Ted's Blog

Boardman Lake
07/01/06 -07/02/06

Sign at the trailhead

.8 Mile One-Way, 3.2 total (two round trips)
6 Campsites (2 single, 4 with enough room for two or more tents)
2 Mosquito bites
300 feet elevation gain one-way

Expecting a busy pre-Independence Day weekend in the woods, I got up around 5 to get ready to go. Excitedly, I had tossed and turned, anticipating the trip all night. A few last minute items added and removed from my pack and I woke up the kids after 6. On the road by 7:30, we stopped at McDonalds and to fill up with gas. The roads were pretty empty, but I still worried about the availability of campsites, and felt that this time my fear was justified. I was taking two first-time backpackers along and didn’t want to hike in, find that all the sites was taken, and have to hike back out.
The woman at the Verlot (pronounced just how it is spelled, not French-like) ranger station said that the trailhead to Kelcema Lake was snowed in. I asked about Boardman Lake, and she didn’t know of anyone up there. “You might just beat the rush,” she said.
So we drove the 5 miles east on the Mountain Loop Highway to Road 4020 and drove that for about another 5. The dirt road was in fair shape… not as good as Icicle Creek Road, but Jes enjoyed taking her Escape off road a little. We went past the trailhead (there was no visible sign), but I thought it looked familiar, so we turned around and went back.

Jes' first time backpacking

Four other cars sat on the side of the road, five campsites was what I was told existed at Boardman Lake. Another car pulled up, potentially vying for one of the spots. Callie and Scott hoisted their packs on their backs and booked it, trying to get to the site before the enemy did. Jes and I soon followed after. She was carrying a huge, 4-man Coleman tent in her hand and wouldn’t let me take it from her. I was carrying my personal stuff, camera and lenses, REI tent, and food for all of us, so my pack was full, but I’m used to it.

Old-growth cedar

Once on a trip to the Santiam Wilderness, My pack was easily 90 pounds. A large group of us from the Coast Guard had gone for a four day trip, and I was told none of them had backpacked before. I’d packed steaks, Jim Beam, a stove, extra fuel, water filter, and all the poles for an 8-man army tent. The hike was supposed to be about a mile in, downhill, but the pass was snowed in. We drove to the other side and it was snowed in too. So we drove back again. It ended up being more than seven miles, most of it uphill, and in knee-deep snow. As the most experienced on that trip, nobody could understand why I was lagging behind so far. When I handed my pack across a creek to Rich (the guy who’d camped there before), he groaned at the weight. Someone said I was a Sherpa, so I kind of took it as a compliment. I made sure I wasn’t the last one on the way back, and my friend Jamie and I beat everyone else by ninety minutes or so.
Morgan has also called me “Sherpa” so I’ve tried to keep that expectation justified. I like to make sure that when I introduce people to camping or backpacking they are fairly comfortable and will come back. Plus, with so much of my camping experience from when I was a Boy Scout, I learned to “Be Prepared,” and take everything along in case of anything. So if you see me in the woods, and need a chem-light, a signal mirror, or a map, I’ve got it.

4-man Coleman tent

Anyway, back to the Boardman Lake trip. I wasn’t winded going in, but pretty annoyed that my stupid trekking poles wouldn’t collapse and inhibited my picture taking. I wanted to capture Jes and Callie’s first backpacking trip. Plus, it was a beautiful, healthy looking forest. Many layers of canopy, various species of plants and trees, some hundreds of years old cedars surrounded us. I brought my Pojar and McKinnon Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast this time and planned on identifying some new plants.

My REI Clipper Tent

Jes’s pack wasn’t situated right, and pretty uncomfortable for her, but she would rather just get there than mess with it. Finally, we caught up with Callie and Scott (“They’re fast,” Jes said) and they said the two guys they were trying to beat were only going for a dayhike, so the kids decided to take a break and wait for us. Callie was really upbeat and didn’t complain at all! She had more weight on her back than ever before, and was trucking along. Excitement probably drove her. Scott didn’t complain either. He’s been on much longer trips with much more weight before (including a 5-day, 50-mile trip). I could see the gap in the trees where the lake was and announced that we were almost there. At the lake’s outlet, a mass of logs creates a bridge, and on the other side of that bridge is a stairway, complete with loose steps, and the trail to the designated campsites.

Boardman Lake

Boardman Lake is framed by avalanche scarred Bald Mountain. Old-growth cedars, hemlock, and spruce trees reach over the huckleberry dominated forest floor. Bunchberries in bloom and deer ferns sprout up under the huckleberries. The lake is large and clear, reflecting the trees and mountains. Ripples blanket the lake at the outlet on the northeast and inlet on the opposite side. The water is warm, with newts and various insect larvae camping near the shore. I see a few fish rise, but don’t get close enough to see what kind they are.

Callie crossing the logjam

As soon as I made it across, I dropped my pack and reconned the area to see what was left. One lakefront site had a hammock and dromedary bag marking it, and two others were full. Jes wanted to camp on the beach, but I didn’t think we should be camping so close to the shore. I had Scott put up his tent in one, and the owner of the hammock said he could move his stuff if we wanted to use the space. Jes and I found a sit big enough for all of us, and we began setting up. Scott didn’t want to take down the tent and move it, so he carried it, erected, down the trail. Callie helped him pass it over some huckleberry bushes and they staked it down. Camp was set up.

Trees lining the shore

One of the selling points for Boardman Lake was that fires were actually allowed. Hopefully it would drive away some of the bugs that were constantly sipping from the corners of my eyes. I’d loaded the car with firewood in case we went car camping, so there was tons of firewood less than a mile away. I emptied my pack and hiked back to the car. I had forgotten to put my Golden Eagle pass on the mirror, so corrected the problem and saved myself a $5 ticket. I fit two bundles of wood inside my pack, and then hiked it back to the site. It took a bit less than an hour.

The wood I packed up from the car

Now it was around noon, and Jes had asked what I do when I go backpacking? Well, this time I sat down for a bit, made a fine lunch of Top Ramen for everyone, read books, sat in the sun, visited the beach, tried to float on a sleeping pad, inspected the backcountry toilet, snuck up on the kids, spied on the other campers, followed a raven, tried to identify plants, took a power nap, organized my gear, took photographs, explored other parts of the lake, wrote in my notebook, and looked at bugs, including a large dragonfly nymph that looked like a tarantula. Jes called it a “fancy bug.”

Jes studying a Rough-Skinned Newt

Callie and Scott found newts and busied themselves with catching them. They hadn’t seen me in the woods behind them and I heard them getting along, and having a nice, friendly conversation. I concluded that they only argue when they know somebody is there. I made attempts at various animal noises, including Bigfoot, and they finally saw me and began arguing.
One moment, I realized that I couldn’t hear a human-caused noise at all. Jes told me that she could… me. So I shut up.
Dinner consisted of undercooked Easy Mac, which I didn’t have the pleasure of eating since I hadn’t brought enough. What seemed a tragedy, turned out to be a blessing, as I had some freeze-dried lasagna and couscous, which by all accounts, was far superior to the Easy Mac. Callie made a cheesecake concoction to destroy the remaining Easy Mac taste in her mouth. Jes started the fire after my failed attempts, and we sat too close, then too far away, trying to find the optimum distance. “White man build big fire, get cold.” Jes said the wood was the most valuable she’d ever burned, paid for with my back.

Callie taking a newt for a walk

Bedtime came early – around 10. The sky was still pretty bright, and the view I expected of the stars never materialized. Scott decided to sleep outside, next to the fire. I don’t remember anything until I woke up before 7:00. A pounding outside is what disturbed me. I thought Scott was banging on a log with a stick. He sometimes has these weird tic-like things he does, but it turned out to be a woodpecker. I woke up and headed to the backcountry toilet. Now this toilet is luxury compared to nothing, and a shanty compared to a normal toilet. It is a wooden box with a hole and lid in the middle of the forest. The best view from a crapper I’ve ever seen!
I washed up, washed dishes, filtered water, built a fire, made oatmeal, and cleaned up. Scott and Callie went to hunt for newts again. Jes read her book. I took some more pictures, brought my plant field guide, and tried to ID some more plants. Bunchberry, Queen’s Cup, and various huckleberry plants were new identifications for me.

Scott on a rock outcropping

Jes’ worst fears then became reality. She had to make a trip to the backcountry toilet. I helped her prepare an ass-gasket of bark, similar to the paper ones in public restrooms. I’m so proud of her!

Best view from any toilet, ever!

Callie and Scott were still at the beach catching newts.
For lunch we had peanut butter and crackers, Clif Bars, etc. I asked Jes what the worst part of the trip was so far and she said it was the food. So much for my cooking prowess. I’d better just focus on barbecuing.

Scott packing only the essentials

We all packed up around 1. Nobody complained when we left. This time, Jes let me carry the Coleman Tent. Scott carried the REI tent and Callie’s bear. While stepping down from the stairs to the logjam, I twisted my knee and was worried about making it out. The pain only lasted for a second, and I just had a low-grade, dull ache the rest of the way. My pack wasn’t set up optimally, but the hike was so short that I didn’t want to stop and adjust it either. The hike out was quick and the only breaks were for hikers who didn’t know how to yield the right-of-way.
Everyone was pretty quiet on the drive back. Three things could be on any of our minds and any one time: Food, sleep, ibuprofen, or a shower, but I think Callie and Jes enjoyed their first backpacking trip.