When I was 15 I went backpacking at Pamelia Lake on Memorial Day Weekend, and I always remembered how surreal the forest was, for it was filled with beautiful blooming rhododendrons beneath a canopy of evergreens. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Now that we live in Oregon again, a repeat of this trip was high on my list.
Josef and I struck out around 11, nicely timed so that he would nap the whole way. Upon arrival we stretched our legs a bit and explored the creek running by the trail head, before having a nice feast at the picnic table. Josef was pretty thrilled to be out in the woods, and he took off walking down the trail of his own volition, before lunch was even finished! He made it a respectable distance before I hoisted him into the backpack.
Alas, we were a little too early for the rhodies, or maybe summer weather came unseasonably early back in ol’ ’94. It was still a gorgeous hike, following a rushing creek. We stopped about half way to hang out for an hour and explore a bit, and of course eat more snacks. Josef is quite the foodie.
Another mile or two brought us up to Pamelia Lake, which was very serene and beautiful. We explored the shore, saw some geese, some ducks, some ants, and checked out the various campsites. Josef seemed perfectly content, and I took a lot of joy in hearing him say “big trees!” and “beautiful!” He polished off every last tomato, cucumber, almond, and dried apricot we brought.
Time went quickly and before I knew it it was almost 6, so we headed back down. Of course there was further feasting down at the trail head, and then I got him in his pajamas and we headed home at about 8. I must say I was mightily pleased that my little companion happily spent 7 hours in the woods with his papa. This bodes well for further adventures!
