| Date: July 1, 2002 | | Location Cousins Backpack - - Day 2 | | Where: North Fork John Day Wilderness | | Our first morning was cold with ice on our pack covers. By 9:00 we were hiking down the river warmed by the sun and our efforts. We stopped to camp at McCarty Gulch at 2:00, a 4 ½ RM day. Some were exhausted and napped. Others sat and rested, read, or wrote. Uncle Jeff went fishing, and the cousins, under the supervision of Aunt Holly, all went swimming. |  | | Cousin Aaron Humphrey leading the pack Cousin Nate Humphrey,age 11, writes---
"The North Fork of the John Day River is a great place for playing in the river. One of our campsites had a big rock nearby and we would jump off of it into the river. It was lots of fun. The river was very pretty plus great for fishing. My dad caught eight fish ot one of our campsites. I had a really good time." |  | | Cousin Tylor Scott taking a refreshing dip Cousin Eric Scott, age 14, writes---
"Water is fun. Water is especially fun after a hot, sweaty, and long hike with a 30-40 pound backpack on. Luckily everywhere we camped there was water.
On the first day my cousin Nate and I found the water in this river very cold. ( Man it was cold, oh well ). It was only in some places that the water was up to our waists. The second day we camped by a great swimming hole. It was just under some rapids so the water was very fast and only shallow in one spot: the banks. The rest was nice and deep. Nate and I would jump off a big rock in the middle of the deep water and go floating down stream. On the third day we camped at a slow patch of the river. It was somewhat deep in the middle and nice and warm. Nate and I would leisurely float down stream and then at the bottom and would walk back up and do it again and again. On the fourth day we made a great big dam in the wide stream. All the cousins helped Nate, my cousin Mary, and me at least once during the duration of the dam making. We had the water raise at least two inches. When I was walking up the river to find some big rocks a killer fish swam by ! This was a monster. It was huge. It was making a type of deep droning noise as it hurtled passed me in the water. ( It was cool ). On the last day of camping it was a cold and over cast day so the water in the creek was also cold. ( Oh well ) Nate and I went wading in the ice cold water anyway. Nate and I found a place where the water ran over a fallen log and splashed in the water, making a small waterfall. ( Yes , finally a shower ). Nate and I still didn't get one though. So if you go backpacking in the John Day Wilderness it's a good idea to pack a swim suit."
|  | | Cousins Elizabeth, Bethany, and Allison setting up the tent |  | | Uncle Mark eating breakfast |  | | Aunt Holley swimming |  | | cousins at cards |
|
|
