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Uruguay – The Adventure Begins

Uruguay – The Adventure Begins

Moving to Uruguay

For pictures and information about our initial visit in January, see the previous posting here.

Alright, so we decided to move to Uruguay. We sold the house, we arranged for all sorts of documents that would be needed for establishing permanent residency, got rid of most of our stuff, and packed the rest to be shipped.

April 21 – Movers came to pack up what little was left to be shipped.
April 22 – Last meal at the house on Myrtlewood. We moved to an AirBNB to await our one-way flight on the 25th. In the meantime we made some last visits and sold our car.

Our Stay in Montevideo (MVD)

We arrived in Uruguay on the morning of April 26. We rented a car ahead of time, and then realized it wouldn’t hold all our luggage, so we rented a mini-van for one day and swapped out to our regularly-scheduled rental the next day. That ended up being a Peugeot 208 automatic. Not a bad little car. In January we drove one with a manual transmission, since the automatics had all been rented due to the season. While I’m comfortable with a manual transmission, the combination of adjusting to the local traffic, and an anemic engine, convinced me to get an automatic this time. We rented the Peugeot for a while and then switched to a VW ID.3 all-electric.

We stayed in Montevideo for 5 weeks to be close to the offices where we would take care of administrative/bureaucratic tasks needed to apply for permanent residency. Our residence in Montevideo was at La Toscana Residences, just east of the airport. This was in a gated community consisting of modern houses and some apartment buildings for short-term stays. There was a lot of shopping and several car dealerships close by. Between attending to appointments in town we tested several different electric cars. Some conversations with sales reps were via Google translate on our phones. Interesting, it got the job done to do a test drive, but not to the point I would complete such a significant purchase that way.

Moving to Punta del Este (PDE)

Our timing for moving to PDE worked out well. Several days before our move the last essential task (getting a bank account) in Montevideo was finished. Now it’s just a matter of letting bureaucracy grind away. Meanwhile, we’ll be in PDE looking for a permanent residence, most likely a house.

Our new location is an apartment right in the middle of town, not far from shopping and close to where we’ll be looking for houses. This will be our home base for up to 6 months. By then we’ll need to have a permanent home, or we’ll have to find a new rental outside the tourist zone because the rent goes up 4X (!) due to the tourist season.

Cars

Renting a car isn’t cheap for the long term, so we started looking at cars as soon as we had time in MVD. Our target was a small, all-electric vehicle. Parking, driving on narrow roads, and gas prices were the main motivations. After renting the gas car for four weeks we switched to an electric to get a feel for what it would be like. The VW ID.3 we got was nice, with lots of power and good suspension, not something we would buy ourselves, but good for practice. We got phone apps for charging from the two main vendors. You put in your credit card information, and when you are ready to charge the car you scan a QR code and proceed. The apps give you a map of local charging stations, and if you select one it tells you if it’s busy or not, along with the connector type, and if you have to bring your own cable.

We tested several cars, one European, and five different Chinese brands and models. Common features are advanced electronics and driver-assists, good acceleration, and automatic transmissions. We settled on the JAC S3 Ytterby in white. That wasn’t our first color choice, but it was in stock from a dealer who spoke English. It’s also not as comfortable as I would like since a bit of self-pretzeling is required for me to get in it. But it will serve for now. Once we understood the buying process it was pretty straightforward:

  1. Decide on a car and get an invoice.
  2. Dealer forwards car info to an insurance broker.
  3. Go to insurance broker and get a policy, who forwards info back to dealer.
  4. Go to bank and get a check.
  5. Bring check back to dealer.
  6. Dealer calls back next day when car is ready. Dealer has arranged for license plates and paperwork so we don’t have to deal with it.
  7. We pick up the car and drive off. We have to drive both cars to the local car rental office to return the rental. Timing worked out well so we returned the rental on the current return date without having to extend the rental period (again).
  8. Titles don’t automatically come with the car(!?). That is a separate charge (US$500 in this case) and takes several weeks to be arranged by a notary (escribano). Having it will make it easier to sell the car later on.
  9. Let apartment reception know our new license plate number so the entry gate will recognize us.

In a little over 24 hours we bought a car. The 200-page user manual is in Spanish only and will give me a lot of practice with technical terms.

Pictures

Here is a slide show of some pictures, which includes the project brain map, the location of our shipping container at the time of this post, and a map showing our current home. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate the pictures. All were taken with Galaxy S23 5G phone.

Observations

Most cars have a manual transmission. This is obvious when you are on a hill at a stop light. When it turns green, they all rollback a little as the clutch and accelerator are engaged.

There are a LOT of electric cars. Most are from China, some costing less than US$20,000. There are some from Europe, and a tiny handful from the US. Most gas stations and shopping centers have a charging station.

Most coffee comes in thimbles, or at least it seems that way. Starbucks sells coffee in “normal” sizes.

Of US franchises, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway and Starbucks are the only ones we’ve seen so far.

I was looking for alcohol as a solvent and antiseptic. Normally I would get 75% or 99% isopropyl, or rubbing, alcohol. I did find an alcohol in the grocery store, next to the bandaids. Upon fully reading and understanding the label I discovered that it’s 95% ethanol, essentially the same thing as Everclear®! At US$5.60 for almost a quart. Okay, well they do sell liquor in the grocery store. Again, think European model, where they don’t make such a big deal about drinking alcohol. I still need to find isopropyl though, since ethanol doesn’t dissolve stickum.

Driving is an organic process. I mentioned this in the January post, but it became much clearer when we had to navigate the roads in the center of Montevideo. Taxi and Uber drivers must be in touch with some special driving spirit, or at least be very chill. Lane markers are mere suggestions, and motorcycles seem to go wherever they fit. Some rules are followed: (Almost) nobody goes through red lights, nobody turns right on red, and zebra stripe crosswalks give pedestrians the right of way. And there is no leeway when it comes to blood alcohol and driving. 0.0% is the limit.

There are a lot of cameras. They’re also smart, at least when it comes to reading license plates. When you get your parking ticket at a pay lot, it prints your tag number on the ticket. When you leave the mall or airport, you pay at a kiosk. Then, when you drive out, the cameras recognize you and open the gate without you needing to stick the ticket into a slot. I haven’t done a lot of paid parking in the US recently so this may be typical, but here is where I encountered it for the first time. Pretty cool.

A lot of houses use wood stoves as supplemental, if not primary, heating. Even modern, high-end homes. And almost every home has a serious barbecue area. The apartment has several party rooms that include a barbecue pit large enough to roast at least an entire pig. As a result, you find wood lots scattered about. Even in-town Montevideo there were small plots piled high with firewood. The grocery stores sell wood pellets for use in pellet stoves. While shopping at a Sodimac (the local home improvement chain) I recently saw a micro-car being filled to the brim with bags of wood pellets. Winter is coming down here.

Speaking of winter, the noon sun is in the North, not the South.

Aside from the pile of suitcases we brought with us, we are also shipping some household items by boat. There is a ship tracking web site that shows the current location of our boat and it’s fun to watch. It doesn’t show the complete historical track at once, just the track from the most recent port. I can see the boat bouncing along the coast from port to port, and sometimes backtracking. It just got through the Panama Canal. If you look at the canal with Google Earth, you can see it’s not a simple passage.

Social Scene

So far, the local expat group is providing contacts. The group meets monthly at a restaurant for several hours, and has members from all over the world. It’s a starting point to get linked to other people. There’s nothing, so far, like the UU church we attended in Gresham, which provided us with such a nice community of friends.

Spanish

I know, you all want to know about the greatest hurdle at the moment, and probably for a while: learning Spanish. Well, we certainly should have gotten serious about this sooner. There are a lot of resources for learning Spanish. Apps, videos, websites, etc. Most are free. I’ve been dabbling with Duolingo for a few years, and I did study some Spanish in high school and college, so I have a little head start over SJ. Also, English is my second language, after German. I studied French for six years and I enjoy studying linguistics as a hobby. For now I will continue with online resources and watching television. SJ is using online resources and working with some tutors. Other than building a useful vocabulary, listening comprehension is the hardest part. We can formulate a somewhat comprehensible question, however the response is frequently a burble, not too dissimilar to the sound a stream makes when flowing over some smooth rocks. Apparently, after Japanese, Spanish is the second fastest-spoken language. Watching Spanish-dubbed Discovery Channel isn’t too bad, I can make out most of the words and can get the gist of it since many of the technical and scientific terms have Latin and Greek roots common to English. And there are many pauses. But listening to a local TV news show can be challenging, especially when they interview a local resident! In any language, there are people who can talk continuously without taking a breath. When it’s in a foreign language, you really need pauses every now and then so you can process. I have not noticed any significant progress yet, but I assume one day I’ll be surprised to actually understand what the cashier at the grocery checkout is asking me 🙂

Well, that’s it for now, more to come as we continue this adventure. Cheers!

Alaska 2024

Alaska 2024

 
Here are some pictures of a trip to Alaska to visit my sister and her new baby. We had hoped to have enough snow to go snow-mobiling and snow-shoeing, but the weather didn’t cooperate. We still got in a lot of walking in the hills and on the property. Saw a few moose but no other wildlife.

The clouds, ice fog, and the fact that the sun barely rises above the horizon, made for some nice pictures. The dogs are Tundra, a 4-year old Karelian bear dog, and Lark, a 2-month old Golden Retriever. Tundra is 40 lbs and Lark will be about 60lbs when full grown. On walks, the GPS collar on Tundra shows she runs about three miles, sometimes more, for every one of ours.

We did check out the Alyeska ski area. They had enough snow to have a few runs open. We took the tram up, and down.

You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate the pictures. All were taken with Galaxy S21 5G phone.

Lair 2024

Lair 2024

Here are some pictures of the lair. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate them. Pictures were taken with Galaxy S21 5G phone.

Ho Rain Forest 2020

Ho Rain Forest 2020

Took an overnight trip October 20-21 to Ho Rain Forest. Drove up Tuesday morning and did a little exploring close to the ranger station. Spent the night in Forks Motel and got an early start so I could hike a little way along the Ho River. Drove back in the afternoon and evening. Takes a little over 5 hours each way. A little drizzle every now and then but overall pretty nice weather. Temps in the 40’s and 50’s – good shirtsleeve weather so I can keep dry. Really need to spend 2 nights so I have the full day for enjoying the woods and can get further up the valley. Hip slowed me down some.

Used the Garmin InReach to keep SJ updated via satellite texting.

Here are the pictures. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate them. These were taken with a Nikon D5300 and a OnePlus 5 phone. Last picture shows my circular light attachment I use with the phone camera. I also have a bracket that can attach it to the Nikon. The power supply is a standard 5V backup pack I can also use to recharge the phone or GPS.

 
A little video of Mineral Creek Falls about 4 miles in:

Latourell Falls

Latourell Falls

On the first Sunday in March, Orion and I ignored all chores, to-do lists, and all other clamorings for attention, and headed out for a drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway. Starting at the Stark Street bridge, we headed east through some small towns.

Chanticleer Point was our first stop. This provided a nice view eastward along the Columbia River, with snow-topped mountains in the distance. We also got a view of Vista House, a popular site in the gorge. There was a stiff wind and temperature was right at freezing.

I got out at Vista House to take a few pictures and had to lean into the wind to avoid being toppled. My face become numb quite quickly.

Then on to Latourell Falls. This is a pair of falls, with the lower one visible from the parking area. The upper falls are about a mile in. At this time of year there are lots of icicles around the falls. There was plenty of ice wherever the spray from the falls hit the trail. A trekking pole would have come in handy, but since it was only a short walk, I left them in the car. Crampons would have been better. I’ll be better prepared next time.

I wandered on to Bridal Veil Park which also has some nice views. I didn’t go to the falls, saving that for next time.

Here are the pictures. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate them. Most pictures were taken with Nikon D5300 and some with my OnePlus 5 phone. The pictures are in high resolution and take a few seconds to load. You can click on the “+” in the top left corner to zoom in.

Salmon River Wanderings

Salmon River Wanderings

Sometimes I just wander about without any specific destination. I wanted to explore around the Salmon Butte trailhead and today I did that. I scheduled this outing and it was going to happen, rain or shine. They day turned out to be somewhere in between, somewhat misty, and more water dripping off trees than from the sky. Temperature was in the 40’s, a bit warmer than my previous visit. All the fancy ice crystals were gone. I did bring my new gloves and they kept my hands nice and toasty. I didn’t really need them and wore the glove liners most of the time.

First I headed up the South Fork of the Salmon River, to see how far I could go. Close to the bridge there is a huge boulder that has several large trees growing on it. The path goes through large ferns and moss-covered trees. The path runs out pretty quickly where a cliff face comes all the way to the river.

Next I followed the South Fork downstream to see where it meets the main course. Water temperature is a chilly 42 F. Again, lots of ferns and moss-covered trees. I also found some interesting fungi. I wonder, does the mycelium (root network) of the fungi on the trees go to the ground and interconnect?

After running out of exploring options along the river, I followed the old roadway to where the trail branches off. I detoured onto the trail as far as the two camp sites. The first one had a trail leading away from it. This is also an old road, heavily overgrown, and you can still make out the center ridge. I followed only a little way. I suspect the camp sites were gravel depots. Orion and I have come across other large open spots, with gravel under the moss and grass, along other logging roads.

I continued on the roadway past the trail turnoff. It was filled with saplings. In the spring and summer it will be difficult to go along here because you won’t be able to see where you’re going. A few people have come this way since fall as evidenced by flattened leaves and ferns. The first portion is a thick layer of packed gravel, crossed by streams. After a while the gravel runs out and the road is just a graded way through the forest. Orion and I have passed along similar tracks elsewhere.

I passed two hikers with packs and trekking poles striding along. I also passed two runners puffing up hill at a good pace. Some postings on AllTrails claim to make the round trip to the top in a bit over three hours!

I sometimes just stand, or sit, by the trail, just to be there. In the distance is the tumbling of a large river. Closer by is the burbling of a stream crossing the path. One ear hears the uphill portion as the water comes toward me, and the other ear hears the downhill portion that’s making its way to join the larger roar. Sometimes  a bird will chirp. The wind tickles the tree tops, and tufts of mist roost among the branches. Nice!

I do need to come back with a tripod. Some of these pictures would make nice murals or screen savers. Fortunately the best ones are close to the parking area.

Here are the pictures. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate them. Most pictures were taken with Nikon D5300 and some with my OnePlus 5 phone. The pictures are in high resolution and take a few seconds to load. You can click on the “+” in the top left corner to zoom in.

Salmon Butte Trail

Salmon Butte Trail

Salmon Butte Trail starts where the South Fork of the Salmon River meets the main course of the Salmon River, and is in my main hiking area, the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness portion of Mount Hood Forest. Overall the trail is smooth and rises steadily along its length. The total length is 6.1 miles and climbs 3490 feet. Compare that to Cool Creek which rises 3200 feet in 3.3 miles.

On December 22, 2018, I headed out to give it a try. I got a late start and arrived at the trail head at 12:30. Sunset is at 4:30 this time of year, and in the mountains it would get dark even sooner. I didn’t have much time.

The trail starts out by crossing an old concrete bridge and follows what appears to be an old logging road. The roadway is covered with only light growth, probably owing to a thick and well-packed layer of gravel. It would be hard to drive now, however, due to the number of stream-worn little canyons crossing it. After 1.5 miles, the trail goes off on its own, while the old road continues off in another direction. Up to this point you can hear the South Fork in the distance.

Once I turned off the road into the trees, it was less windy and felt warmer. The path is soft and smooth. About 2 miles in there was a light dusting of snow in the clearings, and at about 3 miles there was a little bit of snow under the trees. I was passed by a young man in shorts with a dog. At 3.5 miles I was still in good shape but knew that there was not enough time to get to the top. I did not want to be stuck hiking in the forest after dark. I turned around and had a late lunch when I reached the campsite. I reached the car at 4:00 and the sun was far behind the mountains.

On New Years Day of 2019 I headed out at sunrise to try again. The sky was clear and I had the whole day to try this. I arrived at the trail head at 8:40 and started. The old road follows the river for a while and there is a strong, cold breeze blowing along it. I was glad to get to the trail and out of the wind. There wasn’t any snow on the road portion but once I headed into the trees and got a little more altitude, there was snow. After about 3 miles there was several inches on the path and that made hiking a bit more strenuous. I also had trouble keeping my hands and fingers warm. Gloves that are fine in town are not warm enough up here. I made it a little more than 4 miles and had to turn around. I just couldn’t keep my hands warm enough, and I was getting pooped out. Perhaps not getting much sleep the night before had something to do with that. Hiking in even a few inches of snow is also hard work, a little bit like walking uphill in sand.

Oh well, it will be here in the Spring.

I started back and made lunch at a convenient spot along the trail. The Indian Vegetable Korma is very good but takes half an hour to soften all the vegetables. I had to set the fuel canister on a glove. If they get too cold the fuel doesn’t expand properly. Ideally I would have a small piece of foam padding to set it on. (That is why I practice cooking on these hikes. I have to remember or relearn all the tricks I’ve forgotten.)

I found some small animal tracks. These looked like cat tracks, more like a house cat than a cougar(!) and are probably raccoon tracks.

I explored some strange ice crystals in the moss along the trail, and explored what at first looked like strange clumps of snow on some dead sticks. Looking closely at them I found ice crystals growing under the bark of some dead branches. These crystals literally peeled the bark off the branches. The ice crystals were very fine, like cotton candy, and melted at the merest breath.

I got back to the car about 3pm.

Clothes: Duluth light thermal underwear, top & bottom. REI pants and Duluth poly longsleeve shirt. Brimmed wool hat with integral earmuffs. Duluth socks.
On the first hike I wore a heavy windbreaker. Second hike was colder and I used my Duluth hoodie. Hoodie and hat were sweat soaked from the inside and always hard to put back on after resting. Only had work gloves. Need to get ski gloves. I have a small spur on the outside of left foot which has been rubbing the boot on the last few hikes. Finally thought to put a bunion ring on it and that helps a lot.

No injuries, not even to pride.

There are some other exploring options: 1) Follow along the South Fork upstream from the bridge. It looks like a trail starts here, it would be nice to see how far it goes. 2) Follow the road instead of going onto the trail at the 1.5 mile point.

Here are the pictures. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate them. Most pictures were taken with Nikon D5300 and some with my OnePlus 5 phone. The pictures are in high resolution and take a few seconds to load. You can click on the “+” in the top left corner to zoom in.

 

Cool Creek Trail to Devil’s Peak

Cool Creek Trail to Devil’s Peak

According to the locals, we were having some unusually nice weather for October. I grabbed one of the nice days to see if I could make it up to Devil’s Peak Lookout again, up Cool Creek Trail this time: over 3000 feet up in just 3.5 miles. The hike map is shown below.

Here are the pictures. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate them. Most pictures were taken with Nikon D5300 and some with my OnePlus 5 phone. The pictures are in high resolution and take a few seconds to load. You can click on the “+” in the top left corner to zoom in.

As usual, I drove out US Highway 26 toward Mt Hood, starting at 8am. About 9 I arrived at Still Creek Road (also National Forest Development Rd 2612). This turned almost immediately into a single lane road, with only a few places where vehicles could pass. It is a very pretty drive and I would have been at trail head in a few minutes except for the line crew which blocked the road while it repaired a downed power line.

I took the opportunity to explore a foot bridge I passed. After I returned from that the way was clear and I arrived at the trail at 10:10 and started up.

The trail is relentless! There are very few gentle slopes, much less level portions. The views are fantastic. I allowed 3 hours and it took four, with many stops and much huffing and puffing. I did make it to the top and climbed into the lookout. It was already occupied by a nursing student who’d made it up earlier in the day. She was settled in, planning on spending the night, so she made it up with a full pack. I only carried my usual 25# adventure pack. We chatted a little while I made my lunch and rested. About 3 I headed back down. I would have explored a little bit, and rested longer, but I was already 2 hours later arriving than planned. Because of the steepness of the trail, getting down would not be much faster than going up. And it was getting dark soon. I made it down in about 2 hours and it was getting pretty dusky at the bottom of the valley where I was parked.

My new boots worked well. They’re a bit clunky and stumbled over things a bit – I’ll just have to get used to them. The main thing is that there was no damage to my toes after that steep downhill hike.

No injuries. The trekking poles helped some. They are good for resting while standing. They do get tangled in vegetation because they’re so light. I’m not sure they are better than my heavy walking stick.

Note: read the instructions on the freeze-dried food packages. They are not all the same. I was pretty tired and mentally fogged when I got to the top and made my lunch on automatic. The Turkey Casserole dinner (see picture) takes less water and a shorter steep time than the others I’ve had. It was still good and I ate both servings without any trouble.

Temperature was in the 40’s. I wore light hiking pants and long-sleeve hiking shirt. I started out with a jacket but warmed up quickly. At the top I put the jacket back on.

I took 2 liters in my hydration pack and 750ml in a bottle. I used every drop. I only took 1 Pemmican bar, ate that along the way and was starving when I got to the top.

For next time: Take more snacks and water. Start earlier.

Will I do this again? Absolutely! I want to spend a night up there and see the stars.

 

Salmon River: Take 1

Salmon River: Take 1

On Thursday, August 2, 2018 I hiked along the Salmon River.

This is further preparation for an overnight hike to Lake Kinzel. This picture shows the route I took. On the far right you can see a blue dot. That is Lake Kinzel, 1700 feet above my turn-around point. From there a trail parallells the Salmon River trail along a ridge and then ends a little northwest of the starting point. Next time… (Click on the map to enlarge it)


Total Distance: 13.1 miles (21km)
Total climb: 3699 feet (1128m)
Total time on the trail: 8.5 hours

Here are the pictures. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate them. Most pictures were taken with OnePlus 5 phone. Some with a Canon G10.


The Salmon River trailhead is about an hour from the house. It is located in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness which has some large areas of old-growth forest. Considering how rugged and steep some of the canyons are, it is no wonder that loggers would look for easier pickings.

The weather forecast was for cool, cloudy, and possibly some rain, which suited me just fine. I’m usually soaked anyway so a little rain would help me keep cool.

Here is how it went:
07:20 Left house. Some drizzle and hilltops wreathed in clouds.
08:00 Turned off highway onto Salmon River Road (at the Subway)
08:25 Arrived at the parking area by the bridge beyond Green Canyon Campground. Only two other cars here. Start hiking.
09:19 About 2 miles in, at sign-in station. Moving along easily and in no rush so I can check out some of the campsites and some side trails. Trail starts heading up-hill and away from the river at this point. Weather started to clear up. None of the hoped-for rain arrived.
13:00 At Kinzel Lake Trail beginning. According Runkeeper I’ve come 6.78 miles. The map says it’s 6 miles so my side explorations have added a bit to that. Walked a little way up the trail. It looks pretty and the map says it is only 2.2 miles to the lake, however it climbs another 1700 feet! That would take a few more hours and there’d be no time or energy to return. Definitely an overnight trip. Woohoo!
Settled down for lunch. There was a campsite a little ways back, but no view. I just stayed here, spread a ground sheet on a level area and heated some soup. I could have eaten the soup cold, out of the box, but having it hot is much more pleasant, and refreshing. Had a pack of Belvita crackers to go with it.
13:45 Prepared to head back. Oops!!! Very stiff getting up, sat too long in one position and right hip didn’t want to work. Finally got loosened up and headed back.
14:20 Stopped at a stream to soak feet. I had some very sore toes and discovered three bruised toenails. Arrgh! I trimmed them all back last night, hoping to avoid this. I need to get new boots! Water was cold! Could only keep feet in a few seconds at a time, but it felt really good.
Further on I started to get tired and knees were getting sore, so I was taking frequent breaks. No more detours or sightseeing. Skies got pretty clear and I was on the hillside facing the sun so it got pretty warm. Probably just in the 70’s but still…
17:00 Back at the car. Changed shirt, put on sandals and waded in the water. The river is a bit warmer than stream I put my feet into. It felt good on feet and knees.

Equipment…
Bear pack with 3L Bladder (holding 2.5L) and the usual stuff, some just for weight. Total: 25lbs (11kg)
Usual clothes & wooden staff

Food…
Had banana and müsli for breakfast before I left
Luna protein bar about 10:00
Soup box and crackers for lunch
Latte and Tomato/Mozzarella sandwich on way home
Took 2.5L water in bladder. 0.5L remained when I got home

Traffic…
It was a weekday so I hoped for light traffic. There were day-campers in the camp sites. Only met one group of hikers past the 2-mile sign-in station. Met a lone hiker at about 4 miles in. Chatted briefly and agreed that hiking alone in the wilderness is our “church”, and we do it in spite of our families’ bewilderment. She was accompanied by a miniature Italian greyhound (Frankie).
More traffic on the way back, again inside the 2-mile mark. Several groups. About 8 cars in the lot.

Technology…
I used the Garmin inReach Explorer+ extensively. I’ve used it in the past for tracking and navigation but haven’t had much luck using the messaging function. This time I tested extensively before the trip and reread the instructions.
I did the self test in the parking lot and it took a few minutes to complete. I sent messages to SJ along the way, usually whenever I had an open space beside the river or on an outcropping. I also stayed still while I waited for the message to get through. It worked pretty well and took about 10 to 20 minutes for a message to go out. Replies would come in while I was hiking again. I kept the unit on top of the pack and used a phone app to send and receive messages via BT connection. The Garmin has a 3 to 4 day battery life but the phone was at 30% when I got back to the car. I will need a backup battery or charging system for longer hikes.

Injuries…
Bruised toenails. Looks like at least three will be coming out, maybe a fourth.
Knees started to get painful after about 10 miles. Needed to take frequent breaks after that.

For next time…
The water bladder works great while hiking but is not so good when I stop and take the pack off. Need some water in a bottle for sipping while resting, cooking and washing. Forgot cup.
Bring a few paper towels to wipe out the pot in case I’m not near water.
Left thermometer behind, again! Want to record air and water temps.
Bring more headbands and bandanas.
Need a piece of stiff foam 12″ x 12″ (expanded PVC?) as a stove base for uneven ground.
Schedule more rests, even if not tired.

Other notes…
Mosquitoes: Wasn’t bothered by them while hiking but I did notice a few gathering while I stopped for lunch. So, while I didn’t need any repellent on the hike, they might be a problem when I camp, especially if I stop by a lake.

I like the wooden staff better than a trekking pole

I’m writing this an the Saturday after and have only slight soreness left, Yeah!

And great fun was had by all!

A Foray into Gifford Pinchot National Forest

A Foray into Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Just north of the Columbia River, along the Cascades, is the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I finally had a chance to check it out as a possible adventuring area. According to the maps I have, I should have been able to go to Carson and then follow some forest routes for a ways and then follow the Lewis River west and then return home. Things turned out a little differently, and more fun.

Here is the track I followed: (Click on the map to enlarge it)

Here are the pictures. You should maximize the slide viewer (in the top left corner) to properly appreciate the pictures.

From Gresham it took about an hour to get to Cascade Locks where you can cross the Columbia via the Bridge of the Gods. After some detours and short side explorations I ended up in Carson ( 1 ) about a half hour later. I gassed up at the single gas station and followed Wind River Road looking for Panther Creek Road. I found Bear Creek Road and took the next one ( 2 ), which was unmarked. It turned out to be the one I wanted.

Panther Creek Campground ( 3 ) has quite a few sites, not too crowded together. Some were reserved, and there were still a few open sites, despite the Memorial Day weekend. There is access to Panther Creek.

The road is nice and smoothly paved, 1 1/2 lanes wide. Real fun to drive on. Eventually I got to the intersection with 60 ( 4 ) and encountered a sign that indicated there might be a change in plans. The pavement soon ended and dust swirled on the gravel road. That wasn’t too bad until oncoming traffic zoomed by. Since I had the windows and roof open, there was soon dust everywhere. Falls Creek Horse Camp ( 5 ) would be a nice place to camp, and there are several trails around there.

An open spot along the road provided a nice view of Mt St Helens above the trees. I convinced one of the local bears to take a picture of me and Orion.

We got to what the sign warned about: a culvert was plugged and a small creek washed over the road ( 6 ). The original plan was to follow forest roads to ( 6a ), or even further north along the Lewis River and then head west. Large 4WD vehicles made it over fine, but without tools to level things out a little, I didn’t want to risk getting stuck, or worse, damaged. I don’t think breakdowns out here are covered by the roadside assistance coverage. And how would I contact them anyway? So, I backtrack to the intersection with 60 and head west. Poor Orion wanted so badly to cross the stream, and after watching the 4WD truck go through he had a serious case of big tire envy!

Along the way there was an inviting turn-off. After following some hillside-hugging and overgrown roads we ended up in a large meadow ( 7 ). Careful examination revealed that the flat area is actually a huge flattened pile of gravel. This might have been a gravel depot for preparing the forest roads. In the course of trying to find a route through the forest, I found several similar, smaller sites which might have been work and storage areas for road crews. All that was left was piles of gravel, trash, and evidence of much target practice.

This was a good place to have lunch and I convinced another bear to take our pictures. Unfortunately the bears are very bashful and wouldn’t let me take their picture. We had lunch and tea and said our good byes. A nice thing about this place: it was very quiet! Some wind, some birds and a few insects was all I could hear. What a place to have a cabin, and there was already an outhouse.

I was trying to find a route back to Wind River Road without having to return to 60, but failed. I got over a berm and moved a few (small) fallen trees but eventually the prepared road ran out. Again we backtracked, and continued on 60. The gravel road gave way to smooth pavement that wound through trees and we slalomed joyously along the traffic-free path until we rejoined Wind River Road ( 8 ).

It was a scenic drive to, and along, the Lewis River. McClellan Viewpoint ( 9 ) provided a spectacular panoramic view of Mt St Helens. The lakes looked pretty but trees blocked most of the view. It was getting late so I didn’t stop at any of the parks. The last picture was taken at ( 10 ).

Overall, the wilderness I passed through was rather typical, dry forest. It was pretty, but not really what I was looking for. At least I now know what it is, and may come back for some more exploring, particularly around Mt St Helens, but I think I need to aim west if I want to find rain-forest.

Equipment I need for Orion so we can go more places (because I can’t get him the big tires he wants):

  • Large folding bow saw
  • Collapsible but sturdy pick/shovel
  • Long tow strap, to reach to the nearest tree
  • Manual winch
  • Blocks to put under scissor jack, maybe pieces of 2×8 or 4×4
  • Wheel chocks