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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

Blue Lake This Week

It seems crazy to have two posts in a row about hiking to Blue Lake. And what if I said that I’d been there another time in between these two hikes? Getting to the Blue Lake trailhead is an easy drive, all on pavement and the trail is not too long – less than three miles – to a superb destination. It’s pretty heavily used but if you time it right, it is a sweet spot.

Highway 20 to the west of us had been closed due to a wildfire at Newhalem in the North Cascades National Park. That meant that most of the traffic across Rainy and Washington Passes was non-existent! Ken wanted to go this weekend and even though I’d already been there twice in the last two weeks, it seemed like a good idea. Weather had moderated and our lives were returning to normal as the wildfires burning all around us were becoming contained. The highway opened while we were hiking.

It seemed too chilly to have her in the water very much. She was disappointed.
Stuff grows out of rocks
More stuff growing out of a rock
Stuff grows out of old wood
What is she saying to me?
Chipmunks on her mind
Smaller larches are already changing color
Fall
I like this rock
Last flowers
Willow gall
Fireweed
Fireweed
Two trees had fallen over the trail in this weekend’s heavy wind storm
Baby grouse at the trailhead as I arrived at the parking lot
Grouse – Dusky or Sooty? I think Sooty.

Blue Lake Two Weeks Ago

On a Sunday, two weeks ago Marcy and I decided to take a late afternoon hike to Blue Lake. The parking lot was overflowing with cars but we managed to find a spot at the trailhead. We had timed it so that people were leaving as we were arriving. All the way up, folks were walking down and when we got to the lake, we had the place to ourselves. Sky was ecstatic to jump in the water repeatedly and I was happy she wasn’t bothering anyone with all her commotion. It was a warm day but we were there late enough that the sun dipped behind the rocky crags above us and it cooled off quickly.

It was a nice diversion from all the news about this summer’s wildfires. Just three days later the Twisp River fire broke out and our lives were pushed back into the tumult of evacuations and uncertainty.

Gray Jay otherwise known as camp robber

Images from the Aftermath of the Twisp River Fire

Weather has assisted fire fighters in the containment of the Twisp River Fire during the last few days. After a week of smothering smoke cloaking our valley, a couple of cold fronts passed through over the weekend, clearing the air with breezes and some rainfall. It’s a great relief. Yesterday brought blue skies and cool temperatures and a smoke-free atmosphere to the Methow. I hope the same thing is happening with the rest of the fire-ravaged landscape around the west.

Many homes in the Twisp River valley were saved by dedicated fire fighters. Our friends’ house is one of those. They live near the river and they asked me to come by to photograph their home and surroundings to preserve the memories of this event. Yesterday we joined them for a tour of their burned property. While much of the garden was burned, there is still food to salvage. The tomatoes, despite their scorched skin are still good on the inside! Corn cooked on the stalk tastes like corn cooked on the grill. Rhubarb is already coming back and the zucchini plant has new blossoms! This garden is a fire survivor!

Last year we were some of the fire survivors. This year, with the devastating fires in North Central Washington, there are many more fire survivors.

Flowers and herbs near the house remain lovely and inviting.
Garlic chive flowers
Gate to the path to the garden
Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Peppers
Zucchini blossoms
Zucchini is a hardy plant
Burnt apples
The rhubarb is already unfurling new green leaves!
Partially cooked apples from a big old tree
View down to the river
Looking back at the house
Cottonwoods by the river, with the leaves prematurely yellow
Cottonwood trunks
It burned very hot in the shrub layer near the river killing most of the trees.
Cottonwood bark
Fire burned to the river’s edge
Burnt bitterbrush
A new hose to replace the burnt hoses going to the vegetable garden and fruit trees.
Perennial non-native grass returning quickly

A Real Life Air Show

If you follow the news, you have probably seen my little town’s name featured the last few days. A human-caused fire started just a few miles from Twisp and rapidly burned some houses and took the lives of three fire fighters. It’s been an enormous tragedy.

We evacuated for two days while the fire behavior and wind were erratic and there was a possibility it could come over the ridge to our house. Luckily for us, it did not. The fire line is about a mile and a half away, as the raven flies. We returned, even though the whole valley was on level 3 evacuation notice, to see what was going on and to make our place safer. We keep our bags packed in case we need to flee again. Friday evening we went to Patterson Lake and watched the aerial fight to slow down the fire’s approach to a forested neighborhood. The pilots flying these planes are tremendously courageous to do what they do. Who ever imagined that DC10’s would be used for fire suppression? In addition to the big jets there are at least four small planes that can fly across a lake’s surface and suck water into pontoons to be dropped on the burning fire. There have been a wide variety of helicopters and other planes in use also.

The last couple of days there has been some cooler weather, holding the smoke close to the ground smothering most of Washington and grounding the aircraft. This does help the fire fighters on the ground because it also slows down the progress of the fire. When it warms up again and they can see the landscape, hopefully they will see a fire that can be contained.

And this is just one of the smaller fires that are consuming the landscape of our region. The Okanogan fires are much larger and threatening more homes.

The front of the fire
One of the water scooping planes
Helicopter with a bucket for water drops
Most of the time, the planes go to Moses Lake for refueling and more retardant but on the radio we heard that one of them was going to John Day Oregon.
Even when the red fire retardant is dry, it will slow down or stop a fire’s advance.

Here is an article about the aircraft used in fire suppression.

Northern Lights During a Dark Night

Last night’s power outage made for a darker than usual night. No moon and no hazy skies also provided good looks at stars and meteors and even the northern lights! We are lucky to have less light pollution than a lot of places.

The dogs thought I was nuts standing out there in the dark and they went inside to bed. I was only up til midnight when it seemed like the aurora faded away. This morning I learned that they were even more dramatic in the wee hours of the morning. A girl’s got to sleep sometime!

This is looking down valley towards fires burning in Black Canyon and along the Columbia River
Looking up