Bell's Mountain Trail 06/25-26/2010

Bells Mountain Trail is a relatively new trail. It serves as a link between the trails in Moulton Falls County Park and the network of trails around Silver Star Mountain.

Ben and I hiked it in two days. We did four miles the first day and five the next.

The first two miles of this hike are very steep. We pulled up out of a valley, right up to the top of Bells Mountain. We were passed only by a father and his two young sons on this stretch, and by an older lady who alone trailed behind us for a while. We lost site of her and she never passed us. She must have summited and then went back down, instead of hiking through like Ben and I did.

I really enjoyed this hike. It was short but sweet. Some trails around Oregon/Washington can be like highways with so many people on them. But I think because Bells Mountain Trail (BMT) is fairly new, perhaps not many people know about it.

I am kind of a freak. I sort of like the torture of a long upgrade. I personally like climbing up a trail more than going down one. So, for the first couple of miles I tied my bright orange bandanna around my forehead and sweat my way to the top.

Once on top, we walked through a couple of clear cuts that gave us an unbelievable view of Mt. Saint Helen's off to the North West of where we stood.

Ben and I both tried to imagine how massive that mountain would have been before it blew it's top off in 1980. Mt. Saint Helen's is a really fat mountain. You can only appreciate that when you view it from another mountain close by.

There doesn't seem to be any over night camping spots anywhere along the BMT. It was getting close to six in the evening, and we still hadn't come across anywhere to pitch our tents for the night. I don't like to hike after six if I can help it. After six in the evening many animals come out to hunt...and I don't want to be what they hunt. At six fifteen we came across a strong bridge that spanned a pretty large rushing creek. On one side, right next to the trail, someone had at one time had a camp fire. We looked around to where they might have pitched a tent, but there was no place that we could see. This spot was very slanted. I was not excited about slowly sliding down toward the creek all night while I tried to sleep. We dropped our packs and Ben ran on up the trail to look for other possibilities.

Ben had been gone for a good 20 minutes. While I was sitting by the water, waiting for him to come back to report what he found. While I sat there alone I couldn't help wondering what I would do if he didn't come back.

It would be dark in an hour or so. I started to get a little worried. I sent out my 'are you ok?' signal. This is two very loud blasts that I can do when I stick two fingers into my mouth. I don't know what I expected to hear back. Ben had dropped his pack near where I was sitting, and the emergency whistle that he carries was on his pack was hanging there. He is not as talented as his old Mom, and can't stick his fingers in his mouth and raise the dead like I can, so again, I wasn't sure what I expected to hear back when I whistled down toward the direction he had gone.

I let about five more minutes go by until I blasted off another whistle, but just as it was rocketing off the trees, here came Ben walking toward me. "Man does your whistle carry!!!!!" he yelled out over the sound of the creek rushing between us. "I heard you and I was w-a-y down the trail!"

He told me that he had seen three possible places to camp. We buckled on our packs and hustled back the way he had just come.

We went about a mile (me expecting to come across a hungry black bear any second) when we crossed a nice flowing stream. Just beyond this water was a little wider spot in the trail where we figured we could pitch both our tents end to end. It wasn't ideal, but this is what backpacking is all about: you have to be willing, and able to make do.

It only took us a few minutes to have our gear set up, dinner cooked, and cleaned up. I was in my sleeping bag just as the darkness came full on.

One of my main goals when I climb into my sleeping bag is to not get up to pee in the night.

Usually I am so dehydrated from walking all day that I don't, but this night I had to. I must still have been half asleep when I stepped out into the darkness. After finishing my business I stood up and lost my balance, falling over and crushing my poor little tent underneath me. As I went down I was thinking, "OH NO! I WILL SNAP THE POLES!!" But nope. When I stood up it snapped right up back into position. Side note: This is a Marmont EOS 1 person tent. I highly recommend it if you are planning on falling on your tent.

The next morning I thought for sure we would see someone come by but no one did. We broke camp, and than traveled through several clear cuts that gave us outstanding views of Silver Star Mountain. In past years I have hiked to the top, and spent the night, on Silver Star three times.

As we walked on we were in and out of the forest most of the day. After a while we dropped down and hiked upsteam by Cedar Creek for about two miles. I could tell that we were getting close to the end of our hike when we past a couple of people, and than four people who were on horse back.

The last mile and a half we jumped on the end of the Tarbell Trail, which we had hiked last year. This took us to Rock Creek campground, where Jim sat waiting for us with cold drinks, a fresh Chicken Cesar salad for each of us, and a ride home.

It rocks to be us!

The End....of this hike.

Leaving next Wednesday for the next one!!!!!!!!!

WHO IS A BACKPACKER?

The second trip out this season was short, but sweet....but before I do a summary of that trip (got back from it yesterday evening) I want to share some of the insights that I had in a separate entry.

While walking along steadily behind my middle son, Ben, I started to think about all the different people I have backpacked with over the past five or six years.

Ben is a saunter-er. He isn't interested in high mileage days. This Son is a quality, not quantity backpacker (which makes him the perfect hiking partner for me...because I could not be a high mileage person even if I wanted to). The interesting thing about Ben though, is his "saunter" is a fast pace running for me. So I know that he holds back a lot...A LOT....for his dear old mother. But every so often he will become caught up in the beauty of the trail, or he gets sick of my silly chatter, and he will pull ahead. With in a couple of minutes he is out of sight, several bends in the path ahead of me....all without even breaking a sweat.

My Daughter Joleen is a sprinter. She has been graced with the trail name "Sea Biscuit" because she has the habit of going at a fairly steady pace all day...until she gets within a mile of where we are going to make camp for the night. Then it is off to the races! I could be laying in the trail, ripped to shreds from a bear attack, but all that would be there to help me would be Joleen's dust.

My Daughter-in-Law, Mandi, hikes in spurts. Mandi was blessed with long, beautiful, strong, legs. When she stretches out those babies....she is gone. But it isn't long before you come upon her sitting by the trail on top of her pack. I will stop and chat for a few seconds, but than I am off putting one boot in front of the other. Not too much time will go by, and then here is Mandi asking if she can pass by on the trail. Off she goes with those long legs pumping only to be passed again in a few more bends sitting on her pack.

My youngest Son, Jay, is sort of hard to describe. It all depends on what kind of a mood he is in, on how he will hike that day. If he is tired he will lag behind everyone. If he is feeling good he is out front burning up the miles. If he is troubled he hangs behind me, letting me set the pace, and we talk for hours about not much of anything. But if Jay is hungry, then everyone had better watch the hell out! He will trample you flat in the dirt to get to camp and eat.

My oldest Son, Jared, is easy going on and off the trail. Mile after mile, even if his bad knees are hurting and he is out of water, he just walks along as if he doesn't have a care in the world. I have only been on one long death march (we got lost and had to back track) with Jared....but he is someone that I would be glad to walk along with any day. The thing about Jared is: once the sun goes down he gets sort of freaky. Every sound is a threat. A hoot owl just about gave him a heart attack. As we sat around the fire he couldn't stop talking about how he was going to get a gun to hike with next time.

My husband, Jim, does not like to backpack....but we made a deal last year that if I let him buy a 50" flat screen TV he would go on a short backpack trip with me. So we now have a 50" flat screen TV hanging on our family room wall, and he has been out ONCE backpacking with me.

Jim actually did better then I thought he would, and he even admitted that he enjoyed it more then he thought he would. But than of course you need to know that I picked one of the most beautiful, and easy hikes, in all of Oregon to take him on. There was no "up" to hike....all down hill. And to top that off, there were several world class waterfalls all along the trail. So yea, I think you would have to be insane not to have have a good time on a trip like I took him on.

My Sister Betty Jo has backpacked twice with me in the past few years. Betty Jo is a great gal to hike with. Her pace is just about my pace, and she is like the Ever Ready battery bunny. She just keeps going, and going, and going. Betty Jo has a bum knee that she has to baby down the trail, but this does not keep her from putting on her boots and peeing in the bushes.

I think that completes the list of all the people I have backpacked with so far.....well there is me.

I am steady, but slow. I often think of myself as "The Little Engine That Could". I chug, chug, chug, up the grades. Steady but slow. I don't rest often because it is just too hard to get my momentum going again, so I just keep walking.

One thing I have noticed about myself, and I think perhaps this is true for a lot of backpackers:

When I first start out on a hike I think to myself, "Gosh I love this! This pack is not a problem!" Than after about two miles I am thinking, "Holy hell! Why do I like doing this? Why am I doing this?" But then something happens and I feel like a horse that settles into it's saddle..I can hike for hours, mile after mile until I finally pull into camp. I might be the last one, but I pull into camp just everyone else.

My trail name? "Tortoise"

Later this month I have planned an "all girl hike." My Daughter in Law, Jillian and her daughter Erin plus My second oldest Daughter, Jewel and her daughter Ivy, will be joining us for the first time. I am looking forward to adding them to my list of backpacking partners!

If YOU are ever willing, and able, come and join the list of my backpack buddies.

Isn't It Just Like Me?

Isn't it just like me to start a new blog about backpacking and then leave and take a trip to California for a month?

We just got back to the great, green, Pacific Northwest and guess what? It is cold and raining.

Holy hell! It is June 16th and we have the house heater running.

How am I suppose to get out there and have 'grand adventures' if it is feeling like February in June here?

Anyway.....I am hoping to be out on the trail soon. Please check back. I am sure that I will have some silly little story to share.

In the mean time.

Cheers!

Jenny