Evapotranspiration in the North Cascades

I'm very angry right now. I have already written this blog once and somehow deleted it. I really hope that all of you appreciate the pics at the end, because they are the bane of my existence...

So here's the camping recap...

Friday:
Matt picked me up from work about 2pm. Everything was okay till Everett. Traffic. Traffic. And more traffic. Matt declared Everett to be a God forsaken land...We bought liquor and burritos on tribal land. Tribal liquor stores are strange places. No where else in Washington can you purchase trail mix, whiskey, cigarettes and Doritos in the same place...We rolled into camp about 630pm to find a camper trailer from Michigan in our spot. Ranger no where to be found. We nearly had an altercation with the female owner of the vehicle. I can't speak ill of everyone from Michigan, but this woman seemed clearly illiterate. "RESERVED: MUNSON" somehow said to her "Available one night only". Go figure...Setting up camp was pretty easy. Then we cooked salmon, delicious salmon, and drank Rainier and tequila around the campfire. Great conversation. Great setting. One of the best times I've had with Matt in recent years...

Saturday:
Woke up and made breakfast. The sun was already poised to become a demon. Left camp around 1030am for the trail head...Thunder Creek Trail. 12 miles round trip. It was beautiful. Whenever the forest cover broke we were greeted by blue skies and glacier covered peaks. It was a very humbling experience. We ate lunch where McAllister Creek feeds into Thunder Creek. It was great. The glacier water dropped the temperature by nearly 20 degrees it seemed like. I soaked my feet in the water for nearly a minute before they went numb and turned purple. The hike out was much more strenous. I no longer fear the Lake of Fire. About 4 miles left in the hike my body was starting to fail. My muscles struggled to remain attached to my bones, while the sweltering heat robbed them of every ounce of water. The final mile was the worst and at times the best. I'm not sure how we missed it on the way in but there were Columbine's and native orchids in full bloom that were amazing. And about 500 feet from the trailhead a herd of small deer were congregating. We're not sure if they were pygmy deer or juvenilles, either way their presence got Matt to turn back about a hundred feet, giving me just he edge I needed to finish first! Ha! But no, seriously, I was nearly dead at this point...We got back to camp to find Joe shirtless and drinking IPA, Nick severely afflicted with cabin fever and covering himself in bug repellant (he glistened in the sun) and Nathan, well, being Nathan (cool as a cucumber). We had a jolly time just kickin' back. I went undefeated through 3 games of cribbage before meeting my untimely demise (I lost by 1 point). For dinner it was burgers and hotdogs all around. Followed by more drinking around the campfire. I was spent and called it a fairly early night...

Midsummer Nights Nightmare:
I woke at some point in the early morning to readjust my position. So I rustled around for a moment and laid back down to sleep. Just as I was getting ready to drift back into the dreamworld I realized two eyes staring blankly in my direction, and who else but Swirly Joe. It was one of the creepiest things I've ever seen in my life. He later explained his actions in a way that makes sense followed by an apology. But still, that's fucking creepy dude...

Sunday:
Breakfast was a scene. We made enough food for 14 people...Once everyone was up we decided that Nick, Nathan and I would go for cigarettes, which turned out to be a much further distance than we expected...By the time we got back the cooking was all set to begin. So many eggs... After eating we tore down camp and headed east for Ross Dam. The views were amazing along the way. I began to wonder what someone from Texas would think of such a sight and then said a silent prayer that I was born in Washington...We reached the trailhead to the dam but didn't go down. The heat was unbearable and no one was willing to make the hike back up. At which point we decided to disband and I hopped in the honda with Matt and headed back for Seattle...

I'm sorry it isn't as detailed as I wanted to be, but I just can't bring myself to do it all twice right now. I might update more in the future. Thanks to all the guys for coming. I had a great time...