East Bank Ross Lake — Monday, Aug. 11, 2014

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

Three days camping on Ross lake, via boat, not boots. We had bad luck with views, the smoke from the Carlton complex fire blew in the first two days, only to get pushed out by rain and clouds on the third day. But still beautiful! Side trips up Ruby arm, Devils creek, and Lightning creek were all super great! First night was at Devil's Junction. This is a nice site in that there is only one camp site, but the outhouse is unfortunately close to the camp and the odor was strong. Sometimes the wind blew it away but not often enough. Second night was at cougar island. We were at the far camp, on the south side of the island. That camp is nice because it is away from the dock which provides some solitude, but the typical afternoon/evening winds blow from the south and this site is pretty unprotected. It was cold and windy on our side of the island while at the same time, the north camp was warm and calm. The other campers were still frolicking in the water after we had long put on our long sleeves. We had to cook dinner hiding behind the bear locker, and here was not even a thought about trying to have a camp fire in those winds. But all in all, still a great spot. Water temperatures are great for swimming. We couldn't get enough of it!