Pyramid Lake trip. Backpacks, Hammocks, Swimming with Salamanders, and a Bushcraft Safety Lesson

 The weather started out a little dreary as the trip began. Atreyu, Everest, and I have headed out to Pyramid Lake, a remote lake with a little bit of a party reputation, not my impression at all when we got there, more on that later. It is Friday around noon before we finally get headed towards our destination. The drive is a little gloomy for a big part of it but we gun straight there. It is an overnight trip and I have to work tomorrow night so we have to plan to be back out early. 

  The last stretch of the road is pretty close in, maybe the last few miles are all dirt road and unimproved. We got to the trailhead around 2:30-3 pm. Take a few minutes to get all our gear on and car locked up and get out on the trail. I was expecting a low gradient and not too long a walk in, I wanted to take it easy on Atreyu and we do need to be out early.  The trail immediately goes uphill. All up hill. All of the uphill for the whole walk in the first 300 yards. Steep. Pretty steep. 

   It does turn out to be a short walk however and once we reach the top of the hill we are near the lake edge already.

  The first campsite we come to does indeed look like a party spot: oversized fire ring, several long large logs as benches near the fire pit, some random garbage, evidence of unnecessary cutting of wood (some green even) and a raft built and placed near the water.  

   The raft was kinda cool. I mean someone built a raft, but they could have/ should have taken it apart. Truth be told I'm not sure It was very seaworthy. I wasn't going to take it out and just give it a try for fun, but if it was a survival situation I might have been willing to give it a go, with a 50/50 chance I'd be swimming half the distance of the lake. Not a chance I'm willing to take for a photo op in the blog wearing all my clothes and backpack. 

    We decide against this spot for camping, partly because we have plenty of time to stroll around the lake and find a nicer spot and partly because we only brought hammocks and there's no place to hang them.  

  

    Strolling around the lake we do come across several campsites. The further we get away from the access trail the move inviting the spots become.  The trail takes us clockwise around the lake and through a narrow trail that becomes lost in areas and has small stretches that are straight bushwacking.

Summer 2017

   After hiking about 2/3 of the lake we cross a talus field and Everest leading the pack shouts how he found a great spot. He did. Perfect. This spot has access to the lake nad great hammock hanging spots. Someone even built a chair out of rocks here.  

My Bright Shining Star.

  There were two separate fire pits here so I have to fix that quick. I take the pieces from the two of them and build one good fireplace. There is a lot of duff on the ground so I build the fireplace on top of a series of flat rocks so as not to catch the ground on fire. We then dig a hole in the ground where the remnants of the older/less well-constructed fire are to bury the old coals. 

When we are done you can't tell there was ever two there. With the new and improved fire pit ready we get to some more camp chores. The plan was to get the water filtered with a new system and realized I either lost it on the trail or left it in the car, hopefully, its in the car. I built a bench out of a log and couple of rocks that are laying in the middle of camp. While building the bench my saw slips and cuts a nice little cut in two of my fingers. Not bad but a scary reminder to be careful when using sharp tools and good practice with my first aid kit. We collect firewood and get the hammocks hung. 
   The hammocks are both ENO hammocks. Atreyu and I are rocking the DoubleNest and Everest has the Double Deluxe. I really like this system for camping. SO comfy,  little tough sometimes when Atreyu and I share one but still cozy. 
     With all else done its time to get the fire going for dinner and go for a swim. I started the fire with a ferrous rod for the first time. It took a few minutes of tries but I got it. A nice soak in the lake and we find a salamander swimming around and are able to just ever so gently scoop it up out of the water. So cool. We start to get cold after a  little while and jump out and warm up by the fire while I get dinner ready.
    Dinner is a special treat, ribs cooked on a stick right over the coals and some instant garlic mashed potatoes. Ribs were a little tough but very tasty and the instant mashed potatoes hit the spot.
   A couple of obligatory marshmallows and red boxed wine are a perfect treat after dinner. The sun sets and darkness starts to creep in. Stars and the full moon shine in the night over the lake and it is good to just soak it in.
   We all settle in for a quiet night listening to an owl and the peeper frogs, sit by the fire and read and talk.
   Morning brings oats and coffee and a slow relaxing morning. We pack up and walk back out the way we came in case I had lost my new filter along the path. When we got to the van it is there. We roll out and head home. 

Backpacking and bushwacking. A beautiful weekend on a secluded lake.

It all started as it always does.... with a trip idea. The original plan was to go ultralight backpack and hike into the remote Indian Heaven Wilderness to Chenamus Lake and camp out for a couple nights. Things don't always go as planned. And that's not always a bad thing.
Day 1. We didn't get out on the road until mid afternoon, but the drive was only about an hour and a half and weren't walking in too far, so I figured we'd still be all set up by 7, which with a late sun is enough time to get some dinner going and chill out a bit. The core team (Fawn and Atreyu) and I headed out with Everest and Luna for what was planned as about a two-mile hike past Placid Lake to Chenamus Lake and set up the tents and have some yummy grub. We'll see.... what happened was.... it was super snowy STILL, even in the last week of June. The trail was covered in hard packed ice and snow in some spots and in others there were standing ice water puddles (Luna didn't mind). There were several spots where blown down trees required going over, under or around, not always easy carrying a pack. Atreyu was having a hard time with the walk and we're all kinda bushed when we see Placid lake. There is a gorgeous campsite near the water right on the edge of a meadow, firewood and a couple of fire rings.  It's already starting to get late, we simply decided to stay.  We couldn't have made a better decision. I take down two of the fire rings and fix one of them, while Everest and Fawn get the camp together. Atreyu chased Luna around and whacked things with a stick. Everybody has to contribute to camp to make it a success. We get dinner going and set down to eat.  We brought WAY more food than any 4some needs for two days but we want to be comfortable. Dinner the first night is ramen noodles, with chicken and veggies. A crowd favorite. The sun is still high in the sky and the lake is clear and shallow with a sandy/muddy bottom, the water is warmish, not warm but not uncomfortable and we do a little wading hanging by the lake edge. Atreyu and I find tiny frogs on the lake edge and he catches a couple. **SideNote** There isn't a whole lot cuter than a 4-year-old with a tiny frog in their fist, being 'Oh So Careful'.

As evening rolls around and the temperature starts to drop we all scoot around the campfire. We have tea and roast marshmallows and just lounge around. As the sun sets behind the trees and the sky begins to darken the sounds of the thousands, of peeper frogs, get louder and louder to the point you can't hear much else and actually need to raise your voice just a touch to keep a conversation going. Atreyu gets off to bed and Fawn isn't far behind him. The night sky begins to darken the small crescent moon plays with the horizon and gives just enough light to see where the meadow ends and the lake begins. Everest and I spend 30-40 minutes just standing on the water's edge staring at the millions of stars as they show more and more brightly. The milky way becomes evident only as the moon ducks under the tree line and I am reminded of the true glory that only a sky full of stars can have.

That night as I lay in bed still imagining how very small I am compared to all of existence, the frogs stopped chirping. Like ALL of them, At Once. DEAD SILENCE. 10 seconds go by, 20, 30 maybe 45 seconds before another sound. I laid there, frozen, listening with alert intent. Then, they slowly began again and within a moment the sound is near deafening and all feels right in the world, as I drift off to sleep.

Day 2: Like most mornings in camp, I'm up super early. I make a fire and get the coffee going. I sit and watch the day begin as the sun comes up.

Eventually, everyone else gets up and we have oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. We had a bunch of goodies to put in oatmeal: dried berries and apples and nut selection. We all lounge for a lazy morning for a bit, then we get cleaned up and ready for a walk. I pack a lunch and we head out to find the lake we came to see in the first place.

Remember when I said things don't always go as planned? This hike is one of those things. We tried to find the trail to Chenamus Lake again. We started by following what I thought was the trail and followed along with some orange tags on trees that seemed to mark a clear trail. They did not. We ended up on a bushwhack all the way around Placid Lake, which we only realized when we got to a clearing on the lake and could see our camp across s the water. But it was a good hike. Brush and brambles over and under around and through. We were forced to tromp and push through some pretty thick brush but we made it and had a good day anyway. We stopped along the trail and had lunch, meat and cheese wraps and some gorp. Yum.

Back to camp and the plan is "not much". We go for a dip in the lake and try a little fishing with a "pole" I made from some extra paracord and a stick (it didn't work) and just watch the day go by. Some naps, some feet soaking. Hanging in the hammock and resting against a log. We make a leisurely dinner of raspberry scones and veggie sausage with cheesy rice n broccoli. A few more marshmallows and some more tea. A quiet night just sitting by the fire. Luna and I used each other as pillows and dozed off right on the ground. Everest and I watched a bat flying around for a bit and I found a giant toad in the grass. Fairly uneventful, but so satisfying.

Day 3: The morning was chill as well. Keep it simple. A buffet of everything left to eat we don't want to have to carry back out, which means giant bowls of oatmeal full of all kinds of stuff, and quesadillas with cheese and various dried and cured meats as well as several pots of coffee. We break camp and head back out on the trail which seems so much shorter this time for some reason and Fawn points out that she thinks a lot of the snow has melted since we'd gone through. We get back to the car and head on down the road, a quick stop for coffee at the drive through and back over "The Bridge of the Gods" and home in time to get showered and ready for work.

We didn't bring anything new on this trip but it was the first time we backpacked with our small tent, The Drifter 3 from Mountain Hardware. Which incidentally was exactly the right size for us on this trip. I know there are lighter tents out there and of course, I would love to have one, but this tent was just right this time. The weight of carrying it in versus the amount of space it offered was well worth it. We fit Atreyu, Fawn, Luna and me all in this for sleeping. No Problems. The two only issues I even had were the fact that Luna was on my bed when I tried to climb in it and deciding whether to bring all the parts or not. TBH we never even used the fly, but originally I planned on only going with the fly and poles but reports said there were tons of mosquitos in this area, which there are, so we needed the mesh. All in All I wold definitely recommend this tent or a similar product by mountain hardware but be aware this isn't a tent you want to carry in just for yourself or even a couple. This is a three person tent and three people are what make the size and weight worth the carry.

As I am finishing writing this we are planning a new trip and will head out for an overnight tomorrow. A new backpack trip, a new lake, AND I got a new camera, so look for tons of great pics on the next one.

Last thing. Let me ask you guys for some constructive criticism. What do you like or don't like about my blog? What would you like more of? I'm working on a new site and would love the feedback in the comments below. Like everywhere else, remember to like and subscribe. Hit that + button on Google.  And share the heck out of my stuff here. Love you all. Talk to you soon.

Alpine hike, waterfalls and camping in Mt Rainier

I'm gonna try something new this time. I usually sit a few days after the adventure has been completed and I've had a chance to decompress and then write all the stuff I can remember that I thought was worth sharing.  This time I'm gonna try to keep a log as it goes. So here I am typing on the computer when I should be cleaning out the van. I have so much to do today to make this trip happen. So much planning and preparation goes into a big trip when you want everything to be just right. I have been googling and reading and viewing and planning for weeks on this. Then comes menu and gear lists. Then you gotta put it all together. I staged all our gear yesterday. I'm bringing too much stuff.

Why a mini-van? This is why. 

Day 1: When I'm done typing this I need to go get MORE stuff. Last minute items like milk and eggs and I need to replace Atreyu's good hiking socks, the ones I replaced the last time we went on a big trip, dog food and stuff like that. After that it'll be pack it up and get the van loaded. I'm hoping to get it done quickly so I can get a nap in, as is customary with these big trips I got less than 4 hours sleep last night.
Noon. The van is packed. People have asked me, why buy a minivan, actually they said it more like "seriously dude... a minivan?" This thing is packed for the apocalypse, and in no uncertain terms if the big one hit and the van was all packed No Problem (as long as I could get out of the city with it intact....). Our team could fo sho survive the whole summer, plenty of time to build permanent set up for the cold wet months. Tangent: If I could choose the best time of year to have a bug-out scenario, this time of year would be be it, tons of easily identifiable wild edibles about to start popping up and plenty of time to put in a few summer crops before cold comes back. Side note, this dog is seeing me pack up the van and is all the way up my butt. No Luna, I'm not gonna leave you behind.
1pm. All packed up. Seriously, we are bringing WAY too much stuff. BUT... Then again. It IS car camping we are allowed to be comfy. I'm gonna wash some dishes and clean up around the house then fill the tank and my coffee cup and go get the rest of the team.

**The idea to 'write as I go' rather than all at once didn't go as planned. More on that later.**


Get the team and were on the road by 4. Hit a little bit of traffic on the way but make it to camp by 7ish and set right up at site A-18 in the Ohanapecosh Campground. Home away from

home for the next few days. We 
picked a spot, set up on a bluff over looking the river. Get camp all set and make some quick and easy dinner. Franks and beans on the stove. Get settled in and just spend the rest of the evening relaxing by the fire before bed.


I always seem to wake up early in camp. I get the fire going, and get coffee on. I found an old, new to me, aluminum percolator at a yard sale and that is bubblin away before too long. Luna and I are running around and playing tag for an hour before anyone else is up in the campground. Breakfast is small, just bacon and eggs, bagels and some fresh cantaloupe slices. MAN..... I forgot the cream cheese. Clean up at our leisure and start our 'day two' portion of the adventure. Our first stop is the "Grove of the Patriarchs". A short easy stroll over a cable bridge and on a boardwalk through an ancient grove of giant trees. The walk is beautiful, a gentle stroll just about anyone could manage, the bridge is a little scary but totally safe and the boardwalk is good for keeping the little ones on the trail and on target. I'd say the whole walk, including the full loop comes in just about 1 mile. Atreyu did OK on this walk, he wanted to stomp though the brush and run around a lot. But he was impressed with the size and scope of the grander trees, as we all were. After the grove we head over to "Paradise", a mountain top resort and visitor center near the top of Rainier. The drive over is spectacular, a 23 mile drive took us over an hour and a half because I drove hella slow and kept stopping to take pictures. Fawn was starting to get irritated.

Fawns idea of camp chores.

Natural curiosity

One of many I had to stop and take.

Paradise was cool. It was 60 degrees and sunny when we were there and the snow was 12 feet deep. We didn't do a whole lot up there the first trip, I got some info for a few hikes I wanted to do, we got coffees, checked out the gift shop and played in the snow for a while. On the way back to camp we stopped at Narada Falls for a peek. Man being lazy is tiring. So we just made up a few brats with sauteed veggies on the grill and hung out in the hammock, I baked chocolate chip cookies on the fire. Fawn and Atreyu took it easy and I went for a walk. The campground started to fill up around dinner time and we got neighbors on both sides.... ugh. But everyone was quiet even if they were giant groups of people. And we chilled out with some hot tea and listened to the river go by.

Silver Falls

Moving right along. Up super early again. Bubblin away..... its nice to not have to boil water, then wait for coffee to steep just to have the coffee be cold by the time you get to drink it. A lazy morning with oatmeal and fresh corned beef hash and cheesy toast. Luna loves camping because she knows we don't want to keep leftovers. And off to a walk. 2.5 mile loop that includes a stop at the Ohanapecosh hot springs and Silver Falls. The hot springs are cool but you can't soak in them, sorta unimpressive. The falls are amazing and you might never guess they were there until you're right on top of them. The river runs blue/green, wild and fast. It cuts a hole in the side of the mountain and seems to break through the rock into the ravine where it boils and churns. There is a sight and smell and chill in the air when your standing over the bridge that makes you feel like your both an interconnected part of the world and yet such a small part that if you were to be swept away it would be just like erasing you from the memory of the world. After our big walk we head back to camp and make a late lunch/early dinner. Burgers and mac-n-cheese, told you keepin it simple. The fam lounges around while I do camp chores (cleaning up and cutting wood) then I went for a stroll just to find some peace and quiet. After a long nap we do a quick trip into the little town of Packwood, which is just a short drive outside the park.

Luna St.Helen Mae

A couple little quick things about Packwood, super cute little mountain town. The people all seemed super friendly: I got into a chat with an old timer, the girls at the coffee shop were in good spirits even just a few minutes before closing, and the lady at the visitor center let me come in for a minute even though she was technically closed. Beer was limited choice and expensive. They seem to have a lot of tourist attraction events. We refill coffee cups and buy a sticker, some fruit and a beer for around the campfire.

We roll through a National Forest campground on the way back to camp. Atreyu has a hard time going down for bed tonight and finds it more fun to bite and scratch me in the hammock, which Fawn (hillariously *cough, cough*) takes photos of instead of helping me but he finally wears down and goes to bed and Fawn and I chill by a ripping fire.

Sunday morning comes, and I couldn't be more excited. Not because its the last day, for the sake of what my plans are. Breakfast is granola and coffee ( I just gotta say one more time that the  percolator was awesome) We do the last of our clean up and put camp away.   **I often will pack away most of whatever we aren't going to use on the last morning the night before. **   Do the scan for ANY bits of garbage, not just ours (rule #1) and pour a gallon of water on the fire (rule #2). Back up to Paradise. I'm gonna do an alpine hike WOOHOO!! #Excited. Fawn and Atreyu plan to play in the snow and snuggle by a fire with some hot cocoa until I get back. I originally wanted to do a 5 mile loop that went past several glaciers, but they were only allowing permitted climbers through 80% of the section as there was huge avalanche danger, so that left really only two options, I talk to a ranger and we look at the web cam at the top and I choose the hike that is more likely to offer me a view. I decided to walk the "Vista Loop Trail" 1.8 miles trudging through the snow to a lollipop with a short vista off shoot, that looks out onto the Nisqually Glacier. Not another soul on the trail. **Lollipop is an out and back hike with a loop at the end. ** I realize after 3 steps I should've brought trekking poles with me but I'm determined. My reward was a view that renewed my faith. I was literally brought to tears. Looking out over the valley at waterfalls and creeks below literally seeping straight out of the bottom of the glacier and becoming the Nisqually River. In this moment I thought about all the things in my life that I was thankful for, I took time to reflect and to just be present like I haven't done in a very long time. I was blessed to be in that space and in that time. That view was something I never knew I needed and will never forget what it gave me in that short time I was there.

The rest of the trip seems fairly small in comparison thinking back on it. The whole thing was such a grand adventure and yet the whole of it was swallowed by just a couple of minutes.

The rest of our trip was more good stuff. I met back up with the team and we decided to head out from there. We stopped for lunch at a little roadside place,  IDR the name.... but the food was good and we got a great piece of pie togo. We stopped at Ike Kinswa state park to stretch the legs and let Atreyu and Luna get some running time in. After that we beat feet home. Tired, dirty and groggy. Unload the van, begin the process of resetting the gear and eat some pie.

A few reviews:

We did end up buying a new tent for this trip. I didn't want to have the review take up a lot of room in the post itself so I saved it for now. We bought the Coleman Flatwoods 2, four person tent. We were looking for something affordable and spacious, and we got it. I can say resoundingly I would NOT recommend this tent, unless.... your ONLY specifications are affordable and spacious. You can find this tent at most common retailers ie: Target, Walmart, Amazon. We got this tent hoping it would be of similar quality to the last Coleman tent we had, but no. This tent is poorly designed. It would be a great starter tent for someone with little to no experience that want something that easy to put up and will only be camping in summer weather months. It says this tent is tested to 35 mph winds, I wouldn't trust that at all. Trey had so much as simply leaned a little on the side and it looked that it would just cave in. I gave it so much as the most gentle tug and the poles bent right in. The door is cool looking but awkward and difficult. The fabric looks pretty good but I'm not sure I'd bet the dryness of all my gear on a whole trip to this tent. Coleman doesn't even sell this tent on their website. When I took it down the poles retained the bend a little.... that really makes me nervous. I mean my family is supposed to sleep in this thing. It'll do fine for this summer but I'm not going to mess around and keep this thing for long.


Ohanapecosh Campground: I saved a review of the camp for last because I have a lot to say about it TBH. So first impression. Cramped. I guess you might expect that from a place that boasts 2 million visitors a year and most of them come in the same 2 months but do the campsite literally need to be right on top of each other. No privacy what-so-ever. No quiet, even when it was quiet. There were only 3 loops (A-B-C) open in the campground even though they had 8 available. The loops that weren't open looked like they would be even more on top of each other in some areas. When everyone started to build all the fires for the night there was a visible haze all through the valley the camp was in. Granted, I also built a fire but isn't that the point, isn't everyone going to, didn't they know that when they started developing the campground... The sites all had fire PLATFORMS instead of pits, which is cool because it made them easy to cook on and it kinda made it necessary to keep the fire smaller so one wouldn't get too hot sitting next to it. The fire platform also had a grill top that came down and could be cooked directly on as well as a flat iron space that doubled as a heat reflector when it was up and a griddle when it was down. I did near all of my cooking right on that griddle, just threw down some foil and went to town. It worked out perfectly. I don't think everyone else put that together. Each spot had its own bear box, which totally defeats the idea of a bear box to me, 200+ campsites all with metal boxes full of food less that 20 feet from the nearest tent... I mean just tell people they need to keep their food in the car.... The encampment also had flush toilets and potable water but no showers, if your going to charge $25 just to drive into the park and another $20 a night for camping and then smash us all in together like sardines can we at least not have to smell each other. I mean we were all sitting by the fire all night and hiking all day, sweat happens, not to mention "camp diet".  I don't want my random stranger neighbor to smell me anymore than I want to smell him. The last little thing, because I wasn't paying enough attention, (or because it's 2017) is that on the map of the campground and all the pictures seem to have the little wifi symbol soooooo... I thought there was wifi. There isn't, they have a amphitheatre and that is what that symbol means. Yup... I did that, that is why I went back to original format.

The thing that bothered me most of all though was the lack of empathy for dogs. This is important to know if you go to any national park (all that I have been so far) dogs are not very welcome. They can stay in your camp and in parking lots, but not on ANY trails, not even just one around the outside perimeter of the camp, you can't leave them in your campsite unattended and you cant leave them in your car.... My dog is part of my family, we try not to let her walk off trail, we don't let her chase critters and we clean up after her. Whats the big deal? C'mon Parks system, lets get at least one dog friendly trail per campground... huh? Thanks




HEY!! I Got an idea!! I'll send this tent to one person who either subscribes, shares or comments on this post. One entry per person per thing you do.  So FREE TENT to one lucky winner. If I only get one person to enter we will know who will win. I'll pick the winner as soon as I replace it. LOL.

Gorgeous coastal weather in the PacNW and an ice cream adventure.

Quick overnight trip out to the coast with the family on a Friday. Fawn and I took Atreyu and the tent and set it up at some free spots near the Tillamook Forest Center. We headed out early in the morning and went out to Sauvies Island, Fawn had an interview (GODD LUCK!!) so Atreyu and I strolled out on one of the many gorgeous wildlife areas for a bit. We watched the day begin to get warm, saw an eagle, a blue heron and a bunch of fish and even heard a couple of otters playing in the water.

As soon as Fawn was done the team headed out for our little trip. Even though we were out super early in the day it was still a super nice Friday so we decided to set up camp first. We got out and all set up by noon, and collected wood and built a fire and cooked our lunch. We had a nice picnic lunch with a couple of brats from the butcher and mac salad. Pretty yummy!!

After lunch we jumped back into the van for a lovely afternoon at the coast. We made the mandatory stop at the Tillamook factory for Ice Cream cones. I had a two berry flavors waffle cone, Fawn had Huckleberry pie cone and Atreyu had a double chocolate kiddie cone, and of course he wore a fair bit on his face.  The factory is building a new visitor center, so there is no tour right now, but they weren't going to go through the summer without dolling out the scoops and the cheese samples so they have a temporary space set up, still nice.

Fawn in her natural habitat.

https://www.instagram.com/mcfiddley/

A few miles north of Tillamook is the town of Girabaldi Oregon. There you can find the Barview Jetty Park. They have a campground and beach access. Super pretty campground and location was ideal of course but spendy, and it looked like they would nickel and dime you to death, pay showers and all. We couldn't have asked for better weather it was sunny and warm out on the coast. Our team strolled and scrambled out over the boulders to the end of the jetty and then back down onto the beach for a while. This trip was about a year anniversary of the first time we took Luna to the beach and she has come so far. Last year at this time we couldn't have let her anywhere near other dogs, or people or anything that moved very quickly. This time she and I jogged a half mile up the sand and I let her run back to Fawn completely on her own, without one worry. So proud of that dog.

We stopped at "Fishermans Korner Restaurant" for dinner. They advertise "The best Fish & Chips in Tillamook county" I do have to say if thats true, I feel kinda bad for Tillamook county. The food was ok, but nothing too crazy awesome. Not like it's something to blog about... I've eaten a lot of fish & chips at the coast and my personal belief is: there is better out there...  Atreyu had a little bit of a tough time sitting still, he was so tired...just.. couldn't.. sit stilllllllllll....AND....... he fell asleep on the drive back to camp. I snuggled him into his bag so Fawn and I could enjoy a quiet evening with some fudge cookies, hot tea and reading by the fire in camp chairs and the hammock.

Early to bed, early to rise. I was reminded why some people talk about "camping weather". Got up in the morning and didn't even bother with a fire, just hot water on the stove for coffee, and some granola cereal for breakfast. It was just plain warm and comfortable. Atreyu had baseball practice so we booked it back to town, stopped for bagels and a coffee refill on the way (way harder than I ever would have thought).

We did have a fairly seriously loss on this trip. Our Coleman 4 person tent had a pole splinter. I managed to hold it together with some masking tape for the overnight. We got this tent for free and have been using almost every time we went car camping since. I would just replace the pole but the truth is its got a couple little tiny holes and the fly isn't as reliable as it once was so probably best to just replace the whole tent. It is open and spacious. We are looking for suggestions that are affordable and sturdy with at least 55sq feet floor so we can take it out with plenty of room to stretch out inside or snuggle in if its raining or anything. I do need to replace this soon as the Rainier trip is coming up in like 2 weeks and we could easily spend the few nights in the smaller tent, since Luna isn't coming with us but its more comfy with room to change clothes and stuff.

The perfect spot, amazing night, and a great walk.

     Totally on a roll!! Another adventure in the books. Headed out from Portland to my go-to area and hit up a short overnight backpack trip. Atreyu and I took our two buddies Asheville (my buddy) and Cheeri-O (his boy) and walked the first couple miles of the Salmon River Trail.

     Our plan was to get on the trail by like 11 am.... uhm nope. Met up at their house at 9 and they are almost ready, take the big boy seat out of the van and load the packs into Ashevilles car. Had to stop back at my house since I left all of the perishables for the whole crew in the fridge. OOOPS. No worries. Back to the road. Jamming some Grateful Dead on the way. We stopped at a spot for quick lunch while we let the biggest rain of the day pass.

     The trailhead.... at 1...... Salmon River trail. So Ashland needs to work in the morning and were not going that far in since we have the boys but we're keeping track of the time. We walk a bit and take a nice long break at a neat little rocky outcrop on the river. Some snacks and get the packs off. About 45 minutes later we pack back up and do the rest of the walk. We talked to a couple older women on the trail that were blown away by Atreyu (4 yrs) and Cherri-O (6yrs) carrying their own packs, they give us the skinny on a nice camp spot they saw on the way. It was perfect, our goal was Rolling rifle camp, but we didn't make that one. The spot we found was just too good. The clearing was plenty big enough for the boys to run around, there was a spot to hang the hammock and a tent for the other guys. The spot is well loved and well cared for (YAY for rule #1). There is good river access, a bench made from an old log and a work table out of a stump. Perfect spot. We straighten up the fire-pit, set camp and collect wood. Fire gets going pretty easy and this evening is looking NICE. Dinner is cooked on the MSR stove with my new cook pot, a GSI 1 liter. The pot is great. I love it. Small and light enough to carry in but big enough to meet most of my needs on the trial.
The cook pot holds exactly the perfect amount of water for making 4 bowls of ramen noodles with chicken and veggies in it. What I do is crunch up the noodles in the pack and pour pre-cooked chicken and par cooked broccoli and carrots into my bowl and the fill with hot hot and cover with a lid for a couple minutes. As soon as the noodles are soft dinner is ready. As a treat for the boys I packed in a couple of graham crackers and chocolate frosting cookies (thanks for the reciepe mom) and a few marshmallows. As a treat for the dads an couple of "Left-Hand Milk Stout." Yum.

     Get the boys ready for bed. Atreyu and I slept in the hammock and Asheville and Cheeri-O stayed in their tent. The coolest new piece of gear I've been the most excited for in a while goes up over the hammock. I bought "The Party Fly" by Bear Butt. This fly is AWESOME! Its super light and easy to work with, it drizzled all night and oh-so-cozy dry.  The price was so right on. Bear Butt is a smaller company still and so they actually responded to my tweets, lol that was cool, but I recommend checking out their line of stuff. This fly is a solid 5 stars so far. The experience of sleeping in the hammock needs some work though. I wasn't super ready for it. I tried using my sleeping pad and my old down bag. It was just a little cold. I know Atreyu was a little cold cause half way through the night he climbed up and slept on my belly to keep cozy, I do love cuddles. I bet a good wool blanket would have been better choice than the sleep system I had. I hear they have hammock quilts that are good choice, but I don't know anything about them. *Hit me with some good info.*

     Get a fire going in the morning to warm up and do some oatmeal and coffee packets. I make my own instant oatmeal blends at home. It costs less and I pack them into plastic sandwich bags I can reuse. One thing I really like doing is putting dried fruits in the oatmeal. I'm not a big oatmeal guy so the more flavor the better, besides its more nutritious that way anyway. If you use dehydrated rather than freeze dried they will (at least partially) reconstitute in the bowl and become warm and mushy fruit. So far I like bananas and blueberries the best.

    Clean up the camp and pack up. Clear away a couple of fire rings that aren't necessary. And hit the trail back down.

   Quick overnight but so nice. The ride back to town was a little insane trying to keep two super-over-excited, not worn out enough boys from going crazy in the back seat. Put this one down as a win boys and girls. This trip was great. 

Remember to share, like and comment. All that good stuff. Im starting an Instagram that'll be public and only have adventure photos. Right now the name is Woobley McFiddley but I'm gonna change it to reflect my camping dad nickname, Otter.    https://www.instagram.com/mcfiddley/

Hotsprings, Waterfalls and Faerie Magic. Three weekends, three trips.

   Its been a couple weeks boys and girls. I've got a couple little trips to talk about and some new gear I'm excited to tell you about!!!

   Wanna tell my readers, all 4 of you, that I appreciate you taking the time to read the blog. If you find it interesting enough do all the normal stuff you do to support someones hobby, let me know you're there (like, subscribe, comment, share) and keep reading.

 BAGBY
    I have a couple of adventures to tell you about. Brought out a regular participant in our adventures who we shall from now on call: Sparky, and her new-ish partner we shall call Everest. I have opted since this trip to give everyone nicknames, not just the core team, the intials aren't as cool. So Fawn, Atreyu, myself, Sparky and Everest, as well as Luna (our sweet boxador) all pile into a van for Friday overnight, get out on the road early enough in the day and strike out for Bagby hot springs. A little more than a hour from Portland. No trouble on the road, the van is going along and the music is playing. Everest enjoys napping in the farthest back row it seems. Its one of the first weekends the road up to Bagby is open and so we have the place pretty much to ourselves at first. We get pick of the litter on campsites, the campground and trailhead share an entrance. Very handy if you want to soak and not drive after. The campground is in a great location and that about the best thing you can say about it. The sites are all mostly pretty small and uneven, they just have the standard table and fire pit. Just one pit toilet for the 20-ish sites. AND it wasn't easy to pay for camping, bring cash, the host came around in the morning to collect, and it was at least 8am (#ninja...?). We jump right onto setting camp and got a fire going and cooked and ate 3 course dinner. Salad, followed by roast chicken/veggie/potato foil packs over the coals and for dessert obligatory s'mores. After dinner, an evening stroll in the twilight up to the hot springs. If you've never been to Bagby, I recommend it at least once. The water comes out of the spring VERY HOT and fills giant tubs made out of dug out logs. You add water from a drawn well or a nearby cold creek to make it bathable. There are 10 or so tubs in all half of which are good for a single person or a couple, and several that are group size. The amount of chill and nudity one will see up here depends on a lot of factors but I have been here many times, all times of  day and night or time of year, and not once had the place to myself. Truly an experience.
   We get in a good soak for a bit, and after a while a Friday night teen party team all show up, a common occurrence here on a weekend night. This makes it feel less chill and family friendly so we hit the trail backdown. I spend the most of the walk, in the dark, back down the trail keeping Everest on his toes by scaring him and telling him all about predators of the PacNW. It was a fun walk. We chill by the fire for a bit and hit the sack. CoooOOOOLD night. It IS in the mountains and it was super early in the season for this region.
    In the morning we do coffee and break camp. Get into a long conversation with the host who proceeds to tell me her whole story. WHOLE STORY. The only part pertinent to this post is that they are doing piping and flow improvements to the springs to help the tubs fill faster and more efficiently. If you go up there, don't break the piping....
   We hit the road and grab a bite on the way, Everest treated for breakfast. Thanks dude! It was a great overnight and the team we went with all gets along really well. From Portland this trip is super easy to get to and makes a great shoulder season getaway for an easy trip. This place is a heavy use area in the summer and early fall, expect to wait fir a tub and to limit your soak time as others will be waiting as well.

*Pro-tip. Do NOT LEAVE ANY Valuables in your car at the trailhead parking lot. Even thought here is a host living right there people have broken into cars with some regularity here in the past. I had my wallet stolen out of the glove box when we went for a backpacking trip at this trailhead.



ZIG_ZAG    Trip number two. Overnight at my go-to overnight spot. This location near Zig-Zag Oregon is like 40 minutes from my house. I love it and within a 5 square mile radius I know of 15 or 20 different locations for camping here. The core team: Fawn, Atreyu, Luna and myself head out for a quickie throw up the tent night. Bare minimum. BUT!!! NEW GEAR TO TRY OUT!! #SoExcited. We set up our trail tent and got a fire going. Hot dogs and marshmallows. Fawn and I splurged and bought a hammock, kinda like a spring gift for Atreyu and I got a new sleeping pad for my bday. The hammock, a Eno Double nest is super easy to put up and the straps (SOLD SEPARATELY) gave lots of places it could go up, no problem and is super comfy. We didn't sleep in it overnight but Atreyu thought it made a great swing and he and Fawn found lots of time to just relax in it.
  Chilly night but my new pad (Therma-rest, ProLight Plus) was oh so comfy and was easy to set up and pack back down. I'll still use the heavy ones for car camping I think, at least some of the time , just so I don't risk messing this one up as fast. I can't wait to take this out on the trail.

   In the morning we have some hot drinks and cold cereal, clean up around the campsite. RULE NUMBER 1 Always leave it cleaner than when you got there, especially those free sites, they can get trashed sometimes pretty bad and the forest service will close them. Besides 15 minutes of picking up liter is cheaper than paying $22 a night.... I will never understand how its no problem to carry in a 30 rack of ranier to a remote campsite but somehow the empty cans weigh too much and have to be left behind.We jam on out of there and head for home and back in time for lunch. Easy peasy.

The short and skinny on the ENO. I'm taking this thing backpacking, in conjunction with my ultralight tarp it seems like it will be at least as easy to set up and maybe hella more comfy than my ultralight tent set up. But it doesn't weigh less and it doesn't take up less room in the pack than my ultralight tent. For sure less than my family backpacker but that is for 3 people and still comes in less than 4lbs.


LATOURELL FALLS
   This day trip is another super short drive from my house. City of Portland is well located to outdoor activity if nothing else. The day required a walk and I wanted to try the full pack weight out and put in a couple of miles anyway, so we headed up the Gorge on a beautiful Saturday morning. The weather was perfect for walking in the woods: sun shining, not too hot, not too cold. Just right. We decided on Latourell falls loop. This loop comes in at just under 2.5 miles and has a waterfall at the start and at just past the midway point. There is less than 700 feet of elevation gain and lose on this trail. I wore a full overnight pack and Atreyu wore a pack that had some snacks and his full rain suit, I knew he wouldn't need it (gotta keep raising the weight) and a few emergency essentials. Fawn carried the our newest pack, a great day bag by North Face, the Borealis with stuff for Luna (lazy dog doesn't carry her own pack.... yet), and a picnic lunch. A wonderful hike, not too long for Atreyu, who carried his pack the whole way with minimal breaks. And the upper falls were great as you walk under them and get spray all over. If I were being picky, just for my readers *I Swear!, I'd say there were a lot of people on this trail and so you never really felt any solitude, but it I understand with the nature of the hike and proximity to Metro, and there were very few places to stop and have a break. Only one or two benches along the way, and not too many mini side trails for a vista or a place to sit, you couldn't really just pop-a-squat anywhere either because the trail is fairly narrow in most places for the amount of use it gets (a pro mostly... I know). So just be aware if hiking with little ones here.


I am super excited to be getting ready for lots of trips in the near future. You'll get to read about our trip to Mt Rainier soon. I'm taking the boy on a daddy and son Otter and Atreyu only backpacking trip this week . And My buddy and I are putting together a canoe trip that'll be a couple of nights in the near future. Make sure you subscribe so you can get notifications as soon as new stuff goes live. I have no shame and self-promotion is not beneath me. If I can get this blog going and in some magic way it lets/encourages me to camp and/or write more, I'm all about it.





Eno Double