We were only home for three days from our previous camping trip (with the 5/10k thrown in the mix). During that time home we debated between hitting the Oregon Coast or heading over Chinook Pass. Chinook Pass won because we figured we could throw in a side trip to Sunrise. Sorry Oregon, maybe next time.
Chris' birthday was Monday so we celebrated in the morning with cinnamon rolls and gifts, and then we packed up and headed out. We didn't have a particular destination, just somplace between Lodgepole and the Little Naches River. We drove through several (empty) campgrounds and ended up at Upper Bumping Lake, a place we haven't been to in several years. Like the others, the campground was empty. Maybe five or six other families and that was it.
We spent the rest of Monday setting our camp up and letting the boys play around the campsite. On Tuesday, we jumped in the truck and headed to the Boulder Cave trailhead. We hiked to the mouth of the cave and pulled out the headlamps. Of course, Owen wanted to wear one so I gave him mine. We walked through about 400 feet of pitch black cave before coming out the other end. A creek runs through it and it reminded me of tubing through the caves in Belize.. totally awesome! During the hike back, Owen kept telling us about all the baby animals that were sleeping in the cave: birds, rabbits, and 2 elephants. He has a great imagination.
When we were finished with the cave, we headed back to camp to let the dogs swim in the lake. I didn't think the boys would be interested in going in the water since it was cold, but I forgot that kids don't care about stuff like that. So I gathered their swimming gear and let them loose. We stayed down at the shore for a long time and played.
We had a late lunch and took the boys and dogs back to the lake for another round of water fun. By the time we were back at the trailer, the boys were rubbing their eyes and Owen was asking to go to bed. It was early, so we played around for a little while before putting them down for the night. Chris and I stayed up and watched the stars, and I baked a batch of brownies in the Dutch oven (late birthday treat).
Wednesday was reserved for Sunrise. First, we had to do some backtracking and head to Whistlin' Jack's Lodge to buy more ice for the cooler. Not sure why it melted so quickly.. might be time for a new one. Anyway, we headed back toward Rainier and stopped at Tipsoo Lake for a little while. It's normally pretty popular and crowded, but there were hardly any people there. We walked the trails around the lake and took a few pictures. There was still snow but the trail was clear. A couple weeks ago the trail was still covered in snow. Amazing for late August.
We jumped back into the truck and drove to the Sunrise entrance. I asked Chris
to make a quick detour through the White River Campground to see what it was like. Nothing fancy.. glad we didn't plan on staying there as we'd talked about. Anyway, we continued on to Sunrise. Our cabin is very close to the Sunrise cut-off road and I remember going up there when I was little, but it's been a long time. Nothing looked familiar.
We walked through the Visitor's center for a few minutes and decided it was hiking time. We've learned that Owen's limit is about two miles, so we picked the Emmons Vista and Silver Forest trails. The views were stunning. The wildflowers were in full bloom. The sun was shining. It was simply the perfect hike. I can't wait to go back and do more. Maybe without the kids, so that I can actually put in some mileage.
Several hours later, we headed back down to the White River Campground and had a (late) picnic lunch. We drove back to our campground and took the boys and dogs down to the lake again. Apollo gave us a good laugh by finding a stump in the water and using it as a rest stop:
He did that several times. It was hard to get a clear picture because I was laughing so hard.
When we were all nice and worn out, we headed back to camp. The boys had a small dinner and soon we were all ready for bed. We woke up Thursday morning, broke everything down, and headed home. Camping Trip #5 had come to an end and once again, we had a fabulous time. We don't have anything set in stone for September or October but we're discussing a couple more trips.
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