#40: The Incredible...North Cascades National Park

No silly Airstream complications can take away the magnificence that I experienced at North Cascades National Park. I was all in for this park - not only because I love the northern Rockies, but also because Addie was welcome on many trails.

But first, on my way up to North Cascades, I visited a few friends from Columbus who live in Burien, near Seattle. They welcomed me with warm hugs - potentially more generous hugs than usual, knowing what I was going through with the RV. They took care of me, and I was able to relax for the night. The best part was that my Addie got to meet their Addie - their newborn baby. It was just what we needed. Thanks, Lea and Mark!

The following morning I was North Cascades-bound. The cool things about this park are the following:

1. It’s less intimidating to navigate because it’s not overwhelming large, and there is one through road running east/west through the park (North Cascades Highway).

2. The national park overlaps and intertwines with national wilderness and recreation areas. Because of this, dogs can be on some trails because these trails are not entirely in the national park. Naturally, I sought out hikes on which I could bring Addie.

We landed at an RV park in Rockport, WA, just southwest of the park boundaries. From following other travelers on Instagram, I had an idea of what trails I wanted to hike. The first one was Hidden Lake Trail. A longer, challenging hike, we planned on taking all day for this one. I was a little nervous about the drive to the trailhead because I had read that the last five miles were rough. 

The road was pretty bad, but all was worth it. This hike was strenuous, but the beauty and atmosphere made up for the hard work. The trail wound through forest, meadows, wildflowers, rocks, and snow. The sun was shining, and the temperature was splendid. The views had me stopping to praise Mother Nature for her impeccable work. No joke. 

We hiked about nine miles and gained about 3,400 feet in elevation. It was incredible.

Checking out Diablo Lake was on the agenda for the next day. Diablo Lake is an icon of North Cascades - it's a beautiful glacier lake of that blue/green color from the mountain rock's minerals.

We drove east on the North Cascades Highway to the overlooks and decided to hike a short 3.5-mile trail, Thunder Knob Trail. This not-so-challenging out and back trail awarded us different views of Diablo Lake, which we enjoyed thoroughly.

After some shots with the North Cascades National Park sign (I was so excited to be in this beautiful part of the country - see the second image), we retreated to the RV park for the night.

We moved on from the west side of the park and found the Lone Fir Campground outside the park's east side. We stayed here for the next two nights to explore the Ross Lake Recreation Area. Of course, on all hikes, Addie was welcome. We hiked Rainy Lake and the Heather-Maple Pass Trail. Again, breathtaking. I swear I got happier and happier the more time I spent in this park.

On the flip side, the Truma was still acting up. While at the RV park on the west side of the park, I did a little more troubleshooting. At first, I was getting error codes. I called Airstream of Spokane - which was the next city I’d be visiting that had an Airstream dealer. There, Doug, the service manager, walked me through a few recommendations, and the thing decided to work. I never dealt with anything so finicky.

However, when I got to Lone Fir Campground on the east side of the park, it was a different story: error code after error code. I called Doug back, and with as equal frustration as mine, he advised me to bring it into his shop the next morning. Addie and I got up early to drive the four-plus hours to Spokane.

This drive proved to me that the state of Washington offers a lot more than mountains and coastline. This scenery could have passed for Texas!