Yocum Ridge backpacking trip

I went backpacking this weekend with some friends, up Yocum Ridge on Mt. Hood. It was about 16 miles round trip, with 3500 feet of elevation gain. We camped in a gorgeous meadow directly in front of the mountain and the Sandy River glacier - really an amazing view and spot.

Crossing the Sandy River on logs - the bridge is consistently washed out during spring runoff, so you just pick your way across and hope to not fall into the fast-moving stream.

Ramona Falls! Still one of my favorite waterfalls, although it was much lower in volume this year than last time I made it here in 2014. We got a group shot - Casady, Adrienne, Elise, Anja, Joanna, and Sarah.

There were fields of different flowers - Indian paintbrush in various colors, avalanche lilies, bear grass -- so many flowers, in blooming profusion all over the meadows at the top. So spectacular.

It was a hot day, and 8 miles is a long way to walk uphill carrying 40 lbs, and the biting flies were insanely bothersome and persistent.... but we made it! It was beautiful in the meadow at the top of Yocum Ridge, and made it all worthwhile. (The flies were so bad between the 3 and 7 mile mark that we decided not to stay --  to summit and then walk all the way back down. So half the group left water and stoves and sleeping pads in a pile at the pestilent stream. But then the view and meadow at the ridgetop was so gorgeous, and the flies were mostly absent, and thus we collectively regretted our choice. So Elise and I walked the 2.5 mile round trip back down to bring up our friends' belongings...).

Our spot at the top - nice little logs and rocks to sit on, and a view that can't be beat.

The last time I went backpacking, I relied on other people's stoves and water filters. This time, I had my own gear, and personally brought everything I would need to backpack solo (or with the kids) -- just to see if I could carry it all and figure it all out. And I did! I felt really proud.

The light on the mountain as the sun began to set -- so pretty.

We all tucked into bed pretty early - and then these photos show sunrise on the mountain. Most of the crew ate breakfast, packed up, and started down, but we three went half a mile further up the ridge to get a glimpse of Hood from a different angle.

And then we all walked down, all 8 miles, hot and sweaty and footsore. It was good to get water and snacks and drive home, flush with a sense of exhaustion and accomplishment.

camp week

A better-late-than-never blog post, about the kids' summer camp experiences two weeks ago. Sebastian was at Activate, learning how to do printmaking, and Liesl was at a Hoyt Arboretum nature camp. Both had really good weeks with fun activities, and friends.

Sebastian was really impressed by the printmaking - how you drew and carved your picture, rolled out the ink, the different ways you could play with it to make multiple colors, to create patterns -- he came home with a sheaf of prints and proudly gave us a presentation at dinner about the process of making prints.

Liesl was with Nora and two other friends for Arboretum camp -- they hiked around the forest, studied habitats of birds and insects and little creatures, learned camp songs, and made habitats out of forest materials for the fairies.

Liesl's camp name was Violet, and Nora's was Rose.

This week they are both at Sports Plus - Sebastian's second week, and Liesl's first. They come home exhausted in the afternoons and collapse onto the couch. Sebastian has been running to camp every morning - 2.5 miles along the back roads - on Monday, it was Steve's idea, but he liked the attention he got and has now decided it's his "thing", so he has kept it up. On Wednesday and Thursday, Steve didn't want to run with him, so he ran by himself. Crazy.

short movies from the weekend

Jasper tries to save me

The ridiculous game of squirmy-wormy

Liesl and I swim in the lake

Brianna dunks herself

camping, continued

We woke up early on Saturday, and it was cold. Like, really cold. Light a fire and stand shivering around it cold. We did not bring enough warm clothes - I had a hat but no jacket; Seb had a jacket but no gloves; Liesl had a single pair of light pants. So we drank hot water, roasted apples, and chased the small patches of sun while quickly eating some breakfast, and then hit the trail. We figured we could warm up by moving - so the kids biked, and Jasper and I ran/walked, and we set out to get as far around the lake as we could (it's a 13-mile loop).

Liesl put her seat way down so she could use her bike like a scoot bike (without pedals) on the rough patches - worked like a charm.

It was beautiful out, the lake was still and calm, and it was just us and a few fishermen at that hour.

We took frequent breaks to eat more food and throw sticks in the water for Jasper to fetch and swim.

We made it about 3.5 miles, with the intention of continuing, and then Liesl hit a root or rock and took a bad spill off her bike. She was pretty scraped up and bleeding on her knee, elbow, and shoulder. So we turned around and she bravely got back on her bike, making it about halfway back to our campsite before deciding she couldn't go any further. So I left them near some nice-looking families and ran a couple miles back to our car, and then drove back to rescue Liesl and her bike (Seb decided to bike all the way back). Phew!

The rest of the afternoon was lazy - we took turns on the alligator floatie, and dipped into the water, and both kids curled up on me to rest for a bit.

Dinner! We built a fabulous fire on Saturday night and were quite proud of ourselves.

Sweet Jasper was exhausted by all the running and swimming, and curled up in the dirt to sleep for a good while. But then after dinner we went exploring again, this time heading the other way around the lake. There were some huge boulders to clamber over and we decided to return the following morning to explore more.

Jasper and I took the long way around, over this cool bridge - I don't think dogs are meant to scramble on boulders. But we got up to the top and were rewarded with this gorgeous view. We walked a few miles on the Pacific Crest trail - it was fun to tell the kids about the PCT through-hikers - and then returned to pack up the campsite.

We had time to play in the lake some more - it was the warmest yet, and so Liesl and I swam together, and we all floated for awhile. And then we drove home, and both kids (and the dog!) crashed out. We all liked Timothy Lake a lot, and hope to return for a longer camping stay, maybe next time with a kayak or paddleboard to get further out on the water.