Manning Provincial Park, B.C.

Unless I'm going to Gustavus, Alaska for July 4th, I like to get the heck out of America on this holiday. What can I say? July 4th just isn't my cup of tea.....so going for a weekend backpacking trip in Canada seemed like a perfect way to find some solitude. Manning Provincial Park is the Canadian extension of the American North Cascades National Park. We have spent a fair amount of time in the North Cascades because they are in our backyard but we had never been to Manning, so this was an easy decision for us (plus it was only about three hours away).

We hiked along the Heather Trail to a backcountry campsite called "Kicking Horse". The views were stunning the entire time we were on this trail, which isn't surprising considering the part of the world we are in. I was especially struck by how quickly the jagged peaks ended and the rolling mountains began (this feature appears to follow the US/Canadian border) - it was fantastic to be on the edge of this topographical change in wildflower-filled meadows staring at all the massive mountains in the distance. Jay and I are fairly familiar with the landmark mountains in North Cascades National Park, but we are used to seeing them from the south looking north. In this case we were north looking south and several of the mountains stumped us....except the unmistakable Mt. Baker which appeared once along the trail just past our campsite. Upon arriving back at our house we figured out that the super jagged peak in these images was Hozomeen Mountain (I had been voting incorrectly that it was part of the Pickett Range, whoops).

I got a new backpack and it made me very happy - can you tell? I'm hoping to write an entertaining blog about my old backpack to fill you in on the "story of Julie's ol' pack" but I'm not making any promises. This new pack ROCKS, I was a hell of a lot happier and more comfortable on the trail with a pack that actually fit me. Awesome.

Upon arrival at a nice spot to pitch a tent we were greeted by a thousand (billion?) members of the Kicking Horse mossie welcoming committee. I immediately took refuge from the enthusiastic volunteers in the tent while Jay attempted to brave his new fans and enjoy the view. The result of these two choices - one person with few bites and one person covered in them. Guess who?

 I almost felt like I was in Alaska again. *Sigh*

Our hike back the next day was equally fun because the weather decided to do some funky stuff. It was chilly, then warm, then sunny, then cloudy, then rainy, then foggy, then HAIL arrived, then clear, then hot - you get the picture. But stormy weather can make for some good photographs and I tried to get some black and white shots of the rain bursts over the Cascades.

Completely unrelated to Manning Provincial Park are a few short stories that should be shared! Poor Jay went out and bought his crabbing license to get some Dungeness crab while diving. He went twice this past week and got skunked both times (although he did get a red rock crab) - but he did manage to find my FAVORITE fish, the enigmatic Pacific spiny lumpsucker. I'm pretty sure the scientific name says it all - Eumicrotremus orbis. A trembling orbit! Jay and his dive buddy, Nate, collected this cutie for a local aquarium and it is now happily trembling about a tank and sucking onto the walls. Damn. That is one freakin' cute fish. My favorite lumpsucker memory dates back to my Glacier Bay days.....I will always cherish, and I'm not kidding, the moment when a little baby lumpsucker sucked onto my drysuit sleeve during a research dive in Glacier Bay. I was trying to collect data but I ended up spending most the dive making sure that my sucker had a happy and comfy home on my arm. Science can't always come first! Lumpsuckers get top priority over all!

We stuck around Anacortes for the last two weekends - which is also really fun because we live in such a gorgeous place and great town. These two photos were taken in Washington Park which is about three miles from our house and loaded with hiking trails that take you out to the water and stunning views of the San Juans and Olympic Mountains. Not a bad place to visit as often as possible from your house. When are you going to visit us and take in these views?

More photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111221596171793333099/July2013?authkey=Gv1sRgCPua6NPqocm4NA