Backup Plans — CalifOregonia

By late June we were getting the itch to take our 3rd camping trip of the 2018 season. The plan was to find a high mountain lake to play in for a couple days with our kayaks, and unwind from a busy month at work (for both of us). Summit Lake sounded like the perfect spot for this. We knew that the bugs would be bad, but figured that REI's Jungle Juice would solve that problem... We were wrong.

After the usually frantic last minute preparations we loaded up Porter, our Golden Retriever "puppy" and set off into the mountains with hopes that our preferred campsite would not be taken. Summit has a very limited number of parkable campsites, so our jitters over being able to grab one intensified as we gained elevation towards the lake.

The main road into Summit is rough by most standards, but easily handled in the Tundra with 33in Cooper Tires and a TRD suspension. We navigated the deep ruts and tights spots as quickly as we could to get to our campsite. When we finally rounded the last corner we were elated to see that there was only one other vehicle, and they clearly were not spending the night. Unfortunately our happiness quickly turned to horror as our truck was swarmed by mosquitos as soon as we turned the engine off. Not yet ready to throw in the towel, we jumped out with bug spray in hand. The hordes of insects were, for lack of a better term, biblical. Even after drenching ourselves with bug poison we were still getting harassed, and poor Porter was absolutely covered. Realizing our defeat, we got back in the car and did something that we are not used to doing: worked out a plan B.

Whether by luck, extensive planning, or a combination of the two, Tessa and I usually manage to have exceptional experiences in the woods. We are not used to trips getting utterly sidelined, and admittedly could use a little more practice with improvising our adventures. This time we decided to head to lower elevations in search of a campsite along the Middle Fork of the Willamette River that was less buggy, a plan that would end up trying our patcience. Our first mishap was taking an unproven route to get there.

The Oregon Military Wagon Road passes along the northern edge of Summit Lake. We have taken this notoriously bumpy route to the east of Summit on several occasions and always enjoyed it as a beginner's 4x4 trail with ample width for full sized trucks. Having never driven the Wagon Road to the west we decided to give it a go. What followed was nearly an hour of driving on a Jeep width trail littered with tire popping rocks and tilted sections that practically had the Tundra on its side. The above video doesn't do the experience justice.

We exited the Military Wagon Road with a few new pinstripes and elevated blood pressure, and were quite relieved to hit the smoothly paved NF 23 road along the Willamette River. Sadly the campgrounds that we had targeted all proved to be unremarkable, eerily empty, or entirely full. With the time approaching 6:30 and our stomachs beginning to growl we debated calling the trip entirely and heading home, but eventually settled for a plan C of heading to my all time favorite campsite overlooking the Three Sisters above the NF 19 road. This option took us an hour out of our way, back through Oakridge and up a completely different fork of the Willamette. The additional drive time was taxing on Tessa, and taught us a lot about our limitations on adventures and how to handle stress together.

At 7:30, after five hours in the car, we finally made it to our new campsite. As stressed as we were, our efforts had paid off with a stunning view of the Three Sisters and the Central Oregon Cascades. We had it all to ourselves, and best of all, it was not buggy!

Tessa got food going while I went to work setting up our roof top tent with the annex room for Porter to sleep in. Dinner consisted of fajitas and a mixture of ground pork and ground turkey. As usual it was delicious!

We are still dialing in our camp setup, and have been packing a little on the heavy side until we figure out our exact needs. Our double burner Camp Chef stove may be a little excessive, but for $80 at Cabelas it cost way less than most smaller camp stoves, and has proven to be significantly more effective. Also pictured in the truck bed were our inflatable kayaks and inner tubes that we sadly did not get to use on this trip.

No, the beer can in the fire pit was not ours.

We ate dinner with the setting sun casting a beautiful glow on the mountains. Sadly due to fire danger this may be our last campfire of the summer.

That night we drank whiskey and wine while swapping stories of past trips. This particular spot has always held a special place for me, having camped there with good friends many times before. This was the first time with Tessa, so it was quite nice to finally share it with her.

Waking up with a view is always one of the best parts of having a roof top tent. The next morning was no exception, with lovely blue skies over the Sisters. If you have never slept in one of these before they are incredibly comfortable. Without Porter barking down below in the annex room we would have slept in for hours.

Breakfast was a scramble with bacon, sausage, peppers from the night before, eggs, and hash browns. As usual it was tastier with a view.

Although the original plan was to stay for two nights we called it after one. The struggle to find a suitable place to sleep the night before had tired us out. Despite our low energy it was still a good trip, and we learned a lot about what to do when plans don't work out.