Justin Kistner

Bear and Blog - It’s what you’re doing this weekend

August 2 2009, 6:55pm

Photo of @donpdonp (kicking it, hammock-style) Ah, summertime, that season where folks forget about eying the sky for signs of snowflakes and move on to lamenting the hellish heat waves wafting through town. Never mind that here, in the Pacific Northwest, our winter months are mild compared to most of the states East of the Rockies. And let’s also forget that our summers, while hot, rarely include the sweltering humidity slamming the South. Complaining about extreme temperatures is what we do here in the Willamette Valley, spoiled as we are to escape the highest and lowest of Mother Nature’s folly. Another thing we like to do, especially around this time of the year, is take the time to enjoy our good fortune in mild weather and our gorgeously green scenery and go camping. If you haven’t gotten the chance to pitch a tent yet this season, here’s the perfection chance: August 8-9 is the Bear and Blog at Bagby Hotsprings! The plan is to leave Saturday, August 8 at noon and return after lunch the next day. Here’s a bit more information from @donpdonp, the foilage lovin’ host of the Bear and Blog venture into the wild: It’s a 1.4 mile walk from the parking area to the hotsprings, and there are numerous overnight campsites along the trail at 2 miles and further. We’ll take the closest available camping area to the hotsprings. The site was discovered in 1880 by Bob Bagby, with a bathhouse built in 1920 and rebuilt in 1981 after burning down in 1979. The Bull of the Woods Wilderness is part of the Old Cascades, a 30-million-year-old range that predates the High Cascades. What to bring: a tent and sleeping bag or hammock and enough food and water for dinner on Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. Official tag: #bearandblog Join us this Friday on the patio of the Green Dragon to arrange for group carpooling, get more camping details, and double-dog dare fellow campers to go nekkid in the bath decks.

Go RSVP for Bear and Blog on Upcoming so @donpdonp can get some idea of a head count.  And remember to pack your bathing suit. Or not.