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TRC Campout
Aug. 18th, 2021 09:31 pmFRIDAY
I rose at 4:30 AM to knock off work at 1:30 PM. It took until almost 4 to pack the VUE and get on the road. When we arrived at TRC, the Google navigation app told us to turn left into the RV area. After a slightly harrowing drive around the RV sites, we parked and eventually found the host hut across the Mountain Loop Highway by the river. Our friend Steve checked our IDs and vax cards and gave us wristbands. Next we went to check out the campsite we'd reserved. I went ahead of Gary and was greeted first by two big dogs, then by my Chorus buddies Chris and Andrew and Chris' husband Cory. It was nice to see the site was clothing optional as neither Chris nor Cory had a thing on. Gary went back across the road to retrieve the car and we unloaded our gear. While Gary was across the road, our other camp neighbor Charlie came back to the site and introduced himself. We set up the tent a little loosely because it's a bit big for the site. After that I was dripping with sweat, so I made my way to the river nearby. There was a little creek with a dodgy log bridge across, so I ditched the shoes and socks and forded the stream barefoot. Unfortunately the beach had a lot of sharp rocks in among the sand. I ditched my clothes by the river and decided to put just my socks back on to navigate down the rocky bank. I sat in the river for a few minutes and let the water wash over me, then carefully climbed back up the bank to take pictures. There were no other bathers, although I did see a couple guys make the attempt to cross the creek on my way back.
Because my clothes were so wet, I ended up walking all the way back to camp in only stocking feet, and ended up collapsing into the Christmas chair. Charlie made some chicken and shrimp pad thai so we didn't cook our bratwurst for dinner. After dinner one of the camp staffers, Rusty, came by with a tablet and noticed we hadn't been properly checked in; he was relieved to find we'd already gotten our wristbands and set up camp. Throughout the evening we sat in camp and chatted, sang along with Andrew's guitar, and had a great time, especially when our neighbor Roberto stopped by and played with the dogs. As it happens, Charlie is almost 69 and his husband Jim passed away recently; they met after being married to women (one in Charlie's case and three for Jim). He divides his time between Hood River, OR and Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. Roberto hails from Portland as well. Cory has really nice ink on his right upper arm. The dogs were getting really scrappy with each other, likely because one was sleeping and didn't like being disturbed. After a lot of fascinating conversation and just a sip of Brown Sugar Bourbon, I took my cue from Charlie and Gary and went to bed about 11:30. Because the day had been so hot, I didn't bother zipping into my sleeping bag, just using it as a mattress with the microfiber blanket on top.
SATURDAY
I woke up shivering in the middle of the night and belatedly zipped into the sleeping bag, which worked well. I got up around 6:30 to use the Honey Bucket (that's Bouquet, darling...), partly because I thought I needed to sit down and partly because watering the tree is not advisable in a crowded campsite with bears (of the 4-legged variety) wandering around. I sat in the Christmas chair to journal and listened to the river running a few hundred yards over yonder and the occasional camper headed for the Honey Bucket or the food vault. I returned to the tent to possibly go back to sleep, but ended up just laying in my bunk relaxing for a bit while Gary got up to use the Honey Bucket and returned to his bunk to write. After a while I got up for the day, put away my CPAP, tested, and put on a T-shirt and my swim trunks in lieu of shorts. I went to grab the food from the vault and sat with Corey, Andrew, and the dogs (Andrew's is Zuco and Chris and Cory's is Lizzie). Lizzie has a rope toy and the two dogs had a brief tug-of-war with it.
Notes for next trip: Be sure to bring water shoes, as neither the beach nor the river bed are safe for bare feet. Also bring coffee mugs (the Kodiak ones will do nicely) and instant coffee. Finally, be sure to bring plastic cooking utensils for the nonstick pans in the camp box.
We had breakfast burritos with scrambled egg whites I cooked on our stove, fried potatoes and beans with bacon Cory cooked, and an array of salsas. After breakfast I took the cooler, snack box and stove to the bear box, then ditched the T-shirt and Gary slathered me in sunscreen. Then we all headed upriver from the spot I'd explored yesterday.
John and Drew who were in site 10 had a shade cover tied to a pile of driftwood on the beach which they let us use. Gary sat on a big rock on the riverbank and put his feet in the water; I sat in the water nearby. After a while, Gary returned to camp and I sat under the shade with Chris and Zuco while Andrew and Cory attempted to play cornhole with a set with beanbags too big for the boards. Around then, Charlie arrived and we headed for the swimming hole upriver. There I met Andy (who reminds me of Goody) and Dave; Calyn from site 4 next door, who was nursing a new tattoo; Gaelen who was a bit reluctant to go in any deeper; and Ian (who sported a Tom Selleck mustache and a festive ball cap) and another Dave. Over the course of the afternoon I alternated between the shade and the swimming hole. I caught up with Steve in the swimming hole and introduced him to Charlie. Also, I mentioned the large number of rock cairns constructed on the beach and in the water, and someone said "We have a lot of Cairn Carpenters." When I returned to the shade, John and Drew arrived and there was a quick reshuffle of chairs. Later, John fell asleep in his doughnut float, showing off a light but uniform blanket of fur all over. After a third dip in the big swimming hole, I returned to the shade and prepared to leave as I needed to set up the kitchen and rehydrate. We all set out for camp about 4:30.
We played a game of Guillotine before dinner; Gary and I hadn't played since Rochester. Charlie cooked up on his grill all the meat we brought (marinated in Yoshida sauce) and some hot dogs and corn on the cob as well. I brought the potato salad and there were baked beans and fresh fruit. Charlie poured us all some nice wine with dinner. Afterwards I ran the food back to the bear box and vegetated in the Christmas chair for a while, sipping water and noshing on grapes. I also took my wet sneakers off to allow both them and my feet to dry. Andrew pulled out his guitar and played a few scales for practice. Gary showed me what he'd written while he read my journal so far. After a while Andrew started playing "No Rain" by Blind Melon and I whistled along. Chris and Cory went to a friend's campsite across the street, and Charlie went to the river. When he returned, he broke out the Qwirkle dice and we played the game, which I won by a few points. After the game ended, Gary and I stopped by the Honey Buckets and returned to camp to chat with Charlie and Andrew. Charlie went to bed about quarter to 11 and we all soon followed.
SUNDAY
I woke up about five to visit the Honey Bucket and sit down this time. As I returned to the tent, Gary got up for the same reason and I was soon back to sleep - but not for long as my CPAP battery ran out of power about an hour later. So I sat up around quarter to seven and packed up the equipment, then made an attempt to go back to sleep. About quarter to eight I gave up, went to pee, and while Andrew packed to go, I retrieved the kitchen gear and food from the bear box, and fried up the bacon and eggs. These went into another set of breakfast burritos with hash browns, refried beans and salsas. Once breakfast was done, we cleaned up the kitchen, packed our bags and struck the tent. Charlie asked a passerby to take our picture together before saying his goodbyes and leaving for Oregon. Very shortly (by 10:30) we had everything packed and ready to go, except the Christmas chairs where we took a much-needed rest. Gary went to retrieve the car and we were packed and on the road around quarter after 11, after hugs all around with Chris and Cory. As we approached Verlot, there were a lot of pedestrians because parking at the trail heads was full. A rather cute ginger ranger was talking with a group of people at their car, probably to tell them not to park there.
I rose at 4:30 AM to knock off work at 1:30 PM. It took until almost 4 to pack the VUE and get on the road. When we arrived at TRC, the Google navigation app told us to turn left into the RV area. After a slightly harrowing drive around the RV sites, we parked and eventually found the host hut across the Mountain Loop Highway by the river. Our friend Steve checked our IDs and vax cards and gave us wristbands. Next we went to check out the campsite we'd reserved. I went ahead of Gary and was greeted first by two big dogs, then by my Chorus buddies Chris and Andrew and Chris' husband Cory. It was nice to see the site was clothing optional as neither Chris nor Cory had a thing on. Gary went back across the road to retrieve the car and we unloaded our gear. While Gary was across the road, our other camp neighbor Charlie came back to the site and introduced himself. We set up the tent a little loosely because it's a bit big for the site. After that I was dripping with sweat, so I made my way to the river nearby. There was a little creek with a dodgy log bridge across, so I ditched the shoes and socks and forded the stream barefoot. Unfortunately the beach had a lot of sharp rocks in among the sand. I ditched my clothes by the river and decided to put just my socks back on to navigate down the rocky bank. I sat in the river for a few minutes and let the water wash over me, then carefully climbed back up the bank to take pictures. There were no other bathers, although I did see a couple guys make the attempt to cross the creek on my way back.
Because my clothes were so wet, I ended up walking all the way back to camp in only stocking feet, and ended up collapsing into the Christmas chair. Charlie made some chicken and shrimp pad thai so we didn't cook our bratwurst for dinner. After dinner one of the camp staffers, Rusty, came by with a tablet and noticed we hadn't been properly checked in; he was relieved to find we'd already gotten our wristbands and set up camp. Throughout the evening we sat in camp and chatted, sang along with Andrew's guitar, and had a great time, especially when our neighbor Roberto stopped by and played with the dogs. As it happens, Charlie is almost 69 and his husband Jim passed away recently; they met after being married to women (one in Charlie's case and three for Jim). He divides his time between Hood River, OR and Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. Roberto hails from Portland as well. Cory has really nice ink on his right upper arm. The dogs were getting really scrappy with each other, likely because one was sleeping and didn't like being disturbed. After a lot of fascinating conversation and just a sip of Brown Sugar Bourbon, I took my cue from Charlie and Gary and went to bed about 11:30. Because the day had been so hot, I didn't bother zipping into my sleeping bag, just using it as a mattress with the microfiber blanket on top.
SATURDAY
I woke up shivering in the middle of the night and belatedly zipped into the sleeping bag, which worked well. I got up around 6:30 to use the Honey Bucket (that's Bouquet, darling...), partly because I thought I needed to sit down and partly because watering the tree is not advisable in a crowded campsite with bears (of the 4-legged variety) wandering around. I sat in the Christmas chair to journal and listened to the river running a few hundred yards over yonder and the occasional camper headed for the Honey Bucket or the food vault. I returned to the tent to possibly go back to sleep, but ended up just laying in my bunk relaxing for a bit while Gary got up to use the Honey Bucket and returned to his bunk to write. After a while I got up for the day, put away my CPAP, tested, and put on a T-shirt and my swim trunks in lieu of shorts. I went to grab the food from the vault and sat with Corey, Andrew, and the dogs (Andrew's is Zuco and Chris and Cory's is Lizzie). Lizzie has a rope toy and the two dogs had a brief tug-of-war with it.
Notes for next trip: Be sure to bring water shoes, as neither the beach nor the river bed are safe for bare feet. Also bring coffee mugs (the Kodiak ones will do nicely) and instant coffee. Finally, be sure to bring plastic cooking utensils for the nonstick pans in the camp box.
We had breakfast burritos with scrambled egg whites I cooked on our stove, fried potatoes and beans with bacon Cory cooked, and an array of salsas. After breakfast I took the cooler, snack box and stove to the bear box, then ditched the T-shirt and Gary slathered me in sunscreen. Then we all headed upriver from the spot I'd explored yesterday.
John and Drew who were in site 10 had a shade cover tied to a pile of driftwood on the beach which they let us use. Gary sat on a big rock on the riverbank and put his feet in the water; I sat in the water nearby. After a while, Gary returned to camp and I sat under the shade with Chris and Zuco while Andrew and Cory attempted to play cornhole with a set with beanbags too big for the boards. Around then, Charlie arrived and we headed for the swimming hole upriver. There I met Andy (who reminds me of Goody) and Dave; Calyn from site 4 next door, who was nursing a new tattoo; Gaelen who was a bit reluctant to go in any deeper; and Ian (who sported a Tom Selleck mustache and a festive ball cap) and another Dave. Over the course of the afternoon I alternated between the shade and the swimming hole. I caught up with Steve in the swimming hole and introduced him to Charlie. Also, I mentioned the large number of rock cairns constructed on the beach and in the water, and someone said "We have a lot of Cairn Carpenters." When I returned to the shade, John and Drew arrived and there was a quick reshuffle of chairs. Later, John fell asleep in his doughnut float, showing off a light but uniform blanket of fur all over. After a third dip in the big swimming hole, I returned to the shade and prepared to leave as I needed to set up the kitchen and rehydrate. We all set out for camp about 4:30.
We played a game of Guillotine before dinner; Gary and I hadn't played since Rochester. Charlie cooked up on his grill all the meat we brought (marinated in Yoshida sauce) and some hot dogs and corn on the cob as well. I brought the potato salad and there were baked beans and fresh fruit. Charlie poured us all some nice wine with dinner. Afterwards I ran the food back to the bear box and vegetated in the Christmas chair for a while, sipping water and noshing on grapes. I also took my wet sneakers off to allow both them and my feet to dry. Andrew pulled out his guitar and played a few scales for practice. Gary showed me what he'd written while he read my journal so far. After a while Andrew started playing "No Rain" by Blind Melon and I whistled along. Chris and Cory went to a friend's campsite across the street, and Charlie went to the river. When he returned, he broke out the Qwirkle dice and we played the game, which I won by a few points. After the game ended, Gary and I stopped by the Honey Buckets and returned to camp to chat with Charlie and Andrew. Charlie went to bed about quarter to 11 and we all soon followed.
SUNDAY
I woke up about five to visit the Honey Bucket and sit down this time. As I returned to the tent, Gary got up for the same reason and I was soon back to sleep - but not for long as my CPAP battery ran out of power about an hour later. So I sat up around quarter to seven and packed up the equipment, then made an attempt to go back to sleep. About quarter to eight I gave up, went to pee, and while Andrew packed to go, I retrieved the kitchen gear and food from the bear box, and fried up the bacon and eggs. These went into another set of breakfast burritos with hash browns, refried beans and salsas. Once breakfast was done, we cleaned up the kitchen, packed our bags and struck the tent. Charlie asked a passerby to take our picture together before saying his goodbyes and leaving for Oregon. Very shortly (by 10:30) we had everything packed and ready to go, except the Christmas chairs where we took a much-needed rest. Gary went to retrieve the car and we were packed and on the road around quarter after 11, after hugs all around with Chris and Cory. As we approached Verlot, there were a lot of pedestrians because parking at the trail heads was full. A rather cute ginger ranger was talking with a group of people at their car, probably to tell them not to park there.