The Unusual and Exciting, Typically Hazardous, Adventures of the Ice Age Bacon Patrol

Friday, September 2, 2016

Smith Creek Lake

In June the Patrol headed to the Trinity Mountain area to hike to Smith Creek Lake. This time of year access to the top of Trinity Mountain and its many hiking trails is limited by a motor vehicle gate. Just before the gate you can find the parking area and trail head that takes you north west to Smith Creek Lake. As soon as the pickup doors opened we felt the chilled air and realized that it was still very cool at this altitude. Undeterred (and motivated to move by a three hour drive) the boys pulled on the packs and hit the trail.

The trail was a little more challenging than anticipated with a fair amount of elevation change and some very green hikers. The boys persevered though, and we arrived at a suitable campsite (about half a mile from the lake) at dusk. After setting up tents we started a fire and the boys broke out their solid fuel tablet stoves to prepare dinner, which consisted mainly of ramen noodles and mountainhouse meals. Worn out from the hike everyone slept soundly, despite the chilly night.

The next morning we enjoyed an oatmeal breakfast, shared some stories about young Ammonite warriors and hiked without packs up to the lake. The area was very beautiful but very unique. A large wildfire swept through this area a few years ago and it is just now starting to recover. After hiking and messing around the lake it was time to hike out. Most endured this well, but some were a little cranky and tired by the time we got to the trucks. All and all a great adventure and a new area checked off the bucket list.

Ready at the trail head.

Leftovers from previous Scout troops.

Our campsite for the night; we'd just packed up and were heading up to the lake.

Smith Creek Lake

A Scout Father pulling double duty, carrying one of the Scout's packs.

Made it back! Celebrate with some Takis.

Note the Trooper on the far right; he was not a happy hiker at this point in the day.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Dash Creek Hot Spring

For our May outing the Scouts requested a backpacking trip (first of the season). We decided to try a new trail and traveled north of Crouch to the Middle Fork Trailhead on the Payette River. The weather forecast called for rain so we made sure we had ponchos and solid tents and hit the trail.

It soon became evident that this particular trail had not been cleared by trail crews yet this year as we clamored over tree after tree. But for whatever reason we really only encountered this problem during the first mile. After that the trail was clear and easy to follow. There were some steep sections of the trail. One misstep in these areas and you would find yourself rolling all the way to the river below. The area was beautiful and green though, with everything slightly damp from recent rain.

The Scouts came to a quick realization that they had overpacked for this trip. Their backpacks were heavy and cumbersome and once in camp we saw that much of what they had brought was excess (six pack of soda, lots of candy, two or three pairs of clothes, etc). Nothing like lugging a pack that is over half your body weight to teach you to pack lighter! More stringent bag checks next month...

About three miles in we arrived at our camp site. Dash Creek enters the river here and there is a natural hot spring just up the creek. We pitched tents and settled in for some dehydrated meals. A couple of the boys tried out the hot spring but had trouble balancing the piping hot water from the spring and the cool water from the creek. It was late in the day so we were in our tents sleeping in no time.

The night was clear and cool but early in the morning the clouds rolled in and a steady rain started to fall. We waited out the rain in our tents and had a late start to the day around 9:00 when the rain broke. The rest of the day was clear and we had blue skies for the hike out. Boiling springs is very close to the parking area so we took an hour for a final soak then hit the road for home.

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Canoeing the Owyhee Reservoir

The Ice Age Bacon Patrol took their wanderings to the state of Oregon for their April outing. We rented canoes from a gentleman in the community that is very supportive of the Scouting program and traveled to Leslie Gulch to put into the Owyhee Reservoir. The plan was to start at Leslie Gulch and paddle south (up river) to Echo Rock. There we would camp overnight, explore the area and paddle back out Saturday afternoon.

The drive to Leslie Gulch isn't too exciting, at least not until you crest one of the final hills that drops you into a landscape interrupted by massive rock formations and cliffs. The boys were all abuzz as we drove through the canyon, all describing their personal Rorschach visions in the rock. "That one looks like a cow!" says one Scout. "You mean an interrupting cow," responds another. "No, I mean a..." and he is cut off with a loud "MOOOOOO!"

As we arrived at the boat ramp we were surprised to see how high the water level was in the reservoir. We hiked along the water line to Echo Rock this very month two years ago but that trail was completely inaccessible now. We congratulated ourselves on not trying to replicate that trip and for bringing canoes instead. We set to work unloading the canoes from the trailer and prepping our gear and provisions. We were using a poor mans version of a dry bag and stowed everything in trash compactor bags tied off with a little piece of wire. Though not a long term solution, more than adequate for an single night trip.

With the canoes ready we conducted our safety brief and went through the basics of canoeing; launching, paddling, low center of gravity, beaching, capsize recovery, etc. Nothing like learning everything you need to know 10 minutes before embarkation. None of the boys had canoed before and I would be lying if I told you that we leaders had just a little apprehension about that fact. Adding to our nerves was a gusty wind that would come and go. We really didn't expect it to get worse but some of the blows started some decent waves. But, as Napoleon said, "Commit, then figure out the details." In true Boy Scout fashion we set off!

The trip rapidly evolved from this point, and in a very positive way. I watched as the boys each came to the unnerving realization that they were afloat in unfamiliar and somewhat tipsy vessels atop some very cold water. Some were wide eyed, others stone faced but all were extremely focused as their canoes spun in circles with uncertain paddle strokes. Then the wind began to die and the water glassed. The communication between canoe partners eased and the paddles began to dip into the water with rhythmic consistency. Now enter the smiles. With the Scout's growing confidence they realized that they were in control, free to roam anywhere on this vast lake at a whim. It was like seeing a 16 year old getting their drivers license and being handed the keys of freedom.

The paddle to our camp site was perfect. With a soft breeze at our backs and the sun still high off the horizon we took our time, exploring every cove and crook at our leisure. We arrived at our campsite with enough daylight to pitch tents and get the food started for dinner. We ate and then headed over to the hot spring for a soak. We enjoyed the contrast of the piping hot water and the cool early spring air. We dried off and headed to bed. That night the temperature dipped near freezing so we woke up with frost on the tents and frozen swimming suites on the grass.

Some warmed up through hot oatmeal, others by running back to the hot spring. We broke camp later that morning and paddled over to Echo Rock. We beached the canoes and climbed the rock to get the view from the top. After climbing down we set off on the return leg of the trip. Again the weather was perfect, the water glassy and the Scouts were loud and have a great time.

Loaded and ready to go.