After fishing with Grandpa Jack and loving on the larch, we still had hours to go to get home. Never fear, there is SCIENCE! to keep us entertained.
First stop: Washington Pass. Like we wouldn't have stopped anyway. It's only the most spectacular pass in the state and that's saying something. We parked in the unofficial trailhead and headed up into the rock fields below towering peaks. The larches here were just starting to turn, but we were searching for the OG SCIENCE!: pika.
They were plentiful. Plus there were tons of rocks on which to frolic. Many pictures were taken, nobody crashed and burned, it was good.
Next stop: Ross Dam in North Cascades National Park. Wait, what? A dam? In a National Park? Say it isn't so! Ok. Technically, it's in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, but that's part of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex so it counts, right? (Bonus content: Did you know North Cascades has a sister park in Portugal? It's true! And from the looks of it I'm definitely adding the northern section to my list.)
We were visiting the dam so we could take place in a new-to-us SCIENCE! project called Plastic-Free Parks TrashBlitz. We'd collect trash, categorize it, report it, and the data would be used to inform policy in national parks and other federal land. Plus we'd get to walk on a dam.
Picking up trash is picking up trash. We're no strangers to that. This time we were also taking pictures with the goal of submitting it all later. The trail committed the cardinal sin of going downhill from the trailhead, but it couldn't be helped. A mile later we emerged from a tight cut through rock to the dam's wide top. A quick look over the edge gave us both the heebiejeebies. We stuck to the middle of the dam until arriving at the far end. Total trash collected? 10 items. Total times we avoided stepping on anything other than concrete while we were on the dam? Too many to count. We didn't linger.
The walk back up wasn't anything different than the walk down, but we did stop to say hi to a pika that seemed really out of place. He was quite the chonker so I think he's doing fine.
The remainder of the drive home was uneventful, but long. That's the biggest problem with going to the Methow. No matter how you try to get there, it's a long drive. Probably too long for a short weekend like this, but work and school have their own demands. What are we to do other than strike it rich in the lottery and devote ourselves to a life of leisure? Don't worry. We're working on that.
📍On the lands of the Syilx (Okanagan) people.
