EXPLORING CLOSER TO HOME
We drive tens of thousands of miles a year. Countless hours behind the wheel cruising through the countryside in pursuit of new locations. So often our primary goal is to avoid the crowds. This typically pushes us to the Eastern side of the state. Out here the land is immense, forcing us into 3-8 hour commutes simply to access the areas we plan to explore. Fitting that kind of mileage into a weekend trip is a challenge, one that often leaves us exhausted at the end. This trip back in September was an attempt to diverge from that path.
Two hours north of us lies Diamond Lake Resort. In our opinion, the resort is nothing special, but it lies at the feet of the Cascade mountains. Surrounding the lake are crumbling volcanic mountains reaching a few thousand feet into the air. Despite the proximity to home, we had spent nearly no time in the area. Our plan was to hike Mt. Bailey, swim in Diamond Lake, and explore the forest service roads around the resort.
The sunrise hike to the summit was nothing short of spectacular. We cut a few miles off the hike and beat the crowds by driving a 4x4 trail to a second trailhead and starting well before sunrise. As the light began to illuminate the surrounding mountains, we could see the dormant wildfire smoke sitting in the valley beneath us. The warming air and growing winds started to push the smoke toward us on the summit and much of our walk down was spent with irritated lungs.
We finished our hike early enough to have over an hour at the lakeside beach with nearly no one else around. Roan spent our whole time at the lake alternating between playing fetch and crying because his stick wasn’t being thrown.
Olivia had been reading a local guide book and found a chapter that mentioned a fire lookout just west of us. The lookout was decommissioned by the Forest Service because the access road didn’t meet regulations. The tower ,however, remained open to camping on a first-come-first-served basis with the stipulation that high clearance 4x4s were recommended method of access. When it came time to find a camp, this is where we headed.
Stumbling upon places like this fire lookout are often what makes a great trip for us. Its those unexpected camp spots with decent views and no one around that we look for. They aren’t the attractions that make the travel guides, but when we find them it feels far more wholesome. A road trip rarely feels like a road trip when it is so close to home, but this trip proved to be the exact opposite of that.
