Em N Ru: Camping at Baker Bay Day 5

Tuesday June 23

Jodi was already packing when I got out of bed, I offered to help after I made breakfast and set to it. This morning was omelets with cheese, bell pepper and onions along with the rest of the sausage. I made Ruben his favorite drink of mint tea/hot chocolate and I had earl grey. We packed up Jodi and she was off on her next adventure, then Ru and I cleaned and repacked the stuff that was laying around messy. We also removed the dirty stinky clothes from the tents and put them together in a hamper. Fred was supposed to come down so we waited till 11 so he could go hiking with us.

While we waited for Fred a young family walked by looking for a camping spot. The entire campground was empty with the exception of two RV's near the front, and three crying children two campsites over to the north. I must have been to friendly because they decided that they would be happiest right next to us, in the site the churchies has left. They set up and immediately their adorable daughter set to whining. When I called Fred to find out what was taking so long he was still in Salem, thinking that he didn't need to hurry and he would catch up with us after our hike.

So we went hiking without him. Today's adventure was a hike to Upper Trestle CreekFalls. To get there we parked at Lund Park Campground (on Brice Creek Rd) and crossed Brice Creek to the trail. We stayed on Brice creek trail about a mile and then turned off on Upper Trestle Creek Falls Trail. The sign said it was only a mile up the trail, but it was UP the trail. It was the steepest trail I have ever been on that was really a trail, not a scramble up the side of a mountain. Even Ruben had to stop and rest often. That mile took us most of an hour. We found wild strawberries, millipedes, and heard the sweetest birdsong either of us had ever heard. Every time we went around a bend we thought we would arrive, but no, it was just more trail, going up. We started to wonder if the hike would be worth it, and when we saw a little stream trickling over some rocks we joked that we were there and could turn back now, but we pressed on. At last we went up another steep grade, came around a corner, and only 25 feet from us was the fall.

It was spectacular. We immediately felt that the walk was worth it. We sat on a rock about six feet from the cascading water and got thoroughly chilled. We drank some water, got up and hiked under, yes under the falls to the other side, we walked down to the pool beneath the falls and laid in the sun on an old log. We were there at just the right time of day for sun to be hitting the bottom of the deep canyon we were in. Ru stripped down to go stand under the falls, and I declined. He declined also as he got closer to the ice cold falling water. We sat, munching on some pistachios and jerky, and feeling very fortunate to be in such a lovely place. After a while we realized that we needed to get going, to meet Fred back at the campground and we started back down the mountain. Ru and I talked about plants and picked another strawberry along the way. We only saw two other hikers the entire time, they were coming up the mountain as we were headed down, it was a late 40's man and a 60 year oldish woman. I hope that Ru takes me hiking when we get older together :) They had dogs on harnesses helping carry stuff and pulling them up the hill. The hike down took about 2 minutes, we even jogged on the less steep parts.

When we got near Baker Bay Ru said “Fred”. Fred was driving upriver to come find us, but luckily saw us heading back and turned around. He pulled into the campsite a few minutes after us. We all decided lunch was in order and built up the fire to roast some weenies.

After changing clothes we all went for a ride on the windsurfer board, but after the first dunking I demanded to be returned to shore. I got Ru his life jacket so I wouldn't worry about him and sent him and Fred back out for a rousing game of who can fall into the water first, or last, or something like that. It was amusing to watch from shore. Fred tried to use the board as a stand up paddle board, but that didn't work so well. That was amusing too.

We watched the wind die a bit and decided that it was finally time to try out the Sea Doo so we got on Mom's boat and hit the water. We pulled Ruben first, then pulled Fred. It was fun to drive and see how fast I could go and how much wake I could jump before he was launched into the water.

After a game of poker Fred and I played kids songs on the guitar and ukulele and Ruben sang along. We went to bed a little after 10pm, and I once again put in the earplugs. Our neighbors daughter was throwing a tantrum. I love earplugs.