Backpacking/Camping at Mt. Adams

Monday was a day off for Kevin (he's cut back to 90% time so he gets more days off regularly) and we decided to do a backpacking adventure at Mt. Adams. Our plan was to hike in a mile or two, set up camp and then explore from there.

Because we were each carrying our own share of what we would need for camping, I didn't bring the good camera along.

There was a forest fire here in 2012 so the first mile or so was through what remains. It was cool to see the forest coming back to life, though.

After setting up our tent, we set off to find a water source and came upon Morrison Creek about 1/2 mile further up the trail.

It was a beautiful, alpine setting with gorgeous wildflowers growing all around, and the water was cascading down rocks and making lots of little water falls.

We filled up with water and headed back to camp for dinner.

We found a great overlook with a gorgeous view of Mt. Adams and a wonderful place to watch the sun set.

After a not so good night of sleep, we set off for a hike up Mt. Adams. Here's a photo I found on line that will give you an idea of what we did. Our car was parked at Cold Springs Camp. We hiked into the Crescent Glacier Snow area to camp. Then in the morning we hiked up to Lunch Counter. This is where most people hike to and camp over night...then set off to summit the next day.

It was a bit windy up there!

There are lots of camping spots like these...tents inside rock circles which have been built to help protect from the wind. On weekends, these spots are all taken and it's quite crowded. We didn't see too many people up there on Monday morning.

And this is looking up the glacier at Lunch Counter - as high as we got.

Then we hiked down to our camp site, packed up everything and hiked out. We were all pretty tired by the time we got to the car. It was a fun adventure, but I don't dream of spending an extended period of time on the trails. I never sleep well when camping so it's not my favorite thing.

Hells Canyon Camping Trip - Sunday and Monday

Sunday we (Syd and Kay) did some more horse riding. We tried a different horse this time and it was a better experience. The only water source was a couple troughs that collected water from a spring. So we were off to water the horses and filter some more drinking water.

Here are the guys at the water trough....filtering water. This particular set of troughs was about 1/2 mile from our camp.

Thank God for water filters....I couldn't help but think about the millions of people around the world who don't have filters and would just have to drink water like this. I'll be talking more about this over at Compassion Family on Friday.

We also went to the other trough in the opposite direction on Sunday afternoon to wash our hair (and get more drinking water).

Our pastor's wife offered to french braid Kayleigh's hair and she was in heaven!

This is Josh and Cheyanne - one of the hunting couples.

The girls (and Kevin) made several houses for their animals....

On Sunday evening, Kevin and I joined Mike and Jeanette (our pastor and his wife) as they glassed the ridge - looking for buck and other wildlife. The views were beautiful. I didn't see a single living thing, though!

This is Brooke....the pastor's youngest daughter. Kayleigh and Sydney had so much fun playing with her. They caught a grasshopper and roasted it....the previous night Kevin agreed to eat one if they roasted it for him.

This was Sydney's pet grasshopper, Rosa (Spanish for pink). Rosa had pink stripes. This one made the trip home with us, but was promptly released in our backyard.

Just before we left Monday morning, Mike (our pastor) came walking back to camp with the head of this buck. It was the first (and as far as we know the only) deer that was successfully hunted.

Here is an aerial view of Mike's deer. He covered it with his orange jacket and was headed back to get it with the horses. Kevin took this picture as we flew out.

This is the group - minus two guys - just before we left. Our family was the first to leave. Four others flew out yesterday and the remaining five will leave on Thursday.

Ready for takeoff....

View of the Wallowa Mountains near Enterprise, OR

And that ends the Hells Canyon Camping Adventure of 2011.