Camping!

Hi!

Donald here again, until we can get Krista back in the habit of regular writing.  I'm hoping that she's just gearing up for a big surprise post about an amazing trip we took last month to a place that rhymes with Chion, Tutah, but she could probably use some encouragement.

Anyway, work had me head out to Bend, OR to speak to the annual conference of the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association.  I learned that Outdoor Writers really like free t-shirts, got to meet a bunch of nice folks, and had some good conversations about boots and gear and stuff.  I even got interviewed for a regional radio show!  I'll put that up when it airs if it turns out ok and anyone's interested.

The conference was on Friday, which got me thinking that it would be a great excuse to take the weekend and take advantage of the somewhat warming Spring weather and the beauty of Central Oregon for a camping weekend.  Getting Krista and some friends to join us would be fun too, but there were 2 main challenges:

1. When I say 'somewhat warming', I'm slowly learning up here that weather is different than what I grew up with.  When I told a native Oregonian friend about the camping plan, he laughed and then told me we'd be sleeping on snow.  My rebuttal that it was the end of April and we were probably not going to be higher than 4,000 feet high only seemed to prove his point to him.

Somewhat related anecdote:  When Krista and I took our first road trip to the Northwest, I painstakingly researched a 4 day backpacking trip at the base of Mt Rainier for us, to the bottom of the lowest permanent glacier on the mountain.  I figured, considering it was the beginning of July, and the hike would be in the 5 - 6,000 feet range, it would be cool to see some snow so low and out of season.  When we got to the basecamp / trailhead and I commented to the ranger about my surprise about the waist - deep snow surrounding us there, her response was that, of course there was, it was July and we were at 3,500 ft.  So, that backpacking leg didn't happen, and I guess I'm a slow learner in some areas.

2. The other challenge to gathering a group is that Bend, while a popular weekend spot for Portlanders, is a good 4 hour drive from the city.  It's a beautiful drive through some amazing scenery and multiple climate zones, but a good haul none the less.

The point I'm slowly working towards is that it was really cool that we ended up with a fun group of 8 people for the weekend.  Everyone was an Oregon immigrant, which may explain why everyone actually agreed, considering the challenges above.

After the time at the conference wrapped up on Friday, I drove up to the Sheep's Bridge Campground, about 30 miles or so outside of Bend.  It was beautiful.  On the last small road to the campground, I did see some patches of snow next to the road, which had me worried, but the area itself turned out to be snow free.  Next to an offshoot of the Wickiup Reservoir, and in a climate zone somewhere between high dessert and low forrest, it was amazing.  The campground was mostly empty, and we were able to get 2 great campsites to accommodate the group with water views.

Finally, some pictures:

Google view of the Wickiup Reservoir:

Location of the Sheep's Bridge Campground:

I wish I could explain the relative size of the reservoir - I was amazed to see that we were just on a small offshoot on the map, when the water that was next to our campground seemed pretty big.  Here's a pic from our campsite:

The reservoir.  Not sure what the peak in the background is...

Krista went for a run on Saturday and said that she was thinking of running around the reservoir, thinking it was just what we were looking at (we all came in from that road to the north), and that it might be around 7 - 8 miles around.  When she came back, having run 8 - 9 miles, she didn't think that she had done even a quarter of the actual big body of water.

More pics from the weekend:

Dogs!  First, Julio, in his custom doggie jacket.  Then, Penny in her custom doggie jacket, hanging out with Krista.  I've been told that, for dogs, they were somewhat precious.

Julio's 2 layers.  He was still a bit cold

Big Yawn!

Standard camping pics:

Coffee time!  Thanks Trisha.

Yes, I do have little sleeping bags for my feet.  They are awesome. 

Around the campfire...

Sunday morning

So, that's about it.  We had a great group, and had a lot of fun.  Everyone was a trooper, especially since it did actually snow on us (just a bit) on Friday night, and Saturday was pretty awfully cold and gloomy all day and night.  It was opening weekend for some type of fishing season, so we saw a bunch of eager fishermen out on the water, though it sounded like the actual catching was a mixed bag.  Our own fisherman, Andy (Pants), came up 0, despite multiple trips to multiple tackle shops in the area, and a valiant effort on the water for a little bit of Saturday.

The Sherif, checking fishing licenses and such 

Andy Pants.  After pole fishing didn't work, he started trying to stare the fish down from the bank to get them to surrender.  I don't think that worked either.  Better luck next time!

On Sunday, we packed up by noon on the dot, and went to 10 Barrel Brewing in Bend for lunch.  Finally, the weather got beautiful!  The sun was out, and everyone seemed in a Good Sun Mood (it's a particular Oregon mood that takes over entire cities very occasionally in the Spring, in between the gloom).  Then, the 4 hour drive home back into the rain, and the close of a great weekend!

The top of Mt Hood, from the pass through the Cascades.  Once we crested the pass and the peak was to the North, it was all clouds again over the Willamette Valley.