July 29 - 2011 Hambone Springs Camp

[mentalQtip]

Just got back a little while ago. Wow! A great time in a fantastic place. The mosquitoes were annoying but everything else was great. Fine food and plenty of beer etc.The drive in was awesome/bumpy. Saw the most awesome forest of my life. I stood still a couple of times and thought about this being like the "forest primeval". The original forest.
Drive back was uneventful, other than being a whole lot of driving DOWN.
Got back and quickly unloaded and hosed the mud and dust off and almost back to looking like normal.
Hambone; Thanks for arranging this trip. Had a great time and look forward to going back.

[mentalQtip]

I really should preview before I post. kinda repetitious.

[tristessa]

Got back and quickly unloaded and hosed the mud and dust off

WHAT?!?!???? You're s'posed to let that come off naturally with the fall/winter rain. The NERVE of some people!

Harrumph!

[Gypsie]

Oh....so this is what we passed on the way in:

On Friday evening July 29, 2011 Tarrie Lyn Gibson, age 36, attempted to elude Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputies in a brown 1998 Dodge Durango on Mount Hood National Forest roads east of Estacada Oregon.

A Clackamas County Deputy Sheriff contacted Tarrie Lyn Gibson in a campground on USFS Road 63 near USFS Road 70, in the area of Bagby Hot Springs. Mrs. Gibson, driving her 1998 Dodge Durango, failed to obey the order of the deputy to stop her vehicle which was displaying expired registration stickers.

Mrs. Gibson drove westbound toward Estacada at one point reaching speeds of ninety miles per hour. The pursuing deputy was joined by other Clackamas County Deputies and two USFS Law Enforcement Officers. The pursuing Clackamas County Deputy Sheriff coordinated the deployment of spike strips by a deputy sheriff coming eastbound from the city of Estacada.

The passenger in the vehicle, Dennis James Stephens, age 35, followed directions given by deputies and surrendered without incident. Mr. Stephens was cited for Possession of Less than One Ounce of Marijuana and released from the scene.

Mrs. Gibson, the only remaining occupant of the vehicle, barricaded herself inside the Durango by locking the doors and refusing to obey commands to exit the vehicle.

During the following negotiations Mrs. Gibson told the deputies wishing to die and demanding to be shot and killed.

Shortly afterward and without warning, Mrs. Gibson disobeyed police commands and moved to return inside her vehicle. A Clackamas County Deputy Sheriff fired three rounds from a less lethal bean bag shotgun striking Mrs. Gibson.The deployment of the bean bag shotgun rounds prevented Mrs. Gibson from returning to her vehicle. This allowed deputies to safely close distance and arrest Mrs. Gibson without further incident.


Mrs. Gibson was arrested and charged with Attempting to Elude a Peace Officer, Reckless Driving, and Reckless Endangering. She also had a misdemeanor warrant for Failing to Appear on a previous DUII charge. As a result of Mrs. Gibson's actions and additional crimes this evening Clackamas County Community Corrections authorized a detainer for Mrs. Gibson as a violation of her probation.

Mrs. Gibson was transported to Willamette Falls Hospital, following CCSO policy, to be checked by medical personnel before being transported and lodged at the Clackamas County Jail.

-- Clackamas County Sheriff's Office

[hambone]

Good times in the Clackamas. And then you have the backcountry, where all is well except for the billion mosquitoes.
I swear that Abbot gets more insane every year.
Great great trip! You guys sure crashed early on Saturday. I tuckered the poor little guys out.

[Kubelwagen]

Permethrin is good stuff, when applied to clothing.

But the bigger question remains - is there an alternative area less plagued by skeeters? Probably not, I guess but perhaps on the less moist side of the hill?

[LiveonJG]

Still waiting for pics...

[Gypsie]

Better late than never, or something like that....

After working all day and beatin' feet to the hills, Joseph and I joined forces to head for the high country. We ended up getting separated at a fork in the road. I knew the fork he took was a dead end so I took the opportunity to change out of the monkey suit and crack a beer. After he got back we headed out again and then decided to test our roadside points changing skills...
We pulled into camp just as it was getting dark. Tipped back a few and wrung the work week out with a few shenanigans and an early night...

6:30 am and I needed to see a man about a horse so I snapped this sunrise shot while I was up. Went back to sleep and got up several hours later.




We headed out for a little hike to find one end of the Linney Creek Trail. Hambone and Don (one of our campin' pals that hasn't been bitten by the bus bug yet. He's got a great dog and mad backwoods skillz.....).
Down into the brush we go... (I swear that it sometimes feels like the forest is swallowing you up...)




There are times when I want to take a picture of everything I see and times when I want to just soak in it...This was a soakin' walk so I only have a few.

Whispers....



splash o' color...



A series of unrelated events joined over time in space....



Several times we wondered aloud of the scale of time involved in the creation of the landscape we were passing through. These stones have been being pushed up into this hill for eons. The conversation usually trailed off when we realized how puny our little lives were in relation to our ancient mother...


passing still waters...


Last year we climbed Hambone. This year we were able to take a picture of it from across the draw...


Camp was the usual suspects and only a little bit of hooliginism...





After another walk to the saddle leading to Hambone we started grazing on some great grub and I went to lie down a bit Just after sunset...


I awoke at midnight and everyone was down the fire had died down an my lanterns were the only light left. Earliest I had gone donw at camp before but it was a great day with great food at the end...



On our way out we stopped to take in the view. You really can't get the full feel of this white knuckle road without being there and the photos do not do it justice but here are a few.
This panorama was an attempt to show the drop off. The far left of the screen shows an approximate drop of 200 feet. You cant tell though.

This one...



is reminiscent of this one from 2007...


I have to post this one for Hambone (from 2007 as well)

Man they grow up fast...



I must share a funny story about that first 2007 photo. It was taken on the way out from my first camp at Hambone. We had stopped at this point on the road because of the beautiful vista. Mrs. Gypsie was sitting in the passenger seat not even considering getting out of the rig for fear of being blown off the side of the mountain. Not that there was any wind or anything, just that from her view out the side all she could see was sheer drop to the boulders below, a goodly distance. Right after snapping the photo, I hear her scream "Stephan we have to go NOW!". I could tell by the sound of her voice that it was serious, so I scrambled down to find out what was up. When I got in she was pale with saucer eyes and she said "The road shifted. I think it may be about to give way...". I knew she was concerned because of her view out her side and kind of poo-poo'ed her though it was one of those roads one could imagine falling down the side of the mountain. She said "you felt it didn't you Lily..." She was getting shrill and panicky and my daughter had a very worried look on her face when she said "uh-huh"... I began to continue on out and suggested that maybe someone had bumped the car while they were walking around taking photos. She was having none of it. We stopped at the end of the road and she asked everyone if anyone had bumped the car or felt the ground move. No one had, but she was adamant.

This has been one of those bits of lore for the past several years where I say that that road is too solid to have moved and she sticks to her guns and says that it did...

Cut to a few weeks ago when we are discussing whether she wants to come with me on this camp or if not her then maybe Lil'Gypsie...I knew she had serious reservations about the road and may not even allow Lil'Gypsie to travel down "DeathRoad" and the "it moved/no it didn't/yes it did" discussion started again

Well... Lil'Gypsie sheepishly says, "I have something to tell you mom, I shook the car by rocking side to side in my car seat. I did it to play a joke but you got so scared that I got scared and couldn't tell you that i did it...."

My little prankster had kept this secret for 4 years...

Raisin' her right I tell ya...

[ruckman101]

Life is a dream that moves through you.

Did I get that quote right. I LOVE that quote. Oops, it was art, wasn't it, not life, but isn't it the same?

No comparison to "So it all started when I wanted to get better gas mileage...."

Waxing nostalgic and remembering my first Gypsie encounter, accidental happenstance, sucked into Maupin.

Worth the wait for those photos, thanks. It isn't a road for the faint at heart, but first gear will get you there.



neal

[Sluggo]

Pics of the wonderful camp out. I left a day early to do some fishing before camp.

Saw this at a little camp on the side of the road at Cripple Creek.



Got myself one 16 incher. The small one was from the guy next to me doing catch & release. It swallowed the hook to far and wasn't going to make it.


When I came back to the Bus I found that I had a little visitor






Great views on the way to camp!





Went way too far past the camp til I hit road that was way too rough and realized that I had to have gone too far. Google and my GPS show the camp as 1/4 mile past the actual camp. Wanted me to turn right into the mountain & a rock slide.

Great friends when I arrived!


More Beauty!









Natural spring that bore it's own cave.


Another natural spring where someone had installed an iron pipe to make an easy to use spout!


When we were walking down old Abbot Road Bob saw an old overgrown road that ran down from Abbot. We followed it a little bit and I spotted this little guy.




Saw this on the ground and it caught my eye. God's Country?


More Beauty.





The sign that anybody else who wasn't relying on GPS would assume meant "here is the camp" but to me meant keep going until you hit road that is downright scary.


Jason & Tosa


Joseph tested out the antique facilities.


Wow!


Spotted a wood ape in a tree.


Fun on the trail.






Tag nailed to a tree with coordinates.


More signage including the patented Hambone "T".











Bob cleared the path.


Camp.







One of many VERY abandoned fire pits.





Campfire cornbread!


Some kid that really liked to have her picture taken.





The way to Hambone Spring






The road home.






My first camp without a Saturday Night Stoney Stumble. Everyone passed out early (9-10:30). Probably because of the hikes and we started drinking early. Wonderful trip though.

[hambone]

Fabulous stuff you guys!!!!! I've been too busy sanding rust to get on the internet much.