Whispering forests, Disappearing Lake - deep in the land of Sasquatch - dogs paddle a secret spot
Dear Dog Diary:
Doxie Doodle here, Surf Dog Diaries reporter.
Deep inside dense evergreen forests, in the land of Sasquatch, there's a secret spot near Washington's Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.
Close by, that hot headed volcanic goddess, Mt. St. Helens, wreaked havoc, but also left magical gifts behind - a lake that appears, then disappears when underground lava tubes freeze and thaw.
Visit Disappearing Lake and you, too will disappear. In a good way.
Sky high trees do their best to hide Disappearing Lake from people. The lake only comes out for a couple of months each year. She's miles from a paved road, nowhere near Seattle, closest to the tiny town of Trout Lake.
Sometimes Dude and I muscle it out for the best spot - toes on the nose of the board. But most of the time, old Dude just hangs out and snoozes.
Discovering Disappearing Lake on a Standup Paddle board (SUP) feels like paddling through bayou country (we heard about that on OPB.) It's a bright sunny day outside, but inside, you're lost in shadows, and low hanging branches swipe your back.
Huge trees - sky scrapers tall - grow right up through the lake, piercing glassy reflections and bright blue sky. The water looks fake, it's so icy fresh. Though it's the heat of summer, little patches of snow are still hanging out on shore.
Disappearing Lake is about 30 feet deep, stormy dark in some spots; shallow and sunny in others. The deep end is pitch black and a little scary.
A few adventurous paddlers with SUP's, kayaks and wooden boats come out of the forest to catch her before she disappears. Here we are!
While Dude chillaxes, I stay vigilant - on the hunt for disappearing sticks.
A couple of dogs appeared, then disappeared. Dogs on vacation, hanging 20 toes with dog moms and dads, like us.
Meanwhile, a beautiful mermaid sailed by - or was she paddling? Clever girl, Patti, was on a KayakSailor - it's a kayak, and when the wind comes up - voilà! Up goes the sail. I love sailing and paddling. Clever girl and her hubby invented a way to do both.
Pac NW types are all about outdoor adventure - getting out - and into nature. It's what we live for.
I'm a SUP pup. I love it 'cuz it gets me out on the water, close to my BFF, stick - without getting wet.
Exploring magical places like these.
I miss paddling with my surf brother Elvis, a basset who disappeared to heaven. He was with us today, a drumbeat in our hearts.
For years, we paddled with three dogs and our mom on board.
When Elvis was on board, there was a real 3-dog battle to ride the nose.
Meanwhile, the Dude awakens - now sipping snow melt - the freshest water bowl around.
We're a couple miles from the Ice Caves, Ape Caves and Forlorn Lake - more top-secret forest hideouts. I guess that's why Sasquatch hangs here.
Here in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest , humans hunt wild mushrooms and huckleberries for a living.
These pickins' appear for a short time, then disappear for another year. That's how it works in the whispering forests.
Old Silver, the Pathfinder led the way to this magical place, like he'd done 200,000 miles before. Hi ho, Silver!
We're heading home - we'll cross the Columbia River back to Oregon, to Dog River (a.k.a. Hood River.)
On our way, we'll pass Dog Mountain and Dog Creek.
Before we disappeared, we saw 2-foot wide lily pads on the lake. T hey're bigger than I am!
You could not make this stuff up, Diary.
Nature is the best storyteller of all.