Duckabush River Overnight - Big Hump

The forecast was for the mid 60’s the entire weekend making it the nicest weekend so far for 2013 so we took the opportunity to spend Easter weekend out camping! We left home at 9:00 and drove the 1.5 hours to the trail head. Even with the beautiful weather we were experiencing I was surprised how many people were there. I think we counted 9 cars parked at the trailhead by the time we started our hike. Quite a few dogs as well, including our 2 that we brought. My dad and I had hiked this trail 9 years earlier as a day hike and it was interesting to see the parts that we remembered and the aftermath of the fire that unfortunately blazed through the area in September 2011 burning over 1,200 acres within the Brothers Wilderness.  It was slow moving for us, being the first backpacking trip of the year and in a while, it took us about 4.5 hours to get to Five Mile Camp. Another backpacker and his dog that passed us on our way up was already set up and resting, he said it took him only 2.5 hours to get there. Maybe we need to get out and exercise some!

Emily, me, and Catherine 2004

Entering the Wilderness, my dad and I 2013

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the views were amazing at the multiple break spots we took overlooking the forest. By the time we got up and over Big Hump we were all feeling the effects of the heat and the extra weight on our backs. Luckily we weren’t too far from camp where we would be able to relax by the river. About half a mile left to the camp and I fall, twisting my ankle and worried I wouldn’t make it the last leg of our journey. Good thing my dad brought his walking stick (since I forgot to grab my poles) and that helped make the last descent manageable and we were so close to resting for the rest of the evening. We were tired and wondering if we’d ever get to the campsites! I had never gone this far on this trail but when talking to another couple along the hike they said part of the camping sites had been washed away. 

Dad's pointing to the elk below.

Right above the campground we saw a dead elk partially buried in what looks like a slide. Our thought is that the tree above it fell on it before the winter and was buried under the snow and it’s just now being thawed out. A little worrisome that it’s right above the campground, but hopefully any animals that would want to munch on it won’t go near there with the campers so close below.

Little bit of snow left, elk not far off to the right of the trail.

We only stayed one night and brrr it was cold! I’m glad I had bought a sleeping bag liner last month…but it didn’t really do enough. I think I need a warmer sleeping bag since I’m getting braver and going camping in the colder weather now! Poor Jasmine was cold too and her and I both tossed and turned all night long trying to stay warm. Dad said he was quite toasty though! It was hard to get up the next morning and face the chill, but after a cup of hot coco and some hand warmers I was ready to pack up and get home in time for Easter dinner. We saw some of the backpackers that had passed us on the way up leaving as we got ready, they must have stayed just inside the park boundary at the next campsites we were told were there. With the dogs this was as far as we were allowed, which was fine as I don’t think any of us were up for continuing any farther!  

Our hike down was only about 50 mins faster than the hike up. We passed maybe 7 or so people heading up, stopped and talked to a few. A couple of guys were up there scouting for a future trail work party with WTA. One of the guys, Greg, stopped and talked to us a bit. Like some of the people he already passed, we mentioned the dead elk up there by the campground. I wonder how they will dispose of that, it sure is a big animal. Over the past couple years there have been many trail work parties on this trail and it’s looking pretty good. If all the work didn’t need to be after the switchbacks I would consider coming out and helping too! I am overdue for some trail work after all.

Downed trees above trail.

Back at the car there were just as many cars as the previous day, everyone seemed to be taking advantage of this weather! Be warned, at the trailhead there was a lot of glass on the ground from broken windows. I didn’t have any problems with my car staying there overnight, nor did I notice any problems with the other cars. The road was full of potholes coming in, but some unlucky fellows were put to work on Easter Sunday repairing the roads. They were in the process of smoothing the road back out when we left, it was a very nice and much smoother ride.

I’m super glad we were able to get out and enjoy the sunshine and nature and start the season off right!

Here's a few more pictures and some more from when we hiked it back in 2004 for comparison.

Aftermath of the fire

Crossing an old riverbed '13.

Looks a little greener and more lush in '04.

2013

2004

2004



Staying cool on this gorgeous day.

 

Trail conditions getting a lil rough towards the end.

Jasmine making herself at home.

REI Treasure Hunting

This weekend I participated in my first REI Garage Sale in Tacoma and it was soo much fun! First, if you don't know what that means, let me explain...

REI is the most awesome store ever, it's like an adults Toys-R-Us. They have the greatest return policy of any store I know, if you are unhappy with the product you are able to return it at any time, used or not. So as you can imagine many people take advantage of this to try out new gear risk-free which results in an abundant amount of merchindise they can't put back on the sales floor. Thus "garage sales" are put on so those deal seeking people, like myself, can go pick up those used items (many are brand new and they just didn't like the fit) at an unbelieveable discount!

If you've ever participated in Black Friday after Thanksgiving then you can have an idea how it goes, just at a smaller scale. People started camping out in front of the store the evening before, when we drove by we saw the first tent being set up around 6:30 Friday evening (the sale was not until 9:00 Saturday morning). We were one of those people, tho we didnt get there and set up our tent until 10:30 Friday night. We ended up being the 11th & 12th people in line with only a few more tents set up behind us and after that is when people started showing up early saturday morning.

Saturday morning, a little after 8am, we were greeted and handed tickets according to where we were in line. These are what got us in first, making camping on a concrete sidewalk worth it. (It was fun regardless...but maybe i was camping deprived) By 9:00 there were people all over the parking lot waiting for their chance to snag some deals. A portion of the sidewalk was taped off and lined with boxes and boxes of boots and shoes while backpacks of all sizes hung on the fence next to skies and snowboards also propped up. There were roof racks, tents, bikes, TONS of clothes and all sorts of gadgets and gizmos.

I suggest scouting out your plan of attack before they open the doors. They only let so many people in at a time and everyone will be racing to the item they spotted from the outside and chances are someone else has spoted what you did...like the tent I wanted to check out but a guy grabbed it while I was walking back from the backpacks! He never did set it back down, darnit.

It's also a good idea to bring a friend so you can both keep your eyes out for what you're looking for. Where they had the clothes hanging up some of the racks were really high, I couldnt even reach things that I wanted, so it might be nice to have a TALL friend! ;)

Grab a bag!!! I didn't notice the shopping bags hanging up at the enterance but since we snagged a backpack first thing we used that to hold the other treasures we picked up. My problem was I wanted everything...my hands filled up very quickly as yet another thing caught my eye.

It's a mad house in there. Snag now and look later. My suggestion is to grab what you like and take a closer look once you're in the free and clear. I dont mean just take everything off the rack that catches your eye, but if it looks nice and you might want it then hold on to it until you have a chance to really look it over and decide if you actually want it.

Read the return lables. REI puts big lables on the used items describing the reason for the return. Some things are broken/ripped/stained/etc while others are perfectly fine (some things even have the new tags still on them!) and it's up to you to decide if the deal is worth it or not. Just because a backpack is originally $400 but they are selling it for $100 doesnt mean you can deal with a huge hole in the bottom and missing straps. Well maybe you can if you're a really good seamstress, it all depends on what you're willing to work with.

Some things won't have a price on it, but lukcy for you there are employees walking all around to answer your questions and give you a price quote. Be nice to the employees!! They will decide what price to put on that blank tag after all. If you want to set a tent up or ask for help fitting a pack to your body, they are there for that as well. Like always, REI staff are some of the nicest most helpful people. A nice fellow actaully helped us set up a tent after he described it and said he wanted it to go to a good home since it was a really nice tent....we ended up buying it.

All sales are final at the garage sale. If you end up not like it you will not be able to return it to the store. You can always sell it yourself if you really dislike it...maybe to a friend or on craigslist?

This was so much fun, we spent literally 12 hours at REI from the time we set up camp to walking away with our treasures. I would definitely do it again, not that I really need anything, but it's the hunt that I love!

To find out when your REI store is having a garage sale just to to their website and look up your location. And remember to get there early!