Our Inaugural Apache Trip...Part II

 

Apparently, owning an Apache is so much fun you won't even notice when your kids go missing...

While out east on the Deschutes Kerri and I decided to return to a park we had previously visited in our pre-Apache days, Horsethief Butte. We had camped nearby but failed to hike the butte for lack of time. Located on the Washington side of the Gorge, Horsethief Butte is a part of the greater Columbia Hills State Park which includes the butte and Horsethief Lake. Those interested in an AMAZING afternoon of hiking and imagination can get park information here, trail information here and see more photos here.

 Horsethief Butte (uncredited photo)

Wonder why it is called Horsethief Butte?

Horsethief Butte is the sight of one of Washington's most notorious 19th century crimes. In 1893 an itinerant cow-hand and horse trainer by the name of Mordachai Arnold led a massive raid on the ranch of Ukiah Ellison, a wealthy cattleman and state politician. Ellison had previously employed Arnold at his ranch near Carson, Washington but fired him when Arnold was caught selling one of Ellison's ponies for personal gain. The shamed Arnold organized a raid on the ranch and absconded with 30 or so of Ellison's prized horses. Arnold, hunted by Washington's law enforcement, led his gang of horse thieves and the horses to the butte. Heavily armed and well protected inside the butte's fortified walls, Mordachai Arnold and his rowdy gang were able to keep the long arm of the law at bay for weeks. Ultimately, Arnold surrendered and it was discovered that he and his raiding party had survived those many weeks on the meat of the stolen horses. Arnold was later hanged... The butte became known as Horsethief Butte.

Not really.

At least that is what one would expect from a place named Horsethief Butte. The real history is as follows: 

"For centuries, the park was the site of a Native American village. The Lewis and Clark expedition camped at the village and described its wooden houses in one of their journals. The village was later flooded by the waters of The Dalles Dam.

Oral history states that the park received its former name -- Horsethief Lake State Park -- from workers in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who developed the site. The workers thought the terrain was similar to that of horsethief hideouts in popular 1950s Hollywood westerns. The abundance of horses kept on the premises by local Indians apparently gave the workers their inspiration."

Kudos to those U.S. Army engineers for providing a satisfying name for this exciting park! It reminds me of a conversation I had with Kerri last summer about the characterful names of some of the natural wonders we visited in the gorge (watefalls, caves, etc...) I was thinking aloud about the state of language today and wondering ...if these gorge sites were discovered and named in our era would we be visiting or avoiding places like "Cray-Cray Falls", "Cold-As-Fuck Creek" and "Lame-Ass Canyon"? Would we be driving out to "Booty-Shake Beach"?

Anyhow...Horsethief Butte is a great place to hike and climb. Basically, its a massive basalt lump left after the great Missoula Floods receded and it makes quite an impression. Dramatic cliffs, petroglyphs and a maze of trails on the top leading to some inspiring views...made for a great two or three hours of adventure. And up on the top you really do get the feeling of being transported into a Larry McMurtry novel. Its worth the drive and there is pretty good camping there in the park, even for those without a wonderful Apache!

 Lyn Topinka, 2004

Like I said, dramatic... And the views of Mt. Hood were incredible.

 One of my favorite pics of Tilford...of all time.

 Overlooking Horsethief Lake...crazy cliffs

 Mt. Hood through the craggy peaks of Horsethief Butte

Next time around I'll show you some pics from Mt. Hamilton and Cape Horn Lookout... Some of the best views we've seen so far.

Peace and happy camping!

Ulysses

Our Inaugural Apache Trip...Part I

Kerri and I didn't have to wait long to take our Apache Eagle out into the wilderness. I checked the forecasts for all of southern Washington and northern Oregon to find a place that wouldn't dump rain on us. (If you haven't heard, it rains a  lot 'round these parts...) After looking everywhere from Crater Lake to Mount Baker, it looked like a trip way out east of The Dalles was the safest bet.  

We had never been to the Deschutes River State Park but we had read all about it in our favorite guide book, Curious Gorge by Hood River resident, Scott Cook. If you live in Portland and love the Gorge you HAVE to get this book. You can find it all over town and I think it runs around $12 or so. Scott Cook is the author of a few other books such as Pokin' Round the Gorge (a complete guide to secret places to get it on in the Gorge) and Bend, Overall, a guide to hiking the Bend area...

                                               BUY IT!!!


Admittedly, I was a little nervous taking the Apache out on the highway for the first time. I've never towed anything before as far as I can remember...least not anything attached to a car and not a truck. But, the Eagle towed like nothing was there at all. Very light and stress free. 

Plus, with the storage capacity of the Eagle we were able to give Tilford a little more room in the Forester. I made him a super car doggy-bed throne like space...

 
The weather was gorgeous ;) 

                                    Deschutes River State Rec. Area looking east
                                                        (there in the tree line! also, not my photo)

We went straight to the Deschutes River State Recreation Area, an hour and a half east of Portland (through the maritime section of the Gorge and into the high desert area) and were sooooo glad to be there. What a great park! This is from the Oregon State Parks and Rec website: 

"The Deschutes River State Recreation Area is a tree-shaded, overnight oasis for campers. The sparkle-laden, swift, green rush of the Deschutes converges with the Columbia here, and there's no better place for family outing activities like hiking, mountain biking, camping, rafting, world-class steelhead and trout fishing, and equestrian trail riding."
  

I did not take many photos of the actual park/camping areas but for those interested you can see some pretty nice panorama shots here. 

After tooling around a bit and having some conversation with the park ranger (?) we decided on a spot for our first Apache Eagle base camp site! Seeing as we had only done it once before, we had the Eagle open and ready in about 15 minutes. And, here she is...

I must mention here that, to me, when the door is open and the entrance is unzipped, our '72 Apache Eagle reminds me very much of this guy...

...I'm probably the only one...but I see it!

Anyhow... We loved the camp site, the proximity to the Deschutes River and all the geese. The park area is home to about a hundred Canada geese and while I can't say I enjoyed having to dodge their shit with each step toward the river, I did enjoy watching them poke around for food en masse. 

This photo does not adequately reflect the very large number of geese present at the camp site...but the memory for my camera is limited and I take large format photos...so I could only spare one for the geese.


After we set up base camp it was time to hit the trails. The Deschutes River State Rec. Area has some easy and slightly moderate trails as far as elevation and incline go. There is a loop trail near the river's edge and a longer loop that leads up to the hill tops...

 However, there are other dangers. You have to be very careful about these guys...

Gross. I've never seen as many snakes in general and rattlesnakes in particular as I did at Deschutes. And that is coming from someone who grew up in west and central Texas. Seems like they were everywhere. Later in the week I had nightmares about snakes attacking Tilford. Horrible feeling...

BUT!!! Don't let that deter you from taking a trip out here! It's BEAUTIFUL!!! 

Next up, I tell you about our adventures at Horsethief Butte and give you a preview of our next Apache Summer trip!


Peace and happy camping!


Ulysses

In Which We Fall in Love with Apaches and Find Our Eagle...Part II

See those two folks running on the beach? That's gonna be me and Kerri this summer. Our Apache Summer...

When the impulse to learn about Apaches became the impulse to buy an Apache, we really lucked-out. As it happened, in late April we returned to craigslist to hunt and we found the selection to be pretty choice. By choice I mean there were TWO for sale. On the SAME DAY. Now, that is remarkable because Vesely made a ton of these Apaches for a 30 year period but you don't find them everywhere. Luckily, we live in Portland, Oregon, a haven for outdoor enthusiasts.

  
(Oregon is the most amazing place in the US of A!!! There are mountains, coasts, deserts, rain-y forests...got it all! If you haven't read about the Columbia River Gorge or the Cascade Mountain Range, treat yourself and do it right after you finish this post.) 

 So, we drove ALL the way out to Hillsboro on a Sunday afternoon to see a rather beat-up Apache Eagle from around 1969 or so. When we got to the guy's house we could see that we were meeting someone who had the same enthusiasms as us. In his front yard there was an old 8 foot canned-ham, a 10 foot camper up on its stilts and this chocolate brown Apache Eagle... The Apache kinda looked like hell. The chocolate brown paint job was not original and was seriously flaking off of the body. But, here it was, an Apache Eagle for us to see!

(random apache photo to break up the block of text. not the chocolate brown apache we saw in hillsboro)

The gentleman camper and his wife demonstrated to us how it opens and sets up. All in all, set-up took less than ten minutes. He was sure to tell us that it gets easier and quicker with practice. Kerri and I were not deterred for once we got inside the thing we were already speaking in low whispers about how much cash we had between us. This things was COOL! Oh man, the first time to see the whole lay-out in person was a trip. The Eagles are spacious, especially for just two and a dog. And the chocolate brown Eagle had some great qualities. This Apache had a complete set of bed and dinette cushions, not original but custom made and in great shape. The dinette table was in working order. But the canvas was pretty shot. Still...it was cool and they were only asking $400.

We had another Eagle to go and see on Sauvie's Island, one that claimed to have been stored inside for most of its life. So we thanked the folks for showing us their Apache and told them we would let them know as soon as we saw the other one if we wanted the choco-eagle.

So, we drove over the west hills to Sauvies Island. And we promptly became owners of THIS:

A 1972 Apache Eagle in AMAZING condition. This thing HAD been stored inside for 35 years. The body is in great shape, the canvas almost 100% intact and working. The zippers work fine, the brake and turning signals fully operational, original sleeping pads, table fully functioning... Just in great shape. Just like in this ad:

Kerri and I didn't need to think long about what to do. We put a deposit on our new 1972 Apache Eagle and made an appointment to get a towing package installed on the Forester! ($300...yikes!) Next day, we brought it home.

About the only things it was missing were the dinette cushions and a set of hangers for the shell when the unit is completely set up. The tail light covers are not original. It is missing the "E" in the prominent "APACHE" hard plastic decal above the door...so it just reads "APACH". And we think the floor covering is not original. It kinda has a linoleum herring bone pattern...brown...meh, but still awesome. Other than that everything was great!  

And now...we are Apache owners. We join a nerdy national club of camping geeks who love their Apaches. Our '72 Eagle is in great working order but we dream of sprucing it up a little each year. We found a pretty great example of a 1970 Eagle in mint original condition that we'd like to emulate:

It would be sweet to find a outdoor awning canvas like the one pictured above. Especially as we gear up to take longer trips staying in one camp site for multiple days. AND, we really dig the bright orange and yellow striped cushions of this 1970 Eagle. Looks as if they have added a orange chest of drawers for additional storage and seating. Not a bad idea, but as it is that chest of drawers is right where Tilford's doggy bed is.

Before I go on to other homework, take a look at some interior photos of our Apache Eagle '72. Next post will finally include photos from our first trip with our Apache, out to Deschutes State Park!!!

Peace and happy camping!


Ulysses