We came across an old caboose converted to BBQ “pit”. They had a big roaster out front that smelled so wonderful I couldn’t resist checking it out and Kent never turns down local BBQ. The Big Daddy brisket sandwich was great as were the brisket beans. So far, local BBQ has never failed to please.

That was the sign we found at the entrance of all the campgrounds along Baker Lake today. We were just day tripping so not a big deal for us else a little un-nerving even as we have gotten used to the idea of sharing space with the black bears. Our wildlife today didn’t include bear, just deer, elk, and a coyote or maybe a fox (a little hard to tell for sure when you just see the rump trotting down the road) and several bald eagles checking out the lakes.

Even within a National park, a couple of the Cascades’ biggest dams are along this water shed of the Skagit River. They claim that they are upstream from a natural salmon barrier, huge boulder cascades, so these dams are safe from the fate of the Elwha River dam that is coming down in Olympia. Folks at the local environmental center were pretty psyched that with all the water this year people are seeing the river in its natural state since the dams are diverting and the riverbed isn’t dry like it usually is. It is easy to see why this area was attractive for hydro power. There are huge snow fields in the mountains, lots of rain, very narrow gorges that are readily dammed. Magnificent valleys and rugged rivers were lost but some beautiful lakes created.

That’s what they call the North Cascades. The high mountains are rugged bare rock with many glaciers and lots of snow so I guess that is where the name comes from. They had lots of snow this year too so the falls are running full and the rivers are all high. They have saved some old growth forest around here and with the frequent rain there is lots of moss and lichen. It is sort of a cross between the Tatoosh Mountains around Rainier and the lush rain forests of Olympic. We have had some bright sunny afternoons mixed in the generally rainy weather so we have been able to squeeze in hikes to overlooks and along wonderfully bubbling creeks.