Good Afternoon
5/27/25 3:30 80f (26.6c) Clear sky, warm breeze. Mike and I went up the mountain to have a look around. Found coral mushrooms, shaggy manes, and a handful of morels at between 3000 and 4000' under mixed conifers. ...
Mardingtop 25L Backpack M6347A
For years my EDC was a Wolfman tankbag. When I was still working, I kept it filled with maps and tools and fuses for my moto, emergency kit, knife, a roll of T.P. and my lunch. I could leave straight from work for the woods when the notion took me. When that bag wore...
Voyagers
Having discovered Disappearing Lake was full and the road free of snow, four of us loaded up our boats and headed into the woods for an adventure. Five of us, if you count Walter Dawg, and really, you must. He has been an integral member of the team from day...
In Search of Disappearing Lake
Every winter South Prairie floods, forming a chain of connected lakes or impoundments covering many acres. For a brief, miraculous moment there exists the Pacific Northwest equivalent of a bayou. You can kayak between towering cottonwoods and...
Good Afternoon
5/22/25 3:30 54f (12.2c) Breezy and fair. Mike and I spent the afternoon ranging across the ridge between Mosier and my house, looking for morels. We didn't find any, even where we have found them before. The soil was damp and the terrain looked promising, but no joy....
Good Morning
2/24/26 7:30 32F (0.0C) Calm, overcast and wet. It is sprinkling a light mixture of snow and rain now. It snowed most of last night. At one point we had about 4" accumulation on the ground but that's been reduced to 1" of slush. Even so, schools have...
Good Morning
2/23/27 6:45 40F (4.4C) Cold, hard rain. In the absence of wind, it is pounding straight down. A pair of ducks flew off from the pond, headed towards the creek. No birds are singing, no squirrels are chattering . Everyone is hunkered down, trying to...
Good Morning
2/22/26 7:00 33F (0.5C) A calm Sunday morning with partial clouds and a slight breeze. The sky rapidly transitioned from blue to lavender with clouds shifting through grays and pinks, briefly bursting into flaming yellow before settling into grey and...
Good Morning
2/21/26 5:30 32F (0C) Cloudy with a light breeze spitting snow. No accumulation. It is a dark and quiet morning so far. Walter is laying silently on the back deck, positioned so he can observe everything with the least expenditure of energy. Lights are glowing...
Good Morning
2/20/26 5:30 28F (-2C) Dark, frozen, and windless, with broken clouds overhead. The sky was quite dramatic early this morning. Starry patches of dark blue separated by opaque tufts as soft and fuzzy as lint. As I finish my tea the clouds have...
Rueben Handpie
Last camping trip, we made reubens in the pie irons. They were fabulous! Ingredients rye bread oil, butter, or lard thin sliced corned beef 1 small can sauerkraut horseradish sauce Swiss cheese We preheated the pie irons over hot coals while assembling...
Roasted Pepper and Eggs
Amy found a recipe for roast pepper and eggs in Backpacker Magazine. I think the original recipe called for doing all the prep at home, but since we were car camping, Amy did it in camp. It was simple and made a wonderful breakfast. Ingredients: Yellow or Red Bell...
Spam Pudgies
Dave was a little skeptical of the lunch menu- Spam pudgie sandwiches cooked in the pie irons. Straight from the can, Spam is unappealing, pallid, pink and soft. The prevailing flavor is salt. Heated, it darkens, becoming almost brown. The texture gets firmer, even...
Kentucky Mule
I don't care for vodka, so never acquired a taste for Moscow Mules. Bourbon, however, is an entirely different story. In camp or on the back porch, the Kentucky Mule is sure to refresh. Go ahead, have another. You deserve it. Ingredients 1 oz bourbon-I...
Robert’s Cast Iron Bread
Robert disappeared into the longhouse and emerged a little later with a beautiful loaf of fresh bread. It seemed so simple, and according to Rob, it pretty much was. I asked him for his recipe and this is what he gave me.Ingredients about 2 1/2 cups flour more or...
