and Sunday. So the new plan was to camp early at Canyon and drive to Bozeman in time to fly Friday. Unfortunately when we got to Canyon around 1400 or so, all the campsites were full - all 250 of them. Surprised and slightly panicked, we drove to the next campground on our route, Norris, and found a small, back-in site on a hill. We could have taken a pullout site but they were signed for "RVs over 30 ft".

C.J. at Virginia Cascades

I set out the solar shower (At Canyon our (more expensive) camping fee would have included a hot shower) and we headed back toward Artist Point even though it was too late for the ranger-led hike at Uncle Tom's Point (view point for the Upper Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone). Along the route we took the scenic drive to Virgina Cascades. At Artist Point we were aghast at how crowded it seemed and we decided on a spur-of-the-moment hike to Sublime Point. It was a mile each way and there were no crowds but plenty of good views down into the canyon. Back at Artist Point we enjoyed the view of Lower Falls and then went to Uncle Tom's for the Upper Falls and a chortling raven. We drove across the bridge and a short distance to a trail to a viewpoint at the brink of Upper Falls. Then we returned to Norris with a short stop at a 1988 fire exhibit. The solar shower was in the shade and not at all hot but we got cleaned up anyway. C.J. made a pasta dish with smoked salmon and pesto - very good. There was a Star

The chortling raven

Talk at 2030 but it was hard for C.J.to hear and see because the 20-30 people were all standing around the presenter.I stuck around and worked my way close to the speaker. Most of the talk was repetition of things I had already heard  like "arc to Arcturus", Big Dipper, Pointer Stars, and Polaris. But there were other good patterns like the Summer Triangle (Vega at the zenith, Deneb in Cygnus, and Altair with two dimmer stars above and below it in Aquila), Pegasus as a big diamond, Andromeda, Cassiopiea's daughter. Scorpio with bright Antares (named because it was thought to be an opponent of red Mars). I stayed until almost 2130 then headed back to upload photos from our cameras - in the restroom where I could partially charge my depleted laptop battery. Later when C.J. was getting stuff from the car, she fell and cut her hand (and cracked her iPad). I found our old first aid kit under the furnace and gave the cut a shot of antiseptic and put on a bandaid. By then it was bedtime. I checked the GPS and it is only two hours to Bozeman and there is an RV park called Bear Canyon nearby.

6 Sep, Fri - We left around 0930 and someone took our site as soon as we pulled out. There was an almost solid stream of traffic coming in to the Park as we drove west from Madison - obviously September is no longer the slow season. We drove directly to West Yellowstone where C.J. called Andy and found out that all the Bozeman sites involve a difficult walk-up. Then she called someone in Missoula and  got an unpromising weather forecast for Friday and not good until Sunday. We checked at the big Tourist Information Center for a weather forecast and fire report but ended up using our own computers to access inciweb.org for fires. C.J. called Belinda in Boise who said that the recent rains had put out most fires. We spent some time wandering around town looking at end-of-season sales but I couldn't find the little knife sharpener I had seen first at Sleeping Bear in Lander. I did buy a roll of shipping tape and we used that to put together the pieces of the broken taillight lens to make it almost as good as new - or at least protect it from any wet weather. And we bought a couple of mix-in ice cream cones. Storm clouds seemed to be building as we left West Yellowstone on US 20 around 1330. We followed the same route that we had last January through Island Park, but instead of turning east for Teton Pass we headed west through Rexsburg, out of the mountains and onto the Snake River Plain to Arco. We found gas there at a surprising 3.519 and filled up before heading back into the wilds, beyond Moore and Mackay. On Trail Creek Road (unpaved) we stopped to camp for the night at the nearly empty Phi Kappa campground (USFS) in a lodgepole pine grove next to a beaver pond for $2.50 per night (discounted). 

7 Sep, Sat - We pulled out at 0906 after a breakfast of cold cereal. We passed Park Creek CG in about three miles and it looked as nice as Phi Kappa. The climb to Trail Creek Pass got a little steeper after the CG and at the pass there was a sign recommending against trailers on the "one lane with turnouts" road. We weren't about to turn back and had no problems passing several vehicles in the opposing direction on the way down. A few miles outside of Sun Valley on paved road again we passed Boundary CG (USFS) which looked pretty full. Then we went by a skeet shooting range where a big contest was ongoing. At SR 75 in Sun Valley we turned north and drove up and over Galena Summit and on to Stanley. We stopped there at a TI where we checked to be sure SR 21, the Ponderosa Scenic Byway was open to Boise. The info guy suggested that we take FS 25 from Lowman west through Garden Valley to Banks and then go south on Rte 55 to Garden City, our destination. The whole route was very scenic with the only glitch a 20-min construction delay. After that, near Banks, we passed two areas where the road had been inundated by mudslides recently. [And Rte 55 was closed to the north toward McCall due to the same problem.] We had been descending steadily since about 8700 at Galena along the Salmon R and then, once past Stanley, along the South Fork of the Payette. The low point was below 3000 ft at Horseshoe Bend then we climbed over a 4200 ft pass before descending to Garden City. C.J. got directions to the Boise Riverside RV Park from Belinda and we registered there and parked pretty close to the OZ Report World Headquarters under a

Leanne and ? at the "house concert"

small shade tree. Davis and Belinda took us out to lunch at Bardenay (yacht-speak for "cocktail" according to the menu) and then we came back to shower and charge electronics. I downloaded a couple of books from the library to my Nook via Overdrive since I had finished the last one. It was reasonably comfortable in our site thanks to the shade. At 1800 we went with Davis and Belinda to a "house concert" in a friend of a friend's backyard (complete with a pergola for the performers, an outdoor cooking area, a yurt, and a wine and beer garden, plus a Boise "Po Bois" food truck serving gumbo, Cuban sandwiches and other southern food. Two performer couples played and sang acoustic folk. One was Leanne, the property owner, with another local guy, and the other was Alicia and Ian McFaron touring from Walla Walla. We left before the third set when Davis had to get back to work.

Hot air over the OZ Report World Headquarters

 8 Sep, Sun - We got up early enough to do some computer stuff and packing before we went over to Belinda's for breakfast. Their fifth-wheel trailer with two slideouts is so large that it seems like a house (but that very size makes camping in USFS campgrounds and many national parks almost impossible). After a delicious meal of gourmet fried potatoes and scrambled eggs with salsa, I finished closing up the trailer and we left around 1015. First we stopped at Boise Costco for gas (3.629) then stopped at Sierra Trading Post in Meridian where we picked up a silicone folding colander for the trailer, and C.J. got an ExOfficio short sleeve shirt for hiking (since the Frostbite performance-fabric shirt worked so well). Then it was just a long day of driving to get home around 1915. We made at least one rest stop and I tried to get gas at Flying J in Stanfield but they were too busy for the one gas attendant. Once we were in WA, I stopped for $10 worth of gas at Exxon in Kennewick (3.679) and continued on to Union Gap Costco (where gas was "only" 3.459, cheaper than anywhere else on our trip!) where we filled up and bought some groceries and an ice cream bar. There was light traffic on I-90 and no one was flying at Baldy when we went by (although there were cars still parked  in the camp area).

Dog Mountain Anniversary

Tina and Larry's 30th!

24-25 Aug 2013

After a Tiger flydown (!) on Wednesday, C.J. was ready to give her hang glider a try. She hadn't flown since before her bunion surgery in early February. Besides, there would be a big gathering at Dog to celebrate Tina and Larry's anniversary. C.J. constructed a cool card: "Hot in the 80's" and baked up a batch of rhubarb crisp for the potluck. We also brought a big bunch of greens for a salad. 

24 Aug, Sat - Thinking the weather didn't look all that warm and clear, we hooked up the trailer and dragged it down and set it up on the recently dried-out lake bottom at Dogpatch around 1230 or so. The wind was strong enough to be making whitecaps on the lake but we drove up to launch anyway. By the time C.J. was ready to launch conditions had mellowed and after her good takeoff and short flight with a perfect landing, I got my wing out. Luckily after several hangs took off, there was a big gap before the next ones got ready to go. I had a terrible time on launch: first I was too close to the edge so I couldn't back up far enough to get the wing over my head, then there were a couple of attempts when the wing went off to the side, and one where I got dragged to the north. Finally, after switching to a forward inflation launch I was able to get in the air. Conditions were really light and I found only one thermal that got me up over launch level for a short time, then it was back to scratching my way down the face, out to the point and into the LZ (newly mowed thanks to Kenny, I assume). C.J. had gotten a ride to the top and drove the car down meeting me in the LZ. Once we got packed up (1700 or so) we folded the Aliner up and moved it to the Jorgensen's property where most people were camping. There was plenty of room next to the retaining wall near Eric and Paige O's trailer and across from Jasmine and Justin's trailer and T and L's motorhome. Paul and Val set up a tent below and there was another large tent behind the trailers. A bunch of people just slept in their vehicles. There was a big potluck dinner with roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a huge slow-cooker full of pulled pork served on ciabatta with BBQ sauce. A big container of margaritas and some shots of coconut rum got the party going and it went on into the wee, wee hours. We crashed long before that, missing some drumming, and some guitar picking by Val and Sierra. Some of the other folks who showed up were Chuck and Richard Williams, Marty, Ron Barbera, Glen Duval (with Carol), Kenny, Stas, Cody, and Brian Scott. There were a number of others at Dogpatch that may not have heard about the celebration or thought that they needed an invitation - Steve Kincaid,  for example.

25 Aug, Sun - The day dawned with sunshine and scattered clouds but the clouds continued to build and by noon it was overcast and looking like it might rain. We decided to drive over to Area 151, Dave and Diane Auman's property, to look at the newly constructed training hill. On the way we ran into the first of the light rain that would persist the rest of the day, and put the rain cover back on C.J.'s glider. Neither Dave nor Diane seemed to be around so we made a quick return to the Jorgensen's and hitched up the trailer and said goodbye. On the way out with the car wipers working intermittently we were surprised to see a glider in the air and above the launch. The drive home was uneventful and we left the trailer outside in preparation for our next adventure - Labor Day fly-in at Sand Turn, Wyoming.

Farnsworth Family Gathering in Washingtonville

Marguerite "Pat" Farnsworth Memorial

16-19 Aug 2013

When C.J.'s mother passed away several months ago after a long stretch in a nursing home in California (and a longer stretch in Florida being cared for by C.J.'s brother, Rob), Ginny had a service for the few who could attend. For the interment of her ashes in the Tuthill family plot in Washingtonville, NY, Ginny invited everyone who could get there. C.J. and I made plane and hotel reservations in July as soon as we heard what the plan was.

16 Aug, Fri - Actually we left home on the night of the 15th so we could drop the Sorento off at Extra Car around 2230 for our 0020 flight. [Again we got a good rate at Extra Car through aboutairportparking.com, but we found out that the rate is considerably higher if your stay starts on a Friday.] We flew US Airways overnight to Charlotte, NC, and then on a commuter jet flight (two seats per side) to White Plains/Westchester County Airport/HPN arriving around 1130. [We gate-checked our rollaboard bags all the way through to White Plains at no charge as they were short on stowage space in the cabin.] [HPN was much farther from Washingtonville than Stewart/Newburgh would have been but the fares were considerably higher for Stewart, and the rest of the relatives arriving by plane were using HPN, too.] We picked up a Chevrolet Cruze from Budget and headed out to follow the byways through small towns like Chappaqua, Millwood, Ossining (where we hit Rte 9) and Croton-on-Hudson. We'd been ready for some lunch since we landed; there had not been even any peanuts for snacks on the flights. So, when we spotted Tenampa, a Mexican restaurant with a pleasant-looking patio just north of Croton, we pulled in and shared a good meal of Caesar salad and couple of tacos al carbon, flour tortillas filled with skirt steak strips. Continuing north we passed Peekskill and took the winding mountain road high above the Hudson that had given me the heebie-jeebies when I was a young kid in the back of the family car. The narrow, twisty part of the drive was much shorter than I remembered it and soon we were crossing the Bear Mountain Bridge. I headed south on 9w and then onto the Seven Lakes Parkway passing the Bear Mountain Inn and the new indoor play area with its carousel. The road climbed the flank of Bear Mountain passing the entrance to Perkins Memorial Drive and descending to the Palisades Interstate Parkway. We took Rte 6 across Harriman State Park then Rte 293 through the USMA (West Point) reservation passing several ranges before reaching the Old Storm King highway with its steep cliffs on one side and a stone wall separating the road from the drop to the Hudson on the other. We made a couple of brief stops for views and interpretive signs before passing through Cornwall-on-Hudson and joining 9w toward Newburgh and then west to our Super 8 motel and a nap. Dinner that night was with Pat, Rob, Mary, Dave, their son Matt, and a very pregnant Jennifer with her husband, Kevin, at the Tuthill House near Gardiner. The restaurant was situated in an old grist mill and had excellent, if moderately expensive, food. I had a NY strip steak while C.J. had the cioppino. Ginny and Wally didn't make it because Wally's flight had been delayed and they would not have made it all the way to Gardiner from HPN in time for dinner. [Ginny had arrived on Wednesday to do all the arranging with the funeral director, the church and the Vinum Cafe at the Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville.] Rob, bless his heart, picked up the tab for all nine of us. [I later tried to give him the $80 or so that C.J. and I had rung up as our part of the bill, but he wouldn't take it.] It was about a half hour back to the motel and we were glad to get to bed to catch up on our rest.

17 Aug, Sat - Breakfast at the motel was less than satisfactory. The motel was  full due to some event at West Point and most of the breakfast fruit and yogurt were gone, as was the batter for making waffles. But we managed to get some yogurt anyway and had a bowl of cereal. We were a bit late getting to Ferguson's Funeral Home where Ginny had arranged a display of some memorabilia. Tom, the funeral director, led a couple of prayers and then we all drove over to St. Mary's church, or rather, to the parish hall which was being used for services while the church was being renovated. Father Paul, an elderly priest, celebrated the funeral mass with lots of incense, and a vocalist and organist provided several hymns. Once mass was ended, we drove the short distance to the cemetery where Fr. Paul blessed the polished wooden box containing the cremains and it was placed in a heavy vault which would later be buried in the family plot. There was some discussion about the stone marking Aunt Pete's and Uncle Jack's grave not having Aunt Pete's name on it. Ginny decided to either have the stone redone or have a new one made. Then we drove across the road into the Brotherhood Winery (oldest one in America) and had lunch in the Vinum Cafe, Jail Island salmon or chicken in puff pastry. After lunch we wandered around the winery for a while then headed up to New Paltz. We parked close to the north end of the SUNY campus and walked around. The only building I recognized (the name at least) was the Sojourner Truth library. C.J. and I were pretty sure that the Cuykendall (sp?) building was the home of the science department but the name was not at all familiar. Then we drove down to Huguenot Street where C.J.'s apartment building was still standing although minus the balconies. As mentioned in an earlier blog, the old Grand Union was gone but Rock and Snow was still in its place, plus there was a R&S Annex. After a couple of false starts and some creative programming of the GPS we found Station Road where Chris and I had lived while I was attending SUNY but the building was not obvious. Heading south we decided to return to Tuthill House in the daytime to get some photos that showed the exterior before stopping at the bed and breakfast (Bucks) where Ginny, Wally, Rob, Jennifer and Kevin were staying. While there we decided to meet later at the motel for "home movie night". That evening Greg (with his girlfriend Mara) brought a bunch of old family super8 videos to the breakfast room at the motel. I stayed for a while but the quality of the film was so bad that I couldn't make out much detail. It must have been more interesting to those who were in the movies because people watched them for a couple of hours before breaking up and heading to their various lodgings. Since we had had a late lunch we only ate some nuts and bread while we watched the show. Wally had chosen to skip the films and went out to eat with Jennifer and Kevin.

18 Aug, Sun - For some reason (perhaps I didn't push the "save" button) my phone did not give the wakeup call so we woke up late at 0705. We rushed and made it to the B&B in Montgomery not much later than the planned 0730 breakfast time. After breakfast the Farnsworth siblings, missing only Bill who can no longer travel long distances, and Greg who was late having stayed the night in Pompton Plains, had a meeting to decide what to do about the house in Florida and the rest of the trust fund. After that Rob brought out several boxes of jewelry and souvenirs for them to choose among. Jennifer and Kevin had already left, Mary, Dave and Matt left soon after and so did Pat who had to check out. Mary had mentioned possibly going to an outdoor sculpture park near Cornwall so after we said goodbye we headed down that way also. Along the route, somewhere between Salisbury Mills and Vails Gate there was a unique view out over a valley that was crossed by a long, tall RR trestle. As we approached the entrance to the Storm King Arts Center, the weather deteriorated to light rain. Since we were ready for lunch anyway we drove on to Cornwall-on-Hudson and found the Hudson Street Cafe which served a pretty good burger and BLTA. The sun was out by the time we left so we drove directly back to the art center and paid the senior fee at the car entrance. Since the art center covered 500 acres we didn't expect to see everything but we started off by climbing to the top of Museum Hill past many monumental, modern, Calder-like (in fact there were five Calders in the area) sculptures. We did a quick walk-through of the small museum building (which was concentrating on Thomas Houseago) and then caught the tail end of a tour for families. The guide told the story of Noguchi's Momo Taro (Peachpit Boy) which really enhanced my appreciation for the sculpture. We could have gotten Acoustiguides, but we just used a map instead so we could cover more ground. Some of the most memorable sculptures were Calder's Five Swords, Goldworthy's Storm King Wall, Maya Lin's Storm King Wavefield, Zhang Huan's Three Legged Buddha, and Tal Streeter's Endless Column. Other notable pieces were Roy Lichtenstein's Mermaid and George Cutt's mobile Sea Change. We walked more than 2.5 miles and covered the major works but definitely did not see everything. As we were heading to the North Woods section we ran into Wally and Ginny who had arrived and rented bikes for a short time to be able to see more in less time. Ginny was particularly interested in sculptures by David Smith; there were nine of them on Museum Hill. By the time we had returned from North Woods we were pretty beat and it was close to closing time anyway. [The Thruway runs along the west side of the sculpture park and we were glad we weren't heading toward NYC on Sunday because southbound traffic was already moving slowly.] We went back to the motel for a shower and then made reservations for dinner at the Tuthill House again since Ginny and Wally had not had a chance to eat there. It was just the five of us this time and the dining room was uncrowded but the food was just as good. This time C.J. had the rack of lamb and I had some excellent lasagna. I figured it was our turn to pay for dinner and grabbed the check, but Ginny saw it differently and had Wally wrestle it out of my hands so Merlin Flight School bought us all dinner (Thanks, Wally!).

19 Aug, Mon - We had breakfast at the now less-crowded motel. Then we went back to our room and worked on the editing for HG&PG magazine until it was finished and uploaded to the USHPA server just about at checkout time - 1100. With the car all loaded with our minimal luggage (mostly laundry), we headed south for our first stop. The New Windsor Cantonment and Purple Heart Hall of Honor had a modern museum with some info about the last Continental Army Winter Encampment (7500 underpaid/unpaid soldiers in 32-man wooden structures), and a gallery of Purple Heart-related items. A computer database quickly found my name and date of wounding (May 11, 1969) - I was surprised that I was in the database. Outside, a gravel path led into the woods where there were several of the old buildings from the cantonment, and a memorial monument. Unfortunately the costumed interpreters are not on duty Mon-Tue. From there we took Rte 9w over Storm King, then at Bear Mountain turned onto the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Around Haverstraw we cleverly exited to avoid what we later found out to be the non-existent toll on the Thruway between the intersection and the TZ bridge. However, there was a traffic jam on the link to 9w so we made a U-turn and returned to the Parkway, the Thruway and crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge ($5 toll eastbound). The GPS and decent signage got us to HPN early enough to get the car turned in, get our boarding passes and then find a place to get a great corned beef and sauerkraut sandwich, with a berry smoothie for dessert. Our flight this time was a short one to Philadelphia on a turboprop. We had a minimal wait at PHL before boarding but then there was a problem with fueling and we had to get off the plane and walk across two concourses to a different gate to go through the boarding process again. While waiting I grabbed several Philadelphia soft pretzels to tide us over until we got home. We were a couple of hours late getting in to SEA but we had no trouble getting our gate-checked bags and hopping on the shuttle to Extra Car where our car was ready and waiting for us. (No extra charge for being an hour or so late.) For a sad event like a memorial service, it was remarkably upbeat and even fun. Who knows when the Farnsworth siblings will once again all get together.

Dan Heath Memorial Party

and fly-in

"Business card" by Ray Kehl

9-12 August 2013

Dan succumbed to cancer a month or more ago but this was the first opportunity for his pilot friends to gather. Dave Verbois hosted almost two dozen friends and spouses at his cabin near Winthrop where Dan had been a frequent visitor.

Sunday morning balloon fly-by

9 Aug, Fri - Since nothing was scheduled for Friday, we got a late start, but around 1330 we pulled the Aliner out of the driveway and headed over Snoqualmie and Blewett passes. Traffic was minimal and we arrived in about 4.5 hours including a stop to top up the gas tank in Cashmere ($3.769) (GasBuddy app had pointed out that gas was over $4 a gallon in the Winthrop area). We had dinner with Dave and Jaro Lahulek and Leslie got home a bit later from her part time job at River Run Resort (or Riverside or River-something else). Ray Kehl and Forrest "Frosty" Keller arrived later and so did Steve and Susan Stroming. Dan "Sparky" Peterson dropped in for a while on his motorcycle then headed back to his lodging in town. We were glad that I had put the roof straps over the Aliner roof and the painter pole extended from A-wall to A-wall because we had strong winds, some rain and lots of thunder and lightning.

10 Aug, Sat - Patti Fujii arrived in her new 2010 Honda Insight; she had camped in her car at the local KOA not being sure if she could find the cabin in the dark. Ida and her husband of two years, Terry, showed up in a big motor home. Jim Lorenz and Roy Olson drove up together but just for the day. The forecast was pretty good for flying at Goat but there was a 30% chance of thundershowers and big cumulus development could be seen over the North Cascades. We all headed up to Mazama, minus Leslie who had to work, plus Leslie's daughter Julie and her friend Todd. We milled around at the Mazama store for a while and walked out to the corral LZ. Finally it looked like the wind was switching from down-valley to up-valley so we drove to the launch. Since Jim and Roy weren't staying for the dinner and informal memorial, they recounted some stories, mostly about trips to Mexico with Dan. Dave had brought Dan's cremains and we spread some around launch and put some in baggies to carry into the air. Just about every pilot flew including C.J. but I decided to drive down instead. C.J. landed after a good flight just as I got to the LZ. We hung out at the store for a while after getting packed up then most people headed back to Dave's. C.J. and I went back to the LZ and ran into Carl Bevis who had just arrived. Steve Stroming was finally heading out to land between Flagg and Bear Mtns and Carl found him first and gave him a ride home so C.J. and I were on our own. Back at Dave's there was a big tub of cold beer, wine and soft drinks plus a bunch of chips, salsa and chunky guacamole to eat while we told tales of Dan's exploits. When Leslie got back from work we had pulled pork and cole slaw for a main course. Ellen and Chaffee came in a bit late because he had gone up to hike and fly Bowen Mountain, but there was plenty of food. If anyone had any room left, there was rhubarb crisp from C.J. and brownies and ice cream brought by Ellen. Julie was doing some video interviews during the evening but neither C.J. nor I could think of anything significant to say. We headed off to bed and another night of gust fronts and thunderstorms.

That sure looks like a bear in the woods...

11 Aug, Sun - By the time we got up and joined the group who stayed over, Leslie had just about finished cooking up a bunch of scrambled eggs and sausage to go with the leftover rhubarb crisp and cherry coffee cake. Most folks started packing up and heading home after breakfast; unfortunately for some, the North Cascades Hwy had been closed by massive slides caused by the heavy rain up there overnight. Since the Sunday traffic  was going to be even worse than usual on I-90, we decided to stay another night. Flying didn't seem like a good idea since the chance of T-storms was 50%, so we took Steve's suggestion and headed north of Winthrop for a hike. It was about twenty miles to the Freezeout Ridge/Tiffany Mountain trailhead.along the east fork of the Chewuch and Boulder Creek. In fact, we drove through much evidence of the 2011 Boulder Creek Fire and even hiked

Wildflowers on Freezeout Ridge

through some burned area. It was a surprise to reach the trailhead (1200) and find a half dozen cars already there since the last few miles of the road were gravel and pretty well washboarded. Starting from 6500 we climbed steadily through forest (some burned) until we broke out on the ridge which was covered with grass, rocks and lots of wildflowers. As we passed the jct leading R to Whistler Pass and started climbing more steeply toward the 8200 ft summit, the sky began showing signs of overdevelopment closer to us. By the time we had reached 7900 ft it was pretty clear that we were in for a storm. Another hundred feet or so higher we felt the first raindrops and the temperature dropped along with the increase in wind velocity. We pulled on cagoules and rain parkas and headed down after a quick detour to look over Whistler Pass and the Conconully valley. Thunder was rumbling in the near distance but lightning was fortunately so far absent. On the way out we saw one other couple heading down and two other folks coming up (!) the ridge. It never rained hard which was just as well since we had not brought along rain pants and I didn't have a fleece jacket, not having expected it to get cold. Most of the cars were still at the trailhead when we left (1530 or so). Back in Winthrop it was hot and dry and we stopped to get an ice cream cone and window shop the nifty-gifty stores along the main street. When we arrived back at Dave's cabin he and Leslie looked pretty tired so we decided to move on and camp somewhere different. We drove down through Twisp and then up US 20 to Loup Loup Pass and a Forest Service CG of the same name. It was in the forest at about 4000 ft and was nice and cool - great for camping - and uncrowded. We had no storms there overnight.


12 Aug, Mon - After breakfast we drove back down almost to Twisp and then backtracked as far as Chelan where we got enough gas ($3.879) to get us to Cle Elum at least where gas was supposed to be $3.559, but when we got there we found that the credit price was 10 cents more. Oh well, that's something that GasBuddy could improve. [Later we found out that gas prices had been dropping and in Issaquah Costco was selling regular for $3.559.] We were home by 1600.

13 Aug, Tue - Took the 1430 shuttle to fly at Tiger.

Bear Creek Mountain, Goat Rocks Wilderness

Aug 4-6, 2013

Wildflowers near Chinook Pass

It's been decades since I've visited the Goat Rocks; it would have been my first trip with Explorers Caravan back in 1966 (?) when we packed into McCall Basin. This trip was partly inspired by a report of the XC pilots flying from Bethel Ridge above Rimrock Lake. Then, when I was in the library, the hiker's kiosk had a book about the best wildflower hikes in Washington. I glanced at it thinking about returning to Mt. Rainier where the wildflowers had been so good at Paradise, but my eye was caught by a hike to a mountaintop with a view into the Goat Rocks as well as a more distant, but still close, view of Rainier and Adams. C.J. thought it sounded good even if the distance was right about at the limit of what her healing foot could take. The predicted wildflower peak season was the last week of July to the first weeks of August, so we were right on the best time.

4 Aug, Sun - We decided to leave on Sunday afternoon to avoid the crowds and take our time. Allowing four or five hours gave us plenty of time to stop at Costco Covington for gas and lunch, and also make stops at scenic pullouts along the way. The weather cooperated nicely with warm but not hot temps, and blue sky

Clear Creek Falls

with some afternoon towering cumulus development. Our first scenic stop was at the Palisades viewpoint on US 12 not far from its intersection with SR 123. At White Pass we pulled off the highway for a quick glance at the ski slopes before starting back down. We passed White Pass CG (at Leech (!) Lake) and stopped to drive through the small CG at Dog Lake with Spiral Butte above. At Clear Creek Falls we wandered alongside the fence above the quite spectacular falls. In the distance we could see part of Rimrock Lake and our first view of Kloochman Rock, a jagged, 1200-ft-high cleaver written about by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas in Men and Mountains. We turned off US 12 on to FS 1200 Tieton Res. Rd. and then took the left fork to Clear Lake CG North. There were two small campgrounds across the street from each other and we chose the one that had no other campers. C.J. and I had decided that for a one or two night stand in summer weather it didn't make sense to take the Aliner, so we quickly set up the tent and put on the rain fly in case the overdeveloped cu's decided to drop some rain. Then we took a scouting drive past the Clear Lake Dam and the Clear Lake CG South (where we saw a sign for potable water). Back on FS 1200, we drove down to Rimrock Lake passing the turnoff for Section 3 Lake which would take us to the trailhead for tomorrow's hike. The drive was somewhat disappointing because the road was separated from the lake by a wooded ridge so the views were not spectacular until we reached the shore. Then we could see a couple of nice islands, Goose Egg Mtn and glimpses of Kloochman. We could also see Bethel Ridge in the distance. Passing the long emergency airstrip (looked like a good LZ) we returned to US 12 and turned west back toward camp. The road ran along Rimrock Lake for much of the distance and we stopped once to read the history of the dam that impounds the lake and provides irrigation water to the Yakima valley. Back at camp C.J. prepared a surprise dinner of stir-fried fresh veggies, garlic, bacon and parmesan cheese (in lieu of the carefully prepared sauce left behind in the refrigerator) served with angel hair pasta. The bugs and bees were a bit of a nuisance and we ended up hiding out in the tent before it was fully dark. Fortunately the temperature cooled right down in the evening and the conditions were right for sleeping.

5 Aug, Mon - Thinking that we had a fairly long drive to the trailhead followed by a fairly long hike (for us), we started getting ready around 0630. I heated up some water for tea and cocoa but we had cold cereal instead of taking the time to make and clean up oatmeal. The route started off as good gravel (FS1205), became gravel with water bars (FS1204) and then became big, angular gravel for the last few miles. Somewhere along the route we were surprised by three large female elk bounding across the road in front of us. On a sidehill stretch of the road we took a couple photos of a snaggletoothed extension of Pinegrass Ridge before finding the parking area empty at Section 3 Lake/Bear Creek Mountain trailhead (1103). I think we were there by 0830 and on the trail at 0845 but the first mile was slow-going as we climbed a few hundred feet through the forest, almost immediately passing into the Goat Rocks Wilderness. The next mile was mostly at the same elevation through forest and meadow. We crossed Bear Creek at two miles amidst a profusion of wild flowers and began to climb through rocky and sandy/ashy scree gaining 1000 ft in less than a mile to the ridgecrest. Once on the ridge the trail wended through scrub pines with a view southwest to the

Mt Gilbert from Bear Crk Mtn

G climbing to ridge

Goat Rocks and Mt. Adams. Once we had reached the rocky summit the view opened to the northwest where Rainier dominated the horizon. Both the major volcanoes were partly shrouded in clouds but Mt. Gilbert, Ives Peak and Old Snowy were clear in the near distance (about four miles). We signed the summit register and noted that there had been a bunch of people up there the day before. While eating lunch (a little early since we had reached the summit by 1130), we were joined by the only other hiker to climb to the top (and his young dog). After trying to take a panorama photo with my phone camera, we started back down - much easier at first but then more difficult as my knee began to hurt and C.J.'s foot likewise. Nevertheless, we were back at the car by 1545 - about 6 hours to do 7 miles, but that's including 45 minutes of lunch and summit time. Along the way, at Bear Creek, I tried to purify some water with my SteriPen Traveler but the power light did not illuminate - perhaps the batteries were too old. I last used the SteriPen in Arizona when we were down there staying at Pine Top and Flagstaff. [Should have checked the batteries before dumping out the last of my water.] We met one other couple on the trail about a mile from the trailhead and ran into the guy and his dog who had taken a cross-country route down from the summit.
On the way back to camp we tried to find the water faucet at the south Clear L CG and finally noticed that there was a pump. Unfortunately it produced pretty brown water so we would use it only for washing. We also stopped at the Clear Lake dam and walked to the shore - nice lake! Back at camp we heated a pan of water and hung up the solar shower so we could rinse the day's sweat off. Dinner was soup and salad - could have used some cold beer, for sure, after that long, dry hike. We relaxed in our little camp chairs before the bugs got bad until we were ready to get some sleep.

6 Aug, Tues - Since there wasn't any great rush, we got up a little later and by the time we had oatmeal cooked there was some sun in the campsite. We were still on the road shortly after 0900 and headed for

Clear Lake Falls

closer views of Kloochman Rock. On the way we stopped at the falls just below the Clear Lake dam, and checked out some alternate camping sites. Various maps, paper and electronic showed us a route to the east side of Kloochman [FS 1202, 571, 570 and unnamed spur]

NW spires of Kloochman Rock

and we drove on steadily narrowing roads until we reached the end. Apparently there is no close approach to the base of Kloochman on a road. We had to settle for glimpses of one section or another of the rocky ridge. When we returned to US 12 we turned east and almost immediately came to the turnoff for Bethel Ridge (A sign indicated that FS road 1500 went all the way through to SR 410 (at Nile) but it looked like a long drive on gravel.). By the time we had reached the junction with 410 we were in a more typical dry E WA ecosystem with lots of columnar basalt lava flows. According to Roadside Geology of Washington Cleman Mtn is a tightly folded anticline and 410 runs in the syncline between it and the next ridge to the south. Our first stop was just

G in Boulder Cave

beyond Cliffdell at Boulder Cave and picnic area (USFS). There were a surprising number of cars in the small parking lot considering that it was a Tuesday but we were lucky enough to have the 400-yd-long cave to ourselves. It was 0.25 mi or more uphill paralleling a deep slot canyon to the cave entrance. The cave resulted from the collapse of a big chunk of undercut lava flow and the stream still flows along the floor of the cave. Farther along 410 we stopped at a viewpoint for Fife Peak (Tom Fife was a local miner according to the information posted). Around 1300 we reached the Chinook Pass area and it looked like we were definitely back in the crowds we had experienced last week in Mt. Rainier National Park. Still, we found a place to pull off the road almost beneath the pedestrian overpass/entrance arch to the park. We grabbed lunch and our "sit-upons" and headed down the PCT trail toward Tipsoo Lakes. Wildflowers were present in profusion and we selected a place to sit in a little meadow where we could enjoy the color of glacier lilies, magenta paintbrush, pasque flowers, lupines and many others. [The loop trail around Naches Peak looks like a good bet this time of year for a reasonable (4.5 mi) wildflower hike without any major ascents or descents. Parking is also available at Tipsoo Lakes.] Back in the car we drove down the switchbacks on the west side of Chinook Pass remembering why it wasn't advisable to attempt to ski that road. We took the detour around the east side of Enumclaw to avoid city traffic. We stopped to shop, get gas and buy an ice cream bar at Costco and then headed for home arriving around 1600.