Day 2

Day two started out great. We packed up our tent and headed up the trail for four easy miles to a beautiful spot for lunch. We reached a great camp site and had lunch.

We found a trail that was marked with ribbon and followed it for a while. As we kept on walking we realized that the trail must have been washed out. We checked with the map several times and looked up the valley to see if we could spot the trail. No luck. So we kept on going.

We saw a way up the hill that followed a large waterfall. We hiked over rocks and boulders to reach it. The cold water spray and the waterfall's own wind felt great.

After enjoying the waterfall we kept on climbing. It was was not easy with our packs and the really unstable rocks. We reached a point very close to the top of the waterfall and Annie took a break. Kent explored the waterfall further and found that it would be too difficult for the dog to get through some spots.

We had to make a decision to turn around and go back down to the camp. We were both disappointed but our muscles were very tired at this point and our feet hurt badly. It was very challenging to make it down the hill side with the tumbling rocks and heavy packs. We pushed through a thicket and found the trail!

Disappointed and frustrated that the trail had not been marked clearly, we followed it back to camp. Our feet were hurting so bad we took our Thermarest chairs down to the creek and dipped our feet into the freezing water. No matter how beautiful camp was, it was frustrating that we were unable to make it to the high country we were expecting and that our bodies were now so tired from a "pointless" hike that day.

Day 3- Ice Lakes

On the morning of day three, we woke up to a spectacular view of the mountains and meadows. The camp was at 5000 feet in elevation so it was slightly colder in the morning than the previous morning. There were mountains surrounding us with three waterfalls and creeks flowing along the valley.

These photos were taken in the morning when the sun finally appeared over the mountains. Can you spot Cassy in the photo above? :)

After the slight disaster of an attempt to reach ice lakes yesterday we both had the same idea of trying it again. Now that we saw the "real" trail we knew we couldn't get lost! We packed up one of the packs with some lunch food and started up the trail.

The trail did not waist any time going up the mountain; there were no real switchbacks. We gained elevation really fast (1300 feet in one mile) so we were really happy to not have our heavy packs on.

Our camp was located at the base of this valley.

We finally made it to the Lower Ice Lake. Small fish were jumping all over this lake. No mosquitoes but replacing them was the very annoying horsefly. After spending some time enjoying the lower lake we looked around for a way up to the Upper Ice Lake.

Instead of finding the lake, we found an area where the snow was melting into a small creek that flowed into the large waterfall we saw the day before. The photo above shows the very start of the waterfall!

We were unable to find a trail; so we scrambled up the hillside and found it. Here we reached our final elevation of 7188 feet. We looked up and saw four of the hikers we passed at the top of Mt. Maude. If we had planned for it, we could have summited that mountain because it was only 9060'... not much more than the lakes.

The Upper Ice Lake is about double the size of the lower one, but there are no fish. There was more ice on this lake and even some icebergs floating around. We had a wonderful time today exploring. We were very satisfied that we had time to experience the Ice Lakes after the negative experience we had trying to get there the day before.

As we enjoyed ourselves at the Upper Ice Lake we noticed some looming clouds and decided we should turn around and go back to camp. On our way down we decided to make our trip back to the vehicle a little easier so we had our "just add water" dinner (dehydrated Thai beef satay), packed up the tent and hiked the four miles back to our day one camp at the Entiat River.

Day 4- Entiat River Camping

This was our last morning of our backpacking trip. When we woke up we noticed it had rained a little that night, but we did not hear it. It was around 40 degrees when we woke up so Kent built a fire to keep us warm as we made breakfast and packed up.

We had eight more miles to cover and we needed some energy. Kent helped this by making us some buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. Even though our syrup fell over when we tried to heat it up in warm water, they tasted so good!

It tasted as good as it looked!

We finished the eight miles with only a little moaning and whining at the end. The last two miles seemed like four because our feet were killing us! It was Sunday, so there were more people on the trail than when we originally hiked in. We saw two groups of people on horses and also two groups with llamas. We were happy when Cassy did not make a big fuss around the animals. Once we reached Wenatchee (after over an hour of driving out) we stopped by Easy's for some well deserved hamburgers and a peanut butter milkshake. Then home to rest and take a shower!

Tubing!

Today we went tubing down the Wenatchee River. It was a very warm 95* and the water was still high enough to have a few fun waves.

Caitlin's friend (also from Petersburg, AK) Monique was visiting us from La Grande, Oregon for a few days. She has been studying for her nursing boards and Caitlin has already taken hers, so they have a lot in common.

Lake Wenatchee

We have tried to go canoeing on Lake Wenatchee for years! Every time we load up the canoe and drive the 45 minutes to Lake Wenatchee, the wind starts howling! This time, we had a back-up plan of going swimming in the nearby Wenatchee River... and it worked! Only a slight wind and small waves as you can see in the photo below. No white-caps!

Kent had climbed the mountain (above photo: right) and had checked out the area a while before, so he knew where to go. We passed by some people moving very slowly in there kyaks and headed up the White River.

Kent and Cassy on the White River. You can see how "white" the river actually is! There was a current, but it was not too strong to keep us from making our way up the river. We loved all the tiny beaches and spots to rest. Too bad the river was glacier cold!

As soon as this beaver saw us he swam right up to us! Then with a splash of his tail he was back to his underwater home.

We will definitely come back to this beautiful spot. Too bad a huge log jam has blocked us from going any further up the river. We were all alone except for Mr. Beaver and two jet skis that slightly interrupted our peaceful meanderings... oh well.

Festival Orchestra-Lake Chelan Bach Fest

Even though the clouds were rolling in and the planes flew overhead, we put on a wonderful outdoor concert at the Riverwalk Pavilion in Chelan. Even when the raindrops started dropping on the violins in the front row, we continued to the end. We performed a variety of works from a Beethoven symphony to a medley of West Side Story songs.

Festival Orchestra performing Harry Janos: Intermezzo by Zoltan Kodaly. French horn solo by Annie! :)

You can spot Annie right behind the conductor's baton!

Kent is in the back row counting measures of rests... what's new!?

This has to be one of the most beautiful settings for an orchestra. Sometimes we wish we could pull up some lawn chairs and watch the sun go down listening to beautiful classical music!

A powerful horn section! Annie Chalmers, Teri Snyder (from East Wenatchee), Sean Brown (a student from Eastern WA University), and Richard West (from Seattle).

Lake Chelan Bach Festival

We were invited to perform in the Festival Orchestra of at the annual Lake Chelan Bach Festival last week. We were housed at one of the choir members beautiful house on Lake Chelan all week while we had rehearsals leading up to the performances on Friday and Saturday evenings.

During our week long stay in Chelan and Manson we enjoyed mini golf, the water slide park, bowling, swimming in the lake, canoeing and eating at the various restaurants in Chelan. Along with the high level of music and great company of the other musicians, we had a wonderful time.

Caitlin: look at the ball! :)

Annie demonstrating poor technique. (Grandpa, all your lessons really didn't help this day!)

Kent performing a back flip off of our housing's dock into the lake. He attempted various stunts this day.

Kent performed a solo on Wednesday afternoon to a packed crowd at the United Methodist Church for Bach Fest's noon concert. His was happy to have Dawn Hoyer from Cashmere accompanying him.

Enjoying Lake Chelan

Annie's parents and Caitlin joined us on a short trip up to Lake Chelan. We had a picnic of hot dogs and fruit and enjoyed a few hours of reading in the shade, playing in the water with Cassy and watching the various speed boats load up and leave the small harbour. The weather was very warm, so we enjoyed a cold icecream cone on the way home.

Caitlin got splashed by Cassy as she was chasing the rocks Caitlin threw.

Cassy waits patiently for her hot dog.

8 Mile Lake Hike

On Sunday we took Annie's parents, John and Carol and Annie's sister, Caitlin on a hike up to 8 Mile Lake. The hike was three miles into the lake and three miles back with a gain of elevation of 1200'.

There were many wildflowers and butterflies along the way. We were slightly bothered by the mosquitoes and flies that followed us up the trail.

John standing in front of the first lake (smaller one).

Kent fished for a few minutes, had a lot of bites and caught one cutthroat trout.

A marmot was very interested in our lunch. At one point he was only two feet away from us before we scared it away.

Mount St. Helens

After our last tests we drove to Keizer, OR and spent the night there. In the morning we drove the scenic way home stopping by Mount St. Helens. As you can see in the background, it was letting out a steady stream of smoke. It was an amazing drive through the mountains where trees had been toppled over by the volcanic eruption in 1980.

Annie's Mom and Dad in front of the volcano.