i am thankful for friends that you can trust. i am thankful for friends who have good ideas. when you are friends with justin beck you get ideas you can trust. he said 'let's go out and get lost around mt. hood with dan's jeep.' so we did just that. we had a general idea of where to go but that was about it. if the idea was to get lost, we couldn't have much of a plan. we made some coffee, packed up the car, i grabbed my camera and drone, and caleb-daniel-landry-justin-myself were on the road.
our first stop was just past estacada (or maybe before?) on the clackamas. it was too good of a spot to pass up so we pulled over, hopped the guardrail and found a way down. Also, disclaimer this january 24th in oregon... unreal weather.
we headed east through estacada and made our second stop at ripplebrook ranger station. it was there that we all realized that this adventure wasn't going to be a typical drive and hike. in the ranger station, we met a woman in her late fifties and her golden retriever of a similar age. we asked where we could drive to get a little mud on the tires and get a great view of mount hood. and if we could find a good hike, we wouldn't mind that either. in her thick and native louisiana accent, she told us her concerns: 'i don't want to tell you the wrong place and have you get stuck because the sheriff will come dig you out and come back and cuss me.' she said this jokingly but she must have seen the texas plates on our jeep because she knew we had no idea what we were doing. after some reassurance and a bit of lying we were able to get her to tell us of a place called high rock and timothy lake. we pulled out a few maps to explain where it was in relation to the ranger station but eventually we had to go to a separate room with a wall sized map to get a real feel for it. we left with her salutation, 'be careful out there. the water is so cold the salmon will hardly stay in it'. we forgot to get her name so we decided to name her edna. it just fit.
the day was epic and started with snow packed roads that our jeep (and driver) where encountering for the first time. we had some scary points and even got high centered one time. eventually we got to a point where the snow was too deep and our driver was a little intimidated to drive the last mile. so we grabbed the gear and my big case with my drone in it and made our way to the top. no further than a few hundred yards from the summit did i realize that i had forgotten the memory card for my drone on my desk at home.... so flying it wasn't an option... i was devastated. it was an absolutely perfect day to fly it and i was fantasizing the entire day about all the shots i was going to get. but i had to stop thinking about what i was going to miss and think about what i could still get with my camera i had strapped on my back. so with my canon 60d, this is what it came up with from the top of high rock.
i should say, 'forgive the nudity.' but i figured i would let you be as shocked as i was when i saw three butts in front of me.
IF YOU'VE MADE IT THIS FAR, DON'T LEAVE YET.
there is still more to the story.
we left high rock and attempted to find remote lake via two backroads. we had the map 'edna' gave us and it looked like a straight shot. we tried the first first snow-packed road and got a little stuck. we hopped out, dug out the jeep, and pressed on only to find a river about fifteen yards wide blocking our way. we reluctantly turned the car around and tried the other road, but it was an eerily similar experience to the first road; we got stuck in the snow, found a river blocking our way, and turned around.
landry riding outside the jeep after we got stuck for the second time.
by this time, the sun was beginning to set. we decided to throw in the towel with the idea in our heads to come back sometime and try again. on our way back we came to a T in the road and stopped to look at the map. it looked as if there was another way to get to the lake that we hadn't noticed, but it was getting dark fast and we were all getting tired and hungry. 2 of us wanted to go - 2 wanted to go home - and 1 was undecided. we deliberating for a little while but decided to hang a left and book it for the lake. this road had no snow on it and was a easy drive. we made it just in time to see the sunset on the perfectly still water that doubled as a sheet of mirrored glass.
i have a good friend in daniel esquibel (he takes some rad pictures and goes on some cool adventures) and he is starting a new website called afield collective. the idea to bring all kinds of creatives around the ideal of community, creation, and creativity. one of daniel's driving forces behind his adventures and ideas is the firm belief that those three c's are what make an adventure great. and when i think about that in terms of my most recent adventure, i can't help but believe in its truth. people > places.