Up the creek with a poodle

I got off work yesterday morning at 6am and came home intending to take a nap. I had the next two nights off and wanted to rest for a bit and then take Walter out for some fun. Well, I could not sleep at all so by 10:30, frustrated and tired, I decided to hit the trail. We stopped at Freddy's for a sandwich and then drove out to Liberty Lake. It takes about a half hour to get out there from my house.

The county park has a beach, a huge picnic area, campground, and a really cool 7.5 mile trail that goes up into the mountains and then loops back down to the campground. Because I had been up all night and on my feet and my shift was really busy, I had no desire to do the entire loop. Two miles up the trail is the cedar grove with a stand of pretty old cedars right next to Liberty Creek. I thought it would be nice to hike up there, have lunch, and then head home. The trail to the cedar grove moves in and out of the sun right along the creek. The vegetation along the creek looks tropical. Lots of huge ferns and these other plants that have enormous leaves bigger than my head (and I have a big head). I do not know what the plants are called though. There are several crossings via small foot bridges. When we crossed one of the bridges, Walter got his foot caught between two boards and started to freak out a bit. He got it loose himself but then every time we came to another bridge, he would stop and look back at me, then run across the bridge really fast as if he thought it was going to hurt him. I just cracked up.

After eating lunch, I decided to carry on and hike up the first switchback to a view point that looks down on the lake and the lovely city of Liberty Lake. Half way up my trick knee started screaming but we kept going. The viewpoint is lovely and behind the city you can see the mountains on the Idaho/Washington border. I think the trail actually crosses into Idaho at some point but I am not sure where. After taking in the view and snapping a couple of pictures, I decided yet again to keep going all the way to the waterfall. In the spring and early summer, it roars down the mountain and under another foot bridge. I wanted to get there and stick my head in the water (it was probably close to 90 degrees by then). Of course I did not bring my map with me because we were only going to the cedar grove so I could not remember how far the waterfall was from the viewpoint. As I kept walking, my knee was hurting more and more. Eventually I decided it was time to turn around and head back, since going downhill is actually more difficult for me than going up. Alas, after I got home and looked at my map, I was only about an 8th of a mile from the waterfall, close to three miles from my car. Oh well, for me it is rarely the destination but rather the journey that is important. I love just ambling along the trails lost in my own thoughts. So we turned around and I limped my way back to the car, with one more stop to finish off my sandwich and get my head wet in the creek. The loop trail is pretty nice, with some longer options which I have not yet explored.

The campground at the park is pretty nice but in terms of things I think are important it sucks. It is pretty civilized with most of the "offensive" wild vegetation removed. There is no privacy and all sites are out in the open and close together, usually only separated by a picnic table. You can hear your neighbor fart and belch in their sleep, I am sure. It seems that I am becoming more and more disinterested in campgrounds and prefer to find a place where no one else is. There are some that I will continue to go to, but the sites have to be back in the trees and they cannot be party spots. Unfortunately on the big lakes around here those places are hard to find. The most decent one on Priest Lake is Beaver Creek, mainly because the boat ramp there is down a bumpy dirt road and there are no docks. If I go there, it is only during the middle of the week. Otherwise, I paddle or hike up to the upper lake.

Starting next week Walter and I are hoping to start back on our 50s. I spent most of yesterday replacing the water pump in my car. It of course is not finished as I had to run to the parts store for a second time (how can they charge $20 for two tiny little rubber gaskets?). As soon as I feel that I can drive it for any distance, we are off. Our first area will probably be up near Sherman Pass, northwest of Kettle Falls. So stay tuned, and pray for the Festiva. (Pictures of our hike are on the way. My camera is at my friend Gar's house).