Lake Wenatchee Camping Trip

Wow - someone stepped on the gas near the middle of August and we haven't had a chance to take a breath since. Luckily we have been taking a few pictures of our activities or I wouldn't have a clue what we did!

The last hot week of summer we took a camping trip to Lake Wenatchee for 3 glorious days. Like our camping trip to Birch Bay earlier in the summer, this trip was with several of the families that we hang out with on a regular basis. As a kid, can you imagine the fun that results in going camping with ALL your friends? The girls were on their bikes at sun-up, in the lake as soon as the morning mountain air warmed up and exploring the woods in between. We cleaned their filthy faces and they collapsed into bed each night with grins so wide you'd think it was Christmas Eve.


A couple of the dads notched a small downed tree between two trees which wedged itself into a perfect natural teeter totter. The Ranger was quite impressed by the ingenuity - but I tend to think other kids must have tried it - they just didn't have the sheer mass of 5-12 year olds required to move the thing. Of course it turned into a battle - who could get the most weight on their side.


There is a small lake at the south western tip of Lake Wenatchee that requires a short hike of about 1/3 of a mile. 2 years ago this hike took quite a while - we were hiking with a 3 and 5 year old - but this year we were at the top and in the lake in about 10 minutes. This lake was considerably cooler than Lake Wenatchee and gave me fond memories of the cold, clear and deep waters of Spirit lake outside of Rathdrum in northern Idaho. The cold water felt good, the hike was short but the temps were touching the mid 90's. These waters held a tremendous number of small fish - I suppose they were baby trout - that would nibble at just about anything that came there way. A piece of bread from a lightly touched PB&J was set upon like we were at a Koi pond.


Not all the fun was had by the little ones. I pulled together my friends Mike and Greg to ride one of the great trails in Washington. Devil's Gulch rises nearly 3500 feet from the trail head to the top of the Mission Ridge Trail over about 11 miles of climbing. The trail is in great shape as it carves and climbs its way through the gulch crossing several streams on the way up. Most of the time you're pretty sheltered but on occasion the trail is benched into the side of the canyon and the drop is pretty significant. Blind exposed switchbacks and steep side hills will certainly get your blood going! The descent of the Ridge Trail will leave you hammered, puckered and breathless. The pitch and exposure are relentless - the aptly named Ridge Trail follows several ridges, sometimes riding the knife edge, as you plummet back to the valley floor. In several places its hard to believe that you really climbed this high? The trail is primarily used as a climbing trail for moto's - there is no way to climb it on a Mountain Bike - and I think the next time we ride out there we'll be sure to climb the road and descend Devils Gulch avoiding the Ridge Trail all together. All told the 17mile ride took just under 5 hours and offered up 3800 feet total of climbing.