How many miles can a family of three put on a brand new minivan in the first week you say? Well it seems the answer is at least 700.
The back and forth of day to day helps, but you really rack on the miles when the toddler sees all the outdoor gear in the closet points and says "camp?". So, load up the minivan. Were going camping. It doesn't take much to get this team excited about the forest. The minivan was fun, I literally loaded all the stuff I never bring because it's waaaaaaayyyyy too much stuff, but I guess, why not(?) since we had the room.
We went to the Sherwood OR on Saturday and spent the day strolling around, they have apparently been having the Robin Hood fair here for a few decades by now, it was a fun little fair. We ate some popcorn, corn on the cob, sweets and some tasty burgers, for charity, of course. Saw the tail end of sword fight, and the beginning of a comedy show. Atreyu and Fawn did some arts and crafts. On our way out of the fair we came across a community yard sale on the tail end of not as busy day as they had hoped for. The sale was being advertised as "anything that fits in a garbage bag for $5" sale by the time we got there, we had to stop. Filling a bag wasn't too hard, so we filled a giant moving box as well (minivan).
After the fair we headed for Mt Hood. An overnight was in the works. Packed and ready to go, we search for Timothy Lake, out route 26 past Government camp and a quick right onto the "Oregon Skyline Road", which doesn't really have near the amount of skyline you might guess from the name. Our trip out here took us past a forest fire in the distance and a guy sitting next to a truck wrecked in a ditch. Seeing as it was Saturday and we weren't really exactly sure where the campsites we were looking for were, we didn't find it that night. We popped up the tent in a 'throw it up quick for the night, cause I'm hungry and tired of driving around looking for a good spot' spot. It will do. Our site was clean and had obviously been cared for by previous users, there was evidence of a second fire pit that had been recently removed and there was very little litter in the area. We did our usual, check around and clean up anything we can. A pay campsite cost $20, a free one is worth a half hour of your weekend. Our spot was a little sketchy as it was pretty near the road and had that "I hear banjos" feel. We didn't find the lake on Saturday despite driving around for an extra hour looking for the spots in our camping reference book that clearly state there are some prime spots to be found right on the lake front, what we did find was evidence of a lake though. About a billion mosquitos and helicopters collecting water from the lake flying overhead. Our spot was just about a half mile east of the entrance to the "little crater lake" campground. We were able to draw clear cold delicious water at the well here and there are pit toilets at the campground if you're too squeamish to dig a cat hole.
The day use area in the campground is where we started our hike on Sunday morning. Little Crater lake is amazing, a geologic feature like none I have ever seen, only about 100 feet across and 45 feet deep, and you can see clear down to the bottom, water so blue its almost like looking into a painting of a lake. We troop it out about 2.5 miles down the trail where we find Timothy Lake!!! And all the camping spots we were looking for the night before!! No sweat, Fawn didn't want to take a chance driving a 6 day old car down the trail road, which (in all fairness looked mostly ok, but had some sketchy spots) led down to the lake from the main forest road. All the spots down here were taken anyway. We hiked on, another half mile hike in we found what I can only describe as one of the most ideal tent camping areas I have ever come across. Too hard to reach for some, but those who make the trek would be greatly rewarded, with a scenic outcrop looking out over the whole of the lake and a small sandy spot to wade and dip into the (not too) cold lake. A couple of fire rings not too close to one another make this an ok spot for a few camps. It would have been amazing to find this the night before. Oh well, next time. We did spend some time here on the little beachy area before heading back, Atreyu did his thing. Yes!! Throwing rocks in the water!!
On our walk out we carried out some garbage left at this site. It baffles me how a case of PBR is light enough to carry the half mile walk in when it's full but is too heavy to carry out when it's empty. We ran into some people parked along the trail that allowed us to leave the bags with them to load in their pickup so we didn't have to carry them the rest of our hike. (Thank You). On our way home we decided it would be cool to stop for lunch, we toughed the van up the trek to the Timberline lodge to take in the scenery and then we hit "Ratskeller" in Government Camp for lunch, and like the reviews online say, food was good, service was meh. After that Fawn and I shared a chocolate bar like ninjas in the front seat so not to have to share with the 'all mighty and crazy on sugar one' in the back seat on the way home. Comfy cozy, showered and in bed.
I have been asked a few times in my travels what is the one piece of equipment I recommend people get for newby campers. The answer is easy, cook wear. Most first time campers are going out when it's warm and dry in the summer, there isn't a real need for an ultra light tent, or sub zero thermal sleeping bag. But you can do real damage to the pots and pans from your kitchen by cooking with them over a fire or even with most camp stoves (which burn way hotter than a conventional stove at home), but for a small amount of money you can get a pots and pans set that will travel with you for years, it will be light weight and durable enough to handle being placed right into hot coals on an open fire.*Pro-tip, by learning the subtle art of controlling the way the coals burn you can make almost anything on the fire you can at home. I have baked cookies and biscuits, pancakes are one of my favorite campfire foods, ever.* I have a personal size mess kit for backpacking but for car camping I carry a 4 quart pot w/ lid and 16" skillet. Between those two I have yet run into an issue with being able to make coffee and breakfast at the same time. Even the most cranky of camping reluctant teenager can be soothed by a warm cup of cocoa if it gets chilly out. Nothing tastes better than when it comes out just right and right off the open fire under the big trees.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Time away is a magical journey in the forest.
This week our troop followed some of the suggestions in a couple of the many camping/hiking reference books we have collected over our time here in the PacNW. Leaving Thursday after work and going on no more information than trusting our whole weekend to an adventure and the knowledge granted to us via a book we bought on a whim, we headed east toward Mt Hood. The national forest here is amazing. Countless streams and hiking trails are enough to keep the outdoorsy kind busy for decades, but there is so much more. Views of a snow-peaked mountain pop out when you least expect it, and depending on the side of the mountain you're on will be an entire different climate zone.
The decision to head out on Thursday was an easy one, besides actually just having Friday off, it was also a holiday weekend, not always the best time to go out but, we were confident we would get a spot so go we did. Thursday we arrived just after 6, a quick ride from downtown for sure. We camped at a dispersed camping area off of "Lolos Pass" (we'll get to more about Lolos Pass later), the area was a dead end dirt road that was fairly passable in all except the lowest of cars with just a small amount of care, but there were plenty of rocks and dips in the road to go slow around and to go corner wise across. The road had about 15 established camping spots with fire rings and trees, nothing more as this is a primitive camping area within the national forest, so don't forget your shovel. There was easy water access at a small sandy "beach" on the Sandy river.
The river here is way to cold and fast for swimming but proved really nice for retrieving water, our fancy pump (Kataden water filtration system) was well loved this weekend, and we were able to freshen up a bit with a few splashes. If I had brought my fishing pole I probably wouldn't have broken it out here.
Our site was great, plenty of space to set up our new tent and to stretch out a little, a couple of camp chairs next to the fire was indeed in order and there was plenty of dry firewood to be collected. Our space was so nice we decided to stay the third night even though we'd only planned for two nights. Thursday night was beautiful and quiet, but Friday morning (being a holiday) brought tons of traffic even though most the spots were full already. Friday we did some strolling around and we found a Faerie circle and some powerful magic old growth woods, and we spent the day in relax mode, chilling by the creek/fire/tent/faerie circle and read books and talked and ate much of the day away. On Saturday we decided to head out for a short easy hike(as we had the baby) and maybe a swim, our outdated camping book, purchased at GW for $1.99 seemed to suggest both were available at "Lost lake".
Lost Lake is a small lake, the hike around it was just over 3 miles and mostly flat. The scenery was beautiful and near pristine in every direction as far as the eye could see. One of the most iconic views of Mt Hood is from here on the bank of the lake. The water was warm enough to swim but not hot and there was good access most of the way around the lake with lots of shallow area for Atreyu to play in the water and to throw rocks, his favorite activity. All these wonderful things about the lake almost evened out the fact that so many people were there they should change the name to Found Lake. If you do go make sure you have pockets as deep as the lake itself, 175 feet in the middle, because it's spendy... $7 to park for the day, the camp-store was at least 50% more expensive than standard retail, $24 minimum to rent a rowboat and starting at $26 a night for a standard tent campsite. the most fun part of the day was getting back and forth from Lost Lake, which required us to drive the length of.... wait for it....you guessed it...... Lolos Pass.
Lolos Pass is a road that travels straight up and into the heart of some of the most mountainous region of The Mt Hood forest accessible by a standard car. The 8 mile stretch of road is windy and wrought with step cliffs and amazing views. there are plenty of places to pull off and take in some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever had the pleasure to witness. this road seems popular with bicyclists and i think it would be hella fun to ride up here and do some bike camping. The drive to lost lake would have been barely an adventure if the trip was all Lolos. Lolos pass dead-ends at the top of one mountain, where you make a right turn onto a single lane dirt road through and over the next mountain. There are camper trailers and pick up tucks and SUVs (probably logging trucks on weekdays as there were some active clear cuts all along here) galore flying up and down this road and there is only but a few pullouts to make sure you both have room to pass. As if single lane with crazy drivers and only a few pull-offs weren't enough, the length of the road has shear cliffs on one side, no guard rail. Fun.
Since we hadn't packed food for 3 nights we ate dinner Saturday night and Sunday morning breakfast at the ZigZag Inn. An affordable, rustic spot with ok food, but we like supporting local and it was right at the end of the road as it rejoins the main thoroughfare.
I had intended to make this post a bit of a review of our new tent but that went to the way side. I'll just say we are really happy with it, the "Drifter 3" by Mountain Hardwear. It is dry and lightweight, the fly is convenient and can be used individually from the tent itself in conjunction with the poles for the beach or ultralight backpacking. It has lots of features and enough pocket space although it is just a smidge small for the three of us and the dog.
The decision to head out on Thursday was an easy one, besides actually just having Friday off, it was also a holiday weekend, not always the best time to go out but, we were confident we would get a spot so go we did. Thursday we arrived just after 6, a quick ride from downtown for sure. We camped at a dispersed camping area off of "Lolos Pass" (we'll get to more about Lolos Pass later), the area was a dead end dirt road that was fairly passable in all except the lowest of cars with just a small amount of care, but there were plenty of rocks and dips in the road to go slow around and to go corner wise across. The road had about 15 established camping spots with fire rings and trees, nothing more as this is a primitive camping area within the national forest, so don't forget your shovel. There was easy water access at a small sandy "beach" on the Sandy river.
The river here is way to cold and fast for swimming but proved really nice for retrieving water, our fancy pump (Kataden water filtration system) was well loved this weekend, and we were able to freshen up a bit with a few splashes. If I had brought my fishing pole I probably wouldn't have broken it out here.
Our site was great, plenty of space to set up our new tent and to stretch out a little, a couple of camp chairs next to the fire was indeed in order and there was plenty of dry firewood to be collected. Our space was so nice we decided to stay the third night even though we'd only planned for two nights. Thursday night was beautiful and quiet, but Friday morning (being a holiday) brought tons of traffic even though most the spots were full already. Friday we did some strolling around and we found a Faerie circle and some powerful magic old growth woods, and we spent the day in relax mode, chilling by the creek/fire/tent/faerie circle and read books and talked and ate much of the day away. On Saturday we decided to head out for a short easy hike(as we had the baby) and maybe a swim, our outdated camping book, purchased at GW for $1.99 seemed to suggest both were available at "Lost lake".
Lost Lake is a small lake, the hike around it was just over 3 miles and mostly flat. The scenery was beautiful and near pristine in every direction as far as the eye could see. One of the most iconic views of Mt Hood is from here on the bank of the lake. The water was warm enough to swim but not hot and there was good access most of the way around the lake with lots of shallow area for Atreyu to play in the water and to throw rocks, his favorite activity. All these wonderful things about the lake almost evened out the fact that so many people were there they should change the name to Found Lake. If you do go make sure you have pockets as deep as the lake itself, 175 feet in the middle, because it's spendy... $7 to park for the day, the camp-store was at least 50% more expensive than standard retail, $24 minimum to rent a rowboat and starting at $26 a night for a standard tent campsite. the most fun part of the day was getting back and forth from Lost Lake, which required us to drive the length of.... wait for it....you guessed it...... Lolos Pass.
Lolos Pass is a road that travels straight up and into the heart of some of the most mountainous region of The Mt Hood forest accessible by a standard car. The 8 mile stretch of road is windy and wrought with step cliffs and amazing views. there are plenty of places to pull off and take in some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever had the pleasure to witness. this road seems popular with bicyclists and i think it would be hella fun to ride up here and do some bike camping. The drive to lost lake would have been barely an adventure if the trip was all Lolos. Lolos pass dead-ends at the top of one mountain, where you make a right turn onto a single lane dirt road through and over the next mountain. There are camper trailers and pick up tucks and SUVs (probably logging trucks on weekdays as there were some active clear cuts all along here) galore flying up and down this road and there is only but a few pullouts to make sure you both have room to pass. As if single lane with crazy drivers and only a few pull-offs weren't enough, the length of the road has shear cliffs on one side, no guard rail. Fun.
Since we hadn't packed food for 3 nights we ate dinner Saturday night and Sunday morning breakfast at the ZigZag Inn. An affordable, rustic spot with ok food, but we like supporting local and it was right at the end of the road as it rejoins the main thoroughfare.
I had intended to make this post a bit of a review of our new tent but that went to the way side. I'll just say we are really happy with it, the "Drifter 3" by Mountain Hardwear. It is dry and lightweight, the fly is convenient and can be used individually from the tent itself in conjunction with the poles for the beach or ultralight backpacking. It has lots of features and enough pocket space although it is just a smidge small for the three of us and the dog.
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