September now has a tradition of a Donaldson boys fall camping trip. First trip was in 2014, where we canoe camped on Sparks lake. 2015 we did a backpacking trip to Benson lake which was the first backpack for Hunter and Noah. This year in 2016, we backpacked again - this time up Tam MacAurthor rim above 3 creeks lake in the 3-Sisters wilderness. We have been to 3-creeks lake in the summer as a family but this time our target was to camp out on 'The Prow' - a high point cliff that overlooks the 3 creeks basin at 7732 ft elevation. (The parking area at the lake is at 6550). The hike to the Prow and back is about 5.3 miles so this would be the longest backpack for the boys to date. As they will tell you - a big difference when you have a pack on your back vs just a day hike.
We left Bend about 2:30 Saturday after the last soccer game and got on the trail about 3:45. Here are a few shots on the way up. You can see the prow clearly in the second photo.
Here are some shots from the top and the cliff area around the prow.
We set up camp about a 100 yards back from the prow in some trees. While this is high fire season we set up a very small fire to take the chill out. Noah got inventive and started toasting fig newtons on sticks. After fire was out we watched the stars for a while - amazing since it was so dark.
Sunday morning I got up to enjoy the sunrise and after breakfast, we decided to do a hike over towards broken top to see if we could see the lake in the crater as well as get some sweet views of the 3 sisters. I had been to broken top crater back in August from the other side and wanted to see if we could link it up from this side. Hiked for about 1.5 miles to a point where we could see it but the scrambling got a little dicey so we decided to turn back to camp. Boys had fun building cairns on the way back as well as sliding down a snow slope still around from last winter. Got back to camp just before 11.
After packing up camp with slightly lighter packs we had a quicker (downhill) and relatively uneventful hike back down getting to the car around 1:30. Enjoyed dipping our feet in the lake looking back up at where we had been. Of course we stopped in Sisters for an ice cream at snow cap before driving home.
While Noah had soccer practice I went for a walk in the neighborhood across the street. I hit a high point on a ridge right when the sun was setting. Great colors with the clouds tonight. Shot with an iPhone 6s and no color adjustment. Camera phones are getting so good now.
Preston was so excited when he got to bring his listening ears home from school. He also got to trace his body at school and decorate it at home. Hunter helped him do the whole thing. It's so fun when your other children can help out with the homework.
After some slowness over the summer things are starting to pick up momentum finally. By the way, this is not the house color. It hasn't been painted yet:)
Our cousin Elijah drove through town on his way to northern California to visit his family. We had a quick but fun visit with him. The kids are hoping he'll come again.
It's that time of year again for soccer. A fun filled fall of soccer has started for the Donaldson kids.
Just like that summer is over and a new school year is on its way. The kids were excited and a little bit nervous this morning as they made their way to their new school. This year we decided to put all the kids into Morning Star Christian School. It is preschool through 8th grade with small class sizes. It will be wonderful not having to drive in 3 different directions for schools in the future. Can't wait to see what this school year will bring. It's going to be a great year!
I managed to get a quick picture before we left the house and a couple at school. Hunter is at that middle school age so I stood back and snapped a picture and watched him walk in the doors.
Hunter 5th grade, Noah 4th, Abbie 2nd & Preston JK
While not exactly summer weather we had a great time last night with our friends Tina and Curtis at the last summer concert date for the 2016 summer season at the Les Schwab outdoor Amphitheater. It was the tour de Compadres with Needtobreathe and Mat Kearney as headliners.
