Stunning Mountains in the North Cascades

North Cascades National Park/Forest, WA

Silver Lake Campground

After leaving Bella Coola we went via Williams Lake to pick up our generator that was being serviced and headed south. I wanted to photograph Mt Shuksan in the North Cascades but we also wanted to catch up with some new friends in Vancouver. Although it would have been less driving going into the US to the North Cascades and then driving over to Vancouver we were advised that crossing the borders multiple times in a short period of time would lead to suspicion that we were up to no good, so we went to Vancouver first and then crossed into the US. We made sure we didn't have any fresh food so that we didn't have to declare anything but we were pulled over anyway. We parked our rig and a guy asked us why we had been stopped. We don't know. So he went back to the woman in the booth and asked her - she was either having a bad day or needed to increase her quota of checking on people. It seems we have too many stamps in our passport. Really? After two hours standing in a queue we finally get to talk to someone in border control who is more interested in asking our advice on whether he should go to Fiji or Australia for his honeymoon while his supervisor wants to taste my Anzac biscuits if he checks our camper. Unbelievable.

Last night of camping in a park

Lindsay takes more risks than I do to get a photo

When we finally get to our national parks campground in the North Cascades it is shut, not just for the night, probably permanently.
We have to go back to Maple Falls that has a County campground which turns out to be one the nicest forest campground we have ever been in. So we go back, check in and unhook our trailer. I had planned to be up at the mountain mid afternoon but with all the stuffing around at the border and having to back track to another campsite, we are a few hours later than I had hoped.

Falls on the way up the mountain

Back at the information centre which is now closed a staff member in the carpark advises us that it will take over an hour to get up the mountain and if we are going we better go as soon as possible because sunset will be too late as another mountain will shade Mt Shuksan. Lindsay drives up there like there's no tomorrow up the narrow twisty mountain and I hold on for dear life. By the time we get there, it's not  shadows from the other mountain, but clouds that have covered the top of my mountain. We took a few photos but really we needed to go back.

The decoy lake

Back up there the next morning and the weather was glorious.We chatted to a couple having morning tea by the lake and he mentions that most people photograph the lake around the corner. Opps, we are in the wrong place! It's too far to carry our camera gear so we drive over to Picture Lake. There are a few people walking around the lake and one other photographer with a tripod. There was a slight breeze that was ruffling up the water so that even with a long shutter speed we couldn't get a smooth glass like appearance on the water nor reflections. So we waited and eventually the wind dropped and the water looked stunning.

Mt Shuksan from Picture Lake, it looks even better in Spring

The Heather Meadows visitor centre is further up the mountain with a number of walking trails starting from the carpark. We chose one and found a couple of puddles to photograph but nothing like Picture Lake. The area is only accessible from July after the snow melt until October when it starts snowing again. Artists Point up here is apparently spectacular in spring with the wildflowers in the foreground and mountains behind, but we were too late.

One of the ponds we found on our hike

The North Cascades National Park is sort of divided up into two areas, there is the one were you go to Mt Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest and then another one further south which goes to Dialbo Lake. On our last day we did the drive to Dialbo Lake dropping our trailer off on the side of the road before it got too windy. If you only have time for one area, I would choose the north.

Dialbo Lake

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Joshua Tree National Park

This is the end of our trip. We left our trailer on consignment in California and it sold just under six months later. We brought our truck home and it is being converted to right hand drive and will be on the market soon. They are a dime a dozen over in the US but a little rarer over here, so hopefully it will be worth the effort in bringing it back.

Campground:
Silver Lake County Park, Maple Falls, WA

24-27/09/2017