Recently we escaped some of the summer heat with a visit to North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake National Recreation Area. North Cascades is a backpackers park that runs down the spine of the Cascades from the Canadian border south, nearly to Lake Chelan in central Washington. Ross Lake NRA bisects the National Park along the Skagit River and Washington State Highway 20. To really see the views involves long uphill hikes. But rain and steep terrain result in cascades and waterfalls (and 3 large hydroelectric reservoirs). So of course we had to make some images. [If you want to see a full screen view of an image, click on the image.]
Clearing Storm over the Spires
Gorge Creek Falls
Ladder Creek Falls
Falls and Ferns
Rock and Falls detail
Turn d Force
Cascade #57
Freshet and Rock
Cascade with wood
The 5-year waterfall; resistance is successful.
A note about the 5-year waterfall: This is actually the discharge from a spill gate on Diablo Dam. Approximately once every 5 years the spill gates are tested to ensure they function properly. The resulting spill of approximately 4,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) creates a spectacular waterfall and cascade but only once every 5-years. Sometimes we get lucky with our travels.