2012 Summer Trip Recap

Greg gives us the highlights from his 5 Month long Summer Camping Trip:

I was looking through the blog posts from this trip and after a few good laughs I decided to pick out my favorite photos and condense the five month trip into one last post. There is nothing new here except the final photo, a self-portrait I took at Tuolumne Meadows.

My first glimpse of the ocean was at Harris Beach State Park in Oregon.

Notice the color of the sky? It is blue. For the next 70 days I would only see the sun seven times. The drive north on the Oregon and Washington coasts is aptly called the “Pacific Coast Scenic Byway”.

I crossed over the Rogue River Bridge and visited Cape Blanco and it’s lighthouse.

I stayed at Bullards Beach State Park where the sun was nice enough to come out and dry my tent.

I crossed two more bridges, Coos Bay and Yaquina Bay and spent some time at the harbor.

There are two lighthouses in this area, Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head.

Can you tell that I like lighthouses and bridges? Next stop was at Depoe Bay where I observed a seal and a seagull engaged in a spirited debate.

A rare sunny day showed up so I spent some time at the beach.

Followed by a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

All you can eat cheesy goodness!

I also like funny signs. This one still cracks me up.

At the northwest corner of Oregon I spent some time at Fort Clatsop.

I had watched the Ken Burns documentary about them just before starting the trip. It was neat to walk in their footprints and see what they saw.

I crossed the Columbia River on the Astoria Bridge and visited two more lighthouses, Cape Disappointment and North Head.

I passed through South Bend, Washington, the “Oyster Capital of the World”.

From there I headed north into Olympic National Park and all it’s green glory.

Near Hoh Rain Forest I was stared down by a wild taco and later at Fairholme by a duck.

Near Elwha campground was beautiful Madison Falls.

My last night in Olympic was at Staircase campground. I had a spot right on the river and the birds provided nice background music.

I looped around Puget Sound getting a far off glimpse of Mount St. Helens and continued on to Mount Rainier National Park.

I passed by some more signs.

The one above makes me laugh. If there were no warning signs then that sign shouldn’t be there. I camped at La Conner and got the evil eye from a bald eagle eating a salmon in the pouring rain.

While there I checked out Admiralty Head lighthouse and Deception Pass bridge.

I enjoyed a nice sunset and the next morning found an old weathered boat on my way to the Canadian border.

I visited Peace Arch Park and took a stroll on Canadian soil.

I headed east and spent some time in North Cascades National Park.

I used my new stove for the first time, making a batch of tacos.

I also complained about the terrible working conditions I had to endure.

Leaving the park I took some photos of Diablo Lake.

I passed through the towns of Winthrop and Leavenworth on my way to Crescent Bar.

You can read the post about what happened to me here: Lightning Crashes

My tent took a beating and ended up looking a little different.

I passed through Toledo, Washington, picked up a “camping god”, and camped at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon.

I wish I could have spent more than one night there. There is a trail of about 10 miles that takes you by 10 waterfalls. I only had time to visit one, South Falls. The trail goes behind the waterfall for a unique perspective.

I visited two calderas, topless volcanoes that had water inside. Newberry National Volcanic Monument was a surprise. Located around 35 miles southeast of Bend, Oregon, this was probably my favorite camping area of the trip and I did not even stay there. There are two lakes inside and you can camp right next to them. And the beach…

Beautiful! Crater Lake National Park was nice in it’s own way. The campgrounds are a few miles from the lake and there is only one steep trail down to the water.

I liked the view from the south rim looking south in the morning light.

I arrived at Lassen National Park in California just in time for a forest fire. I packed up and left the next morning.

Another hidden gem was Van Duzen, a Humboldt County campground near Fortuna, California. There were giant redwoods and some great swimming holes.

Speaking of swimming holes, two campgrounds just off Interstate 80 near Yuba Gap had some great ones. Hampshire Rocks,

and Indian Springs.

I camped four nights near Oregon House, California, on the South Fork of the American River. I met some nice people and ate some interesting food.

I finished up at Yosemite National Park.

I spent 3 nights at Tuolumne Meadows hanging out with my friend Glenn.

Finished up the trip with five nights in Yosemite Valley.

On the way home I passed by Tenaya Lake and went down Tioga Pass.

As I was heading south on US 395 I kept hearing a squeaking sound from my left rear wheel. I pulled over a found the problem.

So there you have it. The “Reader’s Digest” version of my trip. Beats reading all 30 blog posts. Am I forgetting anything? Oh, the self-portrait. I am always behind the lens, never in front, so I thought I would share this with you in case you were wondering what a camping fool looks like. Enjoy!

Regards, Park Ranger