Crater Lake, Oregon vacation property build thread - BASE CAMP ⛺️

[Hojack]

My friends from Pennsylvania decided to head out west and visit. They wanted to see my Crater Lake Property so went down there with the kids for an overnighter in July.

Headed toward Mt. Scott on the eastern edge of Crater Lake National Park. Quiet area and Ryder wanted to drive Snowball❄ and was the perfect place.

Ended up finding this remote empty campground at Scott Creek.

We thought we were the only ones except for the bat in the outhouse.

Great spot for lunch.
Scott Creek Campground

Scott Creek is ice cold. It’s so cold it burns your feet. It was a great spot for a lunch with the kids.

Nice stand of Grand Fir
On the way back to property Harlee really wanted to drive Snowball❄

Mt. Scott

Snowballs❄ first steps on the property

Lasting memories.

While waiting Harlee wrote in her journal and her story book. Ryder shot his BB gun and we played laser tag.

Huge flock of Ravens circled overhead for quite awhile.
My friends arrived and what a reunion after 13 years.

Ryder was overwhelmed with excitement

Dinner then it was off to Crater Lake.

 

[Hojack]

Eric had room for us all in RV and was a great time being together. His wife Corey allowed me to sit shotgun.

Eric and I first summited Mt. Hood together and then a couple more times, Mt St Helens and Mt Adams. In our friendship before they left the outdoor was our playground and what better place than Oregon.

Even after 13 years it felt like they left yesterday.

Camera in phone can not justify the beautiful sunset to the west with Mt. Thielsen the sharp pointed Cascade peak on the right.

Made it back around by 11 but the adults stayed up around the campfire til 1:30. The stars and company were awesome. They totally love the property and think a cabin and AirB&B is a great plan. After their kids go off to college they want to move back to Oregon.

First night in the RTT and gotta day I slept great even between two kids.

Excited to have other IH8MUD people gather here for fun and exploration.

My buddy Eric making breakfast

My east coast family

Their dogs chilling under Snowball❄

 

[Hojack]

Trip from CL property to the Deschutes River, heart of Central Oregon.

Crooked River Gorge

Driving down the Deschutes River to Mecca Flats BLM campground.

Temps were hot in the 90s. Perfect time to play and fish at the river.

The water is nice and cold 50s and supports one of Oregon’s best Trout habitats. Insect hatched provide amble food for them to grow and provide an outrageous amount of fish.

Native Deschutes River Redside
Drive to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood

Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail which is on the bucket list.

Quick last shot before heading home.

 

[Hojack]

Passed on SAS4 this year as I wanted to get both Travis and my septic installed at our properties.
Awaiting septic inspection this morning at the Crater Lake property. I had some time to update the thread.

Loaded up my gear and headed into work to loadup and head to pickup septic material from HD Fowler in Redmond, Oregon. My buddy Rob is the manager there and got me his cost for material on both Travis and my septic system.

The drive to the property is 244 miles from my house. I love Central Oregon.
Mt. Jefferson 10,495’ from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

101F in the parking lot in Redmond. The employees wonder how I’m going to fit 450’ of EZ Flow septic on the trailer???

Well this is how you do it
2 HR drive to property from Redmond.

Arrived at the property without a hitch. Started unloading. That night was solo so slept on my thermorest mattress under the stars.
Worked last Saturday cutting and clearing trees for my septic tank.

Hole needed to be 80”W x 110” L and 70” D to fit the tank.

Used the red pumice soil I dug out for a nice red dirt road into the property.
My buddy Travis got to the property that evening so it was time to install his well pump so he could have water.

After installing the pump we took a short drive out to the Klamath Marsh to watch the sunset and moon rise.

Mt. Scott on the rim of Crater Lake and Mt. Thielson to the north.

Running water Sunday morning

After digging the septic holes went exploring on the east side of the Klamath Marsh.

Upper Williamson River crossing off FSRD90
Found a nice location to go shooting.

 

[Hojack]

Monday morning the septic tanks were delivered and installed.

After setting the tank had to clear out the area for the drain field.

Worked late into the evening trenching and laying pipe.

Tuesday we worked on finishing my septic system.

Had a bucket of cold well water at the handpump to wash up. My buddy Travis went to clean up and found a chipmunk had fallen into the bucket. We pulled it out as it had shock and hypothermia. We got it warmed up and some granola. It finally was able to scurry back into the woods.

System finished up and ready for inspection and cover later in the week.

Wednesday started Travis’s septic system.

His system was in taller trees which was more of a challenge but we learned a lot from doing my system.

That afternoon was hot so we took a break. Fell asleep for a couple hours and woke up to rumbles of thunder. Went out and worked a couple more hours when a black cloud was seen moving toward. We cleaned up as the wind picked up and were hit by a monster hailstorm.

It was mid 80s but the storm dropped the temperature into the low 40s with wild winds and heavy hail and rain.

The wild storm gave a good reason to get out and drive on HWY97 to Diamond Lake Junction.

It went from a summer afternoon to winter in 2 hours.

 

[Hojack]

As a reward for passing septic inspections we decided to head out for dinner to Cowboy Dinner Tree in Silver Lake, 59 miles east on the breaks of the vast eastern Oregon desert.

The route from the property to Silver Lake is like stepping back in time. On the road we only saw a handful of vehicles.

A 30oz top sirloin dinner, baked potato, baked bean soup, homemade buiscuits, salad, desert and drinks were $45 +tip.
Cowboy Dinner Tree Restaurant
28 to 32 oz steak or whole chicken dinners. For a unique dining experience. No electricity, cooked on a wood stove.
www.cowboydinnertree.net

The trip was well worth it. I left with enough steak for lunch the next day. The atmosphere, food and scenery will definitely bring us here again.

Friday after backfilling septic decided to head to Crater Lake National Park through the backdoor. I found a forest road that goes up the National Park boarder to the Pinnacles. This route was once the eastern entrance to Crater Lake National Park before 1956.

The formation occurred after the eruption of Mt. Mazama which collapsed from the inside to form Crater Lake. The Pinnacle formations formed in this canyon as a result of gasses escaping. As time went on the soil around them washed away leaving their unique spires.

A great time to enjoy the backwoods with my buddy Travis. A lot of work the past few days and a special place to enjoy just a few minutes from our properties. Can’t wait to enjoy it with others.

Got back and cooked ribeye steaks over an open fire and stuffed mushrooms.

Spent Saturday cleaning up and organizing slash piles and cutting up logs to haul home.

The view of clearing for septic system just before I left the property.

 

[Hojack]

One thing I’ve know about the property is it can freeze there anytime of the year. It’s in a very unique micro climate, basically a bowl between Crater Lake to the west and the Fremont Mountains to the East.

Here’s a highway cam 19 miles further south on the breaks of Williamson River Ridge 15F warmer.

In the winter it’s quite common for temps below 0F and as cold as -30F.

 

[Hojack]

Headed out of Thursday night to work on the property. Again loaded for non stop work through Monday.
Friday was getting 23 yards of gravel delivered to my lot and 23 yards to my buddy Travis’s lot. Picked up driveway fabric at HD Fowler in Redmond from my buddy Robbie.

Graded driveway with mini excavator and laid down the road fabric.

Knife River was right on time to deliver the goods.

Installing the underground utilities to both of my 10x10 outbuildings and my buddy Travis’s.

Didn’t get done til 9pm.

Ready to pour concrete in the morning.
Travis wanted to just mix the concrete with a 2 bag concrete mixer but at 60-70 bags per slab 180-240 sacks, I called Knife River to get a price for a concrete truck to deliver and pour. At about $200 for sack mix per slab it was $300 per slab delivered. No brained there It had to be a Saturday pour which added $55 but the total bill was $910 in total.

Bill from Knife River showed up right on time. There was light mist but nothing to make us worry. Bill was such a great an helpful guy. He loves the area and what we have going on as he snowmobiles up in our country all the time. Told him he’s welcome to come to our campfire anytime.

Screeting the concrete on my pumphouse slab.

He even took pics on his phone and sent these to us that night.

Travis finishing troweling out my bathroom slab.

Next up connecting the 4” green sewer line to the septic tank.

 

[Hojack]

I forgot to finish posting the rest of the pictures after pouring the concrete pads.
Sunday I trenched from Travis’s well to his pumphouse/ bathroom. Laid pipe/ conduit/ tracer wire, pressure tested line and backfilled. He had to leave Monday so I spent the day on my property.

Trenching from the well lot pumphouse to the septic lot bathroom.

Laying 4- 1-1/4” S40 PVC waterlines for each of the 4 lots to have water and conduit to provide power between the wellhouse and bathroom house.

Pressure testing lines with air before back fill.

Backfilled and graded between the two properties.

Lines still holding pressure. Each gauge line is for each one acre lot. The one on far right is the submersible pump well water supply in. The one to the left of that is manual hand pump well supply in.

 

[Hojack]

Before leaving decided to take some logs back home to cut for firewood. This Lodgepole Pine is an excellent firewood and I now have an abundance of it and an awesome place to hang out.

Bathroom House concrete pad

While down the road pouring my buddy Travis’s concrete chipmunks stamped both my pads.

Freshly graveled driveway leading to the 2 front lots.

 

[McDuff123]

Before leaving decided to take some logs back home to cut for firewood. This Lodgepole Pine is an excellent firewood and I now have an abundance of it and an awesome place to hang out.
View attachment 2482406View attachment 2482408
Bathroom House concrete pad
View attachment 2482410
While down the road pouring my buddy Travis’s concrete chipmunks stamped both my pads.
View attachment 2482411View attachment 2482412
Freshly graveled driveway leading to the 2 front lots.

Amazing amount of work, and great progress.
Very well chronicled too...really enjoyed the story and pics.
Thats a beautiful area, and from the looks of it, a place that you and your family (and new friends you haven’t met yet ) will be able to enjoy for decades.
Well done

 

[Hojack]

Amazing amount of work, and great progress.
Very well chronicled too...really enjoyed the story and pics.
Thats a beautiful area, and from the looks of it, a place that you and your family (and new friends you haven’t met yet ) will be able to enjoy for decades.
Well done

Not too bad going from bareland to where it is now in a year. Hopefully next year I’ll have more time there. At least I had 2 camp trips without doing any work there... even though I really want to work instead of play

 

[McDuff123]

Not too bad going from bareland to where it is now in a year. Hopefully next year I’ll have more time there. At least I had 2 camp trips without doing any work there... even though I really want to work instead of play

Yeah, I’ve been kicking around the idea of picking up a parcel somewhere between Bend and K Falls...a few, to maybe 20 acres. Would most likely leave it unimproved and use as a private camping retreat, with an eye toward building on it later.
Know any good lots down your way?

 

[Hojack]

Yeah, I’ve been kicking around the idea of picking up a parcel somewhere between Bend and K Falls...a few, to maybe 20 acres. Would most likely leave it unimproved and use as a private camping retreat, with an eye toward building on it later.
Know any good lots down your way?

Your from Oregon... that’d be awesome to meet up!

 

[Broski]

Great Family project you have embarked on. There nothing like the satisfaction one gets from working on there own Property.
Thanks for sharing and keep the post coming.

 

[Hojack]

Planning phase for a cabin design, wife and I really liked this one.

Headed there in 2 weeks to burn slash piles and have some fun.

 

[unclegit]

Yeah, I’ve been kicking around the idea of picking up a parcel somewhere between Bend and K Falls...a few, to maybe 20 acres. Would most likely leave it unimproved and use as a private camping retreat, with an eye toward building on it later.
Know any good lots down your way?

I've been pondering some land also - ideally WA side for tax reasons - but the Bend area is super nice.

Love to know if you have any good resources on where to find land, ideally where power isn't too far off.

 

[Hojack]

I've been pondering some land also - ideally WA side for tax reasons - but the Bend area is super nice.

Love to know if you have any good resources on where to find land, ideally where power isn't too far off.

Where I’m located is the most affordable property in the state. Wells less than 100’, power at road. Standard septic. PM me for details.
jason

 

[snobdds]

Planning phase for a cabin design, wife and I really liked this one.
View attachment 2544718
Headed there in 2 weeks to burn slash piles and have some fun.

Doesn't look to hard of a build. One of the best things I did with mine is put a walk around porch on it. The porch gets used almost as much as the inside.

I would put concrete pylons in instead of wood.

 

[Hojack]

Doesn't look to hard of a build. One of the best things I did with mine is put a walk around porch on it. The porch gets used almost as much as the inside.

I would put concrete pylons in instead of wood.

I’m going with concrete slab radiant floor heat inside with stamped concrete with the wraparound patio instead of a deck outside. I agree, I’m outside more than inside.