Day 7: Concrete to Diablo Lake

August 22, 2011

The route for the first 6 days of this tour was my own design, visiting two hot springs while traveling north from Seattle to the Skagit river. For the remainder of the Washington segment I will use Sierra Cascades bicycle route maps from Adventure Cycling Association.

I got on the road at 8:30. The weather was mostly overcast, very humid, in the 60's. There were two unexpected big hills between Concrete and Rockport. In Rockport I stopped at the store for some hot tea.

Pioneer cabin built without nails. Logs connected with dado joints.

From Rockport to Marblemount the route is on quiet Rockport Cascade road which is across the river from highway 20. The valley was still wide enough for a few pastures.

At Marblemount the route is back on highway 20 and stays close to the river as the mountains slowly close in. The highway has a usable shoulder and the traffic is moderate. Mostly tourist traffic, very few trucks.

Big power lines are usually visible from the North Cascades highway.

It started raining at 2 PM, about when I got to Newhalem. The temperature dropped from the 70's to the 60's.

Newhalem is a company town for Seattle City Light. It has outdoor exhibits describing the dams and hydroelectric plants on the Skagit river.

Also in town is a 0.2 mile nature trail that passes by the Gorge power plant on the way to Ladder Creek falls.

Here's where I have to air a complaint about Adventure Cycling maps. I like to see the notable sights along my route, but ACA maps have basically no information or recommendations about things to see and do. Ladder falls is only a 5 minute walk off the route, but there is no mention of it on the ACA map.

Gorge power plant is the lowest of 3 hydroelectric plants on the Skagit river. To get additional "head", the power plant is 4 miles downstream from Gorge dam. A tunnel diverts the Skagit river from the dam to the power plant.

Gorge power plant is the lowest of 3 Skagit river hydro plants that supply most of Seattle's electricity.

After Newhalem highway 20 starts climbing in earnest. The river has a steeper gradient and there are dams to climb. The four miles after Newhalem were particularly strange because the Skagit river is dry. All the water is diverted into the tunnel. Visibility wasn't very good because of the light rain.

Gorge dam is 4 miles upstream from the Gorge power plant.

Waterfalls start to be a common sight as the mountains close in. Gorge Creek falls drops several hundred feet and is so close to the road that I had to stitch two images to get a picture of it.

I was cold and soaking wet by the time I climbed Diablo dam.

At 4 PM I rolled into the Colonial Creek campground on the shore of Diablo lake. It's a large Forest Service campground in a very beautiful setting, but the rain really put a damper on the fun. I set up my tent, put on dry clothes, and cooked dinner in the vestibule of my tent. The campground cost $12 and has flush toilets.

The weather forecast calls for rain lasting until tomorrow. That put me in a foul mood. I really DON'T want to do tomorrow's 5000 foot climb in the rain. Partly because it would be very unpleasant, but also because I wouldn't get a good view of the mountains. I don't have enough food to wait a day until the rain stops. The last grocery store was 25 miles downstream in Marblemount and the next grocery store is across the mountains, 65 miles ahead in Winthrop.

At least my tent worked well. I was dry inside the tent. And the temperature dropped to 60F by 6 PM. No more heat wave, but the 100% humidity was still oppressive because the wind was totally calm.

Distance: 47.2 mi. (75.5 km)
Climbing: 2249 ft. (682 m)
Average Speed: 10 mph (16 km/h)

Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 328 miles (528 km)

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