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):