Trip to Black Bar June 28th 2009

Since we've met, Addy's been telling me about this lodge in southern Oregon on the Rogue River that she used to work at late in high school and early in college and saying that we should go down to see it. Its called Black Bar and its is mostly used as a lodge for people rafting down the Rogue River, which has up to class I-V rapids along a 16 mi stretch that has been designated as a Wild and Scenic River, so it is protected from development. It sounded awesome and I was excited to finally get to go this summer. Addy got in touch with her old boss, the owner, John and he graciously arranged for us to stay one night in one of the cabins at the lodge.

We drove to Grant's Pass on Friday, taking the dog with us, so Addy's parents could watch him, while we were on this little trip. We arrived at their house and Addy's mom had dinner ready, carne asada and "chopped-up" (her amazing, super fresh, chunky avo, tom, onion, cilantro salsa). After eating way too much of her good food, we just hung out, talking and laughing having a beer. The next morning, we got up, had a little breakfast, and heading out to the trailhead. They had to drive us through the country to a river dock, where many of the river rafting outfitters put in to start their adventure. They left us their with our backpacks and water and plans to rendezvous back in 30 hours.

The hike in to Black Bar is 10 mi along a ridge trail that follows the river and is not busy, at least that time of year. The preferred method of getting down the river canyon is by boat or raft, but some do it the way we did. The weather was hot and clear and made for breathtaking views and a refreshing journey. On the hike we saw few other people, particularly once we past a small campsite near Whisky Creek Lodge. It was my first time, so I marveled at the natural beauty (which Addy likes to make fun of me for) in the canyon, from the different types of trees to the little lizards that were constantly running across our path, to the vistas of river, tree-filled valleys, and stone-sided canyon. The 10 mi went quickly and we arrived at the sand bar, where we were to meet John to get rowed across the river. We got in the water to cool off and laid in the sun, like the lizards, for a short time, then he showed up, with two cold beers all ready for us. What a great welcome!! He showed us to our cabin, we got settled in and then Addy gave me the tour, narrating as we went. It is a pretty amazing place. The lodge was built back in 1912(ish) and until recent years, the only way to get there was to hike, boat, or fly in. John has added a few cabins and added a better kitchen, but the main cabin is still original and has that distinctly rustic feel. We hung out on the lawn, which used to be the landing strip, until dinner was ready. Dinner is served family style around a large table. That night we were the only ones that weren't part of the large party that were rafting and the guides that were leading them. They shared their wine with us and we all shared conversation and fried chicken. John spoiled us, making us truly feel like guests of honor, by bringing Addy extra veggies and keeping a full beer in front of us the whole time. After dinner we shared beers with John, while he and Addy caught up and he got to know me enough to approve. Addy warned me that it got dark there, but with no power after 10pm and being in the canyon dark is not a strong enough word, it got blindingly dark. It was so dark, I nearly went blind, trying to see my hand when it was held six inches in front of my face. It was so quiet and still, that it had a certain effect on me, which my friends would recognize (I slept like a rock, a really, really old rock).

The next morning, we arose and had breakfast with everyone (John gave Addy 3 pancakes compared to everyone else's 2). Again, spent some time with John until it was time to get packing and start hiking back. He rowed us across, we thanked him profusely and we got back to it. It was another hot, clear day, but the views going the other way were just different enough to make it worth going back the way we came. We stopped a few times, because we knew we were going to get to the rendezvous early, but still got there way early. So, we kept walking back toward the little "town" on the way to her parents house. Shortly after we started, we realized that we were not going to make it all the way there without water, so we hitched a ride with an old hippy couple. They were really nice and were just out for a drive near where they had once lived. They dropped us off at the resort/lodge/restaurant/gas station where we had the weakest nachos I think I've ever had. They were more like chili fries, but nachos. Weird. Addy's parents met us there after a little bit and we headed back to their place for dinner.

I had taken Monday off, so that we could have a little longer weekend, so we decided to go out to Applegate Lake. We tried to stop by an old corner market that Addy used to get sandwiches from, but when we got there, they were in the act of tearing down the building that used to house it. We went into the new building next door and found that they had moved into that building. The sandwich was great, but Addy could not get over the building being torn down. The drive out to the lake was interesting. We apparently went the back way, as it was nearly all gravel roads with lots of "No Trespassing" signs. We ate our sandwiches as we travelled this long-cut, enjoy each other's company. We eventually came to the lake, greeted by an amazing view of the lake, cradled by the valley, the peaks snow-capped in the distance. We followed Addy's directions by memory, which led us not to the beach on Applegate lake, but eventually to a mountain lake called Squaw Lake. I swear it is the lake where they filmed "Indian Summer". It is so picturesque, it is only fitting that we forgot the camera. We didn't forget Jackson (the dog), though, and he had a blast. We all got in the cool, refreshing spring-fed water and it felt great. Jackson was hesitant at first, but once we got him in, it was hard to keep him out. We taught him to swim and fetch, to rescue (acting like we needed his help in the water), and to put his head underwater to get a rock. After spending an hour or so there, we got in the car and headed back home. This time, the fast way, on paved roads. We had dinner at Circle J, the local artisan pizza joint with the best sweet potato fries ever!

We had to head home after that, but it was another great weekend adventure for the Dergmuttons!