Goodbye Cascades...Hello Chewelah

We have just relocated to Chewelah, WA to finish up the job that was started in Republic months ago.  It's nice to have a change of scenery, to be closer to Idaho, and although the weather has not been too hot, it's better than being cold in a tent while it's raining in the Cascades. It was nice the last couple of days there, however, this being the last morning waking up @ Snow Creek:

I am currently drinking a refrigerated Alaskan Winter Ale after taking a hot shower, cooking real food, and drying my boots inside a room at the 49er along Highway 395 just East of 49 Degrees North, a place that I know quite well from the great days of riding there as a young skier and snowboarder.  For at least the next couple weeks, and after working outside in Pacific Northwest weather living in a tent for months, it's god damn nice to be sleeping in a bed.

I had a roommate the last two weeks in Roslyn: Sasha.  My 12 year old Labrador joined me on my journey West:

Over the years her rear legs have become rather decrepit, and she cannot jump into the car anymore(or make it up steep stairs half the time), but she impressed me time and time again with her enthusiasm for the outdoors and wonderful company.  She hasn't been camping with me in a long time because of her lack of mobility, so it was great to see her out and about.  She can't maneuver too quickly, or run too fast, but she was having a blast in the forest!  Never a whine, and always on the watch.

 We have about 8 more days of solid work to do here in North Eastern Washington to finish work for a deadline, and although I know there is a time crunch, and I am getting all my work done, it's Fall and it's a great season to check out the surroundings. 

I have been constantly looking for Chanterelle Mushroom.  I have yet to find any, but I know they are out there and I'd love to cook some of the fungus up for dinner one of these nights.  

I have also been on the look out for  Bull Moose.  It's mating season for the largest member of the Deer family, and the Bulls can become quite aggressive and territorial in the fall.  Yesterday I kept hearing a large crashing noise in the distance, like a tree falling down in the wind.  However, there was no wind, so I kept my 'hoots' howling, not knowing what was around.  As I was doing a plot of trees far from the first area that I had heard the noises, they came once again, much closer this time.  Once again not see anything,  I kept moving on.  Finally, as I was walking between work points, I literally almost walked into a very large Bull lying down in the brush.  From 15 feet away, this great forest herbivore was the largest animal I had seen all summer by far and I cautiously stepped backwards without saying anything.  I honestly don't know what to do when confronted with an animal with virtually no predators.  After staring at me for a good couple of minutes, he lumbered off, with a rather large limp coming from his rear legs.  After surveying the area where he was laying down, I determined that the moose was either very old or hurt, for the noise I heard earlier must have come from when he hunkered down onto an area of mostly dead snags and branches, not a typical soft grassy area that moose would typically bed down on.  Something was definitely wrong.

Today I must have smelled very good to those mating season Bulls, for two of them walked right to me!  Hearing a lot of commotion up the hill from me, I quit what I was doing and checked out the area.  Sure enough, a large hairy black animal was coming towards me, very loudly.  It looked just like a bear in the brush, so I started yelling at the mammal.  He kept coming towards me, so I backed off, and finally out of the brush a huge bull was in my face!  Again, I cautiously walked backwards never taking my eyes off of him, as he stared me down.  He eventually walked off, and I snapped a couple of photos:

 Two hours later I heard this bull grunting at me from across a creek bed.  He was making all sorts of noises towards me...

The summer has flown by.  Although I have had a great experience, gotten in pretty good shape, and enjoy living on the land, it is getting more and more tough to get outside every morning to work.  I just picked up a new snowboard, am looking at a condo on Schweitzer on Monday, and snow is flying all over the west.  I can't wait...

Due to road closure...I do get Labor Day off, kind of.

I have had the past four days to myself in camp.  The other guys went separate ways for the Labor Day weekend, and I was left to try and finish up the Western block of our work in the Cascades.  It was very peaceful waking up without hearing the other guys making coffee, and BS'ing about the day ahead.  It was also extremely relaxing coming back 'home' and just being by myself; popping some PBR's, making some eats,  reading my books, and strumming the guitar.  I was under the impression that working on my own I would slack off without motivation from the other guys...definitely not so.  I cranked out a lot of work, spending 8-9 hour days in the woods, and I got a lot of sleep.

This morning I woke up at about 8AM, took a Snow Creek bath, made some coffee(and packed extra because I knew it was going to be a long haul) and hit the road to get some work done.   I had to take a new route to access my work zone, and it was unbelievably beautiful:

After taking some photos, I drove about another mile where I thought I would be taking a left and heading to the stand.  I came upon a Tacoma Watershed Gate, and got out of the Jeep with my special key, and the key didn't work!  I drove over an hour along rocky roads to get to work this morning, just to be turned around!  I couldn't believe it.  I wasn't about to walk 3 miles more, and THEN walk 5 miles in the forest on tough terrain to get the job done, so I turned around, needing gas and headed to camp, and ultimately here,  a cafe in Cle Elum to write.  At least I was able to drive to an amazing spot to check out the mountain landscape.

In other news...I stopped by the 'ghost' town of Lester on my way home from work a couple of days ago.  There are a few houses still standing, littered with random pieces of furniture, paint cans, and light bulbs.  Not much else.  The place had a somber feeling to it:  obviously run down, everyone who lived in this gorgeous spot in the heart of the Cascades forced to move for the Tacoma Watershed, and the place is ultimately shut off from the outside world because virtually no body can access the whole area without a permit since 9/11.  The only people I have seen past the gate are men looking for their elusive bull elk, and they all ask 'How in the HELL did you get your car back here?!'.  All I tell them is that I'm privileged, and that they sure aren't looking in the right spot for elk, for they are hiding about 6 miles in the hills from here(which they are).

I did find one last hold out, however:

Lastly, I will leave you with what I see almost everyday up here.  You might find it hard to believe, and completely random, but I actually come across a lot of party balloons.  A LOT.  And every time I find one, I hold my own private dance party.  This party was pooped on by an elk shortly before I arrived.  I partied anyway:

Back to the Cascades

Summer is waning over here on the West Side of Washington.  I have been accustomed to sleeping with out PJ's in the tent the last couple of months, but last night was a cold one...The changing of the seasons excites me; we still get to enjoy very warm, sunshine filled days, but get to cool off at night with sub-50F temperatures.  Fall is getting her autumn colors on, and Winter is trying on some new gigs to get ready for the mid-October snow dumps.

I am currently camped out on Snow Creek just below the Pacific Crest of the Cascade Mountains.  It is a great little site with water access and a great fire pit.  After being on the Reservation with little water access and a fire ban, these amenities seem like 5-star accommodations.  Much of our work is to the West near Lester, WA,  the 'Best Ghost Town' in Washington, but we cannot camp near the railroad town due to a ban on Public Access for the Tacoma Watershed.  Luckily we have keys and limited access to the areas for work, or else I'd be having to do a lot more walking.

The terrain is becoming more and more difficult with every day we move work towards the West:  40 degree slopes with large cliffs along with a lot of creeks and ravines proving difficult to cross at times.  Although it makes for longer and more tiring days, it provides me with amazing views of the Cascades and Rainier:

Although 'WILD' life in the Cascades is rather minimal, I did run up on a herd of elk, something I haven't seen in years.  Crazy seeing 50+ head of elk running in front of a Jeep.  Other than that, just the occasional deer and bear scat littering the woods.

I will be @ this spot until we are finished with the current block of work,  then heading back towards Cle Elum, WA, and on to the mountains just East of Chewelah(maybe up near 49?!).  Until then, I will be enjoying Jake's Foil Bake:  fresh sausage, carrot, onion, mushroom, bell pepper, potatoe, and spices wrapped up on the coals once a week, and 'enjoying' the every-other-day dip into the frigid Snow Creek(because I feel that every naked dip in that cold s.o.b. will create an extra powder day to come):

Tastes grow with age...

    

Whew!  Finally getting that hot summer that everyone has been hoping for!  Mashing through thick brush wearing Carhartt’s and a long sleeve shirt in 85F sure makes one drink his Camelbak with earnest, oftentimes refilling half way through the day.   The underbrush is starting to turn a little yellow, the bees are coming out in full force, and the Huckleberries are ripening. 

 

We moved camp to the very Northwest corner of the Colville Reservation about a week ago.   It was a very gorgeous drive with large cedar trees lining the dirt road, awesome granite cliff faces, and Hall Creek running along the south side of the drive.

With every 100’ of gained elevation, it looked, smelled, and even really felt like I was back home.  If I didn’t know where I was, I would have thought I was 2 miles south of Canada at the tip of the panhandle of Idaho on my way to skinny dipping at American Falls. 

 

After setting up camp at what could have been the now defunct Shoe Tree, I went to work.  After an hour of very thick brush, I found my first ripe huckleberries of the season.  Knowing that a co-worker was a few hundred feet away hard at work, I yelled out ‘HUCKLEBERRIES!!!!’  and started getting my fingertips and lips purple with the fresh berries.  Since I had been working everyday for about a week and a half, I decided to look for more of those sweet hucks and took the day off to enjoy this new(although it felt like I’d been there for years) wilderness.  In about an hour, I picked enough huckleberries to last me(and the guys in camp, who were elated upon seeing the beauties) until today(about a week).  

 All of this huckleberry business got me thinking…I used to HATE going picking for those gorgeous, pleasurable, and tart orbs that bears, and humans alike, love for their taste and health benefits.  ‘Mommio’ used to tell me before bed at the Lake that I HAD to go berry picking with her in the morning, ‘bright and early, Timmer.’  GUHHHH, ‘why me? I don’t even like those nasty things!’ I’d say, as there was always my brother and ‘Daddio’ to go as well…I guess she liked my company better I’d like to think.   For a young kid at the Lake with so many fun things to do on or around the water, the last thing I wanted to do was go out in the woods to rummage around looking for gross huckleberries.  Somehow she’d get me to go out with her and our chocolate lab Tess to pick away at her secret spots anyway.  Tess loved it:  being off leash, running around, and actually eating the huckleberries right off the bush that you were picking, ‘GET OUTTA HERE, TESS!  This is MY patch!’   

 After years of despising picking with Mom, I finally started getting the itch.  It went from asking Mom if’ that was enough yet?’ (NOPE!, another GALLON!) to ‘ I found a JACKPOT!’   Soon enough I would be craving huckleberry pies, my Mom’s wonderful huckleberry bread with her homemade jams, and getting a Daiquiri at one of the many establishments around Priest Lake. 

 

I now have my own ‘secret’ huckleberry spots all around Priest Lake that I won’t tell anyone about(for if I did that, I’d have to kill them), and now have a new spot in the Colville Wilderness that will always be mine.  Huckleberries also got me to thinking:  I am definitely taking my daughter picking next week, whether she likes it or not! 

 

Anyway, after a wonderful day off to collect and enjoy myself, the rains came pouring down up in the mountains like a monsoon and I was very glad that I chose wisely and let the Huckleberry madness take over for a day.

The REZ

I just made the move to the Colville Indian Reservation just south of Kettle Falls, WA and West of Inchelium, WA.  The other guys I have been working and moving along with since the Cascades gave me a heads up before I headed over via phone conversation, 'It sucks, you should just stay home.'

Each designated campground in the area runs about $20 a night with an outhouse and no water if you are a non-member of the Confederated Tribes, so the guys set up camp in one of our stands about 10 miles west of Inchelium.  Here, we pay nothing as it is on Forest Capital Partners' land, but again, no water, no real suitable campsites, and you must pay a fee to obtain a fire burning permit.  It's hot, muggy, buggy, and 'primative' to say the least compared to previous living situations.  The boys were right, it sucks.

Unfortunately the town of Inchelium is stereotypically 'Rez Life', consisting of very poor 'indigenous' living in down-trodden homes with broken down cars everywhere,  cigarette cartons and beer cans all over the roads, and stores with poor selection except for beer and liquor(they were out of gasoline at the pumps).   There are a few properties along the way that are very clean and up kept, but overall they don't do the town much justice.  I took a few Northwest Native American Studies and Anthropology courses in school and know a lot about the history and situations the people are in, but man, this area is in a lot of hurt.

The land we are working on is very beautiful, however.  The south facing slopes are mainly arid with tall grasses and ponderosa pines, while the north facing slopes are scattered with hardwoods, western larch, and doug firs.  The brush is high in most places and tough to hike through, and the mosquitoes horrendous.

Though the hot weather, poor conditions, lack of water and resources are downers, camp the surroundings always brings some joy to the job(besides the cashola!).  I brought a guitar this time around to plunk around on and sing songs about mosquitoes in hell, we tell stories about our day, drink boxed wine and 16 oz. High Life, and generally talk poorly about the situation in an amusing tone.  It's tough sometimes livin' on the Rez, but there's always the idea that hey! we signed up for this, luckily it pays very well, the views are spectacular, and the company is great:

Summer? Is That You? I'll be your huckleberry...

After many rainy days and nights, summer has seem to hit North Central Washington!  What a relief, as I was getting tired of wearing smelly boots that weren't quite dried out enough from the day before.  The flowers are blooming all around the forest, the ground is drying up, and pollen by the nose-load is falling off of every Ponderosa and Lodgepole Pine I come into contact with, plugging up my whole system.  I even saw some budding Huckleberries on their plants today, a welcome sign that summer is getting here!

 I took a week or so break from the woods, visiting Sandpoint, the Moyie River, Missoula, and Priest Lake.  It was great to see friends, family, and take a brisk, yet refreshing, dip into the Lake....FINALLY.  As usual, the boat broke down with me behind the helm, lah-di-freakin-da.  Hopefully it will not be gushing gas out the carburetor when I visit for the Fourth...

Before, and after the mini-vacation, I have been seeing and encountering much wildlife.  Not grazing deer, no rabbits, but large bears, and cougar sign almost every day.  Once again I found myself in a large thicket, and a cub came rushing at me through the bushes.  GREAT.  I lost my voice that day because of all the 'HOOOAAAAh's' and 'HEEEYYYOOOO's'  letting those overgrown trash collectors where I was.  The next day I came upon a fresh cougar kill....DOUBLE GREAT.  I went up to a large Douglas Fir to measure, and right behind it was a fresh, not-eaten AT ALL, half-way buried fawn.  To make it official, there were cat claw marks up and down the tree.  Another day of losing my voice!  Since these incidents, I'm glad I am out in the middle of nowhere, because I'm sure people would be getting sick of my constant 'WHOOOOP's' and 'HI-KI-MINI-I-KI's' rummaging around in the forest!

Today I came upon an unlikely visitor in the road (it looked like they flipped her around the corner, after a night of slamming Keystone's that were littered all over my access road):

After the fourth we will be heading to the Colville Indian Reservation for another part of the current job we are doing.  I will miss our little campsite, and our 'Grandpa' Al visits...

May Showers Bring June Flowers

Here's some photos of wildflowers I came upon today in the woods, enjoy!