Heat Wave? Who Cares . . .
Just head for the mountains and find a nice GLACIER-fed river to play in! Guaranteed to cool you off.
Fording the Rapid River near the headwaters.Seattle temperatures breaking records . . . Sultan in the foothills edging into the 100s. Wouldn't be so bad if there was a breeze but we were denied even that.
The Rapid River on the north side of Johnson Ridge is one of my favorite places. The river is short . . . 11 miles from the headwaters to where it joins the Beckler. Five miles of that is easily accessible by FS Road with lots of scenic views, a half dozen or so primitive and rustic campgrounds and sites, and a number of cascading waterfalls. The rest is . . . well, trailblazing. Hardly anyone goes beyond the major camping area to the end of the road and one great campsite (which is where I started my trek).
Rapid River is not true glacier-fed (unlike the North Forth of the Skykomish). Most of the water comes off Mt Fenrow, Johnson Ridge and Captain's Point, which remain snow-loaded well into July. Nevertheless, the water is chillingly-cold and numbs the legs quickly. Full-immersion takes a little craziness but is ever so refreshing.
The only bad part about a trip to the mountains is that eventually I had to put some clothes on and Seattle was no cooler that it was a number of hours earlier when I headed out of town to escape the heat. My teeshirt was soaked with perspiration in no time.
The Rapid River on the north side of Johnson Ridge is one of my favorite places. The river is short . . . 11 miles from the headwaters to where it joins the Beckler. Five miles of that is easily accessible by FS Road with lots of scenic views, a half dozen or so primitive and rustic campgrounds and sites, and a number of cascading waterfalls. The rest is . . . well, trailblazing. Hardly anyone goes beyond the major camping area to the end of the road and one great campsite (which is where I started my trek).
Rapid River is not true glacier-fed (unlike the North Forth of the Skykomish). Most of the water comes off Mt Fenrow, Johnson Ridge and Captain's Point, which remain snow-loaded well into July. Nevertheless, the water is chillingly-cold and numbs the legs quickly. Full-immersion takes a little craziness but is ever so refreshing.
The only bad part about a trip to the mountains is that eventually I had to put some clothes on and Seattle was no cooler that it was a number of hours earlier when I headed out of town to escape the heat. My teeshirt was soaked with perspiration in no time.
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