Angles Rest

We backpacked up to Angles Rest in the Columbia River Gorge.

Getting there: HWY84 to the Gorge, take exit 28B, Bridal Vail.

Chris, Ian, and I had a great time. Highlights of the trip:
- Ian's first real backpack trip
- Mr. Finchem's cookies, baked in a backpack oven (cardboard box)
- The weather was SOOOO nice

Ian tented with Harrison, they slept with their rain fly off and enjoyed the night sky. Ian's sleeping bag zipper broke, I was able to fix it but this will probably be the last campout with this bag.

Wildwood Trail Hike 5 miles for 2nd Class

Ian and I got up early and completed a 5 mile hike in Forest Park. We hiked the Cannon Trail, Wild Wood, Water Line Rd.

Camporee 2012 - Scouters Mtn.

Ian and I went up to Scouters Mtn (Clackamas area) for Camporee 2012. The theme was Scouts vs. Aliens. Ian's patrol, the T.N.T.s won a first place ribbon in the stations. The troop won 2nd place in the tug-o-war. Ian tented with Harry. The weather was rainy on Friday night but cleared up for the rest of the weekend. I took the boys for milkshakes on our drive home.

Ainsworth State Park

Last weekend we headed to Ainsworth State Park in the Columbia River Gorge. This was Ian's first scout camp out! The weather was OK, we got rained on a little and the tent sites were pretty muddy. It is best to arrive early as the tent sites are first come first serve. The sites cost around $15.




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Location:Columbia River Gorge

Philmont 2011 & Quck FAQ

Chris and I just returned from Philmont. What a wonderful trip! We had SO much fun, it was such a great experience. This was my 3rd trip over the years and it was nice to see that not much had changed. Our trip took us to Anasazi, Indian Writings, over Heart Peak to Ponil, to Publano, to Ute Meadows, over Mt. Baldy (12,441 ft.), to Head of Dean, to New Dean, to Dean Cow, to Harlan, and then back to base camp. Here is a quick FAQ which might help Philmont trekkers.

Q: Should we bring water filters?
A: Philmont supplies micropure tabs which work fine and are light weight. Also, just about all staffed camps have a purified water spigot. Depending on your trek you may only have to purify water a couple days. I'd recommend bringing only one hand pump for making good tasting drinking water if you have time. Otherwise, just use micropure. The Philmont meals contain a bunch of Gatorade powder if the micropure chlorine taste is too much for you.

Q: How many stoves should we bring?
A: Just bring two stove of the exact same make/model. You will only need one on the trail and the extra will serve as a backup.

Q: What do I do about coffee?
A: Bring instant. Keep in mind that only one (maybe two) breakfasts at Philmont will be hot, so boiling water in the morning will only be for coffee only. Some mornings might be really early and boiling water for adult coffee might slow down the crew. Depending on the trek this might be a bottleneck. If you have a lighter trek, boiling water in the morning (while packing up) shouldn't be an issue. All staffed camps have adviser coffee in the evenings at 7PM, but for me this didn't work as I don't like to have caffeine before going to bed.

Q: How is meal prep? Does it take long with a tedious cleanup?
A: Only dinners are hot (one or two breakfasts might have oatmeal). Back in the old days we would make our dinners in one big pot. Now days, Philmont uses the Mountain House bag dinners which can be prepared IN the bags. This saves tons of time on cleanup. A couple of meals may not Mountain House and present more of a challenge. We had a stove top stuffing meal and a easy mac meal which required either not eating or trying to mix in bowls. We ran into one crew who used Turkey bags inserted into their pots which is a great idea. I'll try this next time I go to Philmont. If crew members can lick their bowls clean then cleanup is pretty easy, just rinse and sterilize. When I went to Philmont as a boy I remember hating cleanup after a long day of hiking, things have gotten better in this regard.

Q: The guidebook has a long list of clothes, do I really need to bring all these clothes?
A: Depending on the time of year, I'd say the list has too much stuff. We went in August. For summer, I'd recommend: One pair shorts (wearing), One pair long pants (or zip offs for conservation), Two shirts (wearing one, one in pack), rain gear, couple changes of socks, one maybe two pair of underwear. A light weight fleece for mornings/evenings. You can do laundry pretty much anytime using the ziplock laundry method.

Q: Any thoughts on cutting weight?
A: Consider *total* crew gear. Cut redundant items (you only need a couple pocket knives for example). Lay out everyone's gear and leave behind all the redundancy. Folks don't need their own first aid kid or individual large tubes of sunscreen.

Have a specific question?? Post in the comments and I'll try to answer.

Can I bring Cheese on a backpacking / backcountry trip?

Yes!

I was pondering this same question while packing for a 7 day canoe trip. I had read some things online and decided to give it a try. I purchased Tillamook sharp cheddar (baby loaf and the small individual wrapped) and it kept for the entire trip. The key is keeping it out of the sunlight and sealed if you can. Buy smaller loafs and eat the entire loaf at one sitting.

Bowron 2010 Canoe Circuit

Chris and I had a fantastic time paddling the full 7day canoe circuit at Bowron Lakes in BC. We paddled ~76miles and hiked (portaged) about 6 miles. Here we are at Issac Falls about half way through the trip.

Couple things to consider if you are planning to run this circuit:
- Pick up a book called "The Bowron Lakes"
- Pack plenty of bug juice, mosquitoes and flies are really bad
- Make sure all your stuff is water proof (dry bags and zip locks)
- Make sure your stoves are in good condition
- Bring extra water filters, a couple of the lakes are very silty (or use tablets on these lakes)
- Tie your paddle to the front of your boat like a yoke for the portages
- If you are a HAM (armature radio) you can use the BC Public Service net at 6:30pm nightly. You can use this to pass emergency traffic and non-formal traffic for check-ins back home
- SPOT! GPS works great for letting folks know you are on schedule
- Make sure and bring sunscreen and TP
- Consider renting a canoe portage cart at Becker's lodge, they have nice fat wheels

Timothy Lake

We went up to Timothy Lake on Friday with a the Bowron contingent. The drive up was pretty uneventful except for delays on 212 through Damascus. Weather started out totally terrible, with a downpour as we were putting the canoes in the water. Once we got moving the rain stopped and didn't rain much the rest of the weekend. I forgot my rain pants but it worked out ok.

Getting there: I-5 south to 205 North. Exit Esticada. Take 212 through Damascus to HWY-26. Stay on HWY26 all the way to the Timoty Lake exit (past Government camp, Frog Lake). Need $5 for parking (per day).

For next time: There was snow on the side of the rode mid-July. Pack warm and make sure to bring rain gear.

Backpacking Salmonberry River

We went backpacking up the eroded our railroad tracks up the Salmonberry River.
This was a wonderful kid friendly hike. Elliot was 6, Ian was 9, and Chris was 14 on this trip. We camped about 1 - 1.5 miles up the tracks from the parking area. The parking area is located at the end of the Lower Nahalem Road.

Getting there:
1. from Portland, OR HWY26 West to Lower Nahalem Road (just past the Elderberry Inn). About 35 miles from North Plains.
2. Turn south and follow Lower Nahalem Road until it ends at the washed out bridge on the Salmonberry (about 30 miles)

NOTE: Much of the L. Nahalem Road is gravel. Maps show the L. Nahalem turning into Foss Road. I didn't really see anywhere to merge or anything - there are no real opportunities to get lost.

Parking:
Parking is at the dead end road. There is room for MANY cars and cars can line the dead end dirt road - it's really wide.

Camping:
Camping is pretty much typical backpack camping. We found a nice spot right on the river. It was sort of a bushwhack to get to the site, but once we were there it was very nice. No people which is typical for a 'off the beaten path' site.

Precautions:
This is a very remote parking area, typical remote parking precautions (busted windshields, etc). Didn't see any signs of break-ins, but I wouldn't leave anything of value in my vehicle. Noticed many empty shells all over the tracks, assume hunters going crazy during hunting season months. Didn't hear any gun shots on our trip. Noticed spray painting on most signs/bridges. Noticed quad tracks in multiple areas - assume locals are vandalizing the area with easy access. I have a concealed permit and pack a pistol because I feel uncomfortable in areas like this. Chances are that nothing would ever happen, I'm just paranoid.

What made the trip great:
There are ZERO opportunities to get lost on this trip. The drive is super simple and the hike is along a railroad track! We had a great time. This was Elliots (6) first backpack trip. His pack was too big, we just used his school backpack. Ian did great with his Outdoor Essentials external frame youth pack I picked up for $35 at Campmore. This was my first overnight trip with my new Gregory Denali. The pack was fine, fit fine, etc. I'm still getting used to the rigid hip belt - it's comfortable but makes standing the pack up to pack/unpack a pain unless it's flat on the ground. I'm also not used to straps and parts of the pack falling all over the place when it's empty - it's messy.

The boys had a great time catching toads, playing in the water, throwing rocks, running around naked, and doing all the things boys love to do. No injuries to report which is fantastic. Elliot took a spill off a wet log and got the wind knocked out of him - he was fine. Dad panicked for a second, I was afraid he got impaled by a limb or something when he fell.

All in all a great trip.

-Dad

60 Mile Hood's Canal Paddle - Parsons HA

We had a great time paddling Hood's Canal. We paddled for 6 days (5 nights) and covered about 60 miles in total. This was a great trim. Chris and I both had a fantastic time. We paddled in rec kayaks with enough internal and external storage for all our gear. The weather was fantastic. No complaints really. We even got hot showers half way through the trip. We were also able to eat a nice meal at a restaurant close to a take-out spot. We played in a little white water where a creek dumped into the canal. Mosquitoes were pretty bad at a couple of the camps, but otherwise the conditions were spectacular. We even got to see a couple nuclear subs coming into the navy base.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/8094076

Big Slide Fire Lookout Backpack

This was a wonderful trip with fantastic views. We hiked all the way up to the fire lookout. Chris and I had a great time.

Chris with Jordan and John on each side.

Summer Camp - 2007 at Meriwether

Summer camp this year was at Meriwether (Oregon Coast). Chris worked on 1st class requirements and finished some merit badges. One boy (Cliff) cut his thumb really bad, I had to run him to the ER in Tillamook.

http://www.cpcbsa.org/camping/summer-program/boy-scout-camps/meriwether

Siouxon Creek - South Washington Cascades

We backpacked up Siouxon Creek in Washington. The trip was so wet, rained the entire time - down-poured would probably be a better description. The falls were beautiful. This was mainly a creek bottom hike, the trail followed the creek the entire way. We packed in a few miles, setup camp, and then did a side hike up to the falls. This was only a one night trip, which was nice given the weather. Nothing too memorable. Chris and I tried to stay dry.

Directions:From I-5 take the Exit from Woodland toward Cougar on Hwy 503. Follow this road up the Lewis River Until the town of Yale. Here turn South on 503 toward Amboy. Before you hit Amboy in the Town of Chelatchie Turn East on NE Healy Rd. This Road turns into Forest RD 37. From here you take a left onto Forest Rd 57, and then a left again onto Forest Rd 5701. There are two Trailheads, one at the sharp switchback, and another at the end of the road.

Pansy Lake - Mt. Hood National Forest / Bull of the Woods

We did a two night backpack trip up to Pansy Lake in Bull of the Woods Wilderness Area. The trip was in late April. We ran into quite a bit of snow. Chris and I were unprepared in terms of worm clothing. We both had to borrow extra layers from other folks. Sarah joined us on the trip which was really nice. In order to warm up in the evening, we put boiling hot water inside our water bottles and held them tight to the body. Another memorable moment was fording a wide stream which was blocking the trail. More information on how to get to this area: http://www.nwhiker.com/MHNFHike50.html

Camporee 2007

Penguins carving sticks. From left: John, Tom Barr's youngest, Jimmy, Jordan, Chris, Nick, and Austin? (facing back)