Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

American Woodcock · Post by **American Woodcock** » April 13th, 2012, 11:32 pm

Bear with me as this is my first trail report.

We decided on this trail as a substitute to the Eagle Creek Loop as EC was a little too snowy for our tastes and gear. Headed out during the WA State Spring break with some of our kids in hopes of finding a little sunshine!

Day 1: After driving from Vancouver, WA we hit the trailhead at about 1015AM, we talked to the Ranger there he reminded us to pay for our parking and said to watch out for ticks as they are particularly bad this year(his words not mine). We hiked the first three miles on the “river trail” all the way to Colorado Camp where we crossed a plowed field to get up onto the main trail (gravel road) we continued onto the first railcar at 5.6mi and had lunch there. The kids thought the rail car was cool and the weather was a sunny 60ish degrees. After lunch we continued onto Bedsprings camp. We arrived there at 3PM and set up camp. Great spot right on the river! After setting up camp the kids and dog were running around and the dog found some friends that wanted to hang out with/on her, Ticks! Five total for that night. The temps at night we’re pretty low, mostly tolerable but from about 415AM to 615AM it was downright frosty and hard to sleep!! I refused to exit my tent until about 8Am. That’s when the sun would break over the mountain and start warming things up. I woke up at 115, 445(train), and 630(cold).

Day 2: After having breakfast and packing light (we left camp all set up as we planned on staying there tonight as well) we headed off for the homestead and water tower about 11AM, the hike along the road was easy, nice and flat. A good introductory for my body to hiking season  about two hours later we arrived at the Homestead and started checking it out. The kids and dog even ran up stairs for a photo op. Us adults on the other hand decided to not push the limits of the old framing. We found some cool “artifacts”. We continued onto the water tower and had lunch there. On our way back there was a guy plowing the fields at the Homestead so we ran down and asked him why they were plowing the fields as this was a source of much discussion last night. The guy we spoke with (Mike) was super nice, he said they were planting Barley (he specified the type, but I don’t remember) because the deer and sheep really “love it”. With my curiosity satisfied we moved on. About 100yards from the homestead the clouds moved in and it started raining lightly, after 10minutes of that it started raining harder. Naps when we returned to camp became the subject for the next ten minutes or so. Then there it was the beautiful blue sky and the SUN! Total rain time about 20 min, we were 100% dry within an hour. Since we were moving so fast we had plenty of time around camp so we laid around and played cards till dinnertime. After telling stories and a lot of bad and/or corny jokes and a pint of Fireball (cooled by the Deschutes River) everyone headed to bed. The second night of sleep was better as most of us figured out how to stay warm enough throughout the night.

Day 3: Woke up, enjoyed the warmth of the sun with a cup of coffee, had breakfast, broke camp and headed out. We had lunch at the railcar at 5.6miles again, the kids took the river route beginning at Colorado Camp and we stayed on the road. We arrived back to the TH at about 4PM. On the way home we stopped at Full Sail Brewery in Hood River for some burgers and beer/soda. That was a perfect way to end the trip!

Tick count: 5

Rattlesnake Count: 5

Blister Count: 5

Overall a great trip, I can’t wait to get back out! I was going to add pics but apparently my files are too big!

Waffle Stomper · Post by **Waffle Stomper** » April 14th, 2012, 8:06 am

Sounds like you had a great time. Welcome to the forum.

I'm not familiar with most of the hikes at the eastern end of the Gorge (I'm assuming that because of the tick count

) Could you tell me where you hiked. It's good to include that in the subject line.

You painted a great picture of your trip with your words even without photos.

Splintercat · Post by **Splintercat** » April 14th, 2012, 8:37 am

Welcome, AW! (fixed your title for you, but you did the important thing, which is to select the PH Field Guide link -- good work!)

...and yes... I... hate... ticks....

-Tom

Waffle Stomper · Post by **Waffle Stomper** » April 14th, 2012, 8:54 am

Thanks Tom, I even guessed wrong. I never seem to get east of Mt. Hood.

Regarding ticks, I'm sure my friend won't mind me sharing this.

Tick Defense - Chapter 3 by Greg-0, on Flickr

Splintercat · Post by **Splintercat** » April 14th, 2012, 10:34 am

I love it! I had a humbling day on McCall point last May. I was completely covered up, pants tucked into socks, etc., and was there on a busy Saturday passing countless people in shorts, tank tops, etc. It was hot, and I'm sure they were snickering as they passed me... but I was smug in thinking "hey, at least I won't find ticks when I get home, kids!" At the top, I even talked to a group (dressed in shorts, etc) relaxing in the meadow and they asked me about ticks -- and I suggested they check when they get home, and pointed out the purpose of my being overdressed.

Well, you guessed it -- two ticks when I got home. The ONLY openings were my sleeves and neck (I had a long-sleeve shirt on over a t-shirt), and given they were both dug into the back of my shoulder, I suppose the hopped onto my hat then crawled down the back of my neck... shudder...

My better half is quite patient about pulling them out for me... though she hate's 'em, too!

(BTW, I notice the hike link isn't showing on the top post, even though it's selected in the edit view -- I'll mention that to Dan)

Didn't mean to hijack your first post, AW -- though that's not uncommon around here...

-Tom

Waffle Stomper · Post by **Waffle Stomper** » April 14th, 2012, 11:03 am

Great tick story, Tom.

I'm sorry for my part in the hijacking.

BCJ · Post by **BCJ** » April 14th, 2012, 11:06 am

I was out on an overnight trail run and I think I saw you guys in camp on Friday night sitting around a campfire. I thought about saying hello, but it was about 11pm and that would have probably been a little creepy. It was an absolutely gorgeous night with a brilliant full moon.

arundodonax · Post by **arundodonax** » April 14th, 2012, 3:39 pm

Okay, sorry for my hijacking, but I just have to ask,

How does one trail run overnight in rattlesnake country?

BCJ · Post by **BCJ** » April 14th, 2012, 10:01 pm

arundodonax wrote:Okay, sorry for my hijacking, but I just have to ask,

How does one trail run overnight in rattlesnake country?

The key is to not step on them

Also, temps got down below freezing so the snakes were all snug in their beds by the time I hit the trail and I was done by 4am so there wasn't much of a chance I'd come across one (unfortunately, I love finding them).

texasbb · Post by **texasbb** » April 14th, 2012, 10:31 pm

Thanks for the nice first report, AW; we'll be watching for more in the future! I did the Deschutes for the first time this February. No ticks then, but I did end up with a couple of blisters from walking that hard, flat grade. I also found camping down on the river a bit damp and chilly. The night I slept higher up I was much warmer.

Oregon Hikers

Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: 04/5 to 04/07/12

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)

Re: Deschutes River Hike (April 5-7, 2012)