McNeil Point

Our good friend, Chris, was recently in town to fill his stomach with Voodoo doughnuts, ride bikes through the west hills, and backpack up the mountain.  Originally, we had planned on going to a place we had been before which included a short hike in to set up camp near a lake and then continue on for a long day hike.  However, the day of, we decided on something a little more challenging and chose to go to McNeil Point instead (found in 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington, by William Sullivan).

We started out at the Top Spur trail head.  I have never seen so many cars at a trail head before and was super nervous getting out of the car.  Our dogs don't do well when the trails are swarming with dogs and I was unsure about finding a good place to set up camp.  Fortunately, most of the folks were day hikers, few dogs, and there are many trail options that the whole hike up didn't seem too crowded.  The beginning of the hike is through a forested area with tons of huckleberry bushes.  The trail eventually curves around Bald Mountain and opens up with a beautiful view of Mt. Hood and tons of wildflowers, where we ate lunch.  

The trail then re-enters the forest until it opens up again to a meadow with a couple ponds.  We looked around this area, to set up camp, but didn't find any place that satisfied us and continued on.  I am so glad we did.

After the ponds, the trail continues to climb.  There were a few small snow fields that covered the trail, but nothing too treacherous.  At this point, due to the amazing weather, we had great views of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams.  We followed the ridge up through Cairn Basin, looking for campsites along the way, until we found the perfect one.

About 5 miles in, we found two campsites with views of all 4 peaks and overlooking a valley of hills.  I stayed at camp with Bandit, while Willis, Chris, and Banjo continued on for another half mile or so to the shelter at McNeil Point.

While they were gone, the clouds started rolling over.  Fortunately, the rolled right through and by the time they returned, we were well above the clouds for the rest of the evening, playing cards, eating s'mores, and enjoying the sunset over the valley.

The hike out was quick, but still filled with amazing views.

Serene Lake, Pyramid Lake & the Roaring River Wilderness

This past weekend, we attempted to backpack our way to the Serene Lake in the Mt. Hood National Forest.  We left Portland around 10am and drove towards the trailhead near the Frazier Turnaround.  Unfortunately, the long gravel road also had some snow patches, so we decided to not go any further.  We turned around and drove down to another connecting trailhead at Shell Rock Lake.

After passing Shell Rock Lake and starting our ascent, the trail was basically a creek, due to the amount of snow melt.  We ran into a family hiking with their JRT and they were on their way down after losing the trail due to snow levels.  We decided to try our luck and continued on.  They were right, the snow levels were out of control.  In previous years, these trails have been snow free during the early summer months, but we'll need a few more hot days to help clear them out this year.

We followed the blazes on the trees until we hit the Frazier Turnaround and our original starting point, the Serene Lake trailhead.  There was a nice campsite with a park bench, so we stopped for lunch.  This clearing, and knowing we were starting to descend gave us a little hope that we would get to Serene Lake after all.  After lunch, we started going again from blaze to blaze.  When we stopped seeing noticable trail markings on trees, we started flagging our way, just in case we want to turnaround.


We eventually made that decision.  As we headed back, we met another group with a JRT who had also made the grueling hike up through the snow, only to decide to turn around.  We hiked back to Shell Rock Lake to post up for the night.  Although it was crowded during the day, as the evening rolled around many of the families who were there for the day headed out and it ended up being a really nice and quiet spot with a few camp fires spotted in the distance.  While Willis fished in a fishless lake, the pups and I soaked up the remaining sun rays.

We hiked out on Sunday morning and went to find another place to set up for the night.  After helping a stranded camper get back to a campsite so he could get help with his truck, we drove to Pyramid Lake.  It was another rough gravel road, but this time it wasn't covered in snow.  It was a short hike up to the lake, where we dropped our packs and scoped out the scene.  We were hoping for some hiking trails to spend the day on, but the overgrown trail just circled the lake.  After the dogs and I soaked up more sun and Willis attempted to fish in another fishless lake, we decided to head back to town a night early. 

Overall, it was a good weekend.  I'd like to go back in August or September when the trails are a little more clear and hiking one mile doesn't feel like hiking three. 

Shi Shi Beach to Lake Ozette

This post will help any of you interested in doing this 3 day coastal hike.  Thanks to Langley and Ruth, we have some amazing pictures from our most recent trip.  Willis and I accidentally left our camera at home.

While planning for our Memorial Day weekend trip, Langley suggested going to Shi Shi Beach, in the Olympic Peninsula.  After some searching, I found Kevin Yang's posts about this trip.  Due to certain restrictions around permit reservations we decided to do the hike backwards, starting at Shi Shi Beach and ending at Lake Ozette.  It was an amazing and kind of challenging hike.  Lots of steep trails with rope assists to climb, seaweed covered rocks to scramble, and one river to ford (plus some other wading depending on the tides).

Prior to doing this hike, we needed to get*:

- a Makah Recreation Pass (since some of the hike is on the Makah Indian Reservation) - purchased at the General Store in Neah Bay

- a Wilderness Camping Permit as well as make a reservation  - you can call ahead and pick permits up from the Olympic Wilderness Information Center (WIC) in Port Angeles

- a hard-sided bear canister (if you don't already own one) - you can rent them from the WIC.

- a tide table - also available at WIC.  This is important because you can only pass the headlands when the tide is low.  You don't want to get caught at high tide.
- a map - you can get one from REI.  Almost always essential for backpacking new areas, a map is a good way to find water sources.

*On our first day of hiking, a park ranger stopped us to make sure we had our permits and bear canisters.

What we should have also made sure to have:

- water shoes - I had my Chacos.  Everyone else waded in their hiking shoes.  Although I had no problems with my sandals, it would have been nice to have close-toed water shoes, like Keens, while wading along the rocky coast or fording the river.

Homemade Tofu Jerky

In case you were wondering, the granola bars held up perfectly on the trail.  3 days in a crammed pack and they didn't crumble, melt, or lose their delicious flavor.

Another homemade delight we brought with us, and try to bring with us on our backpacking trips (if I make time to make them before we leave), is homemade jerky.  Tofu jerky.  This is another recipe that I've made many different ways.  I always use the dehydrator, but have tried different types of marinades, from store bought to homemade.  The most recent one I made was based off of this recipe.  I forgot to add in some honey, which would have helped with the saltiness.  But regardless, it was still pretty good.

Homemade Tofu Jerky

1 package extra firm tofu
1/8 c. soy sauce
1/8 c. teriyaki sauce
1/4 c. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
4 tbsp liquid smoke
1/8 c. water
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp honey (which I forgot)
you could continue to add or substitute a variety of spices to your liking.




1. Drain and slice the tofu, keep in mind that it will shrink a decent amount.
2. Place all the slices into a deep dish.
3. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and pour over the tofu slices.
4. Marinate in the fridge overnight.
5. Place the tofu slices on the dehydrator and dehydrate until chewy (time will depend on your dehydrator).

You can save the left over marinade and re-use it for more jerky. 


Currently Listening To:

Homemade Firestarters

This post is not about royal weddings or tornadoes. However, it is about wood stoves, the Portland weather, camping, and how to make your own firestarters.

One would hope, that since May is just around the corner, the need to use our wood stove or heat would stop, or at least slow down. Yet, last night we had a fire and today at noon, our heat kicked on. We tend to keep our heat between 59 or 60 and use the wood stove on nights when we want a little extra warmth while cuddling with the dogs and watching Heroes. So, if it kicks on during the day, it means it's pretty cold for a spring afternoon.

So, because the rain continues to fall and clouds continue to cover the sky, I can't wait for summer to come around and backpacking adventures to begin. But, because this is the Pacific Northwest, finding dry enough kindling to start a fire isn't always easy, especially early and late in the seasons.

So today, to prepare for our next backpacking adventure and to help out with starting fires in the wood stove, I made some firestarters. These are super lightweight and easy to make and you probably have the materials needed in your home.

Homemade Firestarters

What you'll need:

-Dryer Lint (tip: keep a brown bag next to the dryer to put all our lint into.  When it's full, just throw the whole bag in the compost - if I don't have any more bags, just re-use the same one).  You can also use old Christmas tree/pine needles, newspaper, or a mixture of all three.

-Pressed Paper Egg Carton (tip: these cartons are also compostable.  I try to buy eggs in bulk and re-use cartons).
-Wax or crayons (tip:  keep a jar around to put in old candles or crayons).

How to:
1. Stuff the dryer lint in the egg cartons:

Put in as little or as much as you want.

2. Melt the wax or crayons with a double boiler.  Use a container that you don't mind permanently being covered in wax, for example I used a mason jar.  You can also use a tin can.  Place the wax in the container and then place that into a pot with some simmering (not boiling) water.

Meanwhile, your dog will think you are cooking up something delicious and patiently wait.

3. Place the egg carton on some parchment paper to catch any spilled wax.  Some wax may also seep through the carton, which is o.k.  The wax should peel right off the paper so you can re-use it.

4. Pour or spoon the melted wax into the egg cartons.

My jar wasn't too hot, but just in case, use an oven mitt.

5. Cut them up and store them for later use!

I put mine in a ceramic container near the wood stove.

6. Compost any leftover dryer lint or egg carton (like the lids).  The worms and your garden will love it!  Save the wax for next time!


How to Use:
Just light a piece of the egg carton and build your fire on top!


Currently listening to:
Ida - Willow Tree

Ida: Willow Tree from Foglight Films on Vimeo.