The water was co-ho-old! Colder than I remember (and I'm not THAT old). Hobbie seemed to suggest that it was because a storm the day before had stirred up the water, so the normally warm upper level of the lake had been lost. Rebecca and I both jumped in, but didn't linger. Hobbie also suggested that I try windsurfing that afternoon: there are a few windsurfing boards and equipment at the boat shop. During one summer visit, in my more enthusiastic and optimistic youth, I had excitedly embraced such a suggestion. After launching the windsurfing board, paddling out a short distance, and falling in the water about 20 times while attempting to pull the sail up out of the water, I made the determination that there was not enough wind to propel a windsurfer. I came back into shore, only to learn that the whole idea was for Hobbie to watch me flounder around in a vain attempt to go windsurfing! So, I now take certain types of advice, especially concerning watersports, with a grain of salt.
The next day (Sunday) we met the Gans fam at the boat terminal for the trip up to the end of the lake. There was some confusion regarding travel itineraries, and the end result was that Rebecca and I ended up driving other folks rental car up to Fields Point (another ferry stop) so that we could park the car there. It worked out though, as we were able to catch the fast boat up with Eric and Kristin, and meet Mom, John, and Heidi an hour later on the slow boat. Lisl and Rhodri arrived the next day (Monday), and the vacation commenced (I'll spare the details about figuring out lodging arrangements). The week featured a hearty dose of fishing, hiking and camping. Grandma graciously arranged for us to get a professional fishing lesson (I tried not to read too much into it) from one of the local guides in Stehekin. We all got to put on waders and go romping around in the river. We even saw a bear! I caught a nice 17-inch trout, but the state currently restricts the keeping of cuthroat trout in that part of the river, so I had to put it back :( It was really fun anyhow! Thanks Grandma!
The next day (or was it the day after - vacation is always a blur), a few of use decided on a backpacking adventure. Rebecca and I, Kristin and Eric, and Lisl trekked up to Cottonwood and camped for two nights. We didn't arrive until about 3pm on the first day, so the afternoon was mostly spent doing short hikes and fishing. The second day we went big - hiked up to Horseshoe Basin, then Lisl and I made the trip up to Cascade Pass and back to camp about 5pm. It was a big hiking day. The trail in the valley was in pretty miserable shape, so Eric and I took it upon ourselves to do some trail maintenance with various sticks that we found alongside. I'm afraid we didn't accomplish all that much, but it is amazing how primal and satisfying it can be to knock down big weeds. I guess I know why George W was so keen on brush clearing at the ranch. The weather was supreme, and we took many photos throughout the day. I nabbed a couple fish for dinner, so that was another bonus (there had been a lot of snow and rain, so the fishing was not so good this trip).
And bears! There were 4 bear sightings on this trip: one during the professional fishing lesson, one on the way up to Cottonwood campground, when Eric and Lisl started down the trail to fill waterbottles but quickly turned around and came back (!), a third during a day hike when Rebecca and I almost walked into one on the trail, and a fourth up in Horseshoe basin. I'm sure there were more than that around, there was bear poo all over the trail throughout.
Other exciting events - a heavy rainstorm on our penultimate day caused rainbow creek to flood over its banks and wash down the road. Even more amazing (especially to those of us living in DC) is that a couple road scrapers and tractors were out there within 30 minutes doing cleanup - even though the power was out!
Towards the end of the week, we had a nice ceremony for dad, mom and Grandma said some very thoughtful words, and we all thought about him and his huge impact on our lives as we basked in the sun on a beautiful morning. It felt sad and happy all at the same time. I followed it up by fishing by the river, which is pretty much the perfect way to spend a lunch hour. I didn't catch anything, but then that hardly matters... the bubbling, rushing water was just the thing. Later that day, perhaps out of some familial guilt at not being able to attend the annual Harvest Fest in October (where the community and family get together to pick apples from the Buckner orchard and do some maintenance), or perhaps because city slickers do silly things like volunteer to dig ditches, I spent a few hours helping out with various tasks around the orchard. Eric arrived late and left early (no surprise here), but we me managed to make a dent in some projects, and I managed to work up some pretty good blisters. All in all, a satisfying afternoon!
The rest of the trip was relaxing and uneventful. Rebecca and I caught a redeye back to DC on Saturday night, spent Sunday unpacking and recovering, and were back at work before we knew it on Monday morning. Now, some photos...
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