Labor Day 2014, The Contrasts of Dixie Lake and LaRush Lake

Labor Day Weekend 2014 turned out to have some interesting contrasts for me.

The weather looked like a mix of showers and overcast skies. I try to take advantage of Labor Day Weekend to do longer trips because I get the extra day free but I usually don’t go anywhere really difficult if it looks like the weather is going to be bad.

There are two reasons for this: The first is if it is going to be really cloudy, there is a good chance I won’t be able to see what the place actually looks like. Fog and cloud banks are quite similar in appearance no matter where you are and they quite often hide unique views. The second is that making observations of what is in a lake or pond is more difficult if it is overcast or raining. The darker condition of overcast skies makes the water darker and more difficult to see into and raindrops on the water obscure almost everything in it.

Saturday I took the car we haul the kids in to get the front end aligned. The driver’s side front tire wasn’t keeping air so we took it in and it turned out to be ruined by wear because the front end was out of alignment. This required a new set of tires at over $600. And the front end still needed to be aligned for safety and to prolong the life of the tires.

I did want to do a pretty strenuous trip this weekend though. With any luck, my hiking season isn’t over yet so it would pay to stay in shape. If you don’t use muscles for as little as two weeks, you start to lose muscle mass and capacity.

I decided to try Dixie Lake again. I went in there earlier this year and the whole place was covered with fog. This was okay with me because it was one of my break in trips to get in shape for the hiking season. It would have been another thing altogether if I had invested several days to get there and look at fog.

This time, the weather forecast called for off and on showers. Usually under these conditions, the ceiling is much higher so you can see the landscape around you. And, with a little luck, I figured I would be able to make observations between showers. I also decided to go into a pond nearby, northeast of Dixie Lake, that drained to Rocky Creek in the Day Creek watershed so I could mark another water body off my list.

There were some showers on the way in but no soaking rain, just enough to keep me cool and the ceiling stayed high. It took a little less than two hours to walk from the gate to Dixie Lake. The last mile marker along the road that I saw said 5 miles so I made pretty good time with my lighter day pack.

I went into the pond northeast of Dixie Lake first. There were some interesting meadows near the pond that were dominated by a grass that I think was in the genus Calamagrostis. I haven’t run across many grass dominated meadows in my travels. Usually meadows are dominated by sedges.

There wasn’t much to note at the pond. I didn’t see any amphibians. The pond was shallow and much of it was covered with buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) which made observations difficult. The water was dark and difficult to see into as well. I’m sure there were some sort of amphibians there. I just didn’t see them.

While I was at the pond the clouds started to break up and by the time I got back to Dixie Lake, there was quite a bit of sunshine. I didn’t see a lot in way of amphibians at Dixie Lake either, one NW salamander egg mass. Visibility was still pretty bad.

Apparently there were no fish in Dixie Lake. I didn’t see any swimming or surfacing and no bites after about 10 minutes fishing, which also doesn’t mean that there were no fish. I just didn’t happen to see or catch any. There was a trail on one side of lake that looked like it was used for fishing. I imagine this lake is stocked periodically. There was no spawning gravel so if the lake isn’t stocked, there are no fish.

Overall this area is very interesting. It is fairly low elevation, 3500 feet or less, but there is lots of mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) which, according to the books, doesn’t usually occur below around 5000 ft. Pink heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis) and other some other plants more typical of higher elevation are also present but there is no Alaska yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) that I have seen. All of the cedar I saw in the area was western red cedar (Thuja plicata). Alaska cedar does occur infrequently in valley bottoms in the North Cascades but is most common at higher elevations, 3500 to 4000 ft and above in the eastern part of mountains.

In the western part of the North Cascades, it is apparently absent. I don’t know where edge of its range is. I know Upper Little Deer (Stillaguamish) and Cumberland Creek has the same type plant community as the area around Dixie Lake and these are several drainages east.

I did read in Pojar and Mackinnon (a botanical reference book) that both mountain hemlock and pink heather do occur at lower elevations under certain conditions, usually very dry or very wet. There is a lot of wet ground in all of the areas mentioned above so maybe that has something to do with the makeup of the plant community.

The trip accomplished what I wanted to do. I got a good workout to stay in shape, maybe a little too much, and got good observations on two more lakes and ponds.

Monday, Labor Day, I spent the morning taking care of some chores around mom’s, fixing, or making the first, half successful attempt at fixing the clothesline, parking some equipment that I had lent out and storing some plywood.

In the afternoon, we took the kids into LaRush Lake. Here was the contrast. LaRush Lake sits on top of Irene Ridge on the Cascade River. When I was kid, the only way to get there was by walking at least five miles on a trail that climbed 3200 feet up on to the ridge.

In late ‘70’s or early ‘80’s the U.S. Forest Service built a road (Road 1550) up onto Irene Ridge. I knew some people who were very mad about this. The road, and the easy access it provided, ruined their fishing spot on the Cascade River. However, this road also allowed easy access to a lot of people. At present, anyone who has access to a decent vehicle can get high up on Irene Ridge, this includes people whose physical abilities or outdoors skills are limited.

Irene Ridge has some of the best views around of the Cascade River area. One can see Lookout Mountain, the Monogram Lake basin, part of Eldorado, Hidden Lake Peaks and Mount Formidable. It is also one of the increasingly rare areas around where you can get up and see the mountains from a higher elevation without hours of strenuous exertion. Views from higher elevations present a much different perspective than looking up from the valley floor.

It needs to be said that, of course, this road also provides easy access to a lot of slobs.

This is the big contrast, or change, if you will. When I was kid, you had to hike to top of Irene Ridge, probably an all day trip or even overnight. Now you can drive up there in half hour. At same time, when I was kid, you could have driven to Dixie Lake in about half an hour. Dixie is on private timber land and, in those days, none of the roads were gated. Now the situation is reversed.

Sacha and I talked about this on the way up. For a lot of people, there is more meaning to a given view if you have to earn it through diligence and the hard work it takes to get to a spot where you can see it. I don’t disagree with this but I also think there should to be some places where people who don’t have certain physical abilities and outdoors skills can go and see things as well. Quite possibly, or even undoubtedly, many of these people will also deeply appreciate what they see. I have a hunch that appreciation is relative. If you do a lot of outdoor activities and are in good physical shape, the easy to get to spot isn’t so interesting. However, if this spot is as far as you can go with your abilities, you will probably appreciate it quite a bit more.

I also think this principle of access applies to people, who, though they may have the abilities to access remote areas, simply don’t have the time to do so. Personally, I should fall into that category except that Sacha graciously lets me pursue my journeys into the mountains all summer long. I am under no illusion however, that my family does not pay a price for this. Because I don’t sacrifice my time in the mountains, Sacha and Vashti and Phoebe have to make sacrifices. I am not very comfortable with this situation and I think, I know, many in my place would not make their families sacrifice the way I do.

The Irene Ridge Road is one of the places on a steadily dwindling list, where the less skilled and people challenged physically or by time constraints can get up and look at some mountains. Due to a shrinking U.S. Forest Service budget, it might be soon slated for closure.

As I stated earlier, easier access does come with a price. Places like Irene Ridge tend to be a little more trashed. Quite often there is more litter and more toilet paper blooms. And there are often other things going on that aren’t so good. We saw some poached cedar on the way up. Unfortunately there will always be slobs in the world that make it a little less nice for the rest of us.

Overall on this trip, the place didn’t seem too trashed. It looked like the road had seen quite a bit of use but there wasn’t a lot of litter, a few cans, a bag and some broken bottles and skeets but no heaps of trash. I think it is worth keeping some places like this accessible and allow people like the elderly, and those with young children and people whose physical challenges would make it impossible to see a place like this without a road to enjoy the public land that belongs to them too.

I was able to take Vashti and family on an adventure in the course of an afternoon on Monday. What little degradation of the place we encountered was worth the price. I couldn’t have taken them on the death march I did on Sunday. 

The first pond I visited on Sunday. This pond drains to Rocky Creek (in the Day Creek watershed) and is northeast of Dixie Lake. The plants growing in the water are buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) and they formed a dense mat that was hard to see into. 

Same pond as above, looking from the opposite end. 

The Upper Rocky Creek watershed. 

Grape fern. (Botrychium spp. this one probably multifidum). I think I have included moonworts in another post but when I encountered these in one of the wet meadows, I couldn't resist taking some more photos. These plants are not really ferns and belong in their own group. 

Dixie Lake when I visited earlier this July. 

Dixie Lake when I visited Sunday. 

Dixie Lake earlier this July. 

Dixie Lake from roughly the same spot as the photo above. This highlights why I am reluctant to invest a lot of time and energy to get into a place and not be able to see what it looks like. In both cases this year, it would have been okay if it were socked in because I was also walking in to get in shape or to stay in shape and the area isn't super remote. 

Dixie Lake on Sunday. 

Dixie Lake on Sunday. The pointed mountain near center frame is called Haystack Mountain I believe. 

Dixie Lake on Sunday as the clouds were really beginning to break up. 

Northwestern salamander (Ambystoma gracile) egg mass on a buckbean stalk in Dixie Lake. This is going to sound kind of nerdy, but this one egg mass observation made my whole day. I got to record some data and do something useful rather than just indulge my wander lust.  

Large rock face near Dixie Lake. The road goes almost underneath this rock face but when I went past it earlier this year in July, I had no idea how big it was because it was hidden in a cloud. 

Skagit Valley from Gilligan Creek Road. One could have seen Twin Sisters and probably Mount Baker from this spot if they weren't hidden by clouds. 

Sibley Creek area from Irene Ridge Road (US Forest Service Road 1550). You can just make out Eldorado and the cirque on Upper Marble Creek behind the jagged ridge near center frame that separates the two forks of Sibley Creek. 

Another view from Irene Ridge Road. I have never seen this peak named on any maps. It is in the Marble Creek watershed (or at least the face shown in this photo) and the creek in the valley on the left in this photo is called Haystack Creek. I have always called this mountain Haystack, which seems appropriate considering its pointy top. This Haystack is not to be confused with the Haystack Mountain in the Rocky/Day Creek watershed mentioned earlier in this post. 

Hidden Lake Peaks and Sibley Creek from Irene Ridge Road (US Forest Service Road 1550). 

Hidden Lake Peak closer view. I don't know if this photo will be big enough to allow people to see but, in the original photo, you can make out the lookout on the peak. 

Looking up the Cascade River at Mount Formidable from the Irene Ridge Road (US Forest Service Road 1550). 

Perley's Marsh in the Cascade River Valley from Irene Ridge Road. There used to be a small town here. I think I have gotten the spelling (Perley) right. 

The family from Irene Ridge Road, Hidden Lake Peaks and Mount Formidable in the background. The three white rocks between Sacha and Phoebe and Vashti appear to be memorials to a couple of people and a dog. Evidently this was a favorite spot of theirs. 

Black caps (Rubus leucodermis) on the roadside. 

Back up the road. The basin where Monogram Lake sits and Little Devil Peak are in the background. 

On the trail. Vashti did pretty well on this trail. There were several steep spots she needed help with. The trail looks a lot different when you are less than 3 feet tall. 

Then again, sometimes it is a good thing to be less than 3 feet tall. 

The family at LaRush Lake.

LaRush Lake. One year I saw a lot of Northwestern salamander egg masses here. I didn't have a chance to look this time. 

"Fishering", as Vashti puts it. 

The catch of the day, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). This fish is also possibly a hybrid. There is no spawning habitat in the lake and fish don't occur here naturally so unless it is stocked with fish (from a hatchery) there are no fish here. I got several other bites but missed on all of them. I probably could have caught a few more if I had time to stay longer but Phoebe was starting to get antsy. It worked out pretty well anyway. This fish was about a foot long and was just the right size for dinner. If I had caught more there would have been leftovers. 

Campsite at first point where the trail nears the lake. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised at how clean the area was. There was very little litter. Of course the overall area is a little more heavily impacted by greater use. 

Not to completely sugar coat things. There were quite a few toilet paper blooms around. Several were pretty close to the water and the trail. I wonder if a little education, maybe some signage could help this situation. 

Vashti, assistant fish cleaner, with the catch of the day.