Glorious Proletariat Camp and Melon Bust - Big Bottom 4-2011

[hambone]

Allright! See you tomorrow.
Hal the stuff at home can wait a couple days, you need a break.
BRING FIREWOOD!!!

[Gypsie]

I think I'm gonna try heading out Friday after work. Hopefully Hal will travel the same route so's he can pick me up if need be. I will know well before getting outback if there's gonna be a problem and if something happens in the sticks I will just hunker down and wait for Hal Saturday or the gang coming out Sunday...

I was a hairsbreadth from tenting it with the Bug. Thank goodness...

[Gypsie]

Here goes nutn'

[Gypsie]

'Twas truly glorious.

Powered there, great temps, great power, not so great idle zone.

Oh well. Feeling more and more comfortable with the Vans running ability.

Here are some pix -in no particular order.
Back in the Saddle


Smilin' Bob..


I played around with my camera a bit this weekend. using some of the variable settings, aperture, shutterspeead etc. There were some interesting shots.

Dancing Sprite:

Fireside Chat:



Hal and Sluggo mixed up the drinks:



Always cool stuff to see in camp:


Three Decades:


A'course we went hiking.


And Bob worked the trail:



I looked for as many secrets as I could find.

X marks the spot:



Hangin' out:



Fungusamungus:


Planet Scat:


Uh...Animal Scat with the rare and delicate "Poop Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest..."



Blanket


Now this may be strange but I love finding textures and colors that play nice together.

Idon't know why but this one just tickles my minds eye.



We camped near a snow melt engorged creek. The ground had snow on it, and you could practically watch the snow recede from the road and the melt evaporate...

It was definitely a water elemental weekend.

Anyway these next are an attempt to capture a part of the energy:
This is Rho Creek:











I am pretty sure this is still Rho Creek just before hitting the Clacky. Crystal Clear:






Fawn Creek (a couple miles away from camp):



as the weekend progressed the coolers kept getting lighter and lighter cause the beers were going missing.

I thought I had snapped an image of the legendary "BeerSquatch":


But after some photoshoppin' I found another legendary, equally elusive, creature was taking them. Hambone Bob, Adventure Guide....

[Sluggo]

Pictures!!! Just a few of the 168 pics I took. The rest are here http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll23 ... 1QQtppZZ24

As we started entering the Cascades we hit snow. Not a lot.


Then it started to get a little deeper but still not bad.



By an amazing stroke of luck the real snow line started right at our camp. Another 10 yards and the snow is too deep to drive on.



Thursday night was very very cold. Couldn't even get the fire to stay lit. We even used kerosene and it still would not light. Too much snow & moisture.


Friday morning I woke up to a crashing sound.



A big bunch of snow must have fallen off the tree and onto my awning. The bows were bent backwards and the canopy was up against the Bus blocking the slider and passenger door. My drivers door was right next to a tree leaving very little room to get out. Table and everything on it flipped because it was tied to the leg of the canopy for stability. Amazingly, when I cleaned the snow off the canopy popped right back up and into place.


Snow on the Bus.


Buses in the Mist


The rest of the day was wonderful. Beautiful rain forest all around. Went on a hike with Bob & his little one up an old trail from the 20's that Bob had spent a long time clearing and bringing back to life. Probably the most beautiful, awe inspiring walk I've ever taken.





















We had to cross some fallen trees to get across the river. Better keep your balance.






It got even more beautiful (& snowy) from there.




We ran into Bob's friend Don & his dog Murphy on the way back. Scared me for a second to see an animal just standing in front of me all of a sudden.





Murphy couldn't stay out of the water. Great dog!



Went on another small hike down an abandoned trail. This pic reminds me of the "Houses Of The Holy" album cover.





















Zig Zag tree


Tristessa the Sun God!


Fun around the camp fire.





Gypsie around Midnight on Saturday.


Great scenery, great people, great food & great times. Truly one of the most beautiful places on earth! The Cascades have inspired me to join the Forestry Service as a volunteer.

[hambone]

Great picks guys!!!!!!!
I gotta get mine online, probably time to get the blog going.

[hambone]

I don't know what the HELL is going on with our collective consciousness, but I went to Rho Creek with my family this weekend. 50 miles from a town, and always seemed like a remote camp. After a long drive, we pull up to discover tons of fresh poop n' paper piles, trashbag hanging from a tree, animal spine left to dangle from a rope, mercilessly chopped saplings around the camp, motorcycle damage on the trail itself...man I worked hard on restoring that trail from lost. And someone tried to melt down a stereo in the firepit.
I have been camping around Rho for 6 years and have never seen anything like this. Very sad, and almost ruined my weekend. Is this just the way it is in the white man's world? Very sad. How to protect sacred, yet public land? The Clackamas, Portland's toilet.

[RussellK]

What is the point of people leaving a mess like that? I just don't get it.

[Sluggo]

People seriously piss me off. Crap like this is why I didn't like camping in SoCal.

[hambone]

Once Labor Day comes, the woods are silent again until Memorial Day. A freaking relief lemme tell ya.

[Mike Boell]

Hammy,
I'm ready to go again.
April 28th / 29th is open for me.
Mike

[hambone]

Except this was last year, so you'll need a time machine. Next bus camp is probably in early May, maybe Pot Creek because it's a cool place right off FS46. There or Big Bottom, there is another camp I know of but it can only fit a couple buses.
If you want to take any family camps, I'd be glad to give you some suggestions. Or get a district map and just go find one! Trailheads often have good camps nearby, but we are very limited right now due to the snow level.
www.trailadvocate.org has a trail index

Pot Creek. (it's nice to have these articles for reference!)
http://greencascadia.blogspot.com/2011_ ... chive.html