SEASON'S LAST BACKPACK and HOW AN AARP MAGAZINE WAS LUGGED TO PETE LAKE

 

Park closed for season.  This would be the third try, the third state park, in our attempt to find a camp site for the night.  Our plan was to back pack into Pete Lake Saturday.  This was a hike that Leigh had wanted to do for some time and that part of the plan was pretty much set.  The decision to get close and car camp was more of a ‘game day decision’ and as we were punching into October, we figured we didn’t need a reservation. 

We were about 90 minutes or so from sunset with no campsite last Friday.  In my younger years my angst would have started to rise, but taking stock of the situation, we were getting into national forest land, we had a tent (2 actually) and food and water.  All we needed was a flat piece of ground.  Sure enough, just beyond Cle Elum State park, there was a small road that jagged left and over a bridge we could see a couple of trailers.  Why not take a look?

The camping regulations were posted and the trailers looked like they were used by hunters.  It was quiet and plenty of open camp sites.  Primitive, no facilities, but perfect.  We pitched our car camping tent, brought out our car camping chairs, the fire ring and the only thing that was missing was a table.

Star link, now frozen in the ‘flat mode’ worked perfectly as an ad hoc table.

Happy hour, dinner, great conversation and then to bed in the car camping tent, a katabatic tent designed for use on Mt Everest.  To us, the tent is palace-like.  It’s huge when compared to our backpacking tent, plenty of pockets for stuff and while you can’t stand up in it, it becomes a home away from home.  Not as comfy as the trailer, but for tent camping, it’s pretty nice.

Saturday morning the gears shift and the gear simplifies.  Everything we need for the night into 2 packpacks, each less than 25 pounds.

The Pete Lake Trail is 4 miles and as it was pretty dry, the stream crossings were easy.  400 feet of elevation gain made the walking easy.

A few other hikers, not many, but all friendly.  Including the group of 6 or 7 first year UW students who hailed from all over the US and were taking their first, in what I hope will be many, little adventures. Which included lugging an inflatable standup paddle board into Pete Lake.  Possibly a first.

Leigh allows 2 luxury items when backpacking.  A chair and a magazine.  Her magazine of choice on this trip was an AARP magazine.  On a backpacking trip.  Possibly another first.

The weekend was great and as rain is moving in on Monday, this could be the last weekend of good weather.  We think we made the most of it.

 The Pete Lake campsite.  The Nemo 3 tent is a great lightweight backpacking tent

The view from Pete Lake

Water is plentiful -- after filtering.  Leigh pumping water for dinner and next morning's breakfast.

Leigh in her happy place

The Kitchen set up

End of Cooper Lake on the way in

Leigh's side of the tent -- answering the question 'who reads an AARP magazine on a backpacking trip?'

Pete Lake

SEPTEMBER BACKPACKING

 

Sitting down drinking tea after a backpacking trip is relaxing.  The tent is cleaned and hung to dry, the sleeping bags are flaked out airing, and the pots are cleaned.    Leigh has taken one other backpacking trip this summer with friends, but this was my first, and likely last, of the year (although we're now thinking of 'just one more').  

We’ve been camping 3 weeks in a row.  First to Olympic National Park where Leigh and Becky did their 20 mile, 4000’ foot of elevation gain, one day hike.  5 days in the trailer, no hookups and we were quite comfortable.  Then to Grayland State Park.  2 days in the trailer, full hook up.  What luxury!  Then this weekend’s one night backpack to ‘Sheep Lake’, a picturesque alpine lake near Mount Rainier.

Backpacking tends to put things in perspective.  My pack weighs in around 25 pounds, Leigh’s a tad over 20.  Everything we need for a couple of days in about 46 pounds – that includes tent, sleeping bag, water, food, cooking gear and enough warm clothing to be comfortable to just below freezing.

And our kit was a bit larger than the through hiker we bumped into.  Walking on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) you bump into interesting people.  This guy was from San Diego and had started months earlier at the Mexican border.  When we met him he could almost smell the barn with the Canadian border so close.  He did, in fact, border on smelling like a barn, but that's part of being a thru hiker.  I asked him about 're-entry' and he had been giving that thought -- what it's like to hike solo for more than 2,500 miles then go back to a desk job.

Our hike was modest.  Just under 2 miles and about 400 feet of elevation gain.  This would normally be easy, but we started out about 5500 feet and I could feel a little of the effect of altitude. Still a relatively easy hike. Once there we picked out our campsite and Leigh wanted to hike over Sourdough gap at about 6300 feet and drop down into Crystal Lake where Andy and her camped one night years ago.

Sheep Lake is a nice little jewel of a lake.  Lots of trout as well.

Leigh and I relaxing

Leigh on the way to Sourdough Gap

The view from the gap.

Leigh with Crystal Lake in the distance.

Our campsite.  Protected, but the wind howled at night and the temperature dropped below freezing.  It was cold, but the bags we brought were up to the challenge as we were pretty comfortable.

Sheep lake, a morning view after a rather cold night.

The only selfie of the trip.  It was cold in the morning!!!

Hiking back down.  Off to Ellensburg for a well earned burger and a beer!!

THE VIEW ON DOGS (For Now)

 

Dogs and Cats

Not a week goes by when my 91 year old mother says ‘when are you going to get a dog?  You need a dog’.  She’s not alone.  Several of our friends enquire about the same thing as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.  And to them, it is.

I grew up with dogs.  I’m in my late 60’s and there have been scant few times when I haven’t had a dog.  I’ve also had a cat, but I’m more a dog person. 

Pet ownership is common in the US with some 2/3rds of all households having pets (according to the American Pet Products Association). Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Russia also have fairly high percentages of household pets.  It’s a thing that most of us take for granted.

When Indy, Leigh’s dog passed away, we went through the normal mourning period but there was no rush to replace him and now we’ve been some 5 years without a dog and have asked ourselves numerous times “should we get a dog”.  The answer was initially a ‘no’, then a ‘No’, and now borders on “Hell No” (at least for now).  Why the increasingly aversion to having a dog?

Life is better without a dog (gasp).  At least for us, and at least for now. 

We love dogs and eagerly anticipate babysitting Harley, Leigh’s ‘Grand dog’.  We tolerated, but came to (somewhat) enjoy taking care of Tater, an elderly neighbors dog.  Blind, deaf, toothless, quasi incontinent and prone to seizures, having Tater wasn’t easy, but he grew on us.  We had him for nearly 2 months in two different chunks of time as our neighbor battled health issues.

We know dogs.  We’ve trained dogs.  We’ve had good experiences with dogs and have known some really great dogs.  We aren’t anti dog.  At all.  But a dog is a responsibility.  A big one.  And they come with personal and social costs.

On the micro level,  a dog changes the way you live.  A dog is expensive and occasionally, at unplanned times, very expensive. Travel comes with more logistics, more considerations and more expense.  Impromptu trips in the trailer become a little more problematic.  National Parks don’t allow dogs.  Trips on the boat come with multiple trips ashore.  Trips on the kayak are linked to finding a dog sitter.  Same for many backpacking trips. 

We’re empty nesters.  The eggs have hatched, been raised, and have flown the the coop.  Why would we want to put a furry one back in?  One that sheds, barks, and fouls the yard?   Yes they are cute, yes they are smart, yes, they offer companionship, but they still shed, bark and foul the yard.  They certainly don’t simplify life.  They complicate it.  It’s a personal decision and a personal calculation on whether that complication is worth it or not, but after 5 dog free years, our answer, at the present, is ‘no, it’s not worth it’.

On a macro level, dogs have a large carbon footprint.  The meat consumption of pets produces 64 million tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of 13.6 million cars.   Dog waste can contaminate soil and bodies of water for years.  Bacteria in pet poop can reduce oxygen and kill aquatic life.  Most plastic bags used to scoop up poop are not biodegradable.  In the US, an estimated 634 million dog toys end up in landfills each year, roughly 40,500 tons of waste.  The pet food industry and its industrial meat production is a major cause of deforestation.  If pets were their own country, they would rank 5^th in global meat production.

Pets have a negative impact on the environment (as do we).

For us, at present, the mobility and lack of friction for ad hoc outings have a greater priority than a need for the furry companionship.  Decisions like ‘oh let’s stay another day’ are easy.  We don’t miss a dog.  Yet.