Adventures

It's the new year, so it's time for another adventure - snow camping with a two year old. Even through we were working around a toddler's schedule, we still managed to leave only 15 minutes later than I wanted. Luckily we still made it to Skyline SnoPark before it became crowded. It was 9°F when we arrived with moderate wind and snow flurries. It was definitely going to be a cold snow camping trip.

I had the last day of 2015 off today, so I took advantage and went up to the mountain to set up snow camp for tomorrow. I found a nice snow camping spot along Clear Creek not far from Skyline SnoPark a couple weeks ago, so Katie, Julian, and I plan to snow camp for one night on New Years Day 2016.

Katie and I both had Christmas eve off work, so we went up to Frog Lake SnoPark with our Mini Adventurer to introduce him to snowmobiling. We pulled him in a sled behind the snowmobiles last year, but this was his first time actually riding on one. We have a harness that attaches a child either to the front (which is what we did) or the back of an adult rider.

After a fun day snowmobiling yesterday, my friend Ryan and I headed to Frog Lake SnoPark today to ride. We were the first ones in the parking lot around 7:15 AM besides two cars that had been there overnight. It was about 28°F and dumping snow.

My mother-in-law was kind enough to watch my son today, so I was able to go snowmobiling while Katie stayed home wrapping gifts and getting ready for the holidays. Due to the late notice, I wasn't able to find anyone to go with me, so it was a solo trip. There is snow at Skyline SnoPark this year, so I headed there to ride for the day. I didn't make it to Skyline snopark at all last season because of the lack of snow. I hope this season continues to be great.

We had our first big dump of snow this season with over a foot at Mt Hood pass levels and over three feet up higher. John and I were stoked to go snowmobiling Sunday. We drove up to Frog Lake arriving around 7:15 AM. There was one other trailer already, but they had stayed overnight. The snopark had not been plowed, so it was challenging getting my truck and trailer through a foot of slush underneath/snow on top mix.

On Saturday we went Christmas tree hunting as a family. During our adventure, we made a detour to Bennett Pass SnoPark, so I could check out the snow conditions. To my surprise, we found enough snow to snowmobile. So I came back on Sunday with my friend Jordan for the first snowmobile ride of the 2015/16 season.

It has been a couple years since we last went deer hunting. Things have been busy with our son being born two years ago and building our house last year. But now it's time to get back in the grove.

John and I have been talking about hunting a unit further east out of the trees, but we decided to keep it simple this year and hunted White River 141B like we have in the past. Opening day was Saturday, October 3rd. It is a tough unit to hunt as it is on the crest of the Cascades in Northern Oregon. The area is mostly dense mixed forest and packed with hunters.

In an attempt to find a family friendly activity for the summer months (and to introduce Julian to fishing), we recently purchased a 2004 Crestliner Sportfish 2050 boat. We have already taken it on a few trips, but today was our first trip with friends. It was a beautiful day. We met our friends at the 42nd street boat ramp on the Columbia River where we launched. We all piled in the boat and set off downriver toward the Willamette River.

After a fun ride up the Willamette River, we anchored downtown near the Tilikum Crossing bridge. We enjoyed lunch and then swam in the river.

When a person travels to a location that is greater than 8,000 feet, they must do so at a speed that allows their body to acclimatize to certain changes, such as decreased air pressure, low humidity, and greater exposure to ultraviolet rays. Typically, full acclimatization can take as much as five days. If a person does not fully acclimatize to the higher altitude, it may cause a condition known as altitude sickness. The three forms of altitude sickness are acute mountain sickness, high altitude pulmonary edema, and high-altitude cerebral edema. Many people enjoy activities that allow them to get outside and take in some fresh air, but hikers, skiers, and others who are traveling to great heights must educate themselves about altitude sickness when planning their trip. This knowledge is important so that they can prevent or recognize it, and know what to do if they or one of their companions should become ill.

My parents love Central Oregon and booked a long weekend at the Fall River Guard Station over my Mom's birthday. Lucky for us, their plans changed and they gave us their reservation for the cabin. The Fall River Guard station is on South Century Drive off of hwy 97 at the headwaters of Fall River. It is only a couple miles from the Fish Hatchery, close to where I love to fly fish. The cabin is available to rent from May through October.

It was just Julian and I Saturday, so we decided to go on a hike to Wahclella Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. This is an easy 2 mile round trip family friendly hike on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. The trailhead is near exit 40 off I-84. It is an out and back hike with a loop about three quarters of the way in. The trail passes Munra Falls (literally feet away) before ending at Wahclella Falls.

It has been awhile since we last camped at Rock Creek Reservoir, so we booked a couple sites and took off early Friday for a fun weekend of camping. It was one of the only weekends I was able to find sites suitable for our trailer. Rock Creek Reservoir is a 100 acre lake (when full in the Spring) located in Tygh Valley within the Mt Hood National Forest (SE side of Mt Hood). The lake is about 6 miles WSW of the town of Wamic and is stocked several times each Spring with rainbow trout.

Before heading to Sunriver on Friday morning to spend Memorial Day weekend with our family, we stopped to fly fish nearby Fall River. It is a relatively short cold spring fed river that flows into the Deschutes River. There are rainbow, brown, and brook trout that call Fall River home. Fishing is restricted to artificial barbless flies.

My friend John invited me salmon fishing again. We launched at the Swan Island boat ramp hoping to finally catch a chinook on the Willamette River. John's friend Kirk was also with us.