We went east of our home again to enjoy the quiet, green, dense and lush tranquility of one of our favorite spots outside of Sweet Home, Oregon. The last time we enjoyed the area we came across hundreds of meters of string strung along many of the forest roads in the area and, at the time, wondered what it was for. Sadly, we now know it was all in service of a logging lease for Weyerhaeuser to destroy the area in the name of profits…and paper products.
Turning off Quartzville Road near Whitcomb Creek County Park Campground we immediately were visually assaulted by the drastic change to the scenery. What was once so thickly treed that the dirt road was in perpetual shadow and very much like driving through a natural green, leafy tunnel was now bathed with sunlight from the lack of any trees or plant life on the south side of the road. I took this video the next morning on our way out.
When we arrived at the entrance to our special spot we could immediately see that the once barely maintained dirt, potholed road had recently been “rocked & rolled” with hundreds of yards of aggregate. While the drive from the gated entrance up to “our” spot was smoother and quicker I know “they” didn’t do that for me or other recreational users out of the generosity of their blackened corporate heart. I was sad but not surprised to find a sign where we usually stay informing us of the new situation.
Apparently there are now two classes of people in the area: Friends of the corporation (a.k.a. “authorized parties”) and “All Others.” Being in the group of second class types and not wanting to be rousted and/or given a ticket for trespassing by any member of law enforcement doing the bidding of the Billion dollar corporation we turned around and went to see if any other of our spots in the area were unchanged or also on the literal chopping block.
We had trouble finding a particular spot which is on the top of the mountain because the logging that had already occurred completely changed the look and feel of the area. We couldn’t tell which of the little side roads was the correct one at first and ended up trying three different ones before we finally emerged from a newly clearcut area and recognized the general incline and path of the road. A couple minutes later we emerged at this secondary spot to find it was still as we remembered it which was a relief. Heavy equipment tracks and fresh piles of excavated dirt and gravel showed that they are using this dead end as a dumping ground for the time being and I expect they will eventually get around to denuding it to match what has already been done to the one side of that main access road.
As it was now getting dark we decided to stay the night and take the chance we wouldn’t be rousted in the night or too early the next morning. The next day we were awoken a bit before 7am with the sound and vibration of heavy equipment in close proximity. Gia was obviously unnerved by the racket and was trotting about in a bit of a tizzy. We decided to forgo the normal relaxed coffee routine and instead just pack up and get out of the area as quickly as possible. On the way down and out the Tacoma was sliding around a bit on the deeply muddy portions of the road that had not yet been graveled. The night before on the way up, this area had not been wet and it had not rained overnight so I think they were a bit overzealous when running a water truck around the area to keep the dust down earlier that morning.
Driving down the mountain we passed several more zones of destruction and were in a bit of a sad daze seeing the drastic changes wrought since our last visit. While I am not completely against logging (I like and use toilet paper, napkins and paper towels just like everyone else) I just have this (sadly) unrealistic wish that they would do it more cleanly and sustainably, to their monoculture tree farms and not to a thriving forest ecosystem. The loss of this tried and true camping area also directly effects Gia and I and everyone else who has enjoyed the area over the previous few decades since it was last logged.
I expect to come back in the near future if only to see and document how much more destruction has happened and am mentally preparing myself to be shocked and saddened when that time comes. On the “plus” side (if there is one) is that this area has for a decade been a “go-to” spot and was not, by my definition, an adventure anymore…just a close, known and safe spot to get away from it all. We will now be forced outside of our comfort zone and need to go on the hunt again to find some new spots that meet our needs. I’m not against that, at all, but it would have been nice to do it of my own accord and not be forced by the large and uncaring hand of corporate profit and shareholder value. What a shame.