AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

@turbodb IIRC you have one of these

$120 Coleman Tabletop 2-in-1 Camping Grill/Stove, 2-Burner Propane Grill & Stove for Outdoor Cooking with Adjustable Burners & Pressure Regulator, 20000 BTUs of Power for Camping, Tailgating, Grilling

Grills,

How do you like it? I like the idea of a the combo, but i've seen where the grate melts or warps terribly.

 

FWIW, the big difference between import and domestic shackles are. Import they batch test, and domestic they individually test. A batch could be any where from 10-1000 at a time, so the chances of having 1 that is bad is pretty high, thus we don't see them used in lifting applications, like we do domestic.
That being said, we sell a lot of import shackles to the off-road guys that come into my shop, a lot of them like it because they'd rather lose a $10 dollar shackle in the mud vs $30.
All domestic "rigging" equipment has a 5:1 safety factor. Not sure what import has if any.
As always love the trip report!

 

I have the same one and have for like...6 years. The grill is cast iron, its not going to warp. Works super great. Really like having the grill and burner in one box.

 

well the updated version has an aluminum grate, and the reviews have been mixed at best lol

I

 

That's kinda impressive, I have to assume they set something like cast iron on top cause aluminum is usually pretty good at dissipating that well before it can melt.

 

Wow that is impressive.

 

Thanks guys. You know what they say on Kauai- "west side is the best side." True on the mainland too! hahahaha

I do have one of those. Love it so far after making a couple minor mods. Couple rig reviews worth reading here:

• F.U.Rain rig review (Coleman grill/stove)
• Anza-Borrego rig review (Coleman grill/stove)

I've not run into any problem with the grill at all. Seems to still be cast iron to me - heavier than an aluminum grill that size would be for sure. But I haven't cut into it (or melted it, hahahaha, to verify!)

Note: I started with the Coleman stove that was two burners (well, after I moved from a Weber Q100 grill), and I did not like the two burner version - we grill too much when we're out camping!

Edit: just checked out the reviews and I wonder if there are some counterfeit versions of this grill coming into the market - it's at a price point where that could be a reasonable thing to do. Could explain the difference between my/Monte's experience, and others.

Thanks for the info on clevis'. Are you saying that every domestic clevis is tested? Wouldn't testing it up to (at least near) it's limit stress it in such a way that you no longer really want to use it? (He says, not really knowing anything.)

And glad you're enjoying the trip report - one more day coming soon!

 

Before leaving the factory everything should be stress tested. The minimum breaking (5x) the working load is where stuff starts to really deform. I'd imagine that putting it to its "working" load limit shouldn't stress or deform the shackle, as its supposed to be there for normal everyday use without a problem. No one would want to buy a shackle to only use it once.
to get further into this as my knowledge isn't infinite, i put a request into Crosby lift group, and i should hear back from them Monday.

 

Hells Canyon Part 4 - Eureka Bar and a Miscalculation
May 24, 2019.

We once again slept well - the rushing river providing a nice white noise through the dry night. In a canyon, I knew there was no rush to get up for the sunrise, and it was late (for us) before we even considered pulling ourselves out of bed.

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One of the great things about this particular camp site was that it happened to be across the Imnaha River from a trailhead that had the potential to be quite amazing - a trail that followed the river downstream to its confluence with the Snake - the same confluence we'd been perched high above the day before, and the site of Eureka Bar! (More on that later.)

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With cloudy skies overhead, we decided it was in our best interest to set out as quickly as possible - hopefully avoiding the any rain. So a quick breakfast and camp tear-down ensued, and we crossed the Imnaha to the trailhead just after 8:15am.

It was at that point that we were waylaid by the fishery folks who were back at the tent we'd investigated the night before - there to count how many fish they'd caught in their Archimedes-screw trap during the night. We chatted each other up for a few minutes - us curious about their operation; they curious how we even found this place - before setting off downstream.

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We knew from both the book that @mrs.turbodb had as well as the fishery guys that there was going to be poison ivy along the trail, but we didn't know how much or how overgrown it would be. What we did know was that it was a pleasant 72°F and the 9 mile hike was mostly flat, since it dropped only as far as the Imnaha River over its entire length.

Almost immediately I was glad we'd decided to do this hike. Even if we hadn't had plenty of time, the canyon walls rising up around us were so stunning that it would have been a shame to miss it - it was, I think, my favorite experience in Hells Canyon.

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Half-a-mile or so into the hike, we hit our first poison ivy. Fully leafed out, it was easy to identify - and there was plenty of it. Luckily for us, most of it - but not all - was off the side of the trail, and we did our best to avoid it. Only @mrs.turbodb got a bit of a rash - on her stomach somehow.

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We pushed forward at a steady pace, the trail in what I could only call great shape for its remoteness - something that we could thank a group of guys who'd come through a month or so earlier to cut back and spray the Himalayan blackberries that sometimes cover the trail.

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As we reached the 2.8 mile mark, a large stone pillar on the other side of the river - and a geological marker on our side - let us know that we were on the right track. As if there was any option.

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And here, as with the entire trail, tens- or hundreds-of-thousands of stacked rocks supported the trail next to the river, keeping it from washing out for over more than 100 years since it was originally built by the early settlers of Eureka Bar, at the confluence of the two rivers.

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Less than 90 minutes after we'd set out, we found ourselves at three wooden bridges that signaled - at least to us - the gateway to Eureka Bar. We'd spotted these bridges the previous day from our overlook of the confluence, and it was exciting to cross them - knowing that few people ever experience them from both vantage points.

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And there in front of us - just beyond the last bridge - the confluence of the Imnaha and Snake Rivers.

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A confluence of two rivers this size is hard to capture from water level. With poison ivy covering the hillsides, and as a few rain drops started to fall, I quickly decided that the perfect shot was maybe not the most critical thing at this point in time - but we still wanted to explore Eureka Bar itself.

A few mine shafts - most of them short, but a couple of them deep and one with train tracks leading in - were exciting finds, as was the foundation of the 7-story gold mill that dwarfed @ms.turbodb and had never even seen the millworks, much less crushed an ounce of material.

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The rain starting to pick up a bit, we knew it was time to start heading back. With 4.5 miles or so to go, we hoped that the storm cell would pass, and that we'd dry off in the warm canyon breeze by the time we arrived back at the truck. And, if that was the case, we decided that we'd take advantage of it and eat lunch - something that sounded pretty good after a 9-mile hike.

With @mrs.turbodb in the lead, we set off upstream, pausing only once to admire a deer hopping off through the poison ivy before reaching our destination.

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Back at the truck, we changed out of our clothes - now dry with the storm cell having passed overhead, but probably covered in at least some poison ivy - and I assembled lunch for us to eat on the river's edge. Then, it was back to Imnaha, where we aired up before continuing on towards our next destination.

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This is the point where it's probably worth remembering that when we'd left Dug Bar the day before, the low fuel light had come on. That wasn't a big deal - we always carry 10 gallons of spare fuel, which I'd siphoned into the tank the previous evening - but it did mean that we were now running on the last of our fuel, and so needed to be judicious with its use.

And so, as we headed out of town and onto what suggested itself to be a fun romp on Upper Imnaha Road, I was keeping a close eye on the fuel gauge.

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Upper Imnaha Road is a much more populus area it turned out than Lower Imnaha had been. That meant that it was reasonably well graded, but also that the additional traffic made for more potholes. Combined with the on-and-off rain showers, it was a muddy drive, but beautiful nonetheless - the mountains, clouds, and green grass surrounding us the entire way. And, as was the case with the confluence, we'd seen - and eaten lunch overlooking - Upper Imnaha Valley from Hat Point Road the day before, so it was neat to be able to get the lower-elevation perspective here as well.

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An hour - and more miles than we'd expected - later, we arrived at the highway. It was here we had a decision to make. We both wanted to go to the Oxbow and Hell's Canyon Dams - towards the town of Halfway, but we didn't know if we'd find fuel that way - the only nearby fuel I'd marked on our map, in Joseph, OR.

And we didn't have enough fuel to go first to the dams, and then back to Joseph - I estimated we were a gallon or so (15 miles) shy of that mark.

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And so it was that we made the decision to turn west - 38 miles and two not-officially-open-until-June-15th mountain passes to Joseph - to fill up with $70 or so of fuel before turning right back around and heading to Oxbow, a town on the Snake river, nearly to Halfway.

It was a miscalculation that cost us a good two hours of daylight - both Halfway and Oxbow had fuel stations. A good reminder for me to mark stations in a much larger area than I might originally plan to visit - in case we finish everything a day earlier and cover additional cell-service-less ground.

Live and learn. That is, if in my old age, I don't forget first!

On our way to Oxbow, early evening already upon us - we made a quick pit stop at Hells Canyon Overlook - because if you're this far away from home, why not? It was only just "meh" compared to what we'd experienced already, and so about 45 seconds later we were back on our way.

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Hells Canyon Dam - run by Idaho Power - is, it turns out, 23 miles north on a technically private road that leads only to the dam (and Visitor Center). Of course, it's paved and open to the public, so we putzed along, taking in the sights along the Snake River, here where it no longer rushed down the gorge, but meandered slowly in lake-like fashion.

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It was nearly 7:00pm when we reached the dam, and as it turns out, our timing couldn't have been better. Having missed not only the busy time of day, we'd arrived well after everyone was gone - even the employees - and that afforded us the ability to take in the dam in a way that I think few get to experience.

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The power of the water flowing through that dam is incredible. 330' high, so much water was rushing through the spillway while we were on the dam that the entire concrete structure was rumbling. I mean, feel-it-in-your-body-as-you-walk-along sort of rumbling. Is-this-thing-going-to-fall-apart sort of rumbling.

It was awesome. Especially since it was a little scary. :biggrin:

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Eventually, @mrs.turbodb coaxed me off the dam and down to the Visitor Center, where we got three things:

1. An even better view of the downstream side of the dam - very cool.
2. A bunch of informational signs at the visitor center, which we both like to read - also cool.
3. And a warning that "if horn sounds or dam breaks, seek high ground" - completely useless, given that high ground was only available on the other side of the dam.

Thanks Idaho Power.

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By now though, it was getting to be time to find camp, so we headed back the way we'd come and found a splendid little jut out into the lake-river where we could make camp, have dinner, and enjoy the last night of the trip. And where Idaho Power had erected a sign: "Danger Dam Ahead." As if you could somehow miss it, or drive a boat over it.

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Dinner was quick - some chicken-finger tacos with avocado salsa - a good thing™ because just after we finished cleaning up, it started raining. Light at first, we climbed into the truck to read a bit before getting in the tent, but the rain continued to fall.

It eventually let up just enough that @mrs.turbodb decided to go to the bathroom, at which point the skies let loose a barrage of dime-sized drops that soaked everything in seconds, including anyone silly enough to have tried to squeeze in a bathroom break.

It'd been another full day as we climbed into the tent, and with the rain continuing to fall on top of us, I hoped it'd let up by morning so we could dry everything out.

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We Head North to Another Adventure
May 25, 2019.

The morning did bring drier - if still a bit cloudy - skies, thankfully. Up at sunrise since we had an extra-early departure scheduled, it wasn't warm or breezy enough to dry everything out completely, but we did get the tent mostly dry before putting it away for the day.

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And then we were off - our destination not home, but another adventure. The one that we'd headed east for in the first place - a Memorial Day outing with old and new friends.

...but that's another story.

 

That's great but...what's the fishing report?

 

Some of that canyon looks a lot like mountains out in the Mojave National Preserve, with foliage lol

Nice trip!

 

Well, on the Imnaha, the water level was at 90cm (they pull out the fish trap at 100cm) and most of the fingerlings have made their way downstream - they're only catching a few hundred a day now in the screw; at the height of the season, it's apparently many many 30-gallon garbage cans full.

Yeah, sort of does. Makes sense I guess - it's also a desert! Was pretty cool to see it in spring when everything was green.

 

Craig Mountain Part 1 - Lost!
May 25, 2019.

An astute reader may recall that we'd headed east a few days before Memorial Day - not just to explore Hells Canyon, but to meet up with Mike @Digiratus, Monte @Blackdawg, and Devin @MissBlackdawg. At least, those were the folks we knew; we were also rendezvousing with @BabyTaco Gage and his wife, and a couple of their friends - long overdue if you ask me.

From our current location at Hells Canyon Dam, it was some 5 hours north to Lewiston, ID, where we'd all planned to meet for lunch, so we were up early - for sunrise if it'd been sunny and we'd been able to see the horizon - to eat a quick breakfast and do our best to dry off the tent from the torrential downpour the night before.

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We were on the road just before 6:00am, the skies clearing above us as we headed south - away from our destination - the 25 mile road to Hells Canyon Dam an in-and-out affair. That was fine by us - the sun streaming under the clouds illuminated the green hills, making the drive a pleasant one.

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At Oxbow, we had a decision to make as to our route - we could retrace our steps west and north through Joseph, OR, or we could head further south, to an eastern route that would take us north through Idaho on highway 95. Having not been the Idaho route previously, we opted for that option - a nice side effect being that we could check out both the Oxbow and Brownlee Dams - two more of Idaho Power's controversial workhorses along the Snake River.

Controversial because as the dams were being built, there was a struggle between the power company and US Fish and Wildlife around the transmission of spawning salmon upstream and small fry downstream around the dams - or at least, around the Oxbow Dam, the first to be built. Prior to its construction, the Snake River system was the worlds second largest producer of Chinook and steelhead, second only to Canada's Fraser River, with over 200,000 three- to four-foot long fish migrating up the river each year (and several million fingerlings migrating back down). Now, one may immediately think - "I know - a fish ladder!" - which would be a reasonable solution, but Idaho Power felt that was too expensive an option despite the fact that such a large percentage of the entire salmon population used this passageway to spawn, and instead opted for a trap system that would allow them to truck fish in both directions around the dam. This trap however, failed spectacularly - putting the entire structure of the dam in jeopardy - and after numerous attempts to fix the system, they gave up, effectively cutting off the Snake River above Oxbow - and eventually Hells Canyon Dam - from Chinook and steelhead spawning.

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Beyond the dams, we turned north for a reasonably uneventful drive to Lewiston, through periods of rain so heavy we couldn't see more than 50' in front of us, and through fields of flowering canola so yellow they appeared to be painted. And, right on time, we pulled into our rendezvous point - KC Burgers - in the metropolis of Lewiston. We were the last to arrive.

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That's right, even Monte and Devin - notoriously late - had beaten us, a late drive the night before, and the one-hour time difference working in their favor. But no matter, we were together - at least for now - and enjoyed our burgers (though, I would try a different place next time - they were nothing special at KC in my opinion, and the service was meh).

Lunch behind us, we discussed our next steps. Monte wanted to top of his fuel tank, we wanted to restock a bit at the grocery store, and Gage needed to swap vehicles. No problem we thought - we had the GPS track that Monte had created, and ham radios + APRS for locating each other - so we split up and agreed to meet on the mountain - likely somewhere on the trail to Eagle Creek, and camp.

@mrs.turbodb and I - figuring that our detour would take the longest - provisioned as quickly as we could at the store and then pointed the truck towards Craig Mountain. We were likely 20-30 minutes behind everyone else, but we could see their APRS beacons heading out of town and so didn't give it a second thought.

As we hit dirt, I wondered if the rest of the group had decided to air down - the road wasn't bad, but it's always a bit nicer to have those cushion-y pillows of air to make it easier on the rest of the suspension (and our bodies). Regardless, we pushed on - no more APRS beacons on the map, in an attempt to catch up.

Maintaining a good clip, it wasn't long before we came to the turn for Eagle Creek - an offshoot from the main road; a road where airing down was a necessity. So, that's what we did - after all, this wouldn't cost us any more time than it'd cost the rest of the gang.

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Aired down, we bombed down Eagle Creek road trying to catch up. Every few minutes I'd try the ham radio to see if we could raise Mike or Monte - each time without success. And there were no APRS beacons - due to the mountainous terrain we assumed. But at our speed, we were sure that we'd catch them. Sure of it.

Especially since we stopped only once for a quick photo; a feat that I've never accomplished when paired with Monte.

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After paralleling the road for about 12 miles, Eagle Creek drains into the Salmon River - and we found ourselves at this point after passing several ATVs, UTVs, and dirt bikes, but without running into the rest of our group. Had we gone the wrong way? We were sure we hadn't - we were after-all, on the track.

We took a few minutes here to try the ham radio again and snap a few photos - an old chimney in the middle of nowhere, and the calm - at this point - but full Salmon River floating by. "I'm sure that they're camped somewhere down by the river." I said to @mrs.turbodb.

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So, off we went again, our speed high - the ADS suspension getting a good workout, and performing flawlessly - the ride in the front much nicer after I'd removed some of the pre-load. It wouldn't be long now until we found them - we hoped! For another 8 miles or so, the road paralleled the Salmon River. The weather was warm - 80°F or so - and the beaches on its banks looked like inviting camp spots. But still, no group.

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Finally, having traveled some 20+ miles at speeds that surely would have caught us up, we decided it was time to turn back - we must have misheard where we were going to meet - they must have told us to meet them on the other track Monte had created, and so we decided it was time to give that one a try. A u-turn in the road where it turned away from the river, and we headed back at a reasonable speed - there was no need to rush now.

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By this time, it was 4:30pm in the afternoon and we found ourselves wondering what we'd do if we didn't find the crew along the other track - would we come back down to the river where it was super nice? Start our trip home early and head west? We didn't know, and suddenly as we turned off the Salmon and back onto Eagle Creek Road, it didn't matter - because over the ham radio we heard:

"Got you loud and clear." I replied as we raced up the road. "So glad we found you guys!" replied Monte, "I figured we better come looking since we said we were going this way."

Well, needless to say, it was a relief to know that we'd been going the correct direction - as opposed to going senile - and before long we met up with Monte and Devin who were in the process of making their way down Eagle Creek Road.

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Turns out that there'd been another camp site that Mike planned on staying at and it wasn't on either of the tracks that Monte had created. As they'd headed that way, a discussion ensued as to whether we'd be able to find them, and it was concluded that with ham radio and APRS, things would be just fine.

And that boys and girls is a good example of why ham radios and APRS are not the end-all-be-all in communications. They are - for sure - much better than shorter range comms like CB, but in mountainous terrain, and even at 50W, they are quickly limited.

Anyway, Monte and Devin had eventually decided that if we were going to find their camp, we would have - so we must have gone out the original route. Still early in the afternoon, and up for some exploration, they'd come looking. So we stood around and laughed about the situation for a while, talked a bit of trucks and mushrooms (it was after all the anniversary of last years mushroom hunt in Montana), and then pushed our suspension once again as we raced up Eagle Creek Road towards camp.

An hour later, we pulled in to warm greetings and apologies for the re-route, and we took in the view from camp. It was cooler here - 60°F or so - and striking how different the surroundings were, some 4000' higher than at the Snake.

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As Monte got the fire going, @mrs.turbodb explored the hillside, eventually calling me over. Still earlier in spring here, the wildflowers were in their full regalia - Indian Paintbrush of all different colors, and numerous other flowers covering the hillsides.

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The evening was full of conversation around the campfire - we had, essentially, two groups coming together - a fun time to chat with old friends and get to know new people. Dinners were enjoyed (we had pesto pasta with chicken, fresh corn, and peas!) as we watched cell after storm cell pass to our west, the sun trying its hardest to eek out a meager sunset.

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Eventually, one of those storm cells found its way to our camp. Luckily, most of us were about ready for bed at that point anyway - having started heading that direction to brush our teeth as the case may have been - but that didn't mean Monte couldn't give us a hard time for leaving the campfire early!

We climbed into the tent and closed up the doors just as the rain picked up. As it'd been the previous night, it was a downpour - but this time it went on for quite a while. How long exactly I have no idea; I was asleep in minutes.

 

Ah reminds me I have most these photos edited.

Fun times!

 

I'll be excited to see them in a year or three

 

Haha well that's what's funny. I took so few I just edited them. I'll upload them tonight.....maybe hahaha

 

Nice! This pic almost confused me into thinking a photo I took at Lopez Lake last year in Arroyo Grande had somehow appeared on my screen. It had been awhile since I looked at it so I thought it was more similar at first, but some similarities are there for sure - that place is super amazing once I saw your shots in the daylight, it looks like New Zealand or Patagonia or something!

Here's the one of Lopez Lake - what little's left of it that is!

 

Craig Mountain Part 2 - Groundhog Day
May 26, 2019.

Parked in the wrong spot to catch sunrise, I slept in until the oh-so-late hour of 6:15am. But then, as I looked out the tent door, I noticed the fog over the valley and couldn't help myself but to get up and take a closer look.

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And then, it was back to bed. Not because it wasn't a beautiful morning - in fact, the clouds had mostly vanished and the blue sky was spectacular - but because it was cold! 34°F according to my phone - not something I wanted to hang around in for a couple hours waiting for everyone else to get up. That afforded me two extra hours of sleep before we heard the rustlings of the rest of the gang exiting their vehicles - our cue to climb out of the tent for the second start of our day.

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Really, we were in no real rush - there wasn't a lot of ground to cover, and Gage @BabyTaco and his gang were taking off around mid-day anyway - so we gave the sun a bit of time to partially dry off the tents, and we leisurely ate our breakfasts. For us, that meant instant oatmeal - something we've not had before on trips, and I think would be reasonably good given it's warmth if we'd gotten a less-sweet flavor than maple & brown sugar.

It was 10:00am - pretty much our average start time - we were finally ready to roll out of camp. Some last minute airing down of vehicles that were still aired up, and we staged ourselves to return to the main thoroughfare, which would lead us to a track Mike @Digiratus had put together.

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The last two in the caravan, Monte @Blackdawg and I decided to make a quick stop - typical for us, I know - as we passed some old run-down log buildings on the side of the road. Looked like perhaps an old homestead with a main house and barn - left to rot as are so many similar structures on our trips. It's always fun to explore these, each one a little different - this one with some vibrant lichen growing on the shady sides.

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Our stop lasted only about five minutes before we were back in the trucks and racing to catch up with the rest of the crew - approximately the amount of time we figured they would need to ditch a couple of the less capable vehicles and all pile into the 3rd gen 4Runner.

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Everyone was climbing into the 4Runner just as we arrived, and after a quick conversation, we decided that we'd explore north to Corral Creek Road rather than head south along Eagle Creek, given that @mrs.turbodb and I had experience that the afternoon before, and since it might be nice to camp down by the Salmon River. With that, we were off - Mike in the lead!

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It wasn't long - as is typical for us - before we stopped to take in the views. Running along a ridge, we'd already forked off of Corral Creek road - which was gated and locked - and were now following another road that might connect, if only there wasn't a locked gate somewhere along the way. Regardless, the views were some of the best we'd seen from Craig Mountain, a recent wildfire having cleared any tress that would have blocked the horizon.

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We continued to tool along the ridge line road - enjoying ourselves and the abundant wildflowers - for another few miles before we ran into exactly what we'd feared - another locked gate. Probably to be expected in a reasonably populated area like this, but something we were unused to with many of our other travels; one of the benefits of exploring more remote places.

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Our route blocked, we cruised back to the main road - nothing left to do now but head down Eagle Creek road - deja vu for Monte, Devin @MissBlackdawg, @mrs.turbodb and me.

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Of course, the previous day we'd been bombing down the road, not really taking in any of the sights - today, just the opposite. With a first-time-offroad-stock-4Runner in the middle of the pack, we took it slow - picking good lines, being careful of bumps. It wasn't long ago that we were in that same boat; interesting to see how much has changed in such a short time.

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Eventually, we once again found ourselves along the bank of the swollen Salmon river. Today however, we were with friends, enjoying the 75°F heat and bright blue sky overhead.

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It was the perfect time for lunch, so we all found a nice little shady spot at a beach along the road and set about making our sandwiches. Well, three of the four vehicles did anyway... Gage, his wife, and their friends hadn't brought lunch - their plan to take off right around this time anyway - so as we munched on our sandwiches and apples, they bid farewell and headed back up to the top of the mountain.

It really was pleasant there in the shade, and we hung out for a good hour, chatting about this and that, watching the water flow by. It was definitely a slower pace than many of our usual trips - much less ground to cover. Eventually though, we got the itch to keep moving, and set out west along the Salmon River - a route we were familiar with from the day before.

As one does, we had a bit of low speed fun through some of the puddles that had filled up in the previous nights rain.

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Memorial day is always a great time for trips - everything's so green. With Mike in the lead, there was a lot of stopping from Monte and I - at various points to take photos. Of the surroundings, and of each other.

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Eventually, we got to a point in the road - perhaps only a quarter mile further than @mrs.turbodb and I had made it the day before - where it turned away from the river and up into the mountains. Gage had let us know it was gated just beyond this turn, so we used it as a good point to turn around and start the discussion about where we'd spend the night.

We had two choices - stay down here by the water, or head back up to the top of Craig Mountain and look for a site there. There were of course pros and cons to each choice - and as is usually the case, some peoples pros were others cons. Ultimately though, we opted to head back up - the biggest factor being that Monte and Devin had a long drive the next day, and anything we could do to shorten that would be a win for them.

So, it was back the way we'd come - this stretch of road an old friend after our two days of travelling its length.

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Along the way, Mike made a pit stop at one of the many beaches along the banks of the river. The weather nice, we ended up spending a couple hours just chatting in the shade, enjoying the cool breeze off the river, trying to figure out if it was worth changing our minds and staying.

As we did, across the river, a Bald Eagle! Not just one, but two. And a nest. With a baby! It was a neat discovery, and the binoculars were out to give us the best view possible, a crow harassing the eagles for much of the time we were observing them.

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Chatting on the beach, a thunderstorm came through, and we took that as our cue to pile back into the trucks and head up to camp. My worry - that rain here would mean cold rain there - not enough to keep us in the lowlands.

Boy, did it pour. Our windshield wipers on high, we were making our way back toward Eagle Creek when a group of young boys off the side of the road came running towards us - waving their arms - as we approached.

"These guys need our help." I said over the CB, not sure if Monte could see them through the downpour. Turns out, they'd been riding their ATV for the better part of the day with the chain so loose that it kept falling off. Finally, it'd gotten jammed between the sprocket and frame, and try as they might, they couldn't get it dislodged.

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They needed tools, and boy, they couldn't have flagged down a better set of trucks. Monte was out right away - torrential downpour be damned - and while the rest of us stayed dry in our trucks, he opened up his OSK and handed over everything the boys needed to get themselves back up and running again.

Lucky kids, for sure. They had a long walk back up Eagle Creek Road if we hadn't shown up!

Crisis averted, we put the pedal to the metal as we ascended 4000' over the course of Eagle Creek's 12 miles. With Monte in the lead, I did what I could to keep up, the truck clearly much more capable than it was a couple of years ago when "fast" was still "pretty slow." Behind us, Mike did the same - pushing himself and his truck to maintain a consistent gap.

In the end, Monte was still a bit faster - and he'll tell you that he'd be even faster if only he had better rear suspension - but I think everyone was a bit surprised with how fast we followed him up that hill. "I think I could have kept up, but I didn't want to push it." Said Mike, as he rolled up onto our caravan a few minutes behind Monte and me.

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Now it was time to find a camp site. We tried a few spots we'd seen earlier in the day, but the thunderstorm we'd experienced at the river had clearly hit the top of the mountain as well - everything was a muddy mess, water pooling everywhere.

In search of something that would be a bit drier, I recalled that the placed we'd ended up at the end of Corral Creek (or rather, it's offshoot) earlier in the day had a gravel pad, and that should provide us with the mud-free campsite we were looking for.

So, in a repeat of our morning's exploration, that's where we headed - arriving just in time to see a dramatic showing from the sun on a long bank of clouds in the distance as we setup camp.

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It was nearing 8:00pm on this day of do-overs, and I was happy to see that my concern of cold rain was unlikely to come to pass - at least before we went to bed - the sky still cloudy, but clearing. It was going to be chilly, but chilly is much better than wet, thank goodness.

And then, as dinners were made and consumed, sunset.

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It's truly amazing - the colors that are created by the last rays of the sun - under just the right conditions. Stunning really.

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It being our last night, the campfire was long and large, all of us chatting late into the night about all matter of things - except trucks, we never really talked about trucks. We must be getting old, or perhaps our better halves stealthily steered the conversation in a different direction.

Eventually, the wood running out, we all made our way to our tents - with a 12-hour drive for Monte and Devin, the next morning would be an early one - especially given our plan for a group breakfast.

- - - - -​

May 27, 2019.

I poked my head up at just the right moment to catch the early morning light on the horizon and a cool bank of fog below us in the valley; the moon still shining bright in the sky.

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And then - the time still a bit before 5:00am, and in what seems to be turning into a tradition - I went back to sleep.

But, this was an early morning. We were all up by 7:00am, and got to prepping breakfast - Mike on potatoes, Monte on bacon, and me on eggs. In the end, it all came together in a harmonious feast fit for...a band of campers, enjoyed in the fog as it rolled up into our camp!

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Fueled up, we knew things were coming to an end. Breakdown of camp was quick, as was our descent down the mountain. Fuel and tire filling was fast and efficient in Lewiston, and before long we were saying our "seeya's" and wishing each other well until we met again for our next adventure.

As we headed home through the Palouse - its hillsides a vibrant green reminiscent of Windows Desktop backgrounds - we'd completed two trips in one. And I don't think we could have predicted what transpired in either of them just a few short days earlier.

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Thanks for reading - get out and enjoy!

 

Fun stuff!

And for a guy only having like 1.5" of up travel and still being the fastest...I'd say my statement is true