Ross Lake Canoe Trip (2025)

Mike revisited Ross Lake for the first time since a trip with the scouts in 2013.

Because of our size, we had to obtain two backcountry camping permits, since there were six adults and ten young men. (The National Park Service allows twelve as a maximum group.) We paddled nearly 35 miles in 5 days.

 

Sunset view from the Dry Creek group campground 

The entire group ready to put in on Diablo Lake

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Report

Day 1: We drove from Bothell to Colonial Creek Campground, the preeminent put-in for paddlers on Diablo/Ross lakes. Preparing all of the canoes and securing the gear took a lot of hard work. Just ask James... he knows how hard it was. Once Mike and I had our canoe tidily loaded up, we launched into the unbelievably turquoise-colored Diablo Lake. As we turned the corner to the Skagit River, we were faced with strong headwinds and deceptively choppy water. It was a bit of a grind to get to the portage dock that shuttles the canoes between Diablo and Ross Lakes. It was such a busy day that the Ross Lake Resort crew had a difficult time keeping up with all of the groups portaging between the two lakes. While waiting for hours (literally!) the boys kept themselves from overheating by diving into the river. After finishing our paddle from the Ross Lake dam to the Green Point group campground, we enjoyed a relaxing evening on the peaceful waters of the lake (even if Joss did have to swim out to free a fishing hook that was stuck in the lake.)

Day 2: Before hitting the lake, James and Anderson rigged up a sail on their canoe. Wanting in on the action, Kevin and Grayson lashed their canoe up to the sailboat to create a catamaran which remained intact for most of the journey. Once we got to Dry Creek campground, we whiled away the time swimming and playing Texas Hold 'Em. Dry Creek is on an elevated point, affording sweeping views of the lake.

Day 3: In the morning before most of the camp was awake, I took a hike along the East Bank Trail of the lake to take in the quiet morning views from the bridge on Lightning Creek. I even spotted a place to cliff jump later in the day. (No jumping from the bridge, though, kids... the national park service forbids it!) This would be one of our more memorable days, since it was a day to just tour the middle of Ross Lake with its inlets, waterfalls, and cliff jumping opportunities. The lads decided to test the catamaran as an 8-man rig, and I'm happy to report that it didn't founder.

Day 4: Without a doubt, this was our most strenuous day, not because of the mileage, but because of the strong headwinds. After a long break at Rainbow Point, we were resigned to accept our fate: we had only traveled about half of the distance we needed to cover, and unbeknownst to us, we still had the worst headwinds to deal with. It didn't stop James from putting together his best movie poster pose. Once we made it back to Green Point campground, a little hammock rest was required... at least until the rain came in, which caused everyone to scurry to their tents, where I slept like a log until dinnertime.

Day 5: Our final day of paddling started out with very calm lake conditions. It was a very short paddle past the resort to the portage dock. The portage took long enough for us to take a hike out to the dam for one last photo opportunity of the trip (minus Brian and Grant who stayed back with the canoes.) On the way back, we took a moment to explore a cave as well. Of course, no trip would be complete without stopping for food, and we all agreed that Cascade Burgers did NOT disappoint.
Final Thoughts

I think I can speak for the entire group when I say that it was an incredible trip. In fact, I enjoyed this trip so much more than the 2015 version, because it wasn't as oppressively hot this time. We also created a superior itinerary that allowed us to enjoy more of the highlights of Ross Lake without simply committing to a 50-mile milestone slog like we did on my first time on the lake.
Photos & Videos

Here is the groups' collection of photos. Everyone added their pics to this OneDrive folder, so all of the photos taken by adult leaders are there. My OneDrive album is here. There is also a YouTube playlist with a trip overview video, time lapses, and other videos to record our days on the water (paddling, cliff jumping, dock diving, etc.)
GPS Info

Here is the GPS data collected during the trip:

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Speed Profile

Coordinates and other details:

	Day One (includes portage)	Day Two	Day Three	Day Four	Day Five	TOTAL
Mileage	4.3 miles	7.5 miles	9.1 miles	7.5 miles	9.5 miles	47.7 miles
Moving Time:	1:37:29	3:28:39	3:30:23	2:57:20	3:57:13	18:31:15
Average Moving Speed:	2.6 MPH	2.8 MPH	2.5 MPH	3.0 MPH	3.1 MPH	2.8 MPH

If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track .

Dice Tower East

Well, this is a rarity of a vacation as far as the Lewis Family is concerned.  There is nothing outdoorsy or campish about this one.  So why did we go so off-script this year?  Well, two reasons:

1. Living in Orlando, FL, Mia hadn't seen the family in over two years.
2. Dad has developed an interest in board gaming, and subscribes to the Dice Tower YouTube channel.

So, why not travel from Seattle to Orlando to attend the annual Dice Tower East board game convention held at the Caribe Royale Resort?  With ~2500 games in their Florida-based library, there was definitely more than enough to keep us interested for five full days of board gaming.  

The open gaming room at the Caribe Royale the day before the convention opened

Dice Tower East photo booth with Mike, Mia, Mom, and Dad.

While there are over 2000 people who attend the convention every year, it didn't feel crowded or overwhelming.  In fact, it's an incredibly accessible and family-friendly convention, made all the better by the lovely people who run The Dice Tower.  Joey Evans was even kind enough to hop in the photo booth for a picture with Mom and Dad.  Tom Vasel, the founder of The Dice Tower, even sat down with our family for about 20 minutes to teach and help us get up and running on Race for the Galaxy.  

The convention has a brilliant flag system to connect people at the convention too.  If you need help learning a game, grab a yellow flag and someone familiar with the game will likely stop by to help teach it to you.  We grabbed a yellow flag for Everdell, and sure enough... a nice gentleman took about 15 minutes of his convention time to teach the game to us.  If you need players for a game, you can grab a green flag and set it on your table to invite others to play with you.  Maybe next year (oh, yeah... we would all go back again next year!), we will branch out more and look for green flags to meet other gamers, and learn fun games we otherwise might not have on our radar.

Games

We played the following 21 games in 5 days and ranked them from 1 to 10.  Mike missed some of the action, but still had a blast when he could be there.

Game	Dad	Mom	Mia	Mike	Price
Hot Streak	7.5	8	7.5	8	$45
Meadow	9	8	9.3	9	$44
Trekking through History	8.5	7	7	7.5	$50
Ito	6.5	6	6	5	$15
Thunder Road Vendetta	10	8.5	7.1	9	$60
Everdell	8	9	9.4	9.5	$75
Canvas	6.5	6	4		$25
Forest Shuffle	9	9	9.5		$25
Bomb Busters	8.5	7.5	7.5		$35
Positano	7.5	6.5	6.5		$50
Forbidden Island	8	7.5	8		$21
A Message from the Stars	9	8			$40
Pergola	8.5	8.5	8.5		$45
Flip 7	6	6	6		$24
Splendor Marvel	7	6.5	7		$50
Race for the Galaxy	7.5	7.5	8.7	8	$36
River Valley Glassworks	9	7.5	8.1	7.5	$40
Poetry for Neanderthals	8	6	8	7	$20
Flock Together	9	9	8.5	9	$90
Things in Rings	6.5	5.5	6	5.5	$24
So Clover	7.5	7	8.7	7.5	$18

The games we played are valued at over $800, so considering that badges are $150 each for the convention, we feel like we covered the $600 in conference fees (although perhaps not the airfare for Mom and Dad.) 

Favorites

Person	Game	BGG Rank
Mia	Forest Shuffle	174
Mike	Everdell Race for the Galaxy So Clover	41 87 286
Mom	Everdell	41
Dad	Thunder Road Vendetta	263

Photos & Videos

We did overview videos of almost every game we played... sometimes, we even showed a portion of a playthrough.  Dad also got a walkthrough video of the conference.  A YouTube playlist with all of content can be viewed here.  

Chain Lakes Loop

On the first day of autumn, Mike was able to get in one final Saturday of good weather for a day hike to give him over 50 miles of hiking in 2023.  This was his easiest effort all year at just 6.7 miles and 2066 feet of ascent, but probably the most "bang for the buck" hike of the season in terms of scenery.  The Chain Lakes Loop is a very popular hike in the Mount Baker Wilderness of Northern Washington.  Starting from Artist Point, he did a counter-clockwise loop which addressed the most serious elevation section early in the day while his legs (and knees) were still fresh.

While the hike started with clear skies, by the time Mike got to his first view of Mt. Baker along the trail, the peak was already covered in clouds, but the view was still majestic.  

Hayes Lake along the Chain Lakes Loop in the Mount Baker Wilderness

Mount Baker and Chains Lake Basin from Herman Saddle

GPS Info

Here is the data from the GPS unit:

Maps

This Leaflet Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:	6.7 Miles
Elevation	2066 Feet
Time:	5:08:09 (total), 3:14:21 (moving)
Average Speed:	1.31 MPH (total), 2.07 MPH (moving)
Trailhead Coordinates:	48°50'47.5"N 121°41'34.9"W

The GPX file can be downloaded here.

Photos and Videos

Photos are available at this album.  I have also uploaded YouTube video, but the audio isn't great (there is a lot of noise... I need to figure out how to reduce noise on my GoPro.)

Cascade Pass & Sahale Glacier

Mike has a long-time friend who he hadn't seen in several years.  Out of the blue, Scott called Mike to tell him that he was on a months-long trip with his Sprinter van and would be coming through Washington state on his way back home to San Diego.  He wanted to know if Mike had recommendations on itineraries in North Cascades National Park, and if Mike would like to accompany him on a day hike.  Mike jumped at the opportunity, and offered to show off one of the premiere itineraries in the North Cascades:  Cascade Pass and the Sahale Arm.

Throughout the week, we kept an eye out on the wildfire situation occurring in the eastern part of the national park, but as Saturday approached, the air quality looked like it would be reasonable to attempt the trip.  We were not disappointed with the views in the least.  

The hike was a punishing 13 miles with 4500 feet of ascent that starts out deceptively mild, but the last third of the hike was a straight-up slog with steep grades.

North Cascades from Sahale Glacier Camp

Doubtful Lake on the Sahale Arm

GPS Info

Here is the data from the GPS unit:

Maps

This Leaflet Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:	13.2 Miles
Elevation	4478 Feet
Time:	10:05:06 (total), 6:20:07 (moving)
Average Speed:	1.30 MPH (total), 2.08 MPH (moving)
Trailhead Coordinates:	N48° 28.550' W121° 04.538'

The GPX file can be downloaded here.

Photos and Videos

Photos are available at this album.  I have also uploaded YouTube videos of Cascade Pass and the Sahale Glacier.

Mason and Rainbow Lakes

On another free Saturday at the end of July, Mike headed out for another adventure to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to bag a couple more lakes, namely Mason Lake and Rainbow Lake.  The leisurely 5-hour day hike comprised an in-and-out hike of 10 miles with 3000 feet of ascent.  There was an abundance of hikers from the trailhead to Mason Lake, but continuing on to Rainbow Lake, there wasn't even a single hiker passed.  He peacefully enjoyed the entire lake by himself for lunch.  The temperature and weather conditions were perfect, with some wispy clouds adding perspective to the reflections in Sir Richard's Pond situated between the two lakes.

Mason Lake

Rainbow Lake

Wildflowers were at their peak as well in all sorts of colors:  Red, yellow, purple, and white.  He spotted all of the following:

• Fireweed
• Wenatchee Paintbrush
• Pearly Everlasting
• Woodland Penstemon
• Dwarf Dogwood
• Bead Lily
• Beargrass
• Rosy Spiraea
• Wandering Daisy

GPS Info

Here is the data from the GPS unit:

Maps

This Leaflet Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:	10.0 Miles
Elevation	3029 Feet
Time:	6:53:26 (total), 4:58:30 (moving)
Average Speed:	1.45 MPH (total), 2.01 MPH (moving)
Trailhead Coordinates:	47.42441, -121.58301

The GPX file can be downloaded here.

Photos and Videos

Photos are available at this album.  I have also uploaded a YouTube video and time lapse.

Source, Snow, and Gem Lakes

On Monday July 3rd, 2023, Mike was having one of his worst days at work since joining Microsoft nine years ago.  He had been spending weeks trying to debug a design he inherited, and progress was slow.  Working six days a week, as long as 12-14 hours a day while watching the project schedule erode was taking an emotional toll.  Monday was particularly trying for its dead-end paths, wandering in circles, and general mud stuckedness (if that's even a word.)  Adding insult to injury was the fact that it was a long weekend for most concluding with Independence Day on Tuesday, and while many were enjoying festive celebrations, Mike was having none of it because of the stress at work.  What he wanted (needed?) most was a long hike in the mountains during some epic summer weather.

And then, a tender mercy occurred.  Around 6pm on Monday night, Mike had finally figured out the root cause for the bug he had been troubleshooting, and all tests indicated that he was definitely on the right track.  That meant that he would have an opportunity to take that hike after all.  And what better itinerary than a trip to Alpine Lakes Wilderness to bag three lakes he had never seen before: Source, Snow, and Gem Lakes.  The 13-mile hike with its 3500 feet of ascent may have been physically challenging, but it was great for the soul.

The beauty of the area is not to be denied as evidenced by the photos and videos that he took.  Unfortunately, Mike left the SD Card for his GoPro at home, so all footage was with the cell phone, but fortunately, the area was photogenic enough to take great pictures all by itself.

Snow Lake

Gem Lake

There were a handful of wildflowers captured with varying quality on Mike's cell phone.  (He really needs to figure out how to get his phone's macro mode to work better.)  With Suzanne's help, they identified the following flowers:

• Lewis Monkeyflower
• Fivefinger Cinquefoil
• Thimbleberry
• Dwarf Bramble
• Sitka Mountain-Ash
• Mountain Meadow-Sweet
• Red Columbine
• Pink Mountain Heather
• Bear Grass
• Pacific Bleeding Heart

GPS Info

Here is the data from the GPS unit:

Maps

This Leaflet Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:	12.9 Miles
Elevation	3555 Feet
Time:	9:17:40 (total), 6:47:38 (moving)
Average Speed:	1.39 MPH (total), 1.90 MPH (moving)
Trailhead Coordinates:	47.4444, -121.4231

The GPX file can be downloaded here.

Photos and Videos

Photos are available at this album, while a YouTube video is available here.

Orlando, Florida

It had been two years since the family was able to connect with Mia, so we decided to fly across the country to visit with her and meet her boyfriend, Mike, in Orlando, Florida during Northshore School District's Mid-Winter Break, as that was a week that Suzanne could take off from seminary.  

It was great to spend quality time as a family, get familiar with Florida, see some of the attractions in the area, and also relax at Mike and Mia's home with some board games, movies, and great food.  

Blue Springs State Park - We saw several manatees as well as an alligator at this spring with crystal clear water.

Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center

Activities

Harry P Leu Gardens

While our hike We spent about 2.5 hours at this sprawling garden setting on Lake Rowena in Orlando.  It has a wide array of trees, ferns, flowers, and succulents.  Adding to the setting were quaint homes, restful gazebos, terraced patios, and water fountains.  We enjoyed views of the lake, and couldn't help but gawk at some of the intricate flowers and oddly patterned tree trunks.

Hike Details: 

• 1.07 mi
  Distance
 
• 42:31
  Moving Time
 
• 39:28 /mi
  Pace

Audubon Center for Birds of Prey

Located on the shore of Lake Sybellia in Maitland, Florida, we visited this facility that houses rescued raptors.  We knew it was going to be a special place when we were greeted at the ticket counter by a blind bald eagle that volunteers read to.  We saw vultures, falcons, hawks, and owls among many other birds, both large and small.  We also saw turtles among the lily pads of the lake.

Kelly Park / Rock Springs

This popular destination for floating in crystal clear waters made for an enjoyable 1.2-mile hike.  The trail took us directly to the cave from which the head of the spring emanates.  The path is lined with tall trees and ferns.

Hike Details:

• 1.20 mi
  Distance
 
• 34:53
  Moving Time
 
• 29:03 /mi
  Pace

Space Coast

On Friday, February 17th, we took the hour and a half drive east from Orlando to visit the Kennedy Space Center.  We oohed and aahed at all of the exhibits, displays, rockets, artifacts, and history of NASA's primary launch facility.  We saw glimpses of the future of space travel on display, as well as a plethora of space-flown items on display, such as the Apollo 14 capsule, the Gemini 9A capsule, and Gene Cernan's spacesuit from the Apollo 17 mission.  It is the last spacesuit to touch the Moon, back in 1972.  We also saw the massive Saturn V Rocket, and Atlantis Space Shuttle.  As if that isn't enough, the entire Apollo 11 control room is also on display, including all of the original equipment in its original configuration from the 1969 mission that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.

After spending several hours at the visitor complex, we drove to Cocoa Beach to feel Florida sand and touch the Atlantic Ocean, a first for all of us.  Even though we arrived at 6pm, there were still quite a few people at the beach, enjoying a pleasant evening of surfing, swimming, and beachcombing.

The day finished up with an actual SpaceX rocket launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Inmarsat I-6 F2 payload.  We waited a couple of hours at a viewing area about 12 miles away from Space Launch Complex 40.  We enjoyed seeing a rocket launch live as it lit up the entire night sky, but a low cloud cover meant we could only see the rocket for a few seconds before disappearing.  

Blue Springs State Park

After watching a rocket launch late on Friday evening and then driving back to Florida, we got little sleep that night, as we decided to wake up early on Saturday morning, because the weather forecast gave us our best opportunity to see manatees at Blue Springs State Park.  We ended up spotting several manatees, all of which had been recently released.  Each of them had trackers and buoys on them that made them easier to spot above water.  Unfortunately, it was difficult to get a decent picture of them from the viewpoints where we saw them, but it was awesome to see such large, graceful creatures in the clear spring water.  As a bonus, we even got to see an alligator in the wild.  Fortunately, they were on the other side of the spring, sunning on a log, so we were able to admire it without feeling threatened by its presence.

Hike Details:

• 0.98 mi
  Distance
 
• 30:16
  Moving Time
 
• 30:43 /mi
  Pace

Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

We figured that as long as we were in Orlando, we had better do at least one theme park, so we opted to do Disney's Animal Kingdom this time around.  Part zoo, part amusement park, we spent nearly 12 hours exploring the park and waiting in lines.  We were surprised at how crowded WDW can be even in February!  Here is what everyone said their favorite attraction was:

Person	Favorite
Mom	Kilimanjaro Safari
Dad	Festival of the Lion King
Mike:	Gorilla Falls Trail Aviary
Mia	Feathered Friends of Flight
Raymond	Feathered Friends of Flight

Walk Details:

• 3.96 mi
  Distance
 
• 2:02:19
  Moving Time
 
• 30:53 /mi
  Pace

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum

One of the weirder attractions we visited was the eclectic Ripley's museum in Orlando.  From intricate matchstick models to large carved horns, a flight suit signed by Buzz Aldrin, and Han Solo's blaster, you really never knew what (or even why!) you were going to see around the next corner of this place.

Showcase of Citrus

No visit to Florida would be complete without a visit to a citrus farm!  We visited the Showcase, which is one of Central Florida's most popular farm attraction, complete with farm (and not so farm) animals.  We enjoyed fresh squeezed citrus slushees from the bar, and Dad even spotted a favorite childhood beverage that he hasn't seen in many years.

Favorites

Here is what each family member said their favorite activity was:

Person	Favorite
Mom	Manatees at Blue Springs
Dad	Kennedy Space Center
Mike:	Playing Board Games (especially Hot Seat)
Mia	Manatees at Blue Springs
Raymond	Feathered Friends of Flight

Photos and Videos

• Photos
• GoPro Videos