Deschutes Float

It's been really hot here the past week, so yesterday we (Yancy, Karen, Sydney) went for a 3+ hour float down the Deschutes from above Sunriver to Benham Falls. Sydney's friend Jade, her sister Jenna, and their dad Rob came along. It was pretty relaxing until a late afternoon thunderstorm developed and we had to paddle hard for an hour to get to the take out spot.

Day 2 at Fish Lake

We went for a really fun mountain bike ride. We started out riding up on top of the ridge over the lake. It was plenty warm, and the snow was quickly melting just above us. We were able to ride about half way down into this valley. At the bottom is Fish Creek which dumps into the Donner and Blitzen about 15 miles downstream. About as picturesque as one could ask for.

Steens 7.8.06

We're just back from a week of camping in eastern Oregon and visiting friends, Scott and Lolita Pine, in McCall, Idaho. We camped next to the Donner und Blitzen river in the Steens Mountains, then much higher up at Fish Lake. That was a very nice spot.

On the way home we went a more northern route and camped next to Magone Lake in the Malheur Mountains, just outside of John Day. A very nice spot as well, but with way too many people. Myabe it's just a little too accessable to Portland. I don't think we'll go back there.

Twin Pillars

Getting to the Twin Pillars was a bit of a pain. The trail is pretty much gone after years of lack of maintenance and we ended up bushwacking it. Plus, it was only a marginally interesting rock formation. So there was some frustration with this part of the hike but Sydney passed the test and we know that we can do some real backpacking with her this summer. Not bad for a 10 year old.

Mill Creek Wilderness 7.1.06

The boys are in Costa Rica visiting Mom & Dad, and we're taking advantage of the opportunity. Last weekend Karen, Sydney and I went back packing in the Mill Creek Wilderness in the Ochoco Mountains. Sydney has been camping since she was a baby and has done plenty of day hikes into wilderness areas, but this was her first backpacking trip. It was just an overnighter, but she had to carry her gear and food. We all had a good time.

The walk in was just 3 miles, which gave us lots of time to set up camp and fool around in the creek for much the afternoon. The next day we took a long loop out - 9 miles and over 3000 feet in elevation gain and then descent via a geological formation called the Twin Pillars. That day was tiring. Sydney was a trooper.

The Mill Creek Wilderness is a nice spot. Just over an hour east from our house, but remote. Mill Creek is small, but holds a ton of small brook trout and I caught more than my fair share. We saw a couple of deer and caught just a glimpse of an elk as it ran away.

Next week we're off to eastern Oregon and Idaho camping in our tent trailer.

The Spot We Camped In

We spent the night along the stream bed behind Karen and Sydney in this photo.