The Cabin Blog: There once was an old cabin up on old Mt. Blalock...

I pulled Lexa out of school on Friday at 2:00 so we could head up for another weekend at the cabin! Sean and kids were supposed to go with us, but they had to delay their departure 'till Saturday morning, so Lexa and I decided to head up on our own.

We had a quick stop in Milton-Freewater to pick up some supplies: bacon, sausage, blueberries, and cookies (those were Lexa's idea). We started on the trail at the end-of-the road at 5:00pm. Apparently Saturday morning was the first day of hunting season, so we saw a number of trucks at the end of the road of people heading up for the weekend.

On our 2hr 20min hike in we were almost run over by motorcycles a number of times. And they all ended up being Widner's or Kelly's (neighbors). It was pitch black by the time we got to the cabin and we stopped by Widner's and the Kelly's were there too. Apparently they had shot a bear a few weeks earlier and Larry said he saw a cougar walk right through the front yard recently. So there is definitely wildlife up here on old Blalock!

We got to the cabin ready for dinner so Lexa started on one of her sticker books and I started on dinner. As you can see below we had "hot-dog-people" for dinner! A fun variation on a simple but yummy cabin food!

That night we watched part of the move "Up" but it was so late we called it a night about the time they meet Kevin and Dug.

The next morning we got up once the sun was up and had sausage, eggs, and blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Sean and the boys were supposed to get here sometime that morning but we had no idea when.

After breakfast was all cleaned up, Lexa had a great idea to do a scavenger hunt. So I was outside hiding the first few items when Sean, Jacob and James came hiking up the trail! Apparently they had a little bit of a late start, but hadn't had breakfast yet, so we put the scavenger hunt on hold to make Second Breakfast. This time we did Bacon and Blueberry pancakes. Sean wanted to have Smores and Bacon for breakfast but I already had the pancakes on... Sean helped clean up after breakfast and then we moved on to the scavenger hunt.

We had the kids stay inside while we went and hid various items around the cabin. After then we had them go out, and we came inside to watch. We all had radios (which are now at the cabin for people to use) and we directed them on the hunt. There were a few rules. They had to keep all the clues they found with them all the time (we did periodic clue checks), they only got one clue at a time, and if they ever needed help they only had 5 life-lines.

The first item was the "Three Wheeled Speeder", which they had to ride down to LeBron's Field (the basketball hoop). So they found the plastic 3-wheeled speeder and then the basketball. The next item was found in the sand at the game of the horse's feet. Well they all heard sand and headed for the sand box (on the other side of the cabin). Eventually Lexa remembered we said the horse's feet and figured we meant the horse-shoe pits so they found that clue which was a little sand shovel. Lexa did great at figuring out our clues. Below are the pics of everyone after the hunts were over and the rest of the clues were deciphered and the items were found.

Back: Silly Sean, Big D(addy) (Nolan). Front: JJ the Jet Plane (Jacob), Big Bacon Bambock (James) and Little Lexa

After that, the kids hid the items and led Sean and I on a Scavenger Hunt. When we placed all the items they were arranged so one led you to the next. When the kids did it we were going back, forth, up, and down the whole time! I think they were trying to get out of hiking Mt. Blalock... The best part was their last clue which led us to the "deer licking sanctuary" (aka the salt lick). And the kids were hiding in the bushes near it. It was pretty darn cute!

As a reward we all had a starburst, and yes we called it Columbia Energy Candy. The interesting part was while James was eating his, he noticed something hard he was chewing on, and he'd lost a tooth! Apparently the tooth fairy can't find the cabin anymore. I know she came once when I was a kid. Right after my dad asked me what the going rate for teeth was these days! ;)

After the scavenger hunt was completed we grabbed some snacks, filled up the water bottles and headed up old Mt. Blalock. The hike was tough for the younger kids, but we all made it to first base camp! Truthfully as long as they keep moving, I didn't mind going a little slower...

Lexa found a praying mantis and is holding it on a stick.

Lexa and the Bambocks at First Base Camp

Sean practicing his Bear Sign at First Base Camp

Lexa's scenic photo from First Base Camp

One the hike we starting working on the Cabin Song. We didn't get too many verses of it composed yet, but it goes to the tune of Gilligan's Island.

There once was an old Cabin up on old Mt. Blalock
It's where the Wright's go to play, and so do the Bambock(s)
And so do the Bambock(s)

We actually saw some wildlife or the evidence thereof on this hike. When we were heading up the steep trail on Widner's side of the fence we saw some cougar poop, and the cougar looked it had a taste for furry creatures. Then we saw some bear scat (maybe the same stuff as last time). Then we hiked just a little past first base camp to another set of trees and Sean spotted a coyote running up from the bottom of the ravine over the next ridge. On the way down Misty (the dog) took off into the brushes and scared up a 4 point buck!

Misty, the Bear, Deer, Snake, Rat and Trespasser Dog!

We made it back to the cabin, and it was time for lunch! Sean had brought up a few packets of Shin Ramen. It's the good spicy stuff that I learned to love on my mission in Korea. We had that and sandwiches. I think it is another thing to add to the list of stuff to bring up next summer to have a case of at the cabin.

Also that afternoon and Sean and I decided it was time to make another attempt to bring the fridge back to life. So went through the process of "burping" it. Unfortunately we didn't seem to do it a lick of good. :(

Around that time Misty started barking, and we figured she was just barking at the rats in the sheds, but she kept at it and we went to see what was going on. She found a couple trespassers wandering down the trail right in front of the cabin. We were pretty surprised to see to guys just walking there. They had said they were trying to reach the summit of the mountain and ended up coming this way. It was a plausible story, but it was still a little creepy to know people are just wandering around up here. We directed them back to the trail, and that night I slept with the .357 Magnum under the pillow ;)

Before dinner we went on some motorcycle rides. Lexa and I went to the Bear Creek trailhead, and saw that they were rebuilding the bridge across the creek! It was brand spanking new wood, and it made me wonder how they got it up there with truck access closed...

That night Sean made some meat spaghetti for dinner, and then we had a nice campfire for S'mores. As a kid I didn't concern myself too much about fire safety, but these last few times at the cabin, I've been pretty cautious and nervous about what the kids do with the fire. I didn't think I'd ever institute the keep the fire in the fire rule, but maybe this is a sign I'm actually turning into a grown up...

As you can tell, they all love s'mores, especially Lexa

Sean looking ponderously into the fire

The next was the day to head out. Sean and James got up hear to try and catch some fish for breakfast, but they came back empty handed. We had another breakfast of blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs and sausage. Then after that it was time to pack up, clean up winterize and head out. It's a much faster process with a couple people working on it than by yourself.

Sean, Lexa, Jacob and James ready to head

Lexa, Nolan Jacob and James

We started the hike out and I was hoping we'd be able to beat our 2:20 time in. Just outside of the cabin gate, Lexa started complaining about how heavy her pack was. We'd taken EVERYTHING out, and the only thing she had in was an almost empty bag of chips! Then she said how heavy her DVD player was. Lexa, Sean has it in his pack, seriously, all you have is a nearly empty bag of chips! The really funny part is when we got to the car she opened her back pack and was like "I didn't know you were serious when you said I had a bag of chips in my pack. I wondered what all the crunching was when I laid down on it at breaks." :)

Then she said he sweatshirt was too hot and that she was having hot flashes. I said I thought only grandma has those, and she said, "No, Mom has them too". So and so I told her to take it off and put it in her pack. Well she didn't put anything underneath when she got dressed this morning... Some people's children! ;) We eventually stopped and dug out her clothes so she could change.

Lexa and I made it home after a traditional stop at the Dairy of Queens, and I'm pretty sure the Bambock's made it back in time for their "Fun Run."

Here's a few more pics for your perusal: