The Old Fire House Cache

I was out caching after work, I hadn't been it seem in about 4 weeks, only seem that way.
And the cache was call the FireHouse cache.

The first time I came to this fire House, I was about 12 years old and it was 1968.
The front was coved with this really big ivy, the stock at the top of the door was as big as my leg,(I had small legs back then).
We had only live in the area about 2 months and the Grants Pass Parks Department, had this thing, where they would take you on a hike some place for $15 or $20, and it was for 2 days and you get stakes to eat and a ride in a van.
Will, my Mom thought this would be good way for me to meet some people and go on a hike.
What I don't remember, Mom saying were the hike was.
What I quickly learns after Mom drop me off and said I will pick up tomorrow at 5 pm.
I was going climb Mt. McLaughlin.
Everyone in the Parks Office said its an easy hike, we have old people hiking.(like 35 or something)Ha Ha
I had this old steel frame smoke jumpers pack. Didn't weigh to much walking around the yard with a sleeping bag in it.LOL
The guide, one guy, about 25 years old and there was about 8 hikers, I think I was the youngest at 12 and the oldest was about 17 years old. Four boys and four girls, And oh ya, the guide had hike the mountain coupe time,ha ha.We going to get lost?
So now I get a good look at the mountain as we're going over Blackwell hill. And what do I see is there is snow down past chicken point.(this is were all the chicken hikes turn around)
We get to the parking area and load are packs on to are backs and I find out, I have to carries my own food, were is the other guide who's going to carry my back?
The plan was to hike up to the lake and set-up camp and spend the night and go up in the morning.
My pack got really heavy quickly, about 1/4 mile in to it. The pack was way heavy for my 65 pound body, the pack must have weighed 50 pounds.
So the hike to the lake was about 1 1/2 miles but it felt like 5 miles. And the other kids in the group, weren't doing any better.
Got the lake about noon and had some food, and I make sure that food in my back got eaten first, I was not going carrier it back out.
It was about 1pm now and the guide says we have enough time to climb to the top and back down if we leave now.
We vote on it as a group, we'd just eaten and we are all dumb and happy and going leave the pack at the lake, and of coarse, you can not see the mountain at all from the lake, actually can't see the top for about 3 more hours up the trail. What a trick that was.
We started hiking and hiking and hiking.
And now we can see the top from the trail, and there is lots of snow.
So now we are in the snow and here the good part.
Four out of nine of the hikers had hiking boots on. the rest had something less than that, like basketball shoes or deck shoes. Luck for me I had boots.
When we reached the snow we took turns kick holes in the snow for the others that did not have boots.
This took some time, as you may guesses.
We hit chicken point about 8 pm and I got to the top by 10 and the last one of the group get there about 11.
And now it was really to dark to hike down, and our guide thought so to, so we stayed on top at 9,995 feet.
We did not have any thing with us, no food, no wood for fire, no sleeping bags or blanks. I did have a jacket as will as some of the others, but our feet were wet, I had wool socks so that helped, as long as I moved around.
We spent the night in the bottom of the old look out, witch was only just the footing, no top.
It was sometime in July, and it didn't get to cold, I would guesses about 45* degrees.
We huddle together to stay harm, and kept trade place from inside the group to the out side, to harm up.
The sun comes up pretty early 9 thousand feet, so it hit the top about 5am, we were standing out in it and harming are self a soon we could.
By 6am we were move down the mountain and staying in the sun that hole time.
Again we had to fight the snow, and got our feet wet again.
Back at the lake by noon, and the stake never tasted so good. And to be harm was wonderful thing to behold.
Took a nape and back to down the hill to the van and back to Grants Pass by 5 and Mom show up.
And I ate again a big dinner and took another nape.
And thats the first time that I was at the fire house.
PS I think the night on the mountain is why my feet are alway cold ??

Mt. McLaughlin from the top of Pilot Rock, looking NE.