It is this paddler's fondest dream to camp in remote places, awake at dawn, brew hot coffee, and drink it while gliding over still water - and that is just what we did most mornings on our camping trip last week.
We teamed up with our son Rue and his wife Annie, to explore the Okanogan country in northeastern Washington.
Our first destination was Leader Lake, where all of us camped together. After several days, Annie and Rue returned home, and George and I headed north, to explore the dramatic Northern Cascades Highway, one of the most scenic drives in the state. We made two more additional camps, at Blackpine Lake and Diablo Lake, enjoying hiking and canoeing experiences along the way.
We had an early morning glide on Blackpine Lake, a very pristine lake, with a beaver dam at one end. It was a little cold in the morning, and I was certainly glad to have my coffee along. During the days it may be in the 80's, but at night it was in the 50's.
Rocky outcroppings on Diablo Lake, lining much of the west shore. The water in Diablo Lake is some of the coldest in Washington, glacier-melt. The silt causes the lake to be a milky emerald green.In every camp we pitched our tent so that we could maximize the view of the sky at night. Clear skies meant we could stargaze, and find the Milky Way.
It was exquisite looking at these black pines through the window of the tent. As the stars twinkled it seemed like someone had come along and placed Christmas lights throughout the forest. At Leader Lake, I laid awake in the middle of the night listening to the coyotes howl answering each other.As I've written before in other camping posts, our family really enjoys cooking outdoors, and this is no exception for our son Rue. The evening he arrived at Leader Lake, he prepared petite sirloin kebabs over a grill. Marinated and rolled in seasonings, they sent a mouthwatering aroma throughout the campground.
The next afternoon he made buffalo burgers, and I added a few prepared salads as side dishes. These burgers really hit the spot after our morning hike near Starvation Mountain.Rue chopped up fresh strawberries and peaches to pour over Annie's pancakes the following morning.
These pancakes were almost the size of a small fry pan, and really hit the spot! Annie opened up a jar of my home-made plum syrup and I prepared eggs, sausage and hash browns as side-dishes.I was so busy tending camp and cooking that I had George run the video camera, and I was not able to film much. (And many of our dinners were 'in the dark', evening, when filming impossible.)
This was a lentil soup served with bagels and brown bean dip that I served at Blackpine Lake. I make five quarts of soup at a time, freeze it, and pack it frozen in our cooler. By the third day, it has thawed and is ready to reheat.And this rice-garbanzo bean goulash accompanied fresh green beans from our garden.
I season these beans with fresh lemon, pepper, and cumin, and cook them in just a tad bit of olive oil. The secret here is to simmer them briefly, then let them sit in the hot broth to deepen the flavor. (You save on propane, too.) Squeeze the lemon, and the fresh scent mingles with the fragrance of pine and cedar in the air. It is very refreshing.I also made some little taste thrills - like zuchinni bread, corn muffins, and granola bars for our backpacks.
These bars are made with bran cereal, peanuts, almonds, pecans, flax seed, yogurt, and sweetened with honey, brown sugar and topped with dark chocolate. The day before we left on vacation, I made more plum syrup (about 6 1/2 quarts), so I dried all the pulp from the plums and made fruit leather. It turned out so good (gobbled up), that I dried strips of my home-made applesauce, adding shredded zucchini and carrots. I find that chewing on a few of these really enhances the enjoyment of a hike, adding quick nourishment.
Annie and I hiked up to this rocky promontory on their last day of the trip while Rue and George did up dishes - (yes, everyone does kitchen duty.) It was incredibly dry and warm. After we finished our climb we walked throughout the entire eastern side of the campground(pictured here across the lake), where I showed Annie where I wish we could have camped had it not been so windy on the evening we first arrived. (Propane issues.) We hope to come back to the Okanogan again, perhaps in the spring when more of the family could join us.I'll finish out this post with the only thing I brought home from our trip -- dried elk droppings I found on a hike near Starvation Mountain. As you know, most regulations prohibit disturbing the habitat, whether that means bringing home rocks or shells, moss or driftwood.
When I saw these I told Rue that they make excellent incense, pungent with the juniper, cedar, or pine needles that the elk has eaten. I said I regretted not having a plastic bag. . . and he happened to have one! When I got home, I made a little alter, lit the scat, and savored the wonderful memories of our trip.
