Camping at Last

Walter and I finally were able to get out of town, if only for one night. We went over to Farragut State Park in Idaho again and it was wonderful. I felt so relaxed and the weather was wonderful. After we got there and sort of got things settled we headed down to the lake. The water is down so we were able to walk out on a nice sandy beach where we sat for at least an hour and watched a sailboat. It was sunny but the wind was blowing pretty hard. We also watched some kids fishing from the beach and it was hysterical because they seemed to have a two minute attention span with the fishing. They ended up playing with rocks and rolling around in the sand.

Snowberry is the only campground open at the moment and you have to pay the hook-up fee whether you use it or not, so I took along a big orange extension cord, a space heater, and a table lamp. It was brilliant!!!! The tent was nice a warm and I had plenty of light to read by, which is good since I stayed awake until 2:00 am reading. Before we went to bed we of course had a fire and the moon was nice and bright.

I have been thinking a lot about my experience at Fishtrap Lake and that guy going through my stuff. This kind of thing has never really happened to me before. So now I am kind of reevaluating my choices. I did not actually feel afraid, just weirded out and I think that if I would have stayed there the rest of the night I would have gotten paranoid. So, after thinking on things and talking to my sister who thinks I am an idiot anyway, I think that I might start camping at campground in areas where I want to hike, and just sort of base camp rather than backpack. It would give me the opportunity to get out on the trail alone, yet not get me stuck somewhere overnight with some freakoid. At Fishtrap, it would have been easy to leave and walk out even in the dark. That is not always the case. I have had little opportunity to get out overnight the past two summers because of the dogs, but that has changed. I was looking forward to several backpacking trips this summer and maybe I will reconsider. There are places that I think are just fine, specifically places that are not so easy to get to, where only pretty serious people go, if at all. Often times I have been places and no one else was there for the whole weekend. There are also places where there are frequently quite a few people, such as Upper Priest Lake. I suppose that taking two dogs with me would also be a good idea. And heck, maybe I could think about taking another human with me sometime! Now there is a thought!

Pictures: Walter with the wind in his face; the cool sailboat; Walter chillin' after breakfast; my table "lantern."

Turnbull and Liberty Creek

On Monday Walter and I went out to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to see what was 'sup. I had totally forgotten about it until G and I drove by a sign on the way back from Fishtrap/Hog Lakes the other day. We walked around on a few different trails (there really are not that many) and checked out two of the first archeological sites I recorded (back during career number one). One was a camas oven which I could still clearly see and the other was a lithic scatter which there was no trace of. It is highly possible that I was in the wrong place but I don't think so. I am pretty good at remembering that stuff. The camas oven is basically just a pile of rocks that were thrown out the last time the oven was used. The native folk would dig a pit, fill it with rocks and wood, light it on fire, let it get really hot, burn out, then throw the camas in on top of it and cover it up. Sort of like a pig roast. Ever heard of one of those? The cool thing about Turnbull is that it truly was an area that could be considered the grocery store of the Indian folk. I saw a ton of edibles just starting to shoot up: onion, camas, stonecrop, lomatium, desert parsley, and maybe some bitterroot though it is hard for me to tell when it is not blooming. And of course cat tail which is quite tasty when cooked right. The arrowleaf balsam root should be coming up and that was a common food source prior to the flowers blooming (then it is just too stringy). Even more stuff will be coming up in the next few weeks. And yeah, I have eaten all of this stuff. My favorite is a plant the Wanapum's call "schkol schkol" but I did not see any out there yet. I have no idea what its common name is. I have never seen it in a plant book. It was a nice little walk.

Today we went and did the 7.5 mile Liberty Creek loop out at Liberty Lake. There was a lot of water in the creek. It was really great. We only ran into other people while we were walking through the campground to the trailhead. There are quite a few places where one could camp overnight, and it looks like lots of folks have done this at the Cedar Grove. There were a ton of trees down and we had to do a lot of scrambling once we got past the waterfall. I also discovered that up from the main waterfall that has the bridge over it there is another one. I think I only noticed it because of the trees being down and the bushes have not started leaving yet. It was really nice to hear water for most of the hike. We took our time and did it in about 4 hours. We had a nice rest at the Cedar Grove where we walked up past the bridge to a mossy little spot. Then of course we had another break and snack at the cabin on top. I could have sat up there all day. When we first started out the sky was overcast but it got sunny pretty quick.

The last mile or so back down to the main trail is really steep in spots and sometimes I feel like I am almost crawling down. After the trail gets to the bottom of the valley it is basically behind a large marsh and it was incredibly muddy. There is a bridge across the creek back to the main trail but it made no difference. Walter and I were both muddy up to our knees. It was such an incredibly beautiful day.

I only have a few days of Spring Break left, but I hope that this quarter I am able to get out and do stuff more. Having it stay lighter longer in the evening helps a lot. Walter and are still going to try and get in at least a short camping trip this weekend.

The first four pictures are of Turnbull. The one with just the rocks on it is are the remains of the camas oven. The next six are of our hike at Liberty Lake/Creek.

Fishtrap Lake for the Day

Ok, so feeling really pissed off that I did not get my hike in on Saturday (it is what Walter and I planned to do the next day after spending the night at Fishtrap Lake), I headed back out there today. But this time I took a man with me. My friend G (I never asked him if I could use his name on my blog) had told me that he wanted to go out there hiking around so I called him at the last minute and invited him along.
It was really nice to have another human to hike around with. Sometimes I just like the quiet and the getting into my head but it was nice to have someone to share it with...or at least someone of the same species.

North of Fishtrap Lake is another lake called Hog Lake. Across the road from the Fishtrap Lake Road trailhead is another trailhead that connects to several trails
and a road that head north.
We hiked one of the trails that is up above Hog Canyon Creek up to Hog Lake. We cut over at some point along the trail to look down the cliffs at the creek and saw a large wetland. It was really raining hard at that point so we did not stand there for too long. As it turned out, later on we ended up sitting on the top of a cliff at the very north end of the wetland. We got up to Hog Lake and hung out for a bit. There were some people fishing. It is a lake that has a reverse fishing season and in the winter when it is frozen lots of people go out there to ice fish. G said he can't think about ice fishing without thinking of "Grumpy Old Men."

We looked around for a bit and then decided to head back. I had heard at some point along the creek there was a waterfall and I wanted to find it and check it out. There is really no trail that actually goes along the creek because of the basalt cliffs. There is a sort of cow trail and eventually some rodent trails so we followed those. We did find something that might have been the waterfall. It was pretty cool just picking our way along. The rock formations are pretty incredible. We eventually ended up
on the north side of the wetland where we had a little rest.
In a month or so that place is going to be packed with birds. There were already some geese and we could hear a frog and a woodpecker. We were sitting on some really green moss that G took a picture of. As we went along the way got a bit scary and overgrown. I don't think we would be able to get through in a couple of months after everything blooms. There
were lots of wild rose bushes we had to tramp through, but it was worth it. We got to a section fence that marked the end of the BLM property and then we headed back towards the trail we were on at first. It was all just too darn cool. An online brochure can be found here: http://www.noblegeorges.com/maps/fishtrap.pdf

We had an interesting chat about freaks in the woods. There were a few folks at Hog Lake that would make me nervous if I ran into them. And the bathroom door had been shot all to hell. We both decided that maybe places that easy to get to and that popular are not the best places for me to spend the night alone (because at the point I would probably be paranoid out there). G said that he would be a bit nervous even though he has a penis and that generally disqualifies him from some kinds of opportunistic violent crimes. Though not always, I guess. After all, Burt Reynolds did have a perty mouth.

Pictures from top to bottom: the south side of the wetland...the cliff in the very back along the left

side of the wetland is where we took our lovely little break; looking down at the water; Hog Lake; the "waterfall"; the wetland from our perch looking back towards where I took the first picture from; a close-up shot of the rock we were sitting on top of over the wetland.

Fishtrap Lake or Deliverance?

Ahhh, Spring Break!! Last year I went to Mexico. It was wonderful but alas this year I am stuck in Spokaloo with no money. Oh, well. So this week I decided that Walter and I needed to go camping. I wanted somewhere close where there was no snow. I am pretty much done with winter. I decided on Fishtrap Lake. It is 30 miles from Spokane, has a bunch of BLM land around it, and is pretty empty before fishing season starts. Perfect.

Yesterday Walter and I packed up our backpacks with our luxury items and about 25 pounds of water (the lake has a lot of agricultural runoff in it so I have no desire to drink it even if it is filtered). We only had to walk about a mile and a half then took off from the main trail down to where an old wagon road goes down along the cliffs to the lake. There is really no trail to the wagon road and you sort of have to know it is there to find it. We picked a lovely spot up from the lake sort of sheltered by trees. I put up the tent and expecting rain, hooked up a tarp between a couple of trees. It was wonderful. There was not a boat on the lake and we could not hear another soul. After we ate dinner we were just kind of hanging out when the mosquitoes started swarming. It was too early to go into the tent so I decided to take a walk up on the scabland area around the lake. We walked about a mile or so and then slowly started to make our way back. For the first time in weeks I felt totally relaxed. We watched some ducks in a small pond, saw lots of birds, looked around for various blooming plants, took some pictures, etc. It was just really nice.

On the way back down the wagon road, Walter started acting all goofy and high strung. I just shrugged it off thinking he was just being weird. Why don't I ever listen to him???? Anyway, we got back down to where we were camped and I looked under the tarp and my stuff had been moved around. Then I looked over at the tent and my backpack was sort of hanging out under the vestibule and the zipper was not done up all the way. That was not how I left it. I was just sitting there trying to figure this puzzle out when Walter started barking and growling and I looked over and there was this guy about 70 yards away from me. He did not look over at me or anything and just kept walking and it was just so weird. No, "Hey, you camping here?" or anything that folks would normally do. Everything was just too weird.

So I sat there for about a half an hour and every episode of Law and Order and CSI started going through my head. Then I would think, but if the dude wanted to do me harm, he would have already done it but I kept returning back to the fact that the guy had gone through my stuff! It was so strange. I started feeling more and more weirded out by the whole thing. I looked at my watch and it was almost 6:30pm. I figured I had about a half hour of light left, so I packed my shit up in ten minutes and got the hell out. I was so pissed and wanted to stay, but my rational mind was telling me that this was just not cool. I have only had one experience where I felt nervous about other people being around. One time Morgan and I backpacked up to this little lake in North Idaho. On the way up there was a horrific storm that lasted all of about twenty minutes, but it was pretty intense. We got up to the lake and there was this guy camping there by himself. He came over and started talking to us and was just really acting nervous. I could tell that Morgan was a bit bothered. But then as he started talking and telling us about the storm, I realized he was trying to get some kind of comfort from us. The storm had really freaked him out and after I told him that it was all clear to the west he seemed to relax a bit, but he was out of there by first light the next morning.

Walter and I came home early. It was a drag, but I will be going back at some point. It was gently suggested to me that perhaps I should take Walter and his mother Ruby with me next time. The two of them together would be quite a formidable pair.

I have the next week off and will probably be taking some day trips if not an overnight. As it turned out, it rained all last night and all day today so it would not have been quite as much fun. I might call around and see how the snow is at Priest Lake. If it is gone, maybe we will head up there for a night or two. Except for the last hour, it was a great six hour camping trip!

Pictures: Me and Walter, cute Walter watching ducks, our perfect short term camping spot, various pictures around the lake and above it, and a nasty camping place we found along the lake that we were going to clean up before we left. I guess we will just have to go back and do that.

Deep Creek

I realized this morning that if I did not get out and do something outside that my head would explode. I have a butt load of studying to do as well as work on several projects that are due in the next two weeks. It is supposed to start raining and continue all week so today seemed like a good time to find a trail.

Walter told me that he wanted me to take him to Deep Creek because he had never been there before. Deep Creek is this totally magical place that is in Riverside State Park, near the Ninemile Dam. The road used to be totally open to cars but is now closed for major portions and is part of the Centennial Trail system. We used to park right at the mouth of the creek and spend the day swimming in the river and hiking around in the creek bed and the hills above the canyon. This was the first place I encountered a rattle snake. I have not visited the creek in probably ten or more years which is really a shame.

The area is full of basalt cliffs, huge boulders, and giant basalt spires. There are a couple of rock shelters and one I am sure was used by the native folks for storage. A couple of people could probably sleep in it as well. In the later part of the summer the creek bed dries out and you can hike up as far as the Seven Mile Road. I cannot even use words to describe how cool this place is.

I was feeling like I needed to have maximum pleasure since I was taking time away from school work and cleaning the pit that I call home, but we ended up having a not so great encounter with another (UNLEASHED!!!!!) dog. We were just starting up a big hill when I heard a noise behind me and turned around to see a dog running at us. It startled the shit out of me. Walter did not see the dog until it was biting him on the ass. Walter was trying to get away from it and bite it back all at the same time and they were both running around my legs and I was getting twisted up in Walter's LEASH...I HAD HIM ON A LEASH!!!! The owner of the dog was way back on the trail yelling for the dog to come...which he eventually did. Then these folks were like, shocked and amazed that their dog did not listen to them. I lost control to be honest and pretty much every word out of my mouth as I yelled at them was "fuck." I was so angry that I wanted to tie Walter to a tree and get in their faces. Everybody thinks that their dog will listen to them, and that no one else is going to be out on the trail and blah blah blah and they don't have to follow the rules and they are exempt from any consequences that might result from their actions. A few days ago, some guy was jogging on the trails with his dog and the dog went over a cliff. There was a huge search party and rock climbers out trying to find the dog. And guess what, THE DOG WAS NOT ON A LEASH!!!!!! I don't think it has been found yet and is probably dead. That line of thinking is what gets people (and obviously animals) hurt and killed. As much as I love Walter and talk about him like he is human, he is still a dog and will act like a dog in situations that trigger his primal instincts. I know that he would probably run off and chase a bounding deer through the forest, at least for a little ways because it is in his nature. Even though they are our companions in life, they still have their own way which we will never understand and their own agenda. Ok, that's all I am going to say about that. Except this...leashes are for the protection of your dog, the wildlife, and other people on the trail. That is why there are leash laws. And people who think they are above those rules are the ones who fuck it up for the rest of us. In the very least, dogs should be leashed in really popular places, like places where there are a bunch of cars parked at the trailhead. Ok, really, that is all I have to say about that. Really.

So after this little incident, I had lots of adrenaline going through me and got up to the top of the cliffs in record time. Ok, I had to use a stick to poke my lungs back down my nose once I got to the top, but it was pretty amazing. We wandered around for a bit more and then headed down the side of the canyon to the paved road which took us back to the car. We left the trail head the back way and took some gravel roads over to the Seven Mile Road. Then we headed down to the Little Spokane River which is quite full of water right now, and just sort of goofed around for a bit before heading home. Walter is fine and there is no broken skin. I however, could use a gin and tonic.

I did not take these pictures as I had forgotten to grab my camera. I "borrowed" them from a pretty cool site that has lots of outdoor info for this area. It is http://www.spokaneoutdoors.com/. Check it out.