Cape Foulweather, Week 1

News from Winter Camp, Cape Foulweather

December 9, 2015

Cheryl's News

Rich and I arrived safely at our new hosting site. For the month of December, we are volunteering for OPRD at the Cape Foulweather Gift Shop on the Oregon Coast. Our job includes retail sales, restocking and talking to folks about any whale sightings. 

 

Cheryl and Rich at work

Not that there are many whale sighting. Grey whales as they migrate south (December through January) are on a focused mission. They do not eat as they migrate, nor hang out and check out any sights along the way. We saw a few spouts on the one clear day we have had, and that's all.

View

The view here, though, is spectacular. Windows make up two sides of the gift shop, and on clear days, it's absolutely stunning.

Rich hard at "work"

Chinese Water Torture

Our first week at Cape Foulweather included three days of torrential rain. The sound of the rain - combined with the usual sound of pine cones dropping on the trailer roof - was deafening. We could not even hear each other talk. 

 

Flooding

At least our campsite stayed “dry”, if you can actually use that kind of word for this weather. Anyway, the campsites along the creek all flooded. 

 

Blown Over Porta-Potty

We also had high wind gusts which blew over the two porta-potties in the parking lot.

Week one comes to an end, and Rich and I look forward to week two. Will the rain continue? Will our geriatric minds function well enough to run the cash register? Will the till balance at the end of the day? Will Mimi (our cat) get fed up with all the rain and head for drier climes? Stay tuned.

Old News

Blood Moon with Eclipse - End of the world stuff, that is

Rich and Cheryl's News




In case you hadn't heard, we got back to town in October. 

And when we landed, there was a thump, big thump. We are adjusting to noise, noise, noise and traffic, traffic, traffic. City living requires more energy and effort when your norm has become quiet and solitude. 

As for Mimi, our cat? She loved her time in the woods, but at heart she is a city cat.


Winter Camp plans are looking a bit messy. In December 2015 we are volunteering with Oregon State Parks at the Otter Crest Lookout Gift Shop, which is located near Cape Foulweather. Then in March 2016 we will volunteer at Hecate Head Lighthouse. Rich will spend three weeks in Haiti in January 2016. Mid May 2016 we hopefully will return to host at Natural Bridge. There is a rumor that the campgrounds in the area may be closed due to of lack of funds. If they do close, Rich and I will punt and host wherever we can.


Looking forward to the 2016 – 2017 season, we will begin choosing winter host sites that have full hook-ups, which make life a whole lot easier. We may stay at a site for one, two or three months. Either way the site(s) would be within a 2 hour drive of Portland so that we can meet with family and friends.


At present, we are keeping our options open and seeing where our hearts guide us. 

Cheryl and Rich

Falls Video from Camp Bebegone

Odds and Ends and A Picture Tour

News from Camp Webegone

Mid September 2015

Rich and I went on numerous hikes this summer. Two close by were to Personany Fall

Personany Falls

and Takelma Gorge

 

Takelma Drive

Last year we saw a momma bear and her cub drinking from this trough. This year no bears just bear poop.

Trough

 Over 1000 photos were taken this summer. Here are a few more:

Little Thief

Water Nymph

Camp Jackrabbit

Avenue of Stones

Butterfly

 Cheryl

Cost of (Wilderness) Living

Rich's News from Camp Webegone

I had a request to outline the costs of camp hosting. Which is an interesting exercise. 

And I find it difficult. Like home ownership there are costs over and above your day-to-day expenses. I think of the trailer much like a house. You always have repairs. Things wear out. Maintenance happens, and how do you track that without doing averages? I don't think I will have a good idea until we use it for several years. But a wild shot is maintenance is $200 a year.

Utilities are less. Even running the generator in cold weather is less than heating our home in Portland, and certainly the cost of water is much less. (We also use a lot less water). I figure the propane and gas for the generator are around $50 a month and water is the cost of two miles of driving once a week. Of course we spend nothing for our space here. I figured that in Portland my house expenses including utilities was around $500 a month. At least for 4 months we are paying way less. But the trailer depreciates and sometimes houses don't. 

Food expenses are pretty much the same although we have eaten out more often as we take a day to go shopping and have visitors that we go with to restaurants. (Also just to treat ourselves.) During hot days we may be tempted to go to the ice cream store.

Laundry is an expense we did not have. But we do not buy and maintain a washer and dryer… Still, I do think that would end up costing more, normally. But since Cheryl is not doing massage we only to 3-4 loads once a week, whereas at home it was much more because of massage sheets.

So overall, I think living like this is much less expensive, in the long run. But startup is financially intense.

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Besides financial costs, there are emotional and psychological costs. Being away from family and friends for four months is a huge emotional loss/cost. I think of my ancestors who left their family and friends in the 1600's and 1800's and never had contact with them again. I don't know how they managed the grief and longing for physical connection with family and friends. Of course, they may have been focused on an adventure in a new land. What I do know is that for myself I need a different plan. A plan that includes a trip to visit family and friends sometime during the summer.

Hosting at Natural Bridge Campground fully feeds our spiritual selves. On sunny warm days spending our time outdoors nourishes our spirit. On rainy cold days, when Rich and I are confined inside our 18-foot trailer, those aspects of our personalities that are opposite flash up right in our faces. No going off to an office to work to escape. No going to a different room in the house to create space and separation. No way to avoid those pesky differences. For Rich and I these relationship issues are a work in progress. A work in progress looking at winter confined within a small room (the trailer). Stay tuned.

There are environmental costs also. There is absolutely no recycling available. With each glass container put in the garbage, a whimper of sadness. With each tin can, a shudder. With milk and such containers, a plea for forgiveness. And there is the vast amount of paper we burn. It is really hard. I've considered saving all the recycling, bringing it back to Portland, and recycling it in the fall. The image of the pickup truck filled with four months of recycling instead of food and supplies sobers me up quickly.

We drive a lot more, too. A lot more. Petroleum fumes and ancient dinosaurs spew out our exhaust pipe. Rich and I will need to lead angelic lives to compensate for our summer footprint.

Our Environment

Bloomin' June, July and August

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

September 4, 2015

Well. Evidently there is more to blooms in the forest than just rain, 'cause the summer blooms were scanty. The extreme heat of June may have had an impact. So, blah, blah, blah, here is a sampling of the summer blooms at Camp Webegone.

Cheryl

 

Yellow Flower

Wood Rose

Twin Flower

Timble Berry

Bleeding Heart

Indian Pipe

Lavender Daisy

Paint Brush

Pink Flower

Pink Monkey

White Flower

Unsupervised

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Wednesday, Rich and I rode our bikes the ½ mile from our camp to the entrance to the Upper Rogue River trail. We left our bikes leaning against a stump near the entrance, then went for a walk up the trail, heading north. At one point, we bush-whacked our way to the river through the undergrowth.

At the river, we each found walking sticks. These gray limbs had been chewed smooth by beaver, making them ideal and ready-made for our use!

Eventually, we headed back with our new finds. But when we returned to our bikes, we discovered that our park ranger had given us a citation for running amuck unsupervised. 

 

Ranger Citation

Our ranger has a great (and much-appreciated) sense of humor.

Cheryl

Smoke Break

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Today is very smoky, and it just has not cleared at any point during the day. 

Smoky

For a breath of fresh air, Rich and I went to the library in town. It's a great relief to get out of the endless smoke.

I've mentioned the Crescent Ridge fire a couple of times. Well, currently the smoke in our camp is from the Stouts fire, which is about 40 miles away from us. The Crescent Ridge fire - about 20 miles away - is now 40% contained. Which is nice to hear, but - smoke, smoke, and more smoke. It's ghastly.

Here's a map that shows the Crescent Ridge fire as it has progressed from its beginnings on August 1. 

 

Crescent Ridge Fire

The blue marks were added by me, and they show the birthday hike path to Boundary Springs that Rich and I took back on August 6. We look forward to hiking the area again next year and see what changes the fire created. 

But for now, we hide out in our library sanctuary. Blessed relief.

Cheryl

Crescent Ridge Fire Update

Weather Update from Camp Webegone

9 August - 27 August
 

High: 91.0
Low: 45.5
Humidity: 27%-79%
Rain: Zip

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

August 21, 2015

Well, today is the clearest, smoke free day Rich and I have had in about a month. What a relief!

Fires

Yesterday we traveled up to Crater Lake so that we could view the Crescent Ridge Fire. The cinder cone in the picture is called Red Cone. Thanks to all this, we have been learning lots of fire lingo and information. (More than we ever really want to know.)

The Crescent Ridge fire in its infancy was about 30 acres. Today it is over eight thousand acres. So, how come the fire got so large? How come the fire fighters have not been able to contain the fire? 

Well, those are a deep questions, and the answers involve the philosophy of the National Park Service on whose property the fire is burning. Since the fire was started by lightening, the National Park Service philosophy is that the fire is a natural process that should be left to burn undeterred - as long as the fire is not threatening any homes. That means no dropping of flame retardant, no dropping of water, no bulldozing a wide fire line. The fire fighters can only hand-dig a ditch line around a perimeter in an effort to contain the blaze. Hence the growth of the fire from 30 to eight thousand acres.

The tourist industry in the area has been impacted too. When Rich and I were at Crater Lake, the parking lots were about 1/8^th full. Usually at this time of year, you are lucky to fine a spot. Lunch at Beckies Restaurant Wednesday, we were one of four tables being served. Again, you usually have to wait in line for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The ice cream shop is now closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Rich and I will be doing our small part to help, and we plan to eat at Beckies one time a week until we leave.

There are some positive aspects. The lodge pole pine tree (the predominant tree in the fire area), their pine cones only open up and drop their seeds under extreme heat or when exposed to a fire. Such is the variety of nature. 

And we have seen some spectacular sunsets and a few reddish sunrises.

Sunset

Cheryl

Camp sounds

Rich's News From Camp WeBegone

In our everyday lives, there is sound all around us. The background noise of life. We don't even notice it.

Having now the luxury of time, I often contemplate the variety of sounds we experience here. Earlier today Jay and Cheryl heard a Nuthatch (which I missed). We sat for hours listening to the baby Dippers as they called out for the insects presented by their parent. 

Just sitting here now, a fly buzzes by, and there's a yellow jacket. Plus, high overhead the echoing noise of a helicopter heading out on its way to a fire. 

In the distance, a Raven awk awk awks. And I ponder the many sounds these birds have in their repertoire. - Did you know birds have two voice boxes? 

Now a plane - also probably on fire duty - rushes by. And later, as I quiet my mind, I notice the constant background rush of the Rogue as it flows through a narrow part of the river. A lively chatter, mixed with a whisper of wind in the tree tops.

And there are familiar sounds as well, like the clank of the bicycle as Cheryl goes on a short ride.

Oh, and ah yes! the sounds of meals being prepared. Familiar metallic sounds and the pouring of water. We have gravel roads here, and the crunch of tires and of feet across the gravel is a distinct sound - and one that Mimi usually hears before we do! 

And of course the Mimi sounds. Her mew is quiet, and the reward of a purr when we pick her up or pet her in the morning.

Hwy 62 is a half mile away, so we seldom hear highway noises here. But just now comes the screech of tires on the pavement, echoing all of the way here. Civilization mixed with nature.
Much as is the sounds the squirrels nipping pine cones that fall thump thump to the earth or that clang down on the car.

All of these sounds remind me of the diversity of this forest. Of the great range of sounds we hear here. Of how the trees sometimes crackle in the morning as the sun calls the water to come up to the top. Of the occasional crash of a falling tree - there is a distinct crack crack crack as the trunk breaks and the breaking of limbs and the rumble as it hits the ground. Of how sometimes, with weather changes, we get a stillness - mostly the lack of insect sounds. This stillness might be broken by a clap of thunder, and if lucky the rain fall on our tarps car and tents.

Life here is simple and mostly unhurried. Simplicity allows us these peaceful moment, where we can listen and appreciate this sound-filled life. The rhythm of morning chores. With the chopping of wood and the toting of water comes a zen feeling. 

The only thing that interferes with this feeling is the mind when it gets on with its habit of worry, fear, planning, and guilt - which, once we are aware of it, we can thank it for its input and go back to sitting or reading.

Fritz Perls said that as humans, we have two tasks: doing and being. Our culture supports and expects the doing, but it is not so receptive to the being. And, he concludes, this state of affairs creates human doings rather than human beings.

Be well today. Enjoy the sounds around you.

Rich

Video of the Rogue River Near the Origin

Cheryl's News From Camp WeBegone

Rogue River Gorge, near origin of the Rogue River

A photo and video today, both taken at the Rogue River Gorge, near to the Rogue River's origin.

Taking You Along on Rich's Birthday Hike

Weather Update for 26 July – 1 August, 2015

High Temp: 99.3

Low Temp: 44.4

Humidity: 92% - 22%

Rain: Zip

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Rich's birthday.

The day begins with me asking Rich what birthday breakfast he would like. He requests French Toast drizzled with local Huckleberry Syrup. After that, it's time to head out for Rich's Birthday Hike.

As ever, everything takes longer than you plan. So, a bit later than expected (10:27 to be exact) and 60 degrees outside, we drive to the Boundary Springs Trail entrance at Mazama Viewpoint. After the 21 mile drive to get there, the temperature has risen to 68 degrees. With a mild forecast for the day, we energetically begin walking down the Upper Rogue River trail. 

C&R Heading Out

The beginnings of the trail is set atop a ravine that follows a creek that we can hear but not see. The trail on the left side drops off into the ravine - a long tumble if you fall. The trail on the right is a rather

Desolate Woods

desolate forest comprised mostly of lodge poll pine and some mountain hemlock. 

Growing beside the trail is lupine. In May and June when the lupine is in bloom, the trail must look stunning - a half mile trek lined with purple blooms. Perhaps we will visit it again in bloom, to see it in its full splendor.

Noble Fir

Rich and I continue on until we reach a fork in the trail. Nailed to a tree is a very, very faded trail marker. If you look closely and know beforehand what the sign should say, you can make out "Boundary Springs". We follow the left side of the fork to Boundary Springs and see our first glimpses of the Rogue River. At one point the trail is set atop a high ridge with the Rogue River way down on the right, and the creek way down on the left.

The terrain in this area is quite lush. Surrounding us is a dense forest filled with white pine, sub alpine fir, noble fir, mountain hemlock, shasta red cedar, and acres and acres of huckleberries. The noble fir are picture perfect for a holiday tree.

I take special note of the huckleberry. There are two kinds of huckleberry in the area:: mountain huckleberry and huckleberry I am used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest. And I snapped a few pictures of the mountain huckleberry.

Mountain Huckleberry

One of the special things about this is place is that along and within the Rogue River, there are lots of meadows. Meadows of wildflowers.

Wildflower Meadow

Meadows of grass. Meadows of bushes.

Bush Meadow

For lunch we sit beside the Rogue River and marvel at the beauty of the meadows. 

The goal of our hike is the the origin of the Rogue River. It's actually not much farther from where we stopped for lunch. And after wandering down a few unmarked trails, we finally arrive. I find it very beautiful. But what surprises me is the volume of water at the origin is just about the same volume that flows through Natural Bridge.

Rogue River Origin

As of yet, the powers that be have not determined where the water comes from that forms the origin of the Rogue River. At any rate, it is already a mighty underground river before reaching topside. 

Rich and I hang out beside the river enjoying the peace, beauty and quiet. We've met only two other hikers on the entire trail. Of course, occasionally we do smell smoke from the Crescent Ridge fire. Can't ever quite get away from that up here. 

Rich at Boundary Springs

Eventually, it's time to head back to camp.  No sadness today, though - as we pick about two cups of huckleberries along the way. (Huckleberry pancakes for breakfast is in our near future!) We get back to the car at about 5:15, and it's now 81 degrees. Warm, but pleasant. And after dinner at Beckies, we head back to camp.

This was a new hike for both Rich and I. At camp we reflect on the beauty of nature, the quiet, the peace, the power of a river and the abundance of life a mighty river feeds. We marvel at the variety of birds observed: flickers, chickadees, robins, nuthatches, jays and humming birds. A wonderful day to celebrate a wonderful man on his 69^th birthday. 

Cheryl

July Visitors

Weather Update for 19 July – 25 July 2015

High Temp: 92.3

Low Temp: 42.3

Humidity: 94% - 27%

Rain: Zip

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Frank and Jeri Ann

Rich and I were blessed in July with four groups of visitors; two visits with family and two with friends. The first July visitors were my cousin, Jeri Ann, and her husband Frank. Their home is in Virginia, and approximately every other summer they come out west and visit family. Camp Webegone was sorta on their way from California as they headed to Salem, Oregon. During their four-hour visit, we packed short viewings of Natural Bridge and the Rogue Gorge and lunch at Beckies.

The next visitor was my cousin Howard, who stopped by for an evening visit. We shared stories and childhood memories while sitting around the campfire. And as night falls, I got a sense of the ancient rhythms of our tribal ancestors, of the journey of their lives. That was an inspiring night.

Nancy and Sandy

Nancy and Sandy visited for three nights as they made the journey from Portland to California. They stayed at the Prospect Inn, located in the nearby town. Theirs was a leisurely visit filled with lots of sitting and chatting - an activity that Rich and I experience an awful deficiency of. We do enjoy our own company, but it is wonderful to have fresh conversation, new input, and unheard ideas. On a beautiful sunny day, the four of us  drove to view Crater Lake. For some folks, Crater Lake is just a lake. For others, the lake is a stunning beauty that touches the soul. It is always amazing to me to watch those that it touches.

Steve and Nina

Our final July visitors were Steve and Nina from Washington. They camped in Site 12 (my favorite) for three nights. The focus of their visit was rejuvenation - embracing the peace and quiet of nature, listening to the songs of the Rogue River, mixed with lots of hiking.

It was a wonderful month of fun and friendship. Rich and I were truly blessed and enriched by our July visitors.

Cheryl

Thunderbolts and Lightning, very very frightening

Weather Update for 12 July – 18 July 2015

High Temp: 90.0

Low Temp: 54.1

Humidity: 31% - 94%

Rainfall: Zip

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Thorsday, July 9, 2015

Kaboom! And lightning crashed down into the Natural Bridge Campground.

Fortunately for us, it was raining at the time (over and inch in less than an hour), so it wasn't the fire hazard it would otherwise have been. Still scary though!

Lightning-struck tree

That day, we had heavy rainfall. There was even a brief period of hail the size of blueberries (during which when I opened the door, our cat, Mimi, bolted for her safe place in the woods). End of the day, big puddles, 2” deep in our campsite. And site 6 was a lake with about 6” of water throughout. Six inches of water and a black lab sitting and playing in it. That was how our day ended.

All sites were impacted by the storm, but all the campers stayed. Real campers, all.

The next day Rich and went on an explore to locate where the lightening struck. As it turned out, one bolt had hit four trees. That made us curious, so we asked around. The park ranger said the lightening probably hit the lead tree, then ricocheted to two other trees, and finally ricocheted off one of those trees to hit the fourth tree, the smallest tree of the four hit.

We also asked around about why the bark was stripped off the tree. There was a physicist staying at the campground at the time, and he said that when lightening strikes a tree, the moisture under the bark instantly vaporizes, which creates a force that blows the bark off of the tree. 

Now, isn't that something.

Cheryl 

Fire Update, or Is That Smoke?

View from Prospect

August 11, 2015

The fires are still burning. But we are safe here, with no evacuation planned. Not true of Diamond Lake - they are on notice to plan for evacuation, and only campers with reservations are being allowed into the area.

Last Thursday Rich and I hiked to Boundary Springs, this origin, at least groundwise, of the Rogue River. Today, that area is now closed to hikers.

We were handed a fire map yesterday. What you are looking at: The pink area is the area affected by the Crescent Ridge fire. The red trails are the ones that have been closed to hikers.

For us, it is not the fire, but the smoke. Rich and I deal with smoke off and on during each day. My sinuses suffer the most. Daily I have either sinus headache or headache bordering on migraine. Ibuprofen is becoming a daily staple.

Fire Map

Cheryl

PS: If interested, here is a link for Crescent Ridge fire updates -
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4463