The first stop on the way North in Lava bed NP. Exploring Lava tubes is the way to go and thats the plan. Lava tubes are created when the outer part of a lava flow solidifies and creates a tube where the lava flows true. With the hot lava gone and sediment settles over the top, a barren landscape with caves underneath is left behind. Where the ceiling of the tubes collapsed, its possible to enter the tubes and walk through them.
In the morning I am heading down into the first tube I stumble upon but can't see much. The black lava walls of the tube are absorbing all the light my little headlamp is producing. I have done the Chasm of Doom twice in the pitch dark, and that should give me some confidence. But maybe because I am now not under the influence of...and the name of this tube is called Labyrinth, I decide to go back to the visitors center and borrow a good good lamp.
Its a wise decision and the going is a lot faster. I walk and growl trough several lava tubes and its fun to be all alone in the pitch dark.
The next stop is Crater lake NP. But the weather sucks and I think I might have seen the deepest lake in the USA.
Quickly I am continuing to Smith Rock. Sport climbing mecca. I climb with C who grew up in the area. The weather is a miss and hit and only one day is a climbing hit. Its a nice spot to climb and we climb sport as well as trad. Totally a place to come back to. The other day is a miss climbing wise, but a hit clean and warm wise. C takes me to his parents home, and I get to enjoy the stove, a hot shower and even a dinner and movie in town. In the meantime I learn about hunting (several stuffed animals are decorating the house), ecology (C did some cool projects in the Kayman islands) and the local economy (Cs mom works for the local hospital). When I drive back to the campsite in the evening, my Oto is covered in 10cm of snow. Jeh, this was definitely a hit.
And then suddenly I am not alone anymore. A (a hitchhiker from Canada) is joining me for the next 2 days. After a five minute "driving a manual car" course, I can finally relax in my own Oto. We are heading back into the Cascade range, and with good company, good talking, good music and snow topped mountains all around us, it can't get better. It however does. We make a 4 hr hike up the flank of mnt Rainier. 20 glaciers are covering its top, the Cascade range is all around us, and the weather is sun sun sun. I have no idea about the shape of A, but with a little pushing (next hill we stop, ah lets do that one too, wow look at that, lets go there) we make it up to the panoramic view point. The way back we run through the knee deep snow (I left my snow shoes in the car to show some solidarity to A). This is definitely a mountain to scale one day.
I drop of A at the Canadian border with pain in my heart. And maybe that makes me not be able to find a good place to sleep. I end up parking my Oto at the side of an oil refinery and of course within 5 minutes security pulls over. I am allowed to stay, but the security guy is concerned about the girl alone in the car situation and offers me to park my Oto in the parking lot of the factory. I can use the facilities of the building I am parked besides. The next day I take the liberty to use the facilities...the shower. It had been a while again, and its good. However overnight the next security shift started working, and these men are not so friendly. I have to show my ID, tell my story, and after being told I am watched by camera, I have to leave in 5 minutes. But who cares, I am going to board the ferry to South East Alaska, clean and happy.
In the morning I am heading down into the first tube I stumble upon but can't see much. The black lava walls of the tube are absorbing all the light my little headlamp is producing. I have done the Chasm of Doom twice in the pitch dark, and that should give me some confidence. But maybe because I am now not under the influence of...and the name of this tube is called Labyrinth, I decide to go back to the visitors center and borrow a good good lamp.
Its a wise decision and the going is a lot faster. I walk and growl trough several lava tubes and its fun to be all alone in the pitch dark.
The next stop is Crater lake NP. But the weather sucks and I think I might have seen the deepest lake in the USA.
Quickly I am continuing to Smith Rock. Sport climbing mecca. I climb with C who grew up in the area. The weather is a miss and hit and only one day is a climbing hit. Its a nice spot to climb and we climb sport as well as trad. Totally a place to come back to. The other day is a miss climbing wise, but a hit clean and warm wise. C takes me to his parents home, and I get to enjoy the stove, a hot shower and even a dinner and movie in town. In the meantime I learn about hunting (several stuffed animals are decorating the house), ecology (C did some cool projects in the Kayman islands) and the local economy (Cs mom works for the local hospital). When I drive back to the campsite in the evening, my Oto is covered in 10cm of snow. Jeh, this was definitely a hit.
And then suddenly I am not alone anymore. A (a hitchhiker from Canada) is joining me for the next 2 days. After a five minute "driving a manual car" course, I can finally relax in my own Oto. We are heading back into the Cascade range, and with good company, good talking, good music and snow topped mountains all around us, it can't get better. It however does. We make a 4 hr hike up the flank of mnt Rainier. 20 glaciers are covering its top, the Cascade range is all around us, and the weather is sun sun sun. I have no idea about the shape of A, but with a little pushing (next hill we stop, ah lets do that one too, wow look at that, lets go there) we make it up to the panoramic view point. The way back we run through the knee deep snow (I left my snow shoes in the car to show some solidarity to A). This is definitely a mountain to scale one day.
I drop of A at the Canadian border with pain in my heart. And maybe that makes me not be able to find a good place to sleep. I end up parking my Oto at the side of an oil refinery and of course within 5 minutes security pulls over. I am allowed to stay, but the security guy is concerned about the girl alone in the car situation and offers me to park my Oto in the parking lot of the factory. I can use the facilities of the building I am parked besides. The next day I take the liberty to use the facilities...the shower. It had been a while again, and its good. However overnight the next security shift started working, and these men are not so friendly. I have to show my ID, tell my story, and after being told I am watched by camera, I have to leave in 5 minutes. But who cares, I am going to board the ferry to South East Alaska, clean and happy.
Dag,
Iris (Bellingham, 3839 miles)
