FALL CLASSIC
A Cold and Wonderful Time in Central Oregon
Editor: Eric Bewley Photo: DonkeyWorx, D. Arnold
CHRISTMAS VALLEY, OR – This year we decided to schedule our Fall Classic adventure run a couple of weeks earlier than we have in the past to take advantage of better weather. Ironically, this year showed us the most snow and the coldest temperatures we have seen. Spirits were not dampened however, and everyone had a great time exploring both on foot and in our vehicles this wondrous area.
We left our traditional meeting spot in LaPine with fourteen vehicles of Suzuki and other origin mid-day and immediately ran into a substantial amount of snow. Not “oh my gosh are we going to make it” kind of snow but an amount that made the going slow and enjoyable. We made fresh tracks all afternoon and then hit camp for some good old fashion camping antics, fun, and frivolity.
Time is always short on this trip with the useable daylight being less than eight hours each day. So we got up bright and early and set out to do some exploring. Our first stop is becoming quite a pilgrimage to a GPS spot near an old ranching well house. We come here each year to see who else has found the cache and to see how the well house is doing. This year the well house is not doing so well. The pump scaffold has finally came to the ground and is in the process of returning to the earth. While strangely, it’s kind of sad, this old place is still very cool.
The next places we visited on our overland adventure was Hole in the Ground, Ft. Rock for lunch and a bathroom brake, followed by Christmas Valley dunes.
After quite a bit of “high-marking” by some participants on one of the larger sand dunes, we were off to explore by foot the Crack in the Ground geological feature.
As it was getting dark, we pulled into a very nice restaurant in the town of Ft. Rock for some grub and warmth. Both were excellent.
We made it back to camp around 9 or 10 o’clock and a small group of explorers decided to geocache at night and take a trail ride. By all reports it was quite enjoyable.
All to soon, it was time to break camp and head back to civilization. Along the way we took the opportunity to view another ‘event’ that we seem to run into. For some ironic reason there is a motorcycle event in the OHV area that has the same name as our event. This is strange.
We made it to Bend and graced our traditional lunch spot in all of our camp fire, sweat, and dirt smell wonderfulness. I’m sure they appreciate our patronage, right?
Another successful and enjoyable weekend in the great central Oregon outdoors. We will be holding this event in November 2010. Please check our Adventure Series Forum for more information.
