The Mountains Are Calling

The Mountains Are Calling 

John Baisden just visited with a group of returning backpackers from Ross Lake.  Ross Lake just happens to be one of John's “Top Five”  backpacking destinations.  As he listened to their experiences and viewed their many pictures he was brought back to his own “Ross Lake” experiences, and they are many.

One of his favorite memories of Ross Lake was taking his then, 2 young daughters on a back packing adventure.   We had spent the night at the Lone Pine Camp Ground, Early Winters, Washington and woke up early to drive to the Ross Lake Dam trail head.  One daughter was 5 years old and the other was 8 years old.  Each of their packs loomed larger than they were and one could hardly see their heads over their enormous backpacks.  Back in the day backpacks came in one size and one size only, BIG!  I remember taking a picture of the 2 girls stopping at an overlook and looking down at the Ross Lake Dam.  The girls looked so small and in comparison Ross Dam dwarfed them even more.

At Ross Lake Dam we hired a boat, provided by the Ross Lake Resort to taxi us to the Little Beaver camp ground.  Once we arrived at Little Beaver we pitched out tent next to the Ross Lake shore line, looked across the lake right at one of those beautiful glaciers.  It was a post card moment permanently impressed in my memory banks.  To this very day the girls and I often talk about those moments spent at Ross Lake.  When we got tired of looking at that awesome view our other options were to go swimming or fishing, we did both.   It has been 18 years since that experience with my then young daughters.  Since that experience I have hiked the Ross Lake trails at least 24 times.  For me, each trip is a life changing experience with memories that keep whispering, Come on back!