[Quark]

Get your Jealous hat out and put it on 'afore reading this! In search of sublime peace, I headed east. We chose Blythe Lake in the Columbia NWR at O'Sullivan Dam south of Potholes Reservoir. Off 90 take Hwy 26 signed "Othello" and travel about 20ish miles to the Potholes SP sign. Drive til you dead-end, turn right. To Soda Lake CG, go beyond the dam, and take the right turn after the Potholes Channel sign. To Blythe Lake after you turn right at the dead-end and a little before Mar-Don Resort, turn right (maintenance shed). There are 2 roads here, take the more acute right (It looks as if you're headed into someone's backyard, but keep going). Camping is allowed only at Soda Lake CG. We had a great spot, and it was quiet. Drove down to Upper & Lower Goose Lakes after setting up camp. At the end of the road we got out & walked into the coulee, a very clearly visible notch. There's a trail there. My God! This place beats just about every other place I have seen in couleeland. It took us about 4 hours to walk a 30 minute trail because we kept stopping to gaze and be amazed. The silence is so incredible that you have to stop to listen - even the sound of your walking is too loud. I have no photos of this area mainly because I'm an idiot (why go into details). We lay on the rocks and listened to the funny sounds of the various birds, magpies, meadow-larks, a mourning dove. Balsamroot was out in force. No snakes. Today we headed to Blythe & Chukar Lakes. We headed down when we had the choice to do so, and ended up on the floor of an amazing coulee and wetlands restoration area. Hundreds upon hundreds of buffleheads, mallards, grebes, coots and hundreds upon hundred of migrating sandhill cranes were settled in the marshes and ponds here. Frogs were croaking like crazy, magpies, meadowlarks, the distinct low rhythm of a grouse, even. The cranes have a beautiful tenor trilling "coo" to their call. The hundreds of them lifted off and danced above the coulee walls, their cooing reverberating throughout. It was wonderful. We simply stood and listened to the sounds of the breeze in the grasses, the birds and frogs, and we gazed at the massive basalt columns and canyons. And the scent of sagebrush and the distant freshly churned farmland was strong - pungent and sweet. I want very much to go back to both of these coulees - I want to take the other choice at the Blythe Lake trail - because on the way back I poked around a little and noticed a series of coulees and notches to explore back in there. It's hot out there already though.

Soda Lk

Marsh toward north (better)

[Backpacker Joe]

How come there are never any pictures of U in there babe? TB

[Quark]

[salish]

Quark, I just love it when someone discovers a place you've known about for years and gets turned on to the same things you've been enjoying for years. Good for you for discovering this area. My family used to camp at Corral, Blythe & Chukar Lakes in the late 60's and early 70's. You used to be able to drive all the way in and camp. I caught my first big fish in Blythe, and saw my first large Washington rattlesnake there. Since the refuge status closed off all of these camping areas it's made it more difficult for people to find places to camp, but the wildlife and ecosystem is much better off for it, in my opinion. I still go every three or four years, usually in late March after the early fishing opener. Sometimes we just sleep on the ground at the boat launch at Corral Lake, across from Mar-Don. One March about five years ago we woke up to snow on our sleeping bags. What's so wonderful about the place is you can take your cup of morning coffee and climb the bluff on the south side of the Corral and listen to the cacophony of birds at daybreak. It's unbelievable and really makes you think the world is coming alive. Did you hike all the way down to the eastern end of Chukar Lake? Did you spot the remnants of an old orchard there? Also, there used to be (I think) another very shallow lake beyond Chukar. You can put a pack on and grab your fishing rod and camera and head out for MILES in these back country lakes. This is a magical area and I've always loved it. There is also the Winchester Wasteway south of Mar-Don and miles of waterfowl habitat. It's another great place to hike. I work in Fisheries and some of our biologists are currently conducting studies on the tern populations in the sand dunes on the north end of O'Sullivan Dam. This is related to salmon predation in the Columbia R. Anyway, glad you got the chance to experience this great place. Cliff

[frankm3]

Sounds awesome! I might just have to make this my next trip to E WA! One thing that is really compelling about this area to me is that I find it remarkably similar to parts of of the southwest, like those in S. Colorado and areas of N. New Mexico. It's really neat being able to 'visit' someplace so similar that's only 2-3 hours away. What map quad is this area on? I can try out that new USA PhotoMaps program! Frank

[Quark]

Wow, you're great, Salish! You always give me great information. We wandered over to probably the remains of the orchard - there are acres and acres of a grassy meadow by the marshes, by Scaup Lake. We stopped there and listened to a lone meadow lark who was sitting on top of a glob of rocks. It sounded like the last 2 words in his aria were "foot surgery!" Over and over again, "warble warble warrrrbbbllle foot surgery!" It looks as if you can drive into the area from the other side though. I plan on getting a Fish & Wildlife map of the area - 2 land managers are responsible for the area, and I'd like to know the Do's and Don'ts, and the boundaries thereof. I wonder if an English major could get a job in Fish & Wildlife. There's something about central Washington - not only the topography, but the farmers and their land, and their wry humor - like the road sign to Othello was stragetically rubbed out to point to "hell." I've always loved the various irrigation machinery - the prominent one in Washington are the ones that look like huge insects - long, long dragonflies. When they're spraying their water and the sun hits them just right, the water glows, becomes an irridescent rainbow, and then the dragonflies' wings are complete.

[salish]

You probably should speak with locals about how to put your degree to work for you there. That bio I spoke with last week about rattlers was from the Ehphrata WDFW. It's such a huge recreational area they must have a significant staff. They probably have need for a tech writer! I think my favorite birds there are the redwing blackbirds. To me their sounds are synonomous to the Potholes.

[kleet]

Hi kids! I grew up in the area and my dear ol' Dad worked for WDFW (back then just called the Game Department). My dad actually has a lake in that area named after him (Lyle Lake) or at least that's the story he told us. Anyhoo, I have fond memories of the very place you both speak of. My family did a lot of camping back then, but we always headed to Canada or the ocean or to Chinook/White pass and it was always the whole family, which included mom and sisters. One time we decided on a boys-only trip: me, my older brother, Dad and a friend of his who also had two sons. We headed for Goose Lake, spending two nights in the sagebrush only 15 miles from home. Like Salish says, you used to be able to drive in and camp pretty much anywhere. We had a glorious time, what with no mom along to tell you to brush your teeth, or watch out for snakes or only drink one sody pop before dinner. No sisters to tag along on your explorations. We could fish as much as we wanted and dad didn't care if we washed our faces before crawling into our sleeping bags. Anyway, it's a fun memory and that area has changed a bit since those days. I was at Potholes State Park last summer and there are now houses on the hillside behind the dam. Who'da thunk it? Oh, Quark, if you think the Othello sign is funny, you oughta see what they do with the Toppenish road sign.

[Slugman]

Joe, if you wanted to see pictures of Quark, you should have come to the last social. After everyone bailed except me and Polarbear, Quark whipped out some pictures of herself as a platinum blonde in Texas from 10 years ago. Wowee zowee! Made my show-and-tell of an old ice axe seem downright boring.

[Quark]

[Odonata]

It's great to hear the birds are out in force. I'm heading over to the Wahluke Wildlife Refuge this weekend. Another great spot in E. Washington. Not too far from Quark's trip. I hope to bring back some pictures. Can't camp there either, which is a bummer because it is kinda in the middle of nothin. If I see anything that looks like a green thornamental tumbleweed thats still growing, I'll post it. ~D

[Dayhike Mike]

[touron]

Odonata, I find the Wahluke area the easiest for sasquatch spotting (due to the wildlife preserve status and the openess of the area). p.s. "green thornamental tumbleweed" is a tongue twister

[Alan Bauer]

Man, this is really great seeing the full force appreciation that is being raised for these areas---some by people who have loved the "desert" for many years, some by people just getting excited over what it can offer. Same with the nice remarks by Scrooge over in the thread about "Tumbleweeds" and his sudden love of the desert. All of the areas being mentioned are special in their own right. Each is different when seen up close while they can look so "common and similar" from afar. The areas of the Desert and Potholes Wildlife Areas. Everyone knows I love the Wahluke and have been there dozens of times. These areas...along with many dozens of others...are worth your efforts to get to, if not for a specific trip there, at least a quick 2 hour stop while coming home from some other long vacation. Many of you know I've spent so many days in these regions over the past few years and those experiences will be shared to everyone interested come this fall. Yes, a new book will be out in October 2004 to help you find your way to areas where you don't follow a tree lined path. Instead, you find your way to park and from there create your own adventure! So while I'll openly say I hope there is interest in "Best Desert Hikes: Washington" come fall, I will also gladly try to help out people where I can from time to time this spring if I have time to answer any PMs you want to point at me Life is too good when you live only 2-3 hours from oceans, mountains, and deserts all around us. I'm happy I'm right where I am indeed.... Alan

[kleet]