I contend that my Memorial Day Weekend was better than yours.
Started off with an early departure from work. I walked down to the Marina, where a friend, a cooler full of microbrews, and WindMillie awaited my arrival. We rigged her up and cruised out onto the river. Unfortunately, the current was stronger than the wind for a couple hours. We basically spun circles with the sails flapping. This type of situation lends itself to drinking. The icy cold beers were going down quickly. Then, another passenger arrived. Luckily, the wind picked up and we had an amazing sail. Its still very strange to be a boat owner. Every time I take out the boat I kind of feel like I secretly taking out someone else's boat. I think this will fade as the summer moves on.
As others arrived in Cascade Locks for their Sasquatch Music Festival rendezvous, we moved the party over to Double Mountain Brewery. After a few IRAs (Imperial Red Ale), we retreated to Gorge Girl's house in the Orchards. A dip in the pool was sobering and a nice prelude to bed.
The next morning we made some Belgian waffles with my delicious rhubarb sauce and sent the Sasquatchers on their way. Eventually, we made our way out of bed and packed up our camping gear.
We were invited to spend the night camping in a vineyard. It was a completely surreal experience. A friend of a friend works for the vineyard and us all out to listen to music and camp. As the sun dove into the Cascades, an accordion mused in the corner of a dimly lit garage. The music continued on with most of the audience contributing with many instruments. Bottles and jugs of un-labeled wine covered the picnic table. The owners were such gracious hosts and provided an endless supply of wine all evening. As the music faded, we made our way up to the vineyards to spend the night. Amazing! www.klickitatcanyonwinery
A tent hangover is one of the worst hangovers possible. Late to rise, we packed up everything and headed up to our next camping spot, Knebal Springs. On Memorial Day weekend, all campgrounds are packed with people. Mostly obese people in RV's. I don't understand this type of camping, but each to their own I guess. After stopping at several campgrounds near Mt. Hood, we ended up at a strange little campground at about 5,000 feet. With the campsite setup and a hearty dinner cooking in the dutch oven, the wind came up. And by up I mean, like 50 mph. We ended up eating our dinner in the car, packed up and drove past the RV's with their generators purring on the way to our exit.
Such a frustrating evening gave us a bit of ambition for the next day. We set our sights on Table Mountain. Its a 15.5 mile round-trip with 3,600 feet of elevation gain, not an easy task. I packed some lunch and some wine from earlier in the weekend in the backpack and we set out. Three miles into the hike, we lost one of our members. I repeat, lost one of our hiking group. This was the first time this has ever happened to me. After stressing for a few minutes, we decided to press on. In the end, it was definitely worth it. Our lost friend had the keys to his car and wandered out of the woods long before us. We pushed our way to the top. It was such a view: Mt's Hood, Adams, Helens, Rainier, Jefferson!! I'll post pictures once I get my camera back.
