Saturday and Sunday, 23 & 24-June
It’d been a while since we’d been camping – Sarah’s leg being broken made it seem impossible, and we were both a bit too frazzled and run down to challenge that.
Enter: our friends David and Naomi. They have a van. They camp in this van, and had heard of a good spot to go van camping. Sarah and I packed up the Mustang and followed them to said campsite.
We met them on the trail into the woods – since the Van and the Mustang have pretty similar ground clearance, which definitely made life a bit easier for finding a campsite. The easy to reach areas were mostly taken already though, so we kept driving deeper down the road into the woods.
And it turned out, that was absolutely what we should have been doing. Turns out – the best spot is NOT right by the river where everyone else camps. That’s a trick spot. It’s good, I’m sure, but it’s also close and easy… it’s the protector of the really good spots. The spots up on the hill, with a perfect view of Mt. Hood. You know, the spot that we found 🙂
- Start the fire, then set up camp while Sarah starts cooking
- Chili cheese dogs are delicious. Ollie is a dog, and is of the opinion that she should have most of them
- Relax by the fire, then head to bed
- Sleep in a bit, while Sarah et. al. make breakfast and coffee, while enjoying the view of Mt. Hood
- Relax at camp for a little as the sun rises, and then head out to Timberline Lodge
- Hike Eastbound, instead of the usual Westbound… it kind of looks like the moon
- Hike back, and end up chatting with everyone on the walkie talkie
- Head to Salmon River Slabs, and do a few quick routes. They’re fun!
- Drive on home
