Hike up the North Fork

UPDATE: No visit to the Santiam Canyon would be complete without recalling the countless trips here as a youth with Bart Stam. Here's a recent video of him working (Beware: 5 MB file).

Aaron, Edward, Megan (the younger) and myself headed east for a hike in the Santiam Canyon, specifically along the little North Fork. I last ventured here in the summer of 1999, interestingly, with Megan-the-younger and Maren. I don't remember why I took them--M and D were probably vacationing somewhere nice and I kindly volunteered to watch the younglings. I also remember coming here with most of the family in 1994, probably around the 4th of July, and once with Doug Henshaw and some of the Kimball brothers--and I remember hiking up the river in my bare feet. Megan-the-older left us Friday after work to spend time in Beaverton with her sisters.

Regardless, Aaron was our scout and led the entire hike at the point position. I was in the middle, carrying Edward-the-Monkey on my back. We were fortunate to have decent weather, especially since it rained all the night before. And we only saw one other small group on the trail--we virtually had private access to our own wilderness. We spent a good portion of our time on one of the rocky beaches next to the river; I joked with Megan that the boys could spend an hour there just throwing rocks into the river. But they could probably do twice that and still be upset when having to leave. Aaron was the only one to fall in the river, but he didn't soak himself so we carried on further down the trail without worry. At our turnaround point, we had some snacks and were ready to return home.

The boys were absolutely wonderfully behaved. Edward deserves credit for having to sit in the backpack for hours at a time. And Aaron's hiking skills are simply amazing for a four-year old. He needs virtually no guidance and fell maybe once. He had so much energy and didn't complain once about being tired or needing a break. I'm hopeful that he can make it around the main Silver Falls loop (about 7.5 miles) next month as part of the Booren family reunion.

The beach where we stopped is also where the sisters and I stopped on our last visit. I remember turning huge logs into flotation devices and having a blast propelling myself around the river in the summer sun, while Megan and Maren probably watched in bewilderment as to what exactly I was doing and hoping nobody else walked by. I don't think they ventured into the water, and actually wanted to spend more time hiking the trails instead of watching their goofy brother make a fool of himself.

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