Travel Tales from The Hub


Bertha, Bakeries and 440 Miles Along The Cascade Loop

Ken Hubbard

By Ken Hubbard

The ability to get in some sort of vehicle and drive for hours watching the landscape flash by is remarkably soothing to me. It allows me to clear my mind and re-focus on what I need to do and get done. Since age 16 and first getting a drivers license, I always loved to just drive and go on road-trips. Be it for a single day or many, it just didn’t matter, the road meant freedom. It was about being alone on the road and going to as many places as I could, but now being much older and slightly wiser, it’s more about sharing these precious times with others. Thankfully I’ve gained a few great friends in amazing places who are willing to share some time on the road with me, one such friend being Charley Voorhis from Wenatchee, Washington. (www.voortexproductions.com).

When an assignment came up to shoot a video for Tamron, Charley suggested we do the Cascade Loop http://cascadeloop.com. He said It would be a 400 plus mile drive starting and ending in Seattle that would take us to some of his favorite places. There would be mountains, lakes, rivers and bakeries, how could I say no to that!

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron SP15-30mm Di VC USD

Day 1: We Didn’t Come All This Way To Play It Safe

During the weeks leading up to the trip I tried to get some details from Charley on what we would be doing on our road trip, but all I got was “We are working on the details and should have it to you soon. So far, I do know we will be picking you up at the airport in our new Voortex Productions vehicle, Bertha.” Bertha turned out to be a repurposed 15 passenger bus that was going to be used for his workshops series called Voortex Journey’s (https://www.voortexjourneys.com), and this was going to be her maiden voyage along the loop.

Once I finally made it to Seattle and boarded Bertha, Charley handed me a 6 page itinerary for the next 3 ½ days. I quickly realized that this was going to be a fast and frenzy non-stop trip around the loop doing some activities that may be a little bit hazardous to our health. All the while helping him capture footage not only for Tamron’s video but also for one he was creating for the Cascade loop Association. After a quick break to pick up some goodies at the Sultan Bakery (https://www.facebook.com/SultanBakeryWA/) we drove another 15 minutes to Gold Bar Bouldering, where we met our guides and drivers Jacob, Ben and Scott for our Jeep Bouldering adventure. For the next hour they took us on trails and over giant boulders the size of a large SUV at angles I didn’t think any 4-wheel vehicle could stay upright. Now that’s the way to start a road trip, delicious bakery and driving over giant rocks!

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron SP15-30mm Di VC USD

For some that may have been enough excitement for one day, not for our road trip guide. There was still plenty of daylight, so that meant there was more we could do. It was time to drive on to Wenatchee. There we met up with one of Charley’s long time friends and river guide, Schuylar Smart for a gentle float down the 45 degree Wenatchee River. Well, we thought it was going be a gentle float until we saw the height and flow of the river. Never-the-less we got onto the water and Schuylar guided us down stream and through some challenging white water, only flipping the raft and ending up in the cold water once. Day one down, 2 ½ more to go.

Day 2: Starts Before Dawn But Ends Up In A Hot Tub

If you’re in a beautiful place with trails to hike, of course you get up before the sun and make your way to one of your hosts favorite spots to watch it rise. We made a quick stop at a park and ride before heading out up the Birch Mountain Trail to pick up Annette Pitts, the executive director of the Cascade Loop Association. Once on the trail it was easy to see why Charley chose this trail for us to hike. With fields of wild flowers, evergreens lining the trail and the sun casting its warm light onto the mountains, we made our way to the peak for a wondrous view of the valley.

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron 28-300mm Di VC PZD

After the sun rose we made our way down off Birch Mountain and back to the Park and Ride lot where we left Bertha. It wasn’t quite time to get on the road just yet, we were going to get another view of the Wenatchee Valley. This time from the air, courtesy of Flying M Air (www.flyingmair) and pilot Maria Langer. Maria landed her bright red Robinson R44 Raven helicopter at the fire dept across the street, took off the doors so we had clear shooting, and up we went into the valley and over the Enchantment Mountains. I’ve always been fascinated with aerial photography and the unique perspective you get from high above. Roads intersecting with winding rivers, rolling hills casting dark shadows, formal landscapes and abstracts in every direction.

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron SP24-70mm Di VC USD

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron SP24-70mm Di VC USD

By this time we had a full days worth of fun and excitement but it was only about 9:30am and we had so much more to do. Here is a quick recap how we spent the next few hours: Breakfast at Wild Huckleberry (www.wildhuck.com), Rock Climbing Practice at Riverfront Rock Gym (https://www.riverfrontrockgym.com), A quick refreshment break of fruit smoothies at Pybus Public Market (http://www.pybuspublicmarket.org) followed by some more awesome bakery from (http://www.sweetriverbakery.com). I will admit, now I was getting tired and I think I fell asleep for about an hour as we rode further into the Cascades. It was just enough of a rest and pick me up to get me ready for our next stop, Sun Mountain Lodge (http://www.sunmountainlodge.com) and horse back riding along their beautiful trails. This lodge is an ideal location for anyone who is a beginner or advanced rider for the sheer beauty of the landscape alone. After the ride we were all starving for some good food, fortunately someone suggested the Arrowleaf Bistro (http://www.arrowleafbistro.com/index.php) which turned out to be an amazing meal. We packed a lot into one day and I was looking forward to two things. A really hot Jacuzzi and a very comfortable bed, lucky for us the Freestone Inn (www.freestoneinn.com) provided both of those.

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron 28-300mm Di VC PZD

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron 28-300mm Di VC PZD

Day 3: The Art of Fly Fishing and Climbing 200 Foot Trees

4 hours of sleep later it was time once again to get up before the sun, this time, to go fishing. I’ve done my fare share of fishing, but never fly fishing, so I was pretty excited to finally learn how. Leaf Seaburg from Methow Fishing Adventures (http://www.flyfishersproshop.com/blog/) was our instructor that morning. Before we got started we decided to film and photograph him as he effortlessly whipped the rod back and forth throwing his line further in to the lake. Within a few minutes he had already caught 2 different species of trout, so my hopes were up that I may be able to do the same. I wish I could say I was as graceful as Leaf with a long bamboo fishing rod in my hands, but I would be lying. I did finally get the hang of it enough to catch my first rainbow trout!

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron SP15-30mm Di VC USD

It was time to pack up our gear and get back in Bertha and drive further into the Northern Cascades. Our next destination was Diablo lake and North Cascades Institute (https://ncascades.org) to do some canoeing on its bright green waters. From what I understand the weather can sometimes be a bit unpredictable on the lake but for us that day we had clear blue skies and very calm water, which made for a relaxing paddle. Diablo Lake was formed by the construction of Diablo Damn, which also treated us to a spectacular site. Due to snow melt and high water levels in the lake, they had to open up one of the overflow sections of the damn which created an incredible waterfall down into the river below.

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron 28-300mm Di VC PZD

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron SP15-30mm Di VC USD

With tired muscles, slightly sun burnt faces, but a strong will to keep on going we traveled on to our final activity stop along the Cascade Loop. In a slightly sadistic move, Charley and his crew scheduled the toughest of activities for last. We headed to Point Defiance State Park to climb some trees with Adventure Terra (https://www.adventureterra.com/canopyclimbing). Not just any trees or any type of climbing, we were there to climb up a 200 foot Coastal Douglas Fur tree… with ropes and harnesses, they call it canopy climbing. The funny thing is, the rock climbing gym practice a day earlier did not help at all. I think Charley just wanted funny video of me clinging to a fake rock wall. I will make you wait till the video comes out from this adventure to see how I did.

© Ken Hubbard
Tamron 28-300mm Di VC PZD

Day 3 ½: A Slow Ride Back To Seattle

Beat down and black & blue I got up that final morning thinking about the past few days and what a great time it was. I couldn’t believe how many activities we packed into such a short period of time, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it at all. It deserves repeating, I am lucky to have good friends in beautiful places that are willing to share them with me! For 3 ½ days on the road a lyric from a movie song kept playing in my head that ended up to be very appropriate “East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’, we’re gonna do what they say can’t be done. We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.”

I want to thank everyone at Voortex Productions that made this trip so great, Especially Taylor Greene for putting together one of the best road trips I’ve been on and Erin Nash (The ”guy” in the back of the bus) for listening to us ramble on and filming the entire journey!

Lenses Used:
Tamron 28-300mm Di VC PZD
Tamron SP 15-30mm Di VC USD
Tamron SP 24-70mm Di VC USD