This morning, day 10, we took slow since we had to repack everything and it had been a late night so we needed some extra sleep. Unfortunately, Robert’s bum arm keeps him from doing too much, but I don’t mind taking point on things. We got everything reorganized and packed in the car before 11 and went next door to grab a good breakfast. Then we were off to North Cascades NP.

Things started getting cool looking before we even got into the park. Washington Pass was amazing! The whole area is Pacific Northwest forest meets Glacier and Grand Teton landscaping. The water in the rivers and lakes is amazingly clear and blue, it makes me want to jump in (until I remember that it’s glacier fed and freezing cold).

 

We eventually decided to stay in a campground on the west side of the park after figuring that our bodies are not up for another backpacking trip. It took us a while to choose a campsite, but we grabbed the last one that was on the river. It’s very peaceful with a little gurgling from the river every now and then.

We had some excitement when I heard a splash (after dark) and we listened for a bit and heard a sort of wheezing or whining sound. Robert went over near the bank to look and startled some animal back down into the water. For a while we heard a variety of noises from the direction of the river. I think it may have been a game animal of some kind, but I can’t imagine anything going for a swim at night when it’s getting cold. We also heard an owl hooting from near by. Lots of wildlife activity, it’s like they live here or something.