A restaurant we enjoy in Sisters called the Open Door has as outdoor greenhouse you can eat in. I booked it and we went with some friends to enjoy a meal with some of our close friends.
This year’s trip will be long remembered by the boys. We went to the Alvord desert in far southeastern Oregon to ride motorcycles. 3 dads and 9 boys!
For mid-late October the weather was spectacular. Cold night down to freezing but warm days in the 60’s.
It’s about a 4 hour drive from Bend. Just as we got to the edge of the desert one of the rigs got a flat so we did a fix on that hoping it wasn’t an omen for the weekend:).
While we fixed the flat Noah started running across the desert. Our destination was likely about 6 miles across to the other side! We actually passed him on the way over but I got a video of him running into our camp spot.
Shots of the boys riding. My favorite is the picture I captured of Hunter pulling a wheely at sunset.
Pictures from around camp.
Couple shots of the desert at sunrise. Peaceful and beautiful.
Previous years:
- 2014 - Sparks Lake, OR
- 2015 - Benson Lake, OR
- 2016 - Tam McAuthor Rim, OR
- 2017 - Deschutes River, OR
- 2018 - Big Lake, OR
- 2019 - South Central, OR
- 2020 - Mt Hood, OR
Abbie really wanted to do a canoe camping trip this year so this weekend I took her to Waldo lake. We have camped there a few years back but there are some dispersed wilderness sites on the other side of the lake that you have to search to find.
The weather was spectacular this weekend, especially given it was the last weekend in September
We launched from Islet boat ramp. The water was like glass most of trip across the lake
We found a great spot on a point on the far western side of the lake with the tent spot hidden up in the trees but still with a view of the lake and lots of rocky beach to explore. Waldo does not allow any gas engines and with no people anywhere near us to was amazingly quiet. It actually sounds strange to hear no humam-made noises.
We had a great time sitting around the fire and making dinner together. We made pizza and salad for dinner with campfire cones for desert!
We rose when the sun got up- had coffee and hot chocolate followed by a breakfast of egg burritos using eggs from Abbie’s chickens!
Our trip back across was not quite as calm once we got out on the open water so it was good practice for abbie.
This years campout was a little different with no fires allowed due to drought conditions. It makes you realize how much a part of camping the campfire is. How it becomes the gathering place for meals and talking with its light and heat.
Nonetheless we made the best out of our 5 days away! Our friends the Christoff's came up for a couple days/nights as well!
We met up in Beautiful Black Butte Ranch this summer. The MacDermotts ended up with Covid so they stayed at our house while we all stayed in BBR. While it wasn’t what we had planned and it was very disappointing it made us happy to know they enjoyed some quiet family time of R&R, days in the pool and some lake days. Charlotte and Anna especially loved looking after Holly. They thought they were her dog trainers.
We look forward to the next time we can all be together. Grateful for family! ❤️
We decided to go out for dinner but instead of trying to fight the hordes of tourists at restaurants we packed up food for a picnic and went down to an area of the deschutes called the big eddy. It was nice and quiet.
The lighting was really nice this evening. And of course Noah wanted to get pictures of him mid-air jumping :)
We just returned from a 4 night 5 day raft trip on the wild and scenic Grand Ronde river in north eastern Oregon. Spectacular trip along with two other families - the Lovejoy family and the Kerr family. 16 people in total.
Day 1 (Friday)
Drove from Bend to Minam put in on the Wallowa river. Launched late afternoon. Weather was nice at the put in - mid 60’s but cooled down quickly as the sun dropped below the canyon walls. Water was cold and by the time we found a camp spot for the night everyone was chilled.
Day 2 (Saturday)
Rising to frost laden tents and a cold night made coffee taste even better And when the sun finally rose over the hills across the river we started to feel excited about the day ahead. We would continue on the wallowa today to and beyond the confluence with the Grand Ronde entering the wild and scenic segment.
We found a great site on a bend in the river to pitch camp while we waited for the Kerr family to catch up (they put in Saturday morning)
When you are in the middle of the forest kids come up with interesting projects such as seeing how many hammocks they can stack.
When you are on these trips you have to pack everything out including ashes from the fire and human waste. The toilet is referred to the Groover. One of the projects at every campsite is finding a good spot for the unit. Away from camp, with privacy, but a 5 star site we had here with a view of the river through the trees.
Day 3 (Sunday)
As expected on the trip the weather was warming up each day and today it was expected to go over 80. Here we are loading the boats in the morning.
Some more photos as we floated down river. This trip was great with lots of moving water but nothing over mild class 3. Lots of rolling Disneyland style rapids to make it fun.
After checking a few different sites out we settled on a great site that could fit us all comfortably with both shade and sun. We decided to actually do a layover day here to reduce the stress of packing up and moving every day.
On the trip each family took a dinner and breakfast to cook for the group. Sunday dinner was put on by the Donaldson Crew. We had margaritas for the adults, a taco bar for dinner and fresh Dutch oven brownie for desert.
Day 4 - Monday
With the river moving quickly and going further the previous day we decided to make Monday a layover day and stay at the same campsite. Here is a walk around the campsite.
We were on for breakfast and did a big feed of oatmeal in the Dutch oven. Following a hearty breakfast we did I hike up high above camp in the morning.
In the afternoon with the weather getting hot we carried out some baptisms! These were planned and glad for that warm air over the cool river water. I had Mark baptize me. While I have been ‘sprinkled’ as a baby before I have never been submerged and I wanted to do this as a lead for my kids as well. Noah went second and then Abbie! We were so happy. Mark then baptized Jasper and then Byron decided to do it on the spot so a very special afternoon for everyone.
Day 5 - Tuesday
A great float out on our last day on the river.
3 Finger Jack is one of the cascade volcanoes. It’s not as high as some of the other volcanoes but has a challenging technical ascent. I went with a group of men from church.
The hike started off wet and cloudy at the car but cleared after a few hours as we ascended up onto the south ridge.
The ridge got steeper and more narrow as we got closer to the summit. There were two critical sections where we roped up the first was called ‘the crawl’ - a 150 ft traverse with over 1000 ft drop below you. Here we set up a fixed line as protection. The second part was the final climb to the summit block which was a fun 5.0, 50 ft climb. ‘The crawl’ was much more nerve racking and scary.
Sunset on the way down.
Overall a great and very challenging day with a great group of men.
I took Kelly away to the Columbia Gorge for the weekend to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. We stayed at a guest hour in White Salmon Washington which is just across the River from Hood River Oregon.
The weather was amazing, with no wind and warm fall sunshine.
We stopped at Cor Cellars on the way in to do some wine tasting.
From here we drive 20 minutes further to check in at our place. A spectacular place with the best views over the river.
Saturday was filled with tour of the hood river valley. Take note of the fresh baked chocolate turnover and huckleberry milkshake we shared at The Apple Valley store. Yum.
We enjoyed the quiet and the views. We even had a family of wild turkeys come by our place.
On Sunday we stopped at the amazing White Salmon bakery for breakfast and a loaf of bread to take home for the kids. We also did a drive north up to Mt Adams before heading back south home.
I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a solo multi-day backpack all summer. The stars aligned and I finally had a window at the first part of September. I chose to pack in an area of Oregon I’ve never been. The Wallowa mountains/ Eagle Cap Wilderness area in the northeaster part of the state.
Here was the planned route highlighted in yellow
Here are the overall approximate hiking stats post trip:
Day 0 - Drive to the trailhead
It took approximately 6 hours to drive from our house to the trailhead. East Eagle trailhead. I have never been past John Day Oregon so new driving area as well. The segment between Prairie City and Baker City was amazingly beautiful. I got to East Eagle Trailhead a little before 6 pm. I cooked some dinner, heated some tea and and slept by the car.
Day 1 - Trailhead > Hidden Lake
First day and few couple miles on the trail are always tough, especially with a loaded pack (approx 45 lbs). Plus the Northwest was going through a heatwave. On the drive up the day before, my car hit a high temp of 107. It would surely be in the mid 90's by the high point today. My goal was to get to hidden lake and set up camp to chill out through the heat of the day. It took me about 4.5 hours to cover the 8.6 miles and 2500 ft of gain. I arrived just before noon at Hidden Lake. The day was already sweltering and a dip in the lake did wonders to cool off.
Day 2 - Hidden Lake > Eagle Cap summit > Lakes Basin
I woke up to some great reflections on the lake and the moon above the ridge.
The first part of the hike was 1.6 miles and a little under 1000 ft back to the main eagle creek trail. From here it was a sweltering 2,460 ft of elevation gain over 4 miles to Horton Pass at 8,500 ft elevation. I had something to eat and dropped my pack at the pass just taking a water bottle for the 3 mile round trip to the summit of Eagle Cap at 9,572 ft (highest peak in the range). Amazing views of where I had been and where I would be heading the next day into Glacier basin.
By the time I got back to Horton pass, I was hurting. The extreme heat and miles were getting to me, and I could tell I was a little delirious since it took me a few looks to orient the map right when looking at it. I ate some more energy packet, and shouldered my pack for the last 1.3 miles down to the lakes basin where I would make camp for the night. I ended up finding a great ledge to pitch my 1-person tent with views overlooking mirror lake.
Day 3 - Lakes Basin > glacier lake
Day 3 rose glorious and a little cooler. An amazing sunrise greeted me. I was excited to get on the trail. The Lakes basin is such a pretty area but also very popular due to northerly trailhead with quick relatively easy backpacking access to the area.
Once I reached the junction to glacier pass, the people thinned out a little for a steep hike to glacier pass. Weather was cool and the hike to the pass went well. Glacier pass brought my favorite overall view of the entire trip looking down on the picturesque Glacier lake with its islands and surrounding peaks. Thankfully their were some other hikers there that were willing to take my photo with this view in the background. The hike down to glacier lake was quick and I stopped at the lake to get water and eat lunch.
Day 3 continued - Glacier Lake > Hawkins Pass and beyond
The hike from glacier lake to Frazier lake (the next low-point in terms of altitude) was pretty but its always bothersome to lose altitude when you know you have to go back up again. At this point I wasn't sure where I would make camp for the night - I had originally planned Little Frazier lake but decided to keep going up and over Hawkins pass to get a little further today. The hike up to Hawkins pass from Frazier lake was grueling (steepest section of the trip with a gain of 1,273 ft. over 1.8 miles), but at least the weather was cool.
The weather was clearly changing. By the time I reach Hawkins pass (8,400 ft elevation) the wind was crazy - I could hardly hear myself speak (see video) and the wind wanted to blow me off the steep downhill on the other side. This view was my second favorite of the hike. It felt like I was looking into a valley in the Scottish highlands - huge and vast. I dropped down into this valley and hiked approx. 2.5 miles down the trail to a spot where I made camp along the South fork of the Imnaha river.
The weather continued to blow like made and deteriorate in terms of temps and conditions. The temps dropped and I started getting some light hail/snow (big difference from 2 days prior) so I had to stay cooped up in my tent for cooking until time for sleep.
Day 4 - hike out via crater lake
It got really cold overnight. Frost on my flip flops and frozen water in my bottle along with frost on my tent fly were proof of that, but the sun was up and the nasty weather from the night was now gone. Once on the trail I started to warm up and the day looked to be off to a great start. At some point during the first 2.5 miles to the junction with the crater lake trail, I decided that today I would hike all the way out vs spending another night at Crater lake. I was starting to miss Kelly and the kids.
I made it to the beautiful crater lake by around lunch. I stopped and had lunch there talking to a guy on horseback who was up with his family from southern Utah. They had a hunting camp down below that I had hiked by. (Bow hunting season was open). I actually saw a couple deer in the bush on the hike up to Crater lake.
From crater lake it was 6 miles of straight down knee pounding trail most of which was in the sun. Not a super pleasant end to the trip but made for a triumphant return to the car! I was down at the car by 3:30 PM and after changing into some fresh clothes got on the road by 4 and headed for home!