I can’t recall an April backpacking trip that wasn’t characterized by being wet, so when planning a spring break backpacking trip with my kids and friends, I prepared for rain. We brought tarps, we brought ridiculous amounts of spare socks and pants, we brought books and things to pass the hours sitting inside the tent, we picked a hike in the sand dunes figuring the water would seep down into the sand rather than pooling around the bottoms of our sleeping bags..we were prepared, so of course, it didn’t rain. What we ended up with was a clear, mildly warm, sunny three days in the Oregon dunes in April. It was a rare treat indeed.
We hiked the Tahkentich Dunes Trail in the Siuslaw National Forest, arriving at Threemile Lake as our destination. This is a favorite hike of mine to do with children, especially early in the backpacking season. You can read my trail review from a trip we did there in June of 2010 here:
(also a very nice time to go when wild beach strawberries are ripe)
Getting out in the coastal forests in the Spring gives one the opportunity to see a lot of lovely things emerging from their Winter rest. Everywhere you look, plants are unfurling bright green leaf buds and fern fiddleheads are uncurling.
I was delighted to spy a few things flowering as well. Salmonberry, Quince and Trillium are a few of my favorite early Spring blossoms that I noticed while hiking down the trail.
The orange bellied newts were out and about, and by the end of the trip we had spotted 12 in all.
Most of the hike follows a ridge and switchbacks through mossy spruce forests, emerging at the edge of the sand dunes where the lake is tucked down and sheltered from the prevailing coastal winds. The water level was a bit higher than when I had been there on previous trips, which meant the big sandy beach we usually camp on was submerged, but there was still a very nice campsite tucked back in some shore pines near the present shoreline.
It was actually a good thing we camped in some trees because for the first time ever, I misplaced my tent poles! I was fortunate to have a friend along who likes to find solutions and rig things up in creative ways, so it wasn’t long before we had the tent all strung up like it was hanging from a spider’s web. You just had to be careful walking around it in the dark!
Dry wood was hard to come by, but my son was determined to have a campfire. It was a rather high-maintenance campfire to keep fed with the dry pine sticks we could find, but it was warm and pleasant to sit around on the lakeshore at dusk.
All in all, it was a good trip. Life is constantly filled with the unexpected, whether it’s wonderfully gorgeous weather you hadn’t planned for, misplaced tent poles resulting in creative tent pitching, or periodically grumpy children, but it all makes for some grand adventures. And when it comes down to it, eating grits and eggs with your Calvin and Hobbes by a backcountry lakeshore at dawn, that’s really what it’s all about.
Let the backpacking season begin!
lol! you misplaced your tent poles! That's hilarious 🙂
Looks like a very neat hike! We love the dunes, but the dunes we are familiar with are on the shores of Lake Michigan. 🙂