WashingtonTaco
Adventurist
Living on Camano Island WA in the North Puget Sound we have easy access to North Cascades National Park. Just short hour and half drive grants us access to the park. We often head over to Mazama WA and camp on the Methow River.
This trip I wanted to do something a bit different. I wanted to head east of Mazama. First a few nights with friends on the Methow was in order.
The evening prior to departure I was able to bounce out of work early to pack the GX, purchase a growler fill of our local brewery and a fresh bag of coffee. Its like a ritual to pack and enjoy a cold beer on a warm summer night.
The morning of July 24th we rolled out heading East on highway 20 aka The North Cascades Highway. My daughter (wayward sky) joined us for the journey. As usual we stopped at Diablo Lake vista stop to see the lake and stretch our legs. Diablo and the bigger lake, Ross Lake are part of Seattle City and Light's network of hydro power dams and offer great views. Just prior to the lakes the town of Newhalem offers a snack store and normally tours and information on the hydro project (but no fuel) but due to COVID things are muted a bit.
We have done this trip many times so we piled back in our vehicles and pressed on. As you journey East you travel over the highest paved pass in Washington, Washington Pass @ 5476' its not high compared to Colorado, Montana or Utah passes but considering when we departed our home just 2 hours West we were at 187' in our driveway, its pretty dramatic. The short hike at the pass is worth the time as it offers beautiful views of the East slope of the Cascades. From the pass Mazama is just 35 minutes away.
Mazama is really just a hamlet of a few homes a great gas station/restaurant, bike/ski shop and a real estate office. The Methow Valley is well know for producing US Olympic cross country skiers. They have 130 miles of trails for use year round. Its not uncommon to see a person roller skiing on the road in the summer and the ski trails are mountain bike trails in the summer as well. There is also a Outward Bound School in Mazama and a huge climbing area Goat Wall. You can start to understand why we camp here often. With a fill up in Mazama we headed North out of town to camp. Just off Forest Service road 5400 is dispersed camping along the Methow. We set up camp in our favorite area large enough to accommodate our soon to be five vehicle 10 person group.
This trip I wanted to do something a bit different. I wanted to head east of Mazama. First a few nights with friends on the Methow was in order.
The evening prior to departure I was able to bounce out of work early to pack the GX, purchase a growler fill of our local brewery and a fresh bag of coffee. Its like a ritual to pack and enjoy a cold beer on a warm summer night.
The morning of July 24th we rolled out heading East on highway 20 aka The North Cascades Highway. My daughter (wayward sky) joined us for the journey. As usual we stopped at Diablo Lake vista stop to see the lake and stretch our legs. Diablo and the bigger lake, Ross Lake are part of Seattle City and Light's network of hydro power dams and offer great views. Just prior to the lakes the town of Newhalem offers a snack store and normally tours and information on the hydro project (but no fuel) but due to COVID things are muted a bit.
We have done this trip many times so we piled back in our vehicles and pressed on. As you journey East you travel over the highest paved pass in Washington, Washington Pass @ 5476' its not high compared to Colorado, Montana or Utah passes but considering when we departed our home just 2 hours West we were at 187' in our driveway, its pretty dramatic. The short hike at the pass is worth the time as it offers beautiful views of the East slope of the Cascades. From the pass Mazama is just 35 minutes away.
Mazama is really just a hamlet of a few homes a great gas station/restaurant, bike/ski shop and a real estate office. The Methow Valley is well know for producing US Olympic cross country skiers. They have 130 miles of trails for use year round. Its not uncommon to see a person roller skiing on the road in the summer and the ski trails are mountain bike trails in the summer as well. There is also a Outward Bound School in Mazama and a huge climbing area Goat Wall. You can start to understand why we camp here often. With a fill up in Mazama we headed North out of town to camp. Just off Forest Service road 5400 is dispersed camping along the Methow. We set up camp in our favorite area large enough to accommodate our soon to be five vehicle 10 person group.