Wallace Falls State Park
4/20/06- 4/21/06

5 miles round trip
1200 feet elevation gain

For those of us who like to camp year-round, state and county parks are sometimes the only option. Most Forest Service campgrounds don’t open until Memorial Day, so I have to look elsewhere. State Parks are open and, although over-developed and comfortable, are nice, easy places to camp for a weekend.
When taking newcomers or my kids camping, we often go to developed sites for their comfort and to ease them in to the idea of the outdoors. Jes and I discussed where to go camping and her requirement was that there be a water source nearby, so I chose Wallace Falls State Park.
Wallace Falls has six campsites, each complete with a fire pit, picnic table, huge salmonberry bushes, and wire fences separating them. Within earshot of Gold Bar, and eyesight of a big parking lot, it is hardly “getting away.” Jes even commented on being able to hear people mow their lawns. Our site was, however, the biggest, most private, and best of them all. I had run to the site to reserve it, since I was worried about them all being taken since we were arriving in the afternoon. We quickly set up tents, organized, and went to town to get food. The grocery store had everything we needed, and I went overboard buying food. There never seems to be a lack of food when camping and this was no exception. I’m not sure why this is. Spam, bacon, corn, steaks, wine. We stopped at McDonalds to eat lunch to make us REALLY feel like we fit in.
It was a really short drive from home to camp, but the closeness also drew the trashiest customers, who are usually dissuaded by long hikes or drives. A day use area right next to our site filled up quickly with a huge, fat family, complimented by barking dogs, and an RV load full of crap. I made a snide remark, which they heard, and had to watch my back every time I walked past. Smart.
I had promised Jes water, so we hiked up to the falls. The first part of the trail begins on a dirt road and then follows a well maintained path to the overlooks. The forest had been severely thinned and pretty devoid of underbrush, making for a boring hike. Hordes of hikers jammed up the trails. Is it me or isn’t there supposed to be an unwritten rule about yielding the right-of-way to those going uphill, or allowing faster hikers to pass? I felt like I was in Bellevue Square at Christmastime.
The overlook was pretty and only a few others were there. I wanted to continue to the higher viewpoint, but Jes and the kids weren’t into it, so I ran up and they headed back. Jes hadn’t just wanted water at the campsite, she wanted water to play in. Looking at a waterfall from an overlook was hardly like playing in one. My trip up didn’t take too long. I snapped some photos on the way back down, and found my companions at a little creek along the path. We continued back toward the trailhead and found a convenient access to the river. Jes looked for gold while the kids jumped from rock to rock. I took pictures and enjoyed the scenery. Then back to camp.
Scott built the fire and we began the camping tradition of doing nothing but staring at it. Why is fire so fascinating? I love choosing “fire” for 21 questions, because nobody ever gets it. Unless they’ve played with me before. I study the flames, the separation of the wood into little squares, the colors of the embers, what smokes, what sends ash flying, anything I can. I took a Wildland Firefighting class last summer, have read every book I can about wildland fires, and have seen a few. Callie and I visited an Incident Command Post for the north zone complex of fires in 2003 in Darrington. Anyway, I love looking at fire.
Jes and I had some wine (which made it easy to sleep after a long history of not being able to sleep while camping), watched the fire until it went out and hit the rack. My sleeping bag sucked and I was freezing cold early the next morning. I put all my clothes on or in my bag, but was still cold. So I got up.
Waking up early when camping is no problem. I like to make coffee and breakfast, and there is usually nobody else up. I’m alone and everything is quiet. So for breakfast I made bacon, eggs, and Spam. I know I made too much, but it seems there was none left!
The check-out time was around 11 (No, I’m not kidding. Campsites have checkout times), so we packed up and took another jaunt to the river to play before we left.