We headed over to eastern Washington again, this time in a northerly direction, driving up through Wenatchee, with its orchards - valley after valley of them. (Photo taken from inside the car.)This is Okanogan Country, stretching from the 10,000 ft. peaks of the Northern Cascades to the rolling wheat fields of the Columbia Basin. It is a vast, rolling, varied landscape, offering
whitewater rafting, boating, fly fishing, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, wilderness packing, hunting and more - I was amazed at all the people touting bikes on top of their cars, mountain bikes, boats and kayaks. We also drove past golfers lined up in their miniature carts, awaiting entrance onto the course.
When you drive through the orchard country, everything is abundantly green and quaint, with migrant-worker cabins lining the groves. Every workable space has trees -apple, pear, apricot, peaches, plum and cherry. Roadside fruitstands lined the roadway, all of them closed yet, waiting for the harvest. There was no hustle and bustle in the orchards this time of year. In fact the only thing that seemed to be moving were the huge sprinkler systems irrigating the orchards.
We spent most of the day - a good 10 hours - exploring backroads, hunting out new campgrounds, and locating alpine lakes nestled in the woods. This, so we will be better prepared - on a moment's notice - to drive to an exquisite location, set up camp, and get right into action - hiking and canoeing. (Much like a rock climber determining what crevice or break in the rocks will provide a good foothold. It saves time, and makes for efficient, effortless get-aways.)
This view is taken from the top of Timerick Mountain, which commands exquisite views in every direction.Leader Lake is at the foot of Timerick Mountain. We unloaded the canoe, and pushed out into a 'full to the brim' lake. (Notice that the trees are in the water.)
Snowmelt has caused excessive runoff, and many of the creeks and rivers in this area were simply raging torrents, milky from silt and mud coming down off the mountains.We paddled around the lake in about an hour and a half, taking our time to check out the wildlife and the nearby cliffs.
This is a marshy area near the end of the lake. This is a good fishing lake - with a lot of perch being caught along the shoreline. We saw many schools of them as we paddled along.Campsites are plentiful, and we plan to go back sometime, and secure a site up on a nearby bluff overlooking the lake. The rocky cliffs behind the campsite would make a nice morning climb.
We're putting this place on our list of 'great campsites'. In fact, when we finished our paddle, and loaded up, George said, "Babe, it doesn't get any better than this!" I groaned, with a correction. "Yes it does - we should have brought our tent and stayed the night."
