After a pleasant 3 mile hike, Sharon prepared a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, and grits. All that early scrambling up and down was worth it!
We left Bascom Cove, and drove North towards Anecortis before succumbing to the need to be on SR 20, which we stayed on to the Park. Ranger advice at the Visitor Center sent us another 7 miles to Colonial Creek CG, and a first come site for Ernie along the Creek. Most of the river sites are walk-ins, so we were very satisfied with our site: sun for Ernie's solar panel, shade for the picnic table, and a gurgling stream beyond. Sweet!
After lunch we hiked the Thunder Knob Trail, a 2+ mile climb ending with a wide vista of snowy mountain tops above and a lovely tourquoise lake below. Along the way, especially as we descended, we had more views of mountain tops. The term "American Alps" is making more sense now. There seem to be mountain peaks in every direction, snowcapped no less! I think the stuff they gave us said something like there are 300 glaciers here, numerically a majority of all on them in the US outside Alaska? It all makes for panoramic views. And the rivers have that tourquoise tinge to the water, which was one of the most memorable features of Alaska's glacial rivers, a reflection of all the silt particulate in the water.
Day 2
We drove 4 miles down the highway to Ross Dam to hike the Happy Panther Trail. It said 10+ miles round-trip, so we figured we could hike a ways and turn around.
It turned out I walked about 5 feet on the Happy Panther Trail. To get to it, we had a 1 mile access trail, all switchbacks descending the side of a mountain. At the end of that trail was a sign, indicating trails to the left, the ferry to the right, so we chose left. We got to walk across the Ross Dam! It holds back a ton of water, its lake extends North into Canada. IAC, it's fun to walk across a dam, be it beaver family made or army of people with massive machinery made.
There was one trail at the other end of the dam, so we hiked. And climbed. And kept climbing, and then we reached at least a local high point on the trail that was clearly going around the lake to the Resort over there. We didn't want to go to the resort, especially. Certainly not enough to climb all the way down to it, only to return by climbing back up to where we were! So we climbed down in the return direction, crossed the dam, and walked towards the ferry (for the resort). Along the way we saw a doe with two fawns, a bathroom and a picnic area with steps down into the lake, and the start of the Happy Panther Trail. Too late. A photo op, and back to the mile climb back to Ernie. Not quite 5 miles, but a good hike nonetheless.
We drove back to the campground, but to the South side, which is reservations only, 'cause they have the boat ramp and a trailer length parking lot for Ernie. We blew up our SUPs and paddled a couple miles on Diablo Lake (the one below Ross and before Gorge). There were a bunch of YMCA guides from Seattle waiting for their ride by the water, and several were happy to try out our SUPs. Maggie tried first with my kayak paddle, then again with Sharon's SUP paddle. After a week in the back country, it was clear they were all enjoying a respite from hiking with a 40# pack; Maggie looked like she was mastering it pretty quickly, while Michelle also looked like she was ready for anything.
Next? A couple more miles of hiking, fairly level upstream, we turned well before 4th of July campground or the beautiful waterfall about a mile past (or so we heard). We saw cool trees and rocks and glacial melt river, which kept our senses in overload.
Of course Sharon came up with a creative use of food, and prepared a wonderful meal, frying the bag salad in the juices of the pork tenderloin. I just wish we had more salad!
Driving out of our campground uphill for four miles was not kind to Ernie. At one point his fuel average for the day (less than the first 4 miles of the day) dropped below 10 mpg. Coming back to the campground I needed to brake for turns and the campground, and we only got up to 18 mpg. A poor mileage day, but at under 10 miles, not a big overall impact.
Our creek keeps our campsite significantly cooler than sites even across the road. When we put the SUPs in Ernie after our paddle, the house battery was at 100%, and the solar panel was keeping it at that. When we did our hike after, we parked in the sun again and didn't block the sun from inside Ernie, where temperatures got over 100, making the ARB work overtime to keep our food chilled, driving our battery down to 68%, even though the solar panel was trying to keep up. Lesson learned, we need to pay more attention to the ARB's environment! I don't know when we'll find an electric site again, it is Summer Camping Season, and finding campsites is more challenging, and it seems like all the powered sites are reserved. I just wish we had more house battery than our one gel.
Tomorrow we will drive East until we get cell service with data, but Sharon wants to be in Canada tomorrow! Break out our passports and see what we find.
On the way East out of the park were some of the more breathtaking views, especially at Washington Pass. Wow.
Pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/bMenyL7C4hWoTBNR9
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