We packed up the tent trailer and left home around 10:30. There was a lot of traffic, especially a lot of RV's (including us!) on the coast roads and Highway 22. We were supposed to meet Gustavo at Alesong at 2:00, and we left with some time to spare, but ended up being fifteen minutes late.
We left the house around 8:30 and drove almost an hour before I realized I had forgotten my hiking boots, so we stopped at REI in Hillsboro to get a new pair as that would be faster than going back home. We got off the highway in Cascade Locks and took the access road to the Herman Creek trailhead and ended up getting on the trail exactly at noon. Our pack weights came in at 34 and 32 pounds this time.
Gustavo and I met on Nestucca River Road after some slight missed connections due to the road being closed by a landslide. I found a different detour route than what he anticipated that I would use. Once we met up we headed north on Ginger Creek road, over to Old Toll Road, eventually getting to Bark Shanty and Hembre Ridge via Steampot Road, which is where we stopped for a scenic picnic lunch.
The weather finally matched Julie's availability and we set out to do a Thursday/Friday backpack at nearby Gales Creek. We hit the road at our target of ten. There was a lot of construction and traffic so we ended up starting our hike at eleven thirty.
The original plan was to spend Thursday night at the Best Western in Cascade Locks, then go on an overnight backpacking trip taking advantage of a short break in the rain. This would be our first backpacking trip in decades, and Julie was eager to try out our new tent, my new pack, and our new inflatable sleeping pads. Unfortunately the good weather window shortened considerably as the reservation approached, so we decided to just do some hiking. There was a medical call at 4:45 that morning. It ended up finishing around 5:30 and it was already getting light outside and I just stayed up. We got a fairly early start and were on the road to Cascade Locks before nine.
Upon return from our camping trip we went to a neighborhood Halloween party hosted by Bob & Gene. Almost everyone dressed up in costumes, and we dressed as backpackers, including carrying packs and walking sticks.
We missed the services for John Lamkin, a neighbor to our property in Netarts. We somehow managed to pass the whole morning having breakfast, watching the first episode of a new season of Harry Wilde(?), going to the Post Office, and finishing packing. We had lunch of left-over pizza, then started packing the trailer right after my new iPhone 15 Pro arrived.
The drive down to Carl G. Washburne State Park was only about two and a half hours. There was more traffic than we expected but, other than a few extremely slow drivers, the traffic was not a problem. We discussed some retirement finance topics on the drive - we'd just met with our financial advisor the day before and our chances of not going broke before our early nineties are still supposedly 98%.
We arrived and got set up by about five. We fed Daisy and then began exploring the campground. We found a trail out to the beach and ended up having a huge, beautiful beach to ourselves just before sunset.
Despite being summer it was a rainy day with lots of traffic in the central coast. Spent the day feeling chilled. Covered 326 miles over eight hours. I had been unable to find a hotel or motel attractive enough online to make a reservation, so I ended up trying a couple options in Klamath, California. The only place that was actually open, a newly-constructed Holiday Inn Express, was full. I ended up staying at the Motel Trees, which is across from the Trees of Mystery tourist attraction that is a few miles north of Klamath.
The Motel Trees rooms are fine, although the hotelier was a bit odd. I'm guessing people have trashed the rooms in the past, but she asked questions that suggested she would check my social media profile or something, and it felt intrusive.
More posts can be found in the archive.