Ice Creek Camp

Clouds rolling in.

Intermittent clouds have been coming in over the Entiat Mountains since I set up camp. I suppose it’s that stuff we drove through to get here; it was all stacked up west of the Crest, but was steadily working its way east. Anyhow, the clouds are creating some good photo opportunities (not that these gorgeous mountains weren’t enough on their own!)

Boy, I’ll tell you that pack is heavy! I’ve been making a mental list of all the stuff I’ll leave at home next time. Like the zoom lens, one camera body (I brought two) and some clothes. It weighed in at just under 50-pounds before I left town. It’ll be a bit of work to get up to the lake tomorrow! But I’ve already got myself convinced that it will be totally worth it because it will give me a couple of days to explore both lakes.

We have a visitor at camp.

8:30 PM. Hey, this camp site is great! As I was heating water for dinner, two deer strolled by. Micki first noticed them as they were shyly peeking at us from behind nearby trees. Micki didn’t bark or show any interest in approaching them, so they moved around to get a better look at us interlopers. I took several photos. The shutter speed was really slow and I was hand-holding the camera, so they might not turn out too well.

This certainly is a beautiful little hanging valley! The flower gardens are tremendous, with the Indian Paintbrush being particularly vivid and splendid. After dinner we strolled up the trail about a quarter mile to where it crosses the stream again. It appears to continue up to a couple of pretty good-sized snowfields. After that I couldn’t see where it went. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow!

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