Day 4
We awoke to a quiet and sunny morning, with the sound of running water from the Wallowa river next to our camp. As we were finishing up breakfast and preparing for the day’s drive, an older man approached us. He had a long white beard, and was wearing an old Tilley hat. His grey plaid shirt hug loosely off his body and his boots looked as if they had walked the world twice. It looked as though he had spent his fair time in the bush. His name was Pat, and he’s a native to Oregon. A conversation sparked up about Canada and how we’re from there. What I thought would be a five minute conversation, quickly turned into twenty, then forty five, then an hour long dialogue. He shared his odd view of the world and his strong political opinions. Things got a little weird when the conspiracy theories about geography, government and the US constitution were introduced so, we cut the conversation short and hit the road; nice to meet you Pat.
A short forest service road led us back out to the road where we picked up the US 82 west bound for the Mount Hood National Forest. Today, we’ll be crossing a large section of the Oregon desert to get to our destination. A quick stop at the gas station in Le Grande was in order for fuel and ice. After that, it was time to make a mile.
The northern centre of Oregon was dry and very rocky. It was hard to believe that this state actually borders the coast. The Columbia River ran along side the highway with us until around the time we hit “The Dalles”. The Dalles is the county seat and largest city of Wasco County in Oregon, with a population of 13,631. At this point, Mount Hood was becoming visible off in the distance. Even at 65 kilometres away, its presence was striking.
We make the turn off the highway, at exit 87, continuing south, closer and closer to Mount Hood.
As the mountain gets closer, the stops for pictures become more frequent, doing our best to soak up every second of this gorgeous scenery. Desert turns to farm land, which turns to small foothills beside the massive mountain. One of the reasons Mount Hood has such a presence is because it is one of the only prominent features around. The landscape surrounding it is relatively flat, when all of a sudden, as your eyes scan the countryside, they are met with the colossal volcano. Mount Hood is a volcano that last erupted in the 1790’s right before Lewis and Clark’s expedition to the PNW. It is predicted to erupt again; hopefully not during our stay.
Finally, we reach the dirt roads of the Mount Hood National Forest. The scenery is green and lush. The trees are tall, old, and have stood the test of time – many of them older than the two of us combined. Time to find camp and do some exploring. Tire pressures are set to 25 psi, just enough to quiet some of the intense corrugations that occur on ungraded dirt roads.
I have a camp sight plotted on the gps that should provide a decent view of the mountain. It was about 3 in the afternoon when we rolled up to the spot. You could in fact see the mountain, however, its view was obstructed by tall trees. So, we decide to hop back in the truck and cruise farther into the forest in search of a better spot. We’ve gotten used to rolling up to camp around 6-6:30 with little time to explore, so it’s a nice change to arrive early, as it gives us some time to look around and scout new camping arrangements.
At around 4:30, we were about to call it quits and turn back towards our originally intended spot… But, as we came around the next bend, we were stopped by a magnificent pullout in the road that was big enough to fit an RV. Thankfully, we don’t have an RV, which makes a spacious camp spot at no charge. Sounds pretty good? It gets better.
A magnificent view of Mount Hood stands just beyond the edge of our spot. A cliff leading to the valley below is right behind my tent and we are the only ones for miles.
That evening, we were graced with an amazing sunset. Good people, good food, and a good place; this evening will be hard to beat.
Day 5
Today, we’re driving from the Mount Hood National Forest to Portland, Oregon. After camping for the last four nights, a hot shower is calling my name. By this time, packing up camp is a set routine and everything finds its place in the truck rather quickly. The tires are re-inflated and we’re ready to hit the road. It’s about an hour and a half from our camp to the hotel in downtown Portland. The drive was fast and were both grateful to not be in the car for 10 hours today. As much as I love piloting the 4Runner, Its nice to have a day off to walk the streets of an unfamiliar city.
Two things struck me most about Portland: The first was the integration of trees in the downtown core. Huge trees of all kinds were everywhere – overhanging the streets, in the middle of sidewalks, even on the tops of buildings. It truly felt like you were in a jungle, until you notice that giant skyscraper to your left.
The second thing I picked up on in Portland was the very wide sidewalks and very narrow streets. The sidewalks aren’t just your average slab of cement either. They’re made of all different textures and materials including but not limited to; different coloured marbles, brick, cobblestone and smooth finished concrete. This definitely encourages people to walk/bike instead of drive. However, once outside of downtown, the roads widen out again. Walking is the way to go in the core of Portland.
That evening, we found ourselves in a sports bar planning the next few days ahead over a beer. The plan is to get out of the city tomorrow morning, head farther west to the coast, and find the sand dunes that I have heard so much about.
Day 6 part I
**(Day 6 was an incredibly long day as so much had happened. For this reason, we have decided to split it up into two parts.)** Day 6 part II will be released in part 3/3 of the Oregon trip.
I’ve definitely gotten used to sleeping in a tent over the years, but nothing beats a clean, comfortable bed with big fluffy pillows. Top it off with a free buffet breakfast (with the price of a hotel room, of course) and you have my vote! Coordinates are set to the closest beach as we leave Portland in the rear view mirror.
Soon enough, the landscape began to change. Different species of plants and wild flowers line the road and ocean air fills the truck. It’s a bit mysterious that we haven’t actually seen the ocean yet, but we can feel its presence.
The thick tree line broke free and exposed a beautiful view of the rugged coast line. It was better than any picture I’d ever seen. Tight winding corridors of thick trees flip flopped back and forth with open beaches as we made our was south down the coast line. On a previous trip to Vancouver Island, I felt that the coast was not very accessible. You really have to have a good idea of where you’re going and what you want to see when traveling through that area to find anything. This makes it hard being a traveler, as you do not know all of the ins and outs of the area. Not Oregon! There are beautiful beaches and an accessible coast line only a few steps from your vehicle. You don’t need anything specific in mind or any local insider information to find beautiful ares. Now, that being said, the more information you have, the better the scenery you will find (But it’s totally unnecessary on the Oregon coast). We had a fantastic time just driving the 101 main highway. Pull-outs every mile or so provide breathtaking views and great places to stop for lunch and some pictures. However, there is one trade off for having such an accessible coast line. Can you guess what it is? PEOPLE. Pullouts, parking lots, camp grounds, everything was wildly busy. That being said though, we were rolling through on a Friday afternoon. Maybe a weekday would prove to be quieter. No matter what, it was an incredible experience.
Is ruggedly beautiful a thing? Because those are the words I would use to describe this place even though they contradict each other…
Our destination this evening is in Florence, Oregon. Our plan is to set up camp and unload the heavy items from the 4Runner so we can hit the dunes without worry of being overly heavy in the soft sand. The dunes are supposedly only a 5 minute drive outside of town, so if we can find a place to camp that’s close it would be ideal. (That way, we don’t have to travel far back and forth from the dunes to camp). Remember when I mentioned the influx of PEOPLE? Well, our dream of “wild camping or “free Camping”, whatever you want to call it, exited stage left very quickly. We were about to give up hope of being anywhere close to the sand dunes after trying 3 separate campgrounds in the area, all full of motorhomes and trailers when a small campground caught my friends eye while turning around and driving back through Florence. We ducked in the next right turn and wandered around the streets of the small town. Somehow, we ended up getting the very last spot in the house, just big enough for the 4Runner and two tents!
Stay Tuned For the back half of day 6 and the final part of our journey where things really start to ramp up in the dunes. Rookie mistakes lead us to meet some interesting strangers and we may even have to do some digging…
