Newborn + Outdoor Lovers = Backyard Camping Trial

So my wife and I had a discussion the other day about our newborn son, Anson. To say the two of us enjoy the outdoors is an understatement, for sure, so when the topic of Anson's ability to go camping came up, we knew we needed to figure out a plan to get him outdoors for his first overnight camping trip- and soon.

We decided that although we're both good planners and we've yet to have a "bad" camping experience, or maybe because of those things, we needed to do a dry-run with the little one before heading out 50 miles from home only to find that it just wouldn't work. We settled on a spot very familiar to us and one that would lend itself to trial and error; our backyard!

One night after work I rushed home, picked up all the landmines from Jake & Graham that had accumulated in the grass, mowed the lawn short, and got the camping gear ready. I have a pretty good system in place for gathering camping gear, so after the yardwork was done I made quick work of setting up our campsite. We didn't need much; a tent, sleeping pads and bags, flashlights, our normal pillows from inside (just like car camping!), and the dog beds. After about 30 minutes or so the camp was ready for business, and just in time too as the sun was quickly setting. We tried our best to simulate the real camping experience we'd soon have with Anson by setting a few rules:

1- Anson cannot go inside the house until at least 7 a.m.
2- Neither parent can go inside the house to do anything but retrieve forgotten items (like extra clothes or water) or use the restroom.
3- The dogs must stay outside until 7 a.m. also, but they should be vigorously exercised before getting in the tent.
4- If these rules are broken, the camping trip will be considered a failure and we will not go camping until a backyard overnight is successfully completed.

Knowing what we had at stake, Claire & I prepared for the night by thinking about how to do things a little differently in a tent than we'd been doing in our home for the previous two months. For starters, breast feeding wouldn't be as easy because Claire would be doing it with a headlamp on. Secondly, she wouldn't have the luxury of having a headboard to lean against while sitting up with Anson, either. For both Claire & I there was the lack of separation between the little one and the dogs, and finally there was the dilemma of clothing for Anson. How do you ensure that a baby stays warm enough on a camping trip?

That question was answered soon enough by this superb find at a local thrift store:

As you can see it's far too big. We paid $4 for it. No one complained.

After making sure we had everything; diapers, diaper covers, wipes, extra rags for spit-up, extra cothes for all, water bottles, camera, and all the above-mentioned items, we headed out the door of our house and into the wild expanse of our backyard. A quick four seconds later (BEST HIKE EVER!) we arrived at camp and plodded into the tent.

The dogs found their side of the sleeping area and Claire & I laid Anson between us on the other side. He looked quite a bit like Ralphie from A Christmas Story in his little snow suit but not one of us in that tent cared, so long as he was sleeping. I'm happy to report that Anson did splendidly in his temporary bedroom and by 8 a.m. the next morning he'd only awaken twice to feed, and both times slept again quickly thereafter. Our campground became noisier and nosier as the sun rose, bringing with it the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood getting off to work and school. We didn't mind too much, though- we'd survived together in the tent and could now celebrate our successful camping trip!

Now the next question...where will we take Anson for his first real camping trip? Any ideas? I'd love to hear them. Write a comment below and leave a suggestion!

Mountain Biking Goodness

Hanging out at the top of the ridge

So two of my buddies came along with me tonight for a mountain bike outing near Eugene and I've got to say; it was GREAT! I hadn't been out mountain biking for about 3 months so I was eager to get back on my Iron Horse (that's really the brand, I'm not joking) and head out into the wooded hills.

Scott

Kohl

My friends Scott & Kohl have been outdoor enthusiasts for their whole lives and share my need to get out of town and explore all that makes Oregon so great. Today we drove a quick thirty minutes to a semi-secret spot and had a blast bombing down trails and huffing up hills. Graham dog and Jake dog both joined us as well. We parked the car at the trailhead about 6 p.m. or so and headed up, up, up to the top of the ridge where we were to ride. After about a mile, we came across a fresh clear-cut that offered our first vista, and with the sunshine-filled view came the wildflowers, wild irises being the most prevalent among them.

Wild Iris lining the road

On we continued, making quick motions along the singletrack trail and making sure not to run into the dogs as they weaved in and out amongst our tires. Jake tends to like being in the lead, but this usually proves problematic after about a mile or so when he tires slightly and slows down. Graham will happily fall in two or three deep and observe a tire at his nose and another at his tail. All that dog between all those moving wheels seems dangerous to the outside world, but we have all proven ourselves thus-far to be a fluid caravan. Thus-far.

Kohl learns how to water Jake & Graham

             The evening came on as we traveled, changing the light overhead slightly and gently reminding us that we'd have to come back down soon enough, destined for Eugene and our partners and families once more. We relished the ride, took plenty of breaks to witness the views and enjoyed one another's company. Around 7:30 p.m., after about 7 or 8 miles of riding, we called it a night and drove back to town. All said, a great ride with some great buddies.

Benternship sights & sounds Summary

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Benternship July 10- DAY 11

This series documents a very special opportunity I had recently. I was accepted as an intern at a company in Oregon that provides naturalist-based guided tours in many different activities that travelers enjoy. All of the entries are taken directly from my makeshift journal, my camera, and my iPod video camera. Items in bold are not original to the journal, they have been added for clarity or reading enjoyment. You can decide which.

With Claire being in town I knew that I had to get her out on a trip with the company. I needed to show her that the caliber of trips that Wanderlust Tours provides was exactly the quality that I wanted in my own trips someday. Witnessing first-hand what the guides do so well here in Bend was something that I simply couldn't explain...it needed to be experienced.

Claire & I signed up for the moonlight canoe tour departing Saturday evening. We met up with Jack @ Fred Meyer and hopped in the van. Off to Sunriver for another pickup and then lake time! We headed up to the Cascade lakes that flank South Sister, Mount Bachelor, and Broken Top and pulled into the Hosmer Lake parking lot. After a brief introduction on paddling by Jack, we set out on the water just as the sun was setting. The looks we got from the fisherman (who were all coming OFF the lake at this time) was priceless. Looks of shock and curiosity were prevalent on their faces as we paddled past them, eager to see what the night sky would bring us. Keep in mind that Claire and I have never been on this lake before in our lives. The trust that we placed with Jack was considerable but I knew we were in great hands.

Jack quickly assessed our groups' paddling ability (there were 6 guests including Claire & I) and took time to help out those who were still learning the tricks of canoeing. Claire & I watched in wonder as the last of the day's light faded from the evening sky. Suddenly between our boat and the next, not two feet from one another, you could see bats flying between the canoes on their way to swallow all those pesky mosquitoes that were flying around us. The bats were hard to see directly but if you stared at the water about 10 feet away from you suddenly a shadow would pass that was undeniably a bat...a very cool experience and one of my favorite parts of the moonlight canoe trips.

Jack took our group to a beaver lodge that was nestled along the bank of Hosmer Lake and explained how they were constructed and used by the beavers that lived in it. While listening to his oration it was easy to look around this marvelous piece of Oregon and feel quite content to be away from the lights and sounds of a city. The dark was really beginning to take hold and as the last of the twilight slipped from our view we noticed fish swimming about below our boat, no doubt scanning above for insects just as the bats were doing.

Unlike the other lakes I'd seen at this point during my Benternship, Hosmer lake surprised me in being quite marshy. As we reached a channel in the lake I noticed that we'd be paddling through a snaking portion of marsh, which when combined with the beaver lodge area comprises only about half of the total lake surface. We stayed close together and with the moonlight beginning to take over the night sky easily saw our way through the reeds to the opening of the channel.

Once the four boats were all through the bottleneck, Jack asked us to look up and analyze the sky. It was still a bit too early to see many stars, but what we could see amazed us still. Jack pointed out Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter and we were all astounded by the sight! It was one of the most memorable night skies I've ever witnessed, simply because I finally had someone to tell me exactly what I was looking at!

We continued our paddle to another point toward the northern end of the lake, all the while being sung to by shorebirds looking for food or mates. The call of one in particular, the Common Nighthawk, was especially fitting for a nighttime paddle as it's peculiar sounds come through the trees sounding quite foreign to one's ears.

As we reached a stopping point in the middle of the lake, Jack corralled our boats together and began passing out hot cocoa and baked almond bars for the guests. The treats were well received by the group as we had been working up an appetite paddling around the lake. After the snacks were passed out, Jack continued to speak to us about the constellations, including Cassiopeia, Scorpio, and Orion. The detail and passion in which Jack shares these tales is quite enjoyable to witness, and you can tell he has a strong background in theater as he weaves his tales for his audience.

Content with all we had witnessed for the evening, the group paddled back toward the south end of the lake under Jack's guidance, all the while in a lights-out caravan of canoes. Several of the boats saw a deer just off to the side of the shore munching in the marshy grass, no doubt. The stars were vivid and as we paddled back south the view of Scorpio became more and more clear to us. Arriving at the boat ramp, canoes were loaded, PFDs were shed and the gear was stowed for our return trip to civilization.

The moonlight canoe trip with Wanderlust Tours was definitely a highlight of my Benternship and quite possibly my time here in Oregon. I have been thinking about all of the amazing sights I've seen in Oregon and I would contend that seeing the stars from a pristine Cascade Mountain lake rivals many if not all of them. If you have a chance to tour with Wanderlust, do it! I promise you'll not be disappointed.

About me

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Here's the quick and dirty on me, "Have you enjoyed the outdoors today?". My name is Andy and I'm in my late-20's. I have a beautiful partner of 4+ years named Claire and we share a home in Oregon's scenic and mild Willamette Valley. We have two yellow labs, Graham (3 years) and Jake (2) and a cat (?), but I forget his name*.


I enjoy the outdoors nearly as much as I enjoy being married and that's something that's obvious once you get to know me. In talking with folks that I meet or know one of the primary things I tend to do is to find out their level of outdoor activity and make that a centerpiece for conversation. This isn't to say that I don't know lots of people who don't enjoy the outdoors as much as I do, but the simple fact that we live on Earth means that we are inherently tied to the natural world. As a general rule, the more people appreciate this fact, the easier it is for me to communicate with them.


The hobbies I engage in are relatively all the same, in that they involve two of life's great pleasures; beer and exercise. Here's my list in particular order:


Beer: camping, playing board games, cooking/baking, SNOB (Supporter of Native Oregon Beer)


Exercise: running (preferably trail), hiking, sport climbing (both indoors and outdoors), backcountry hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing, photography (a stretch for being in the "exercise" category I know)


I understand that diversity is a very important part of our evolution and economy and therefore I am a supporter of just about any (legal) idea or belief that keeps people different or allows the underdog to succeed. Examples of this include the idea that Wal-Mart is not a business that I support if at all possible (simply because it is the largest retailer on the planet and they don't need any of my money) and that racial minorities are far and away more culturally important than many of us realize. The fact that when many of us were born there were 6,000 languages being used on this planet and now there are fewer than half of that remaining indicates to me that our loss of diversity is happening at an alarming rate. See this video for an excellent explanation of this problem by National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis: www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html


This is really just a scattered run-down on how I view myself. My posts will be a much more accurate depiction of who I really am, as the content starts to paint a picture that reflects my own thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. Stay tuned for more!


*The cat is Claire's and I really don't care for him. He's mean to me and he pukes a lot. Enough said.