Climbing Mt St Helens part 6

I'm not a super tech type guy, but I did get the new Iphone 4 and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I like toting a phone with me all the time. Lots of fun things on that phone, but in regards to the trip, having the Accuterra app was a kick to have. It's a $3.00 GPS app that doesn't need cell coverage to work. Here's a link that you can check out our trip as it was recorded, including spots that we stopped and I took photos with the phone. It even kept us from getting lost at one point.

Link to the interactive map is here - you can zoom close to ground level to see the terrain we were on as well as look at pics at the location I took them. Fun!

Overview screenshot

California Coast Road Trip

In marriage, you don't always see eye to eye. One of our biggest differences was that I can pack up at anytime and just hit the road. A vague idea of a destination is great but not totally necessary. Most of the time, I enjoy the journey.

My sweet sweet wife had the (mistaken) idea that things need to be planned to the last detail. Research and knowing things ahead of time, a must.

I'll be the first to admit that my style of things have ended us up in some not so ideal situations, but we have always survived and I still think(in life as well as vacations) the journey(even though sometimes it may be hairy) is to be enjoyed as much as the destination.

Through the years, we've both given in a little. She no longer needs a hard plan, I no longer get twitchy eyed by the thought of giving her a general idea of what we are doing.

This trip was a great example of things just working out without much of a plan.

This spring/early summer has been more wet than usual and we were both needing a little dose of sunshine. I looked around and it appeared that the closest we were going to find it, was Northern California.
I came up with the detailed plan of driving down there and seeing what we could find. She was all for it and off we went.


We left at about 3:00 in the afternoon with a "plan" of camping somewhere in Central Oregon the first night. A combination of pouring down rain the entire time, and the fact that no campsites were open for the season yet changed things a bit.

I take it back, there was a brief pause in the rain in Eugene.



It became apparent that camping wasn't going to work out. I texted my buddy Lee in Chico and asked if we could crash at his house sometime around 3 in the morning.
A key was waiting and we survived the first day.

From there on out, everything went very nicely. The route we ended up taking was

I5 to Chico. 32 from Chico to Newville, then south on a road that doesn't have a name(beautiful drive) on the map to Wilbur Springs to 20 to 53 to 29 to Calistoga. Then we drove and explored around the very scenic and very interesting towns of Occidental,Sebastapol and Monte Rio. The vibe down there was definitely hippy, and that suits my sweet sweet wife just fine. Then we headed up the Coast on 1 then 101 to The Redwoods, then 199 back to I5 in Oregon and North to home.

Costs and itinerary

1st night free with all the comforts of home - Thanks Lee!
2nd night camping in St Helena at Bale Grist Mill SP - $35
3rd night camping by the Ocean at Manchester SP - $35
4th night camping Crescent city in the Redwoods at a KOA - $35

Tour and deluxe tasting at the Castello di Amorosa Winery $50
Gas

I didn't document this trip like I usually would, as car camping doesn't get me quite as photographically interested as getting into the wilderness. The section from Chico to Grants Pass is a beautiful drive and recommended though.

A few of the scenes we saw.

2nd nights camp




Castillo di Amorosa












Random Scenes





Where's Waldo





On the beach at Fort Bragg

Upper Missouri River Trip Report, The End

Last Upper Missouri River trip post. I'm sad to see it go already, a good part of the fun is looking at photos afterwards. Before I finish up, some quick details if you're interested in doing the same general trip we did. We recommend the driving route below, for a good dose of varying Montana landscapes.


Leave Redmond 5:00 am
I90 to Missoula, north on 200, then north on 83 to Holland Lake
Next morning, Holland Lake south to 200 then east to 21
east to Great Falls, then north on 87 to Fort Benton
Take care of canoes etc in Fort Benton, north again on 87 to the cutoff dirt road to the river. On the river that evening

Recommended campsites on river

1st night - Little Sandy
2nd night - Dark Butte
3rd night - The Wall

If you don't fancy going 22 miles on the river aftter the first night, split it up by staying an extra night and camp at Eagle Creek before staying at Dark Butte. We will probably do this next time.

4th day off the river at Judith Landing. We were going to camp on the way home, but as soon as we left the river, it started raining and rather than unload and camp in the rain, we just drove straight home to my brothers place in Redmond. Well not straight home, we took the long, scenic route(recommended even if it's raining) Also, if you haven't been to Glacier National Park, you should see it on the way home. We stayed there the year before on our way home and it's worth seeing. This time due to rain, we headed straight home

87 north to Havre, west on 2 to Kalispell, south on 93 to west on 28 to south on 200 to west on 135 to I90 to home

Costs

Holland Lake Campsite $15(camping on the river is free)
Canoe Rental $30 per day We recommend Adventure Bound Canoe
Shuttle service $150(carpool with someone else and split this)
Gas(carpool and split this as well)
Poop Bags $2 per.(illegal to not have poop bags in your canoe- see tips below)

Tips

Stop by the general store in Fort Benton and stock up on water. You're in a canoe so you can. It isn't recommended to even filter the river water due to ag runoff.
Bring raingear just in case(both years no problems during the day, it has rained nights)
Bring mosquito repellent/netting just in case(both years not a problem, but if the river wind dies down, you're toast without them)
Bring a couple poop bags. It is illegal to poop along the river AT ALL unless it's in one of the camp toilets or in a bag you pack out. You can get a hefty fine for NOT HAVING A POOP BAG in your canoe.

We unloaded at The Wall, which is everybody else's favorite site. Partially for the countless birds that inhabit the trees.




Just behind the campsite there is a nice little hike, but you have to cross praire dog town. You can see hundreds of little praire dogs poking thier heads up all across this field and all talking to eachother. Pretty fun.

You can see some of the burrow openings poking up here.



The unpleasant part(mostly for the ladies) is this is also rattlesnake country. There's rumored to be a rattler for every square foot along this river. Where it gets unsettling is that you have to cross this field of knee deep grass to get to the hike.

Trying to decide if it's worth it...





It was generally decided to be worth it and we waded across. Stopping to check a praire dog hole




We successfully navigated, got up the hill and were rewarded with nice views.





Bros



Back to camp in time for dinner






Then we played some cards in the palatial suite




This is a great tent if weight is not an issue




Good times almost made us miss the sunset, scrambled for a camera and just caught the last light




The end.

In case you haven't picked up on it, we heartily endorse this trip. We'll be back at least once a year, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have if you are considering it yourself.