First Solo Backpacking Trip - Twin Lakes

The two yutes, Henry and Elliot, went on their first overnight backpacking trip A L O N E.  Yep, they trekked in with their backpacks stuffed full of everything they might plus additional food and more water just in case with directions like...

"If there fire is crackling in the woods around you, grab your water bottle and get out."

and

"If you run into anyone that makes you feel uneasy, trust your gut.  Hike back out and come find me*."

and

"Don't play with bear cubs.  Mama bear will be close by and she will kill you."

and 

"Stay on the established path. We want to know the exact route you took so we can find you when, I mean if, you get lost."

By all accounts the trip was a success.  The boys survived the night.  They did use up all their fuel, but now they have learned things like 1. bring more fuel, and b) if there is dehydrated food, make sure you boil the water to rehydrate it before you use a bunch of fuel cooking your hot dogs over an open flame. Next summer, we hope to feel comfortable enough to send them out for a multi-day backpacking trip on their own.

Da boys, heading in / Mt. Hood

*I was camping at a nearby campground just in case.

Torturous Hikes, brought to you by Uncle Darren

Darren, at the tail end of the hike:  Are you dying?

Mia: I'm already dead.  I'm ghost walking.

Note: All persons on said hike made it safely home, including the ghost walker.

Summer 2018, week six - pictorial

Cooper Mountain Nature Park, listening for birds

Hike

Rose City Road Trip 2018, Newberg training session

Another Cousin Mia sleepover with swimming at the Sellwood Pool

Miss Avery's in the house, now with log on head

Lincoln City annual summer beach day

Pip's Original Donuts with milk and crossword puzzles

Kids love books!

Summer 2018, week one - pictorial

Abandoned homestead on the way to Christmas Valley

Stop to stretch the legs and throw a beach ball

Entering Oregon's Crack in the Ground

In the crack

Blurry night sky shot at Crane

Soaking in the Crystal Crane Hot Springs

Alvord Desert

Coaxing a snake to safety

Hall of Mosses invaded by LEGO minifigures and a boy

Return to Lost Lake

Beautiful but not a newt to be seen

Zach, Tan, me, & Hen

Hen

Zach

Boys on the run

Grumpy faces

Hike #5: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge - we hiked an estimated two miles in three hours

Our snack included fish crackers, a huge apple, and carrots that Hen said were snacks for the dinosaurs and we were the dinosaurs

Our view

A little macro photography with my 50mm lens flipped around

Poor kid was bummed we didn't see any lizards and that he didn't catch the Praying Mantis
 

Another macro shot

Not only is there a hard-to-see bird in this pic, we saw nutrias swimming and playing in the water.

Camping at Lost Lake

We went, we saw, we camped. Lost Lake is even more gorgeous when the fog lifts and you can see the mountain. Our nature adventures continued this trip with the 3.2 mile hike taking nearly five hours to complete. We spent less time playing in the water, and more time playing with a dead crawdad Hen found. There was no crazy, been dead for far too long smell so I figured this was okay. The campgrounds are spacious and private with great flat areas for pitching tents. You can rent rowboats and kayaks and paddle boats. The General Store is stocked with the largest marshmallows I have ever seen. We saw newts again. And chipmunks, water skippers, and crawdads both dead and alive. The live crawdad we saw in the morning. Hen was awake by 6:30a.m. and we were down by the water by 8:30a.m. I enjoyed the view while Hen searched for newts and I saw him dip his hand down and pull something up. It was clear from the way it, well, moved that this crawdad was alive. And this became clear to Hen as soon as the very alive crawdad grabbed a handful in his hair with his front claw. Hen put that sucker down fast. We will definitely be going back again before summer is over. Of course, there were pictures...

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Lost Lake, hike #4

3.2 miles of pure nature happiness and WE. HIKED. THE. WHOLE. THING. Mama friends of mine, do you remember the toddler hikes of yore? This was not like that. By the time we reached the lake, we were shrouded in fog and I predicted a 99% chance of rain. Which I guess explains why I'm not a meteorologist as it did not rain and the sun eventually broke through the fog. We spent four hours hiking around the lake, stopping at numerous points to play in the water, climb rocks, look at centipedes, and swim (well, Hen swam). Once we made it to the far side of the lake I knew we were in the clear and my focus shifted from making it to the halfway point to getting back to the car before dark. To accomplish this, I told Hen about the Fog Monster. When the Fog Monster rolls in, your only options are to stay on the trail and move quickly. He almost got us when we had to hike across the one rocky patch out in the open but, luckily, we made it to the forested trail safely. There are plenty of spots along the lake where you can access the water and, if you're lucky, catch swimming lizards. Of course, there were pictures...

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Fifty-second Wordless Wednesday requires an orange-bellied newt

Ape Caves, hike #3

I wanted to take Hen to the beach yesterday but since rain was expected at Lincoln City, Cannon Beach, and Seaside - the three beaches I'm most likely to visit - I came up with a new plan. We headed north to visit the Ape Caves at Mount St. Helens. Hen was super brave. I read before leaving that you should bring warm clothes, the cave's temperature stays around 40˚ Fahrenheit, and two flashlights per person. We had one flashlight per person but we did bring batteries. That we left in the car. Whoops.

Heading in, Hen was excited he could "make smoke" by exhaling. We spent a good six minutes near the entrance so he could make smoke over and over again. Then we headed in. We spent a good hour in the cave and nearly made it to the end. Some older kids ahead of us were making weird noises that scared the bejesus out of Hen. Shortly after I suggested we turn out the flashlights to see how dark it would be, Hen decided it was time to head back. Of course, there were pictures...

You can see the rest of the photos taken here.

Silver Falls, hike #1

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