Ever since Moab it has been out tradition to go exploring in celebration of Columbus Day. We took a few days or so and headed north. Cold? Maybe a little.
Our destination was a small lake north of Halfway Oregon. Fish Lake.
Out of town fairly early. Breakfast at Mickey-D and iced up at the Fire station we hit the road.
We took the north road through Idaho with plans to loop south through Oregon on the return trip. Pit stop at Midvale Hills rest stop:
Brownlee Dam
Basecamp was wonderful. Enough sun to keep us all charged up for the next night easily.
Crossing the Snake river below the dam we are back in Oregon. A right turn and soon the pavement ends...
Our first stop is Twin Lakes. Beautiful high mountain lakes. Peat shores and islands. Like walking on a sponge.
Less than five miles more we arrive at Fish lake. No one around today we choose to camp beside a road into the lake. Easy access for canoeing.
The first morning was cool. Ice all around the lake.
The moist shores of the lake would freeze each morning and push up the ice crystals. As the sun warmed the shore it would crawl with life as they melted.
As the weekend turned to week day the weather continued to warm. Fish Lake is at 6200 ft. and when it was calm it was almost short sleeve weather.
Day one under our belts...Ziploc bag omlets, OreIda hashbrowns and bacon for breakfast. Washed down with Coffee and YooHoo
Off we go in the Avalanche to explore...
Incorrectly marked on our Topo maps we did finally find the top of Russel Mountain and the now condemned look out tower.
Made of large wood timber, now weathered and split. Held in place by large 1 1/2" cables it towers 100' above us.
Elevation was 7500' here. For the decent I decided to try four low. This is where we found it would not shift into low range.
Four high was working , but low range kept shifting or popping out never fully seating in gear. Not a good thing.Back to camp we head. Lots of time for hiking and exploring around the lake.
Lots of elusive wildlife even though the pond was as low as it gets.
Little frogs were all around. Two bald eagles would fly over just long enough for everyone to scramble for their cameras. Stellar Jays and Blue Jays helping the chipmunks and squirrels taunt us and chatter about the area.
Biking, Hiking and Canoeing.
The water was really very clear and clean. I played around with some under water shots
Water was still pretty deep out in the center. Around the sides mostly shallows.
Even without low range we did explore. I will say I did pay more attention to available winch points though.
The propane campfire made it easy to have a nice fire. Evening dinner of Brazilian BBQ , pork fried noodles and fresh biscuits. Mmmm
Followed by game night and popcorn.
Morning light
Finally a chance to catch the eagles fly-by
The last morning we rose early. Before light to return home. Lots of deer even though hunters were out in numbers looking for them.
The return trip we drove south through Halfway and west to Baker city. This way was as fast or faster for the voyage home. Nearing the interstate the transmission jerked a couple times and then acted like I had shifted to neutral. Engine revs , but nothing. I slowed to the side and shifted the transfercase. It drove away as if nothing was wrong. Trans temp was at 194 and cooled down soon after. It did this one more time on the way home. The transition from cruising to gently slowing for a small grade seemed to do it. Almost like the converter unlocking and free wheeling, or overdrive kicking out to freewheel. Weird. Nearly 100k it is time for a service and see what I can find.
School projects to finish and prep for the remainder of a work week. Four full days went fast. It was a welcome recharge and good family time!
