Hambone Springs 7-20-07 to 7-22-07

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:48 am

The following is a letter to the editor from Lewis A McArthur that was published in the Oregonian, April 17th, 1944:

To the Editor: "For many years the editorial page of The Oregonian has had a generous attitude toward the phenomenon of nature. A good example of this is the fine treatment given the sidehill gouger in the editorial printed on Sunday, April 9. Newcomers to Oregon will have much better notion of what we have to offer in the way of rare and unusual".

"However, it seems to me that the Oregonian has neglected the splintercat. The animal has never been mentioned in your columns, or if it has, I have never seen the item. As woodsmen know, the splintercat is a nocturnal feline animal of great ferocity. It flies through the air with terrific speed and when it hits a large tree, it knocks the branches off, withers the trunk and leaves it standing like a silvery ghost. You have seen these dead snags in many parts of Oregon."

"The late T.H. Sherrard of the forest service first called my attention to the splintercat and described its activities. He admitted he had never seen one. But many years ago he and Dee Wright were camped near Hambone butte in the Clackamas River country, and in the night he heard a splintercat crash into a tree with great vigor. The next morning Tom found a giant snag not more than 100 feet from camp and he was quite certain that the splintercat was the cause of its destruction."

"It is only fair to say that when I asked Dee Wright about it, he said that he, Dee, was prowling around in the night and tripped over a log. That would account for the hubbub because Dee was very spirited, but it would not account for the dead snag."

"The fact that nobody ever saw a splintercat is no proof that it doesn't exist. Lots of people working on the swing shift are never seen in the daylight. The proof that the animals do exist may be seen in the fact that there is a fine little tributary to Roaring River that bears the name Splintercat Creek, and the name is on official government maps."

"It has been pointed out that quadrupeds don't ordinarily fly. You will recall that the walrus, in his memorable monologue on natural history, wondered if pigs had wings. Well, we don't have to ponder that question when it comes to cats. Cats have wings and the Oregonian says so. If your readers will look at Mr. Robert Ripley's drawing published on April 10 they will find a picture of a cat with wings, and that should settle the business. May we have more adequate treatment of the splintercat".

Westy78 · Post by **Westy78** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 3:04 pm

I think someone may have been eating some "special" mushrooms up there at Hambone Butte in '44.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:20 pm

Yes!

Hey I'll be leaving tomorrow early A.M.
Eva woke us up 4 times last night for various predawn crabby demands.........
Can't wait to see ya'll there!

Even in the rain.
RAIN!?!?

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:14 am

^^^^^

You made your post at a most excellent time of day.

Gypsie · Post by **Gypsie** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 10:49 pm

Twas truly a beeeeyutiful affair. from the huckleberry pancakes to the giggling children.

Here are some of my visions:

Checking out the area
[albumimg]1143[/albumimg]

High Art. I call this 'the ballerina

[albumimg]1146[/albumimg]

Memory Lane

[albumimg]1147[/albumimg]
Now that fire is DEAD OUT!

Hard Rock
[albumimg]1145[/albumimg]

Finger Pickin' Good!
[albumimg]1148[/albumimg]

Mountain road

[albumimg]1149[/albumimg]

Peace Love and Daisies
[albumimg]1144[/albumimg]

I'm sure there are more. Good times, Good Folk, Nice busses

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:56 am

Very nice pics, and thanks everyone for makin it happen!!!!

Westy78 · Post by **Westy78** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:46 pm

Good weekend despite the unlikely July weather on Saturday. I didn't take that many photos this time but here are a few.

Elwood · Post by **Elwood** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 6:21 pm

Hay you guys and families, the only thing I don,t see is signs of the "Splintercat"

You all sure don,t need to go to Canada to see unspoiled beauty too soon ( but should someday) Ya have it all right there to explore and injoy.

Great photos and would like to hear the giggles of the kids and music from the mandolin. IAC needs to produce those sounds of joy.

Thanks so much.

IFBwax · Post by **IFBwax** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:32 pm

That looks really cool.. what was the drive time from Portland from that trip? Can we make it a yearly thing?? I'd love to go next year!!!!!!

Westy78 · Post by **Westy78** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:00 pm

That's about 1½ hours from my place. It's actually on the same road that we were on going into Squaw Lakes only coming in from the opposite side of the wilderness. The last two or three miles get pretty rough but nothing a bus can't handle. I think it would be a great yearly trip. Even though it was the weekend there was no one else around.

Gypsie · Post by **Gypsie** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:24 pm

That would be a nice trip with a few more days thrown in. Hambone and I jwere talking about camping on top[ of Hambone butte (or thereabouts) easy 2 miles from the site we were at. (And we could get more of that trail cleared!)

That site was so beautiful. Fresh spring water handy. firewood, berries, a fightin' chance at seeing wildlife.

Lori got a little nervous on a couple of stretches of the road. Of course I wanted to stop at the most dramatic part of the drive with her facing the downhill side of a 100+ foot drop onto the boulders.

I am hoping Kinzel lake has some of the same charm.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 12:46 pm

P.S.
[albumimg]892[/albumimg]

BlissfullyCrusin · Post by **BlissfullyCrusin** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:03 pm

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I hope theres more of these once I move out there. You folks are getting me very excited about the move..well more so. DC is killing me on the inside..

Whats the weather like in November? Rainy I'm guessing but..eh..a little water never hurt anyone.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:07 pm

Rainy, very much so. Low 50s daytime, high 30s at nite more or less..
Short days, getting ridiculously shorter.

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:10 pm

BlissfullyCrusin wrote:Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I hope theres more of these once I move out there. You folks are getting me very excited about the move..well more so. DC is killing me on the inside..

Whats the weather like in November? Rainy I'm guessing but..eh..a little water never hurt anyone.

Yup, you should definitely come join us for some clammy camping PNW style.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Hambone Springs 7-20-07 to 7-22-07