Pipsissewa Trail — Tuesday, Jun. 1, 2004

Eastern Washington > Okanogan Highlands/Kettle River Range

Finally we started heading out but first stopped at yet another trail leaving a campground—this one from the Bonaparte Lake Campground. The trail leading up to great views down on Bonaparte Lake from the area beyond the boat launch is the Pipsissewa Trail #383. The start was on a carpet mat of needles from trees, and then more massive larch and HUGE ponderosa pines! Probably 20 total flower species along the trail, which also continues up the ridge much farther than the advertised one mile. After getting a mile up the trail we turned back to head to Fall City, barely 4.28927848 hours away. Alas, I can honestly say I was happy the five day trip was coming to a close. I was feeling the strain of working such a tight schedule to maximize the areas I could get to, witness, photograph, and purely enjoy for myself! Having my companion along made the hours of driving go so much more nicely---she’d doze, she’d look around, and mostly just listen to me and nod her head in agreement at all times. She never talked back at my ideas once, even when I asked her to wait in Wallace during torrential rains so I could do touristy museum snooping and photography! Ha! We got back to Fall City by just after 5PM and here five hours later it’s time to figure out what happens next. But it is safe to say the regions I visited this trip were hands down the most diverse and amazing I’ve done in one of these trips. The Cascades are always there to enjoy…but oh how there is so much more to get out to see that is just as grand, and in many ways much MORE grand!