"Whether heavy on its feet or as light as a ghost that never was,
Bigfoot walks the Northwest woods."
--Robert Michael Pyle
The Columbia River Gorge is hiking heaven. It's one of my favorite places to quickly get out of Portland and into the wilderness, but on Saturday me and Andi were searching for adventure a little beyond our backyard. We wanted to escape the crowds and sports junkies that flock to the waters and cliffs of the Gorge. We wanted to find a camp spot where we didn't have to hear neighbors yell at their kids, play bad music, or have screeching sex at night... "oh what? Did you hear that mounatin lion.....oh, err, nevermind."
"Lo," I said unto Andi, "let us travel to these set of lakes on the North flanks of Mt. Adams. Let us take bumpy dirtish roads through high mountain passes and Bigfoot country. And let us not commit the boooring sin of over-planning. We'll grab the first camp spot we like...wherever that might be."
And Andi said unto me, "let there be toilets."
"Amen!"
And we were off. With our untrusty 7 month old puppy sidekick Bella in the back, we began our journey...to Trader Joes for food...then Fred Meyer's for ice...then back home because we forgot the saw...then to the gas station...and then...two hours later...we were really off!
In Stevenson, Washington there is a great brewery called Walking Man. Usually we stop there for a beer at the end of a play day in the Gorge, but today we were just driving through. Luckily we remembered to bring our growler and filled it up with Homo Erectus Imperial IPA. It's a great beer, but I was really hoping that they had their barley wine or Black Cherry Stout on tap. Their Black Cherry stout is the best non-imperial stout you will ever drink. It warms the soul.
From Stevenson, we continued down HWY 14 into the town of White Salmon and then headed north toward Mt. Adams. Mt. Adams is one of four Volcanoes in the general area . The other three are Mt. Hood to the south, Mt. St. Helens to the west and Mt. Ranier to the North. They're all a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and all four have the potential to blow their top again someday. The mountains, rivers, and woods that make up the area between the four volcanoes is truly a magical place. Despite the encroachment of civilization, there is still something wild and spiritual here. It is a place where I find inner peace. Also, if there is a Bigfoot, there is a good chance he/she/it resides here. Many of the famous sightings and reports of Bigfoot come from this area.
Last summer I read Where Bigfoot Walks-Crossing the Dark Divided, by Robert Michael Pyle. Pyle spent some time backpacking in the very area we were now heading through. Pyle is a naturalist, Bigfoot searcher, and an examiner of the human psyche behind the search for Bigfoot. In his words, "...the phenomenon of Bigfoot exists." He's just as interested in looking for Bigfoot as he is in understanding why people have a need for Bigfoot to exist. However, the lasting impression that Pyle leaves with the reader is that this area needs to be protected.
The "Dark Divide" is an area between Mt. Adams and Mt. St Helens. It is a place that is rugged, rich in wildlife and flora, and a place that is starting to suffer ill effects from being too near large populations of people--logging, off road vehicles, mountain biking, hiking/backpacking, etc. I realize that I am part of this problem too, and I'm not sure what the best solution is. I love the outdoors. The people that come here to recreate love the outdoors. I'm not a big believer in isolating vast stretches of nature from humankind. As Andi reminded me, "The fact that more and more people are coming to the outdoors means that more and more people are starting to care for the outdoors." This is a good thing. We just need to figure out how to not kill that which we love. The world is running out of wild places. It's running out of habitat suitable to the idea of Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti/Troll. When the idea of Bigfoot dies so does the last wild place on Earth.
With evening fast approaching we needed to find a suitable campsite. The first place we stopped to check out was Council Lake campground. It was packed. We continued on to Takhlakh Lake campsite. Despite being the end of July and Takhlakh Lake being at 4300 feet elevation the campsites were half under snow and water. It was a loooong, wet, cold winter. After driving past a few other campers we found a nice spot with a good view of the lake.
Ahhh, fire, beer, food.....and errr...lots and lots of mosquitos. Luckily Andi has thin, white glowy skin and tasty blood; they left me mostly alone and ate her. I think she still loves me. I have to believe that in a way Mosquitos are nature's way to keep people away. The same goes with poison ivy/oak, ticks, snakes, grizzly bears, and maybe Bigfoot. At Takhlakh Lake I began to feel like I was on the edge of wilderness. I could imagine eyes staring at me beyond the comfort of our fire.
The feeling of wilderness didn't last. As darkness enveloped our little campsite our closest neighbors, who were 300 feet away, began partying. From their car really really bad country music started blasting out. I enjoy old school country music--Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, but this was pop radio country music--shallow and lacking soul.....sigh. It was time for bed.
I awoke at some point that night to something screaming. It wasn't someone having sex, it wasn't a mountain lion. It was loud and on the other side of the lake. When I went outside to go the bathroom I brought Bella with me. Maybe she had to go the bathroom too. I didn't want to be alone, in the darkness, with whatever made that sound. I didn't want to be alone, in the darkness, with an imagination like mine. The idea of Bigfoot is very much alive.
To be continued (Part 3 - Backcountry)
