My Type of Bench
Jul. 27: The llama trip is on its sunset. Two nights at Pine Lakes and two nights at the Eagle Cap Wilderness’ Crater Lake. Dan and I are grateful that Raz has shared some special spots with us. And I am grateful that Dan turned me on to Wallowa Llamas.
With no rain fly on our tent (our choice) the chilly air last night had us awake earlier than usual. The starry nighttime sky gave way to the clear blue sky of the morning. I luxuriated in staying wrapped up like a mummy for a bit longer while I heard the other campers milling around. Raz diligently got up early and got coffee going as well as breakfast. Fresh out of the oven Mexican Grits were well received by everyone. And ripe, juicy melon was a fine complement to them.
Since we weren’t packing up camp today, we had a few options of how to enjoy our surroundings. Hiking cross country up the ridge toward Granite Mountain was one option. Getting down to Crater Lake was another. And a couple people decided to just hang in camp and enjoy the solitude while quietly exploring.
The Solitude of Hanging at Camp
Dan opted for some extended relaxation at the camp while I made a beeline up the ridge. From camp, the ridge appeared steep like it would be difficult to climb. In reality, it ended up being a slow and steady ascent that was pretty simple. About 80% of the way up, we found some large rocks to relax on. A few people decided to make it all the way to the top, which for sure involved some scrambling. I was more than content to have gone 80% of the way up with 20% of the effort. Many things in the world involve the 80/20 rule and this was one of them.
The Way up towards Granite Mountain
An Optional Scramble at the Top, No Thanks
Everyone met at Crater Lake for lunch. Some dove right in to the water and others preferred to admire it from afar. I am not sure how the conversation arose, but Raz told us about the Moore family who currently is the most powerful presence in Halfway. About fifteen years ago they came to Halfway with the intention of buying 40 acres and ended up leaving with a 19,000 acre ranch. Since then, they have continued to buy ranches and businesses. This is all in a town with a population of 300 (1,000 including the surrounding areas). In fact, they own the Pine Valley Lodge that we stayed in Saturday night. And when the lower Pine Lake get significantly drained each August for irrigation, well guess who owns a handsome portion of shares of Pine Lakes Irrigation – the Moore family! I really am not sure as to how much money they have. My guess is that compared to the bigwigs in New York it is just a pittance. But it is interesting to note that with a small fortune, they can roll into eastern Oregon and buy up the vast majority of the town’s private land and businesses. Raz said that the residents have mixed feelings about the Moores. They have concerns about the inequities but also acknowledge that they provide lots of jobs.
The Wallowa Version of Crater Lake
Although I had just gotten a good amount of exercise, I was up for following Raz on his bush whacking and clamoring over hundreds of wind fallen trees to Horse Corral Basin, which is the headwaters of Cliff Creek. The Forest Service does not maintain this trail any longer. And in fact even bigger trails in the Wallowas may only be maintained every two or three years. We never could have found this gem on our own and even Raz had to figure out how to navigate the terrain, since it was different than last year. The walk was about 45 minutes and we were treated to vista views of the mountains and valleys. The views were complemented by the melodic sounds of the gurgling creek, and a wildflower show in all its glory. And completing the canvas were toads, elk tracks, mountain newts, tadpoles, and of course, the very loyal mosquitoes.
The little streams originate as snowfall from out of the surrounding mountains and they converge into Horse Corral Pond. The pond itself is slowly evolving into marshland and meadow and eventually into forest. It was shallow and warm compared to the lakes and getting in up to my legs felt refreshing. Existing in the woods is a constant balance between cooling off and staying warm, staying clean and embracing the elements. We strive to stay engaged in the environment yet also maintain a level of comfort.
We Cooled off in Horse Corral Basin
Raz led us back on a different route, which was more open and expansive. Dan and I happened to be toward the back of the pack with Jim and it was a prime opportunity to pick his brain about “How’d you get to Halfway?” The short story is he and his wife moved from Boston a year ago after having done an Oregon driving tour two years earlier. They liked Halfway and they found an off the grid property that worked for their homesteading ambitions. They are currently living out their dream, developing the property, raising animals, establishing gardens and having a ball learning so much about their new lifestyle. Jim is very happy that he can telecommute for work, so they can live with a higher level of security. Dan recalled many moons ago, when he was eagerly doing the same thing on his homestead in a rural town outside of Portland, Oregon.
We Walked Past Some Sort of Altar on the Way Back
Soon enough we were back at Crater Lake and Dan and I lingered to swim while most of the pack headed back to camp. The whole experience was glorious in so many ways. First was the invigorating cold lake and soaking up the warm sun on the small sandy beach. This was complemented by listening the symphony of the breeze and the rippling waves of the lake. Even the buzzing of the flies contributed to the well-orchestrated symphony. We really were not itching to depart, but we wanted to get back to do a solar shower.
On the way back Dan pointed out Cusick Mountain which is the largely limestone mountain that formed from the coral reef that was part of the Wallowas. In short, this means that there was subduction of the tectonic plates in the ocean that were eventually uplifted and deposited on the Wallowas. This ties into the exotic terrane theory we spoke of a couple days ago.
That Mountain to the Right of Center in the Distance Is an Ancient Coral Reef
Back at the camp- we almost died and went to heaven in the solar showers!! They were as hot, if not hotter than a home shower. Squeaky clean, we all sat down for dinner. Louise had made two trays of lasagna and we had a big beautiful green salad to wash it down with.
The Oven That Makes You Feel Like You Never Left Home
Raz lit a perfectly engineered campfire. I was wondering if we would have one during the trip and was delighted we did. Lo and behold we had a mosquito free zone, albeit a tad smoky. In fact, we solved the world’s problems around that campfire. The up and coming generation suggested that we ship all of the garbage to the moon. As an alternative, one of the older generation suggested drilling into the earth’s core at a point where there is a subduction zone and just sending it down the chute. I thought the garbage would eventually uplift into a mountain range just as the coral reef had done. We could call it the Garbage Mountain Range and maybe Raz would do llama tours on it.
Our brains were exhausted from solving the world’s problems and as the fire waned, it was a natural segue to nestle into our sleeping bags for the finale on the llama tour.
A Warming and Authentic Experience