A Most Excellent Resort Opening Day

Hi Everyone and welcome to opening day of Ross Lake Resort 2010.

Today went better than any one could have expected.  The guests are excited to be here, the staff are all happy, Seattle City Light, the National Park Service and the contractors did an amazing job preparing the new boat dock and spur haul road.

It's going to be a good year.

So!

What happened????

Seattle City Light brought in a half dozen guests on the morning high speed boat and another 10 in the afternoon.  Ross Lake Resort had a small tractor with a flat bed trailer waiting.

Per the Ross Lake Resort tradition of the last 60 years -  everyone loaded everyone's gear onto the trailer and it was all hauled up to the upper boat dock on Ross Lake -  where again everyone helped each other load onto the Ross Lake dock and then into the shuttle boat for the trip over to the cabins.

Do you remember your first visit here and the process you went thru to get to your cabins? Do you remember the reaction of your friends on their first visit?  Well it's much the same.

Only more interesting!

Seattle City Light contractors started pouring cement into the footings for the large dock today.  The National Park Service small floating dock worked fine.

Granite Construction began working on the head scarp today. (The area of the cliff where the rock slide began).  They will be blasting, loosening, drilling, stabilizing, grouting -  probably until October.

These guys are pro's and know their business!

Portaging is going to happen - canoes and kayaks will be carried by the paddlers up to the truck turnaround.  Ross Lake Resort can haul gear up on the flatbed trailer but not the canoes or kayaks.

But hey it's only about 100 yards - argh, argh, argh!

That's nothing for these North Cascades adventurers.

It was a most excellent opening and thanks to all of the guests who rode in and the few that are hiking in from hiway 20 as we speak!!!

There are guests sitting out in front of the cabins in the Ross Lake Adirondacks enjoying the late light.

. . . . .   and the tradition continues.