Backpacking to Thorp Lake
You know we’re excited for something when we accidentally take the wrong mountain pass to get to our destination. We needed Snoqualmie Pass and ended up taking Stevens Pass to get to Central Washington State. The funny part is that both Charlie and I didn’t even notice until we hit the quaint little Bavarian town of Leavenworth. “Oh well” Charlie shrugged. “Guess I’ll text cousin Tom so he’s not wondering if we got lost on trail or something” I said as I wrestled my phone out of my pocket.
It was quite the detour but eventually we made it to the trailhead for Thorp Lake. We lugged our overnight packs up trail and eventually came out at the lake shore. The waters were a forest green and the banks were dappled with pine and stone. Tom shouted at us from a peninsula that jutted through the opposite side of the lake that he would meet us at the rock wall. We carefully bouldered our way across the wall and he led us to our spot for the night where my other cousin Ken was trying his luck at fishing. I guess they had already caught a few nice ones. The stringer of trout floating at the rocky shore was proof it was going to be a great day.
Legend has it that this lake is full of beautiful, beastly brown trout. However, nobody told us about the beefy rainbow and cutts we’d be reeling in all day long. We chased fish until the sun went down and then gathered around our cookpots for a trout feast. Just me, my cousins and Charlie cracking jokes and catching up on that lost time adulthood wedges between the good ol’ days and now. It feels like we are still kids, but some of us happen to be balding and we have all earned a few gray hairs. Tom gets married next week and I’m glad we made a memory before the page turns to another exciting and welcomed chapter.
Although my cousins are not featured in this week's Vlog (for their privacy) you will now understand the sentiment that is gathered so beautifully between the lines. It was an incredible trip. Wildlife all but fed from our hands, the stars twinkled brightly the whole night through and we were valiant in what we came to do.
WATCH THE VLOG HERE: