Well, another birthday trip in the books. 38 don't feel so bad when you got good company like this.
We started off by being WAY too far behind on loading gear, groceries, and overall preparedness. life around the shop has kept us on our toes a bit lately, we needed this trip, to say the least. Come Noon, we were ready to set off in search of adventure.
@Amanda Collins Met up with us at the house, prepared and ready for some iron tenting, we rolled out for Cottage Grove about 1pm.
First stop was for fuel, and foods. we planned on trekking over the pass via FS roads and wanted to have a full tank before setting off.
Burgers at Bonanza Drive Up Was less than expected, alas it filled the gut and set us off.
We headed out past Dorena Lake in cottage grove. we were looking for a fire lookout up the pass. if we could get to that point, we could then drop over into Oakridge. this was the plan anyways 😁
Very quickly after leaving pavement i started to feel like i had been here before. I had! we were close to the Bohemia Mine area, My indicator, the Noonday Trail Entrance sign. cool, i know where i am.
We were scouting new camp sights to pin as we lost a bunch to the fires last year, and exploring as we went. we managed to find Squatch's table. it was crazy big.
it was a decent site, but not quite our style, moving on we climbed above the 1st sections of the mines. Ran into some snow that turned us around and in search of another connecting route.
We were able to find a nice little spot on NF22 just a few miles from the top of the pass. We quickly made camp and killed it for the night. On our way out of town (cottage grove) @GasHole called to request a pin for camp. He wanted to come out on Saturday, bring the kiddos, and hang out for the night and following day. Saturday morning we booked down the hill to get Kevin the PIN and radio numbers.
we had to go all the way back to Dorena lake to get cell service, that's we unexpected, but the message was passed. he was already in Coburg on his way! woop woop, back to camp.
#CampGoldClaim Had been established
Breakfast Burrito Cheers!
After we were BIG chillin most of the rest of the day. in our haste to get out we had forgot a few little things. like and Axe, lighter fluid, charcoal, pants 👀, you know. Alas, we were getting by just fine. Kevin rolled into camp with the kiddos not 20 minutes after we got back, i swear.
The wood in this area is a fight this time of year, it took us a few to get the right logs selected. we were cutting them to smaller lengths and splitting them with my hatchet and short handled sledge. after a few hrs of fighting, we had a nice coal bed and was burning rounds.
Sunday morning we broke camp and headed for the Oakridge side. I wanted to find a route through to Hill Creek Reservoir, i grew up boating on this rez and wanted to find a connecting route for overlanding, camping, trails, and watersports.
ISO fire lookout. . .
Not down there myke 😁
Finally, after and exhausting 35 minute drive over the pass. We found it!
Ended the day here letting the kiddos swim, and play. we knew it was going to be hot in town and we were in no hurry to get back to the pavement. i grew up here so seeing and hearing my kids play and have fun was a wonderful experience. the reservoir was a little low for this time of year, but it makes for warm waters later on in the summer. we are for sure looking forward to coming back and staying a day or 3 here.
to end the trip we went in search of fried chicken, a staple and landmark of a trip well done at the lake. we got beat to the punch, no chicken left, and the jojos we slim Pickens. DQ, here we come.
Thanks for coming out guys, it was a wonderful way to spend the weekend. I hope to see you, and you, here very soon.
Open thread! Please add your pics or start a new one of your own.
Bronze.