Originally we had planned to rent a yurt at Tumalo state park near Bend and have a bunch of boys overnight camp with us, but as with most things it was disrupted by COVID-19. The Yurt was cancelled due to not enough staff to satisfy cleaning requirements so we chose to take a smaller group on an overnight backpacking trip! I chose a trip to an area near the mountain 3-finger Jack. It would be an 8 mile loop with about half the mileage each day, give or take but more uphill on the first day and mostly downhill on the second day.
Here is the group getting ready, doing gear checks and loading up at our house.
It took about 1:45 hours to get to Jack lack trailhead up in the high country above Sisters. Here is the excited crew as we get started and through the first few miles as we approach the mountain.
The next phase was to climb above tree line and crest the west saddle, and then drop off trail down the other side of the saddle. As we got on the slopes of the mountain the terrain changes, and got a lot more steep!
Fun Glissading down the snow slop on the south side of the saddle
We set up camp in an amazing remote alpine setting. Complete with towering cliffs and bubbling stream. I cooked a cake on a backpacking stove to celebrate Noah's birthday.
We saw a heard of goats, had a campfire and tree lights to celebrate before going to bed. While the sky's threatened a storm, we didn't have more than a few drop of rain.
The next morning rose glorious and sunny.
We then hiked cross country for 1-2 miles through some really pretty country until we hooked up with a main trail to finish out a couple of hours back to the main trailhead.
A great overnight adventure to celebrate Noah turning 13!
After finishing a marathon at his school the day before Noah ran another race today to raise money for Africa - a 'short' 6k race but he told Kelly in the morning he was going to win... and he did beating out a 21 year old.
What a fun birthday week Noah had! We love the young man he is becoming and we are so proud of him.
Noah received the character trait award for demonstrating "Wisdom" at school. We are so proud of him!
Today we built shelves in Noah's room. Barn wood stained the same color as our trim, with pipes holding up the shelves. Noah was a great helper.
Noah wanted to go camping for his 9th birthday. He invited his buddy Blake to come along with us. We went up to East Lake and had a beautiful campsite over looking the lake. The first day was great and we canoed and kayaked and did some exploring. Over night it rained and the next morning we woke up to even more rain and snow. Tent camping when it is wet is never fun. We packed up a day early and headed for home. All in all the kids had fun and it was a great birthday for Noah.
The boys swam their hearts out at their last meet.
Noah got braces today. He is really excited about it! He went with pink and blue rubber bands.
