Camping in the great Pacific Northwest

Karner Flat campground

When you live in the Pacific Northwest, with mountains covered with tall trees, the outdoors plays a major part in your life: hiking, canoeing, camping, wildlife watching.
I grew up camping in central Oregon and along the beautiful Oregon coast. Over the years I've camped in many states, including Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, as well as British Columbia.


For the last 10 years or so, a majority of my camping has been in Washington's central Cascades, namely the scenic Little Naches area, so named because this is where the Little Naches River bisects the Wenatchee National Forest.

The area has several developed campgrounds, but it's not unusual to come across campers in isolated spots.



We used to camp at Lost Meadow, which only had a vault toilet, but was just a two-minute mosquito-ridden walk away from elk-grazing pastures. Alas, the trees became diseased and died, leaving the site with no shade, but still lots of dirt kicked up by dirt-bike riders heading to or from the trails. The Little Naches district is one of the few areas in the state where trail riding is allowed.

This year, however, we switched to a developed campground at Kaner Flat. The tall firs and pines are still vibrant, with paved roads throughout the campground. It's within walking distance of the Little Naches River, which you can hear gurgling by when there's no traffic. Kaner Flat is historic, as it was used as an overnight rest stop for immigrants crossing the Cascades to Western Washington.

One of the delightful parts of the trip is always passing through the small town of Naches, where fruit stands line the highway. The Yakima Valley is the state's fruit basket. We always buy whatever is in season, from just-picked cherries to peaches and apricots.







Toilet paper thieves?

Toilet paper holder at our campground.

We just got back from a week of camping in the Little Naches of Wenatchee National Forest. It's a popular place with people who ride dirt bikes, quads and 4WD vehicles, called Jeepers in camp lingo.

While my husband's family has been camping in the same spot since the 1960s, I've only been going up there for 10 years.  We used to go on all the three-day weekends every summer, but since we're both retired, we go up for a week at a time now.

The place where we camp has no amenities except for fire pits and a vault toilet. Well, what can you expect for free! One thing about the toilet that has always puzzled me is why the Forest Service padlocks the toilet paper in the bathrooms. Are they that afraid people may steal two rolls of toilet paper? I wouldn't think so as the TP is hardly what you'd describe as Charmin soft.

If someone did want the toilet paper that much, they could always wind it on an empty cardboard roll or maybe unscrew the TP holder and take it. And if someone should be so desperate as to steal the toilet paper, would the Forest Service do a full-scale investigation on these criminals to bring them to justice? I doubt it.

I also considered the possibility they padlock the toilet paper to keep it from unwinding and flying all over the place. Loose sheets of toilet paper on the floor are such a nuisance.

If anyone knows why they padlock the toilet paper, I'd appreciate a comment below. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until the Forest Service comes by the next time we are camping.