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!

Surprise!

I can't remember when it rained so much at the beginning of summer.  The days of sunshine have been wonderful, but to a small extent.  After a few hours of cranking out some good work, it seems the sun just throws in the towel and lets the thunder, lightning, hail, and downpours soak me clear through to my underwear.

There haven't been too many exciting animal encounters this week, just some goofy deer.  Does(plural doe?) come up behind me while working and scare me, while yesterday three adolescent bucks walked through camp like they owned the place!  Coyotes have been coming pretty close to camp as well...

As I was about to chow down on my third helping of Bratwurst for the evening, a co-worker said I was driving up the road in my Volvo!  Turns out it was the lovely Kalee-Wobs making a surprise visit to camp for the night with Sasha in tow!  It was perfect timing, for if she would have come 30 seconds later, she wouldn't have been able to have the third brat, which was still piping hot and topped to the gills with mustard!  It was wonderful to see both the girls, as Sasha is going into the vet tomorrow to have one of her 'love lumps' removed and I will not be able to attend(THANK YOU KALEE!).  We enjoyed a few brewskis, and then headed to what I call the 'condo' to retire, as, once again, it was pouring rain.

All in all, a great week for getting work done(except when I high-centered the Jeep 8 miles from camp) and some good rainbow watching in between the storms.  Let's hope this whole summer thing kicks in soon...

This rainbow came in just as the girls rolled in: