T'was The Week Before Christmas....!

Ah, Christmas is coming! And although the weather man keeps predicting "gobs" of snow in the valley, it has only been falling in the mountains. So, unless you live in Portland, and you want a white Christmas, you might have to go to the cabin, where there is two feet of snow this week, and more on its way.

Terry and I took Lucy up to run around in the snow this past Saturday, had our lunch at the cabin and enjoyed the winter wonderland of Rambler's Roost.

Merry Christmas everyone! Mel and Terry

Muzzleloader Elk Season

Lewis, Brad, CJ and I spent nine days and eight nights at the cabin in November for muzzleloader elk season. Through 24 hunter days we saw ten elk. Lewis shot a beautiful 5x5 on the third day at 24 yards. He and Brad had everything packed out by the time CJ and I arrived to check on them. Dang! We finally had some rain on the sixth day that turned to snow at higher elevations, which gave us some nice tracking snow for the final day. Only problem was with a bright moon the elk were out while we were sleeping and the tracks were old by the time we got on them. CJ and I jumped a few elk first thing Friday morning but never saw hide nor hair.

So we had 25% success for our camp which is better than most. We'll try again next year.

Fall Colors along the Rogue River

Last Sunday (10/26/08) Terry and I took a drive up to Union Creek to look at the fall colors. We drove in at River Bridge and on up to Woodruff Meadows, then to the cabin, where we walked the river trail down to the campground and back. After a picnic lunch at the cabin we drove up the Buck Road and stopped at the Bear Crossing so I could shoot my muzzleloader in preparation for elk season. It was 80 degrees that afternoon! That could be why the General rifle elk hunters didn't see an elk! Four hunters, seven days, zero elk...tough year. Here's hoping there will be some weather to move some elk around by the time the muzzleloader season opens on the 15th of November.

Bygone Years of Hunting

With my new found ability to add a slide show to the blog I want to share some old time hunting pictures with you. These come from an album that was Uncle Billy's that I have been working to preserve in digital format. Not all are from Union Creek. Some are Camas Creek elk hunting.

Buck Hunting At Rambler's Roost

There are many stories to tell about opening weekend of the 2008 Buck Season, clearly one of the best in many a year! For now let the photos tell the stories for Ernest, Mel, Andy, Jerad, Steve, Tony and CJ. (Some photos are yet to come!) Next up is Rifle Bull Elk season October 18-24 and Muzzleloader Elk season November 15-21. Stay tuned!

Harden Family Reunion at Rambler's Roost

Our fifth annual (we skipped 2005 and went to a wonderful wedding on a very hot summer day!) Harden family reunion at Union Creek convened on August 8th, 2008 at Rambler's Roost. It began with Sara, Jason, Terry and I driving up to Thousand Springs Sno-Park and riding mountain bikes down the OHV trail eight miles back to the cabin. Of course, we had to go back up and get the car, so Sara and Terry shuttled the cars while Jason and I did a kamikaze ride back to the cabin, this time following the horse trail half the way. Wow! A wild and crazy ride!

As usual there was more than enough food for all and we had tents scattered about to accomodate the 23 people and 6 dogs. There was hiking, fishing, and visiting around the campfire.



Saturday's excursion took us to the Rabbit Ears, where an attempt was made to ascend the east summit, but alas, due to poor guide service by yours truely, our attempt to summit was thwarted, but our appreciation of the wonderful view and relative difficulty of what we had accomplished was not lost on those that made the attempt. We had a faithful crew of onlookers who made the trek to the base of the massive volcanic plugs and awaited our return, dodging rocks loosened by the climbers.

We then made the short but dusty drive to the firelookout at Hershberger, where more spectacular views presented themselves. A picnic lunch in the "parking lot" where we had five cars (Tim's mountain goat van nearly made it to the top after challenging my assessment of it's ability to overcome the rough and tumble road) was a real treat after our hike and climb.

After returning to the cabin where Grandpa Harden had held down the fort with one wounded dog (poor Cassie had a torn foot pad from the previous day's adventure on the OHV trail) Jason, Tim, Cathy and I bummed a ride from Sara back to the Thousand Springs parking lot and once again we descended back to the cabin as the sun was sinking in the east.

Before a sumptious dinner of BBQ ribs prepared by Eric we had the fun of beginning a birthday celebration for Cameron with a pinata hung from an extension ladder over the woodshed roof. After valiant attempts by Cameron, Harrison, Jacob and Joel the candy did fly after succumbing to an explosive blow of the bat by Jason! (Problems with the video, sorry!)

We had french toast, bacon, sausage and fruit for breakfast before cleaning up and heading to our distant homes to await next year's gathering at "the cabin" Rambler's Roost. Thanks to all for sharing the food and fun.

April Snow Pack

Lucy and I hiked into the cabin today on four feet of snow...old snow! But, that means it could be another four to six weeks before we can drive into the cabin, unless we have an extreme heat wave! Plus, they are calling for snow this weekend in the South Cascades, so here comes another 4-6 inches on top of the existing snow pack.

Some of the pictures are of the Cummings cabin, third one downstream of Rambler's Roost. Unfortunately, the snow load was too much for this old house! Pretty amazing. It will be interesting to see what these folks decide to do...repair or replace.

Mel