Oregon Backcountry Adventure

I hear a loud CRACK just outside the tent and bolt upright from a deep sleep. My sudden movement sends the visitor thundering away through the brush. With my heart doing double-time, my hands fumble around the tent for the headlamp. Once in hand, I switch it on and shine it out the mesh opening. The yellow beam of light reveals nothing but a thick forest of pine trees with dense underbrush.

Guests in the Wilderness

It's late July and we're on the first day of a motorcycle trip on the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route (OBDR) – the start of our nine-day adventure. We're in the Blue Mountains just southeast of Walla Walla, Washington, where we arrived at the Mottet Campground after dark.

In the distance, I still hear the sound of sticks cracking and brush rustling. As the sounds get closer, I hear an animal bellowing and snorting, the type of protest a bull makes when you walk through its corral uninvited. Finally, when I feel it's too close for comfort, I smack the tent with my hand. The visitor bolts away through the brush sounding like a deer or an elk bounding through the forest. ...

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