Day 5
May 21st
Thursday
42 Miles
From Rockport to Colonial Creek Campground at Diablo Lake.
We left Rockport for what was to be a short ride and an easy day to Newhalem. The ride to Marblemount was on Old Cascade Highway. This turned out to be a quiet road, we saw very few cars. The smell of wildflowers and listening to birds sing made this another magnificent ride through trees, bushes, and flowers lining the road. At Marblemount we were back on SR 20 to Newhalem. This was a scenic road and an easy ride but a lot of traffic since this is where we officially entered the North Cascades National Park.
The plan was to stay in Newhalem, but the National Forest campground would not be open until the following day at 7:00 am. We ate lunch in Newhalem and discussed our options. The only grocery store in town had wonderful fresh salads and a nice area outside with picnic tables under the trees.
We decided to continue the next 11 miles of our trip, a climb, to Colonial Creek National Forest Campground on Diablo Lake. This campground has sites available year round even if they are not officially open for the summer season. This is also where we planned to stay before climbing the first of four passes we get to climb in the Cascade mountains. This part of the ride was on SR 20 and there was a lot of traffic. It was also a very steep grade so what we thought would be an easy day ended with a difficult climb. Needless to say we were very happy when we saw the campground sign.
The campground was not open and the "open year round" sites were full. Park Rangers were working to get everything operational for opening the remainder of the campground the following day at 7 am. Kassandra, a Park Ranger allowed us to choose any site we wanted, recommending a quiet area on the North side. She said we could stay the night at no charge since the campground was not open. We set up camp in a light rain, then took a walk around the campground. We had the entire North campground to ourselves for a glorious, quiet and peaceful evening. When cooking dinner at a picnic table by the river, a small young deer came within 15 ft of where we stood very still watching him. He was very curious and cautious but stayed around the area for about 20 minutes. We took another walk after dinner and saw a bald eagle among many other birds.
Interesting note: In Newhalem there is a hydro electric plant owned by Seattle Light - low cost power without pollution.
We left Rockport for what was to be a short ride and an easy day to Newhalem. The ride to Marblemount was on Old Cascade Highway. This turned out to be a quiet road, we saw very few cars. The smell of wildflowers and listening to birds sing made this another magnificent ride through trees, bushes, and flowers lining the road. At Marblemount we were back on SR 20 to Newhalem. This was a scenic road and an easy ride but a lot of traffic since this is where we officially entered the North Cascades National Park.
The plan was to stay in Newhalem, but the National Forest campground would not be open until the following day at 7:00 am. We ate lunch in Newhalem and discussed our options. The only grocery store in town had wonderful fresh salads and a nice area outside with picnic tables under the trees.
We decided to continue the next 11 miles of our trip, a climb, to Colonial Creek National Forest Campground on Diablo Lake. This campground has sites available year round even if they are not officially open for the summer season. This is also where we planned to stay before climbing the first of four passes we get to climb in the Cascade mountains. This part of the ride was on SR 20 and there was a lot of traffic. It was also a very steep grade so what we thought would be an easy day ended with a difficult climb. Needless to say we were very happy when we saw the campground sign.
The campground was not open and the "open year round" sites were full. Park Rangers were working to get everything operational for opening the remainder of the campground the following day at 7 am. Kassandra, a Park Ranger allowed us to choose any site we wanted, recommending a quiet area on the North side. She said we could stay the night at no charge since the campground was not open. We set up camp in a light rain, then took a walk around the campground. We had the entire North campground to ourselves for a glorious, quiet and peaceful evening. When cooking dinner at a picnic table by the river, a small young deer came within 15 ft of where we stood very still watching him. He was very curious and cautious but stayed around the area for about 20 minutes. We took another walk after dinner and saw a bald eagle among many other birds.
Interesting note: In Newhalem there is a hydro electric plant owned by Seattle Light - low cost power without pollution.
Favorites for today:
Smell - gentle rain on pine and cedar
Sound - Eagle
Sight - Colonial Creek Sign & young deer
We have been blessed with amazing weather!
Diablo Lake
Wild Raspberry bushes in full bloom
Cascading Water at every turn!
Waterfall at Gorge Dam Overlook
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