Camping trip to Willamette National Forest May 09

This past weekend, Addy and I went camping.  I had decided to go somewhere in the valley and found out online about Willamette National Forest, which is 50 miles East of Albany (3 hrs SSE of Portland).  There are many different campgrounds at different elevations most having opened only a week or two earlier and the ones at higher elevations still being closed by snow.  We left home in the evening and didn't get to area until dark.  I hadn't really decided on which campground to stay at, but had somewhat randomly decided to stay at a smaller one called House Rock.  The gravel road down to the campground was a little scary in the dark, and we didn't really know if it was going to be nice or not.  We got the tent set up and crashed for the night.  When we woke in the morning, we found that we have hit a gold mine.  The campsite was right on the creek that rushed past, separate from the other sites by trees with a fire pit, picnic table and room for 2 tents (not that we needed it).  I started a fire using the teepee method, which Addy criticized and said that she was going to make the next fire using the log cabin : )  

After breakfast burritos and coffee, we were ready to hit the trail.  We walked to the camp hosts RV and they pointed us in the direction of the trailhead.  The first item of interest was the camp's namesake, House Rock, which is a cavern that settlers, indians, and others would use to take shelter.  It was pretty neat, but nothing compared to the overhang at Silver Falls.  The next point of interest were some falls that fed the creek that went past our campsite.  Again, not the most impressive falls, but still gorgeous with a rock wall backdrop and the sheer volume of water.  From there, we joined the Santiam Wagon Trail which is a trail that follows the old wagon road from Albany to Eastern Oregon, past Sisters.  The trail follows over 29 miles of the old road through ridges, valleys, and rivers.  It was fun to imagine, for a moment, what it would have been like to be the people traveling on the old wagon road.  Having to cross the rivers with your cargo and keeping your horses under control and all the difficulties they may have faced.  We hiked for a few miles, enjoying the sun, beauty, and quiet.  We didn't see a single other person out all morning.  It was just Addy, Jackson, and me.  It was just what I wanted and needed.  We decided to turn around after reaching a outcrop that afforded some great pics.  Jackson was beat, too.  He panted the whole way back.  We went back to the site and ate lunch, lounged in the sun by the creek and read our books.  

I still wanted to check some other stuff out in the area, but it was further away, so we jumped in the car and went sight-seeing.  The drive itself was gorgeous: ridges of fir trees, river valleys, and snow capped peaks.  We stopped at a waterfall lookout and were amazed again at the volume of water coursing over the cliff.  There was a placard that said it was twice the volume of Multnomah Falls.  There was a hiking trail that we followed down to the next falls.  The water was cold and blue from the snowmelt and kind of scary, because it was so fast.  After Addy snapped-up some great photos, we drove on south through more of the national forrest.  I wanted to check out a natural hot spring that I had seen online.  The hot springs were near a beautiful reservoir.  There was a cooling tower near the dam.  I read the placard and it was actually installed to cool the water coming out of the dam back down to the temperature it was naturally before being warmed in the reservoir.  This helps to keep the habitat intact for fish and other fauna.  It was pretty interesting.  We hiked back to the hot spring and it was under construction and disappointing.  We drove back to camp and had some burgers for dinner, relaxing around the fire with cold ones.  Addy made the fire and it worked much better than mine, of course.

The next morning, we took our time eating breakfast and getting things together to pack up.  Once everything was dry and packed, we drove to the trailhead of the hike that I thought I was leading us to the day before, Rooster Rock.  The trail was in the Menagerie Wildness, which I read had many rock formations and was popular with rock climbers.  The trail proved to be pretty intense.  It was a steep grade and continued that way the entire climb.  I believe it was an elevation gain of 1800 ft in 2.1 miles!  We took breaks, mostly for Jackson as he was already tired from the day before and would laid down as often as we would let him, and enjoyed the weather and views of the valley.  We didn't see anyone, again, until we made the summit (3657 ft).  There were a group of rock climbers scaling Rooster Rock itself.  We enjoyed the sun and the view, but unfortunately had forgotten the camera in the car.  The hike down was much easier (but we felt it later!) and Jackson led the way to the car.  

We had lunch packed, but decided to wait and have a picnic by the lake we had seen (by moonlight) on the way to camp on Friday.  We stopped at a viewpoint at the western end of the reservoir/lake and laid out a blanket on the bluff.  The weather was truly amazing and we just laid there in the sun on the blanket, reading and wishing that we didn't have to go back home and that the day could go on and on.  Eventually, it was time to head home.  Luckily, this is just the start to the summer.