Camping at Cougar Flats

I enjoy camping, but after four days in the wilderness, I have this to say: running water rocks and vault toilets suck. Seriously. If you have never had the privilege of using a vault toilet, count your blessings. I guess it's better than nothing...but not much.

J and I went camping this week with his parents and one of his sisters. When the Hockings go camping, they like to be in the middle of nowhere, with nobody around. Originally we were going to go camping in the Blue Mountains in Oregon at a place near Lowestein. Unfortunately, they had snow in June, and an avalanche covered the campground. In June!! After several plans were thwarted because of the crazy weather we've been having, we finally settled on a place. We ended up at Cougar Flats, in the Wenatchee National Forest about a half an hour outside of Naches, Washington. It was beautiful.

J told me that there would be bathrooms and running water. Unfortunately, the two things were not in the same place. There was a water pump at the entrance to the campground, but it was missing its handle. A little further in were vault toilets. If you don't know what a vault toilet is, it's basically an outhouse. You walk into this little room that has no lights and no sink. The "toilet" is basically just an opening over...well, you can figure the rest out. Suffice it to say, I hate vault toilets. Unfortunately, unless I wanted to drop my pants in the middle of the woods, I had no other options. J brought a bottle of hand sanitizer which was a life saver. I did not realize that I wouldn't even be able to wash my hands. Gross.

Overall the trip was pretty fun. I finally got to meet my SIL's dog, Sam. He is a beagle, and beyond cute. I wish I had taken pictures of our trip. I don't know why I didn't. There were several things that were photo worthy. I only managed to capture one on film. I'll share that in a minute. But here is a list of the things I wish I had gotten pictures of:


1. My FIL came back from a two hour hike and was so hot he planned to go jump in the river. (Remember that we were on a mountain, so this river was COLD!!) He decided to just go jump in, fully clothed. He did, however, take the time to change from his hiking boots into Aquasocks. He did not, however, take his white athletic socks off. We laughed so hard, and teased him so much, he finally did take off the socks. I wish I had gotten a picture for posterity...and possible blackmail.


2. Sam the beagle was cute, but not entirely brilliant. He wanted treats, and we periodically shared our food with him. H makes him sit or lay down before she gives him a treat. One night at dinner, he wanted a treat so bad, he couldn't even pay attention to what H was telling him to do. She said sit and he would lay down. I lost track of how many times this happened, but my sides hurt from laughing.


3. The bug tent that goes over a picnic table was NOT over the table. It was in the middle of the campsite, over nothing. I'm really not sure why we bothered to put it up at all. It looked kind of lonely sitting there all by itself, doing nothing.


4. I was so desperate for a shower and clean hair, that I tried to get water from the pump myself. Turns out I am not tall enough or strong enough to do it. J was on a hike with everyone else, though, and I was at the campsite alone. I was resourceful...and desperate...and I got an empty water bottle and filled it with melted water from the cooler. It was COLD, but I felt much better when my hair was clean. I even braved the cold water for a spit bath.


5. The vault toilet house that I complained about already.


6. The scenery. It was a gorgeous place in the middle of nature.


7. Here are the pictures of the one event I did get. J was gearing up to go gold panning, and possibly fishing. You can see the coolest tent ever in the background, on its maiden voyage. You can also see our bikes (being used as towel racks) and the clear boxes I used to store our stuff in an attempt to be organized. (I LOVED the tent, by the way!! It was very comfortable and roomy! So easy to put up, easy to keep clean, and easy to take down. It was nice to use the cab of the truck for our "dressing room" and keep the bags out of the tent. Everything else we had was in clear plastic tubs under the truck. Easy access, clean and organized, and out of the way. Great experience overall!! If you like to camp, I would highly recommend this tent. I put a step stool at the entrance of the tent because our truck is giant, and that worked great as well.)


J kept trying to avoid me and the camera. I managed to get him, though.