Roaming in the Navibahn, 8.23.18 - 8.26.18
I was happy to have Bridgit back from an extended visit back east and with nothing but upper 90’s in the forecast, we decided to look for a place to swim. Monday morning Bridgit and I fired up the Navibahn and headed east on Highway 2 over to eastern Washington where it was even hotter. Arriving at Banks Lake we stopped by Bridgit’s sister Cathy and her husband Bob’s ranch just outside Coulee City. Then it was up the lake to Steamboat Rock State Park. As far as places go that have RV hookups, this was a nice one with plenty of soft grassy areas and all the amenities. The amenity we were most interested in however was the temperature of the lake so we dragged our noodles down a short sandy path to a great cove. The water was really comfortable so we floated for quite some time until we were worried about getting fried on top. It was really hot out!
That evening Cathy and a friend of Bob’s who was visiting from out of state came by and picked us up. We drove up to the Grand Coulee Dam to see the new laser show. For many years in the summer months there is a nightly show that is really impressive. At 10PM they start letting water run over huge sections of the dam two at a time to form a gigantic white curtain on the face of the dam (and it’s one big ass dam!). Along with a great narrative coming from strategically placed speakers about the history of the Columbia River and the Reclamation Project, lasers create images and cartoon type movies on the water created curtain. It’s pretty cool.
Steamboat Rock and the state park we stayed in
We were really excited for day two because we planned to travel on roads we had never been on. Behind the Grand Coulee Dam, the Columbia River backs up for one hundred fifty miles to the Canadian border to form Lake Roosevelt. We had been to Lake Roosevelt once before to do a houseboat trip but had come from a different direction. From Banks Lake, we drove further east and then headed north on the east side of Lake Roosevelt. It was a beautiful drive through classic ranch country full of pines and sage.
Lake Roosevelt
We crossed a large bridge over the Spokane River, continued even further north until we finally got to Kettle Falls. There we switched over to the west side of the lake and headed even further north to a private RV park on the Kettle River, a few miles north of where it joins the Columbia above Kettle Falls. Now this spot is way out there. It is a short amount of miles east to the Idaho border or north to the Canadian border. This is bear country and you are cautioned when checking in. The park actually is just off the river so we walked through a scenic short stretch of open timber forest until we popped out on a beautiful beach in an area of the Kettle River that formed a cove. This water was also incredibly comfortable and we wallowed like happy hippos for a long time. We watched a group of six deer come down from the hills, wade into the marshy edge of the river across from us and hang out for the better part of an hour before they left.
Beach on the Kettle River
On the third morning I was even more excited because we planned to do a hike in the area. Once again, this part of the state is so far from our house that it is too far to do as an overnighter or even a three day weekend. As a result we have just never come this far except the one houseboat trip. So back to the hike. We drove back down to Kettle Falls and hopped on Highway 20 west to the top of Sherman Pass. This pass cuts through the Kettle Range which isn’t really part of the Selkirks but is certainly too far east to be considered the Cascades. The Kettles are kind of their own little range that run in a fairly straight line and just beg to be roamed.
Most people are familiar with the Appalachian Trail, The Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, all of which run north/south. There is another classic trail know as the Pacific Northwest Trail that runs east/west from Glacier National Park in Montana to the Pacific Ocean at Cape Alava in Olympic National Park. Part of this route runs the length of the Kettle Range on a trail called the Kettle Crest Trail. Back to our hike, we opted to hike north from the pass about three miles to a side trail leading to the summit of Columbia Mountain. While not incredibly high at 6,782’, it does rise above several other points along the crest and therefore has the distinction of having one of the oldest fire lookouts in the state.
Me at the Kettle Crest Trailhead sign on Sherman Pass
Being a weekday and so far from damn near anywhere, we got a great sense of solitude hiking this trail as it gently climbed above the pass to access the crest of the ridge. The terrain was a combination of pine forest, flowery meadows with sage brush mixed with showy Paintbrush, bluebells and various other flowers that I have no idea what their names are.
Bridgit on the PNT(Pacific Northwest Trail)
After seeing no one the whole time, as we arrived at the trail junction to ascend Columbia Mountain, a lone woman in her mid-twenties came down the Kettle Crest Trail from the north. It turns out she was from Detroit and was hiking the entire length of the Pacific Northwest Trail from Glacier Park to the ocean. She was on day 27 and expected it to take her until mid-September to reach the Pacific Ocean at Cape Alava. Wow. We loved her spirit and wished her safe travels.
Starting up the side trail to the summit of Columbia Mountain, the trail got a bit steeper but soon we arrived at the top. It was a bit hazy so the long views were limited to looking down the Kettle Range to the south and east towards Lake Roosevelt. The fire lookout had originally been built in 1914 but had gotten so old that it had been faithfully restored back in 2008. It looked old too. I went inside and it felt like every step I was going to go through a floorboard but it held up fine. At this altitude it was slightly cooler and we had nice gentle breezes so our stay at the summit was really relaxing and pleasant, especially considering we had the entire place to ourselves which is always nice.
Columbia Mountain Lookout
Columbia Mountain Lookout
Summit selfie (I usually hate selfies but this one is a keeper)
Despite our early start, it was getting hot quickly so we headed back down and drove several hours to the town of Winthrop where we stayed in an RV Park with full hookups right above the town, allowing us to walk in from our site. We found a restaurant with a shaded porch and had a cold Margarita before getting dinner. We sacked out a little early after a day of heat, hiking and driving.
This morning we left Winthrop, stopped in Mazama which is one of my favorite spots ever and got a coffee and a pastry before heading up into the North Cascades. The scenery after leaving Mazama just gets better and better with every mile and by the time you come around the bend from Silver Star Mountain and see the Liberty Bell and Early Winter Spire you enter a stretch of road that must be up there with the greatest scenic roads in our country. First you wind up switchbacks to the spectacular views at Washington Pass and then drive past an onslaught of huge, jagged classic Cascade peaks.
Whistler Mountain and Cutthroat Peak (courtesy of Bridgit)
The Navibahn in good company with Fisher Peak, Arriva Peak and Black Peak
After passing an entire string of amazing peaks, the highway winds down towards Ross Lake and Diablo Lake below the dam. We stopped at the Diablo viewpoint and decided it was so hot we need to go for another swim. Dropping down to Diablo Lake, we parked, got into our suits and headed down to the water. Diablo is mainly fed by Thunder Creek which is born from glaciers high in the peaks previously mentioned. While considerably colder than our other swim spots, it was really hot out and diving into the water of Diablo Lake was incredibly refreshing. Aaah!
Diablo Lake
This trip was only a four day excursion but we packed a lot of different things in and had a really great time just exploring together. There is so much to see!