With the hot sun beating down on our lackluster campsite we all reluctantly started to get up and pack up our sprawling mess. An hour later with our broken trailer in tow we pulled into Government Camp in the shadow of Mt.Hood to meet up with friends Nicky “Nickman” Grieves and Brandon Cocard. Two classic friends and Portlandites whose hospitality and local knowledge would be indispensable to us during our stay.

The morning of the sixth day started on a low note, as any morning that begins in a Wal-Mart parking lot should. With forklifts beeping, screeching and buzzing around our camp treating us like we camped out on the infield of a NASCAR race as they unloaded semi after semi, we reluctantly woke up in the least scenic of locations. On the plus side, we had clean shitters a few feet away and some of the worst coffee the northwest could offer freshly brewed for pennies on the dollar. We gathered our empty cans and wounded soldiers as we packed up our limping, decrepit trailer and were gone before our coffee even thought about getting cold.

The third day started out slowly as we all grumbled out of our sleeping zones, some lucky enough to score beds while the rest flopped out on the available couch space. Once the nessesary coffee and breakfast was found and devoured we made our way to Exit Real World Skateshop in the heart of northwest Portland. A super clean shop with all the right stuff and cool people, Exit had it dialed. Exit also linked us up with one of their team riders, Elliot Murphy, who would meet up with us at the Beaverton Park, his local stomping grounds.

Day 4 started as they all seem to have; foggy and sore. The weather in Portland was still uncharacteristically perfect and the crew met up from places unknown at Brooklyn Street, a DIY skatespot in a small empty lot on the SE side of town.

The morning of Day 5 started off sore and tired for the whole gang.

With a typical late start, the crew rolled out of our Lake Tahoe home base in the dark hours of the morning. With just enough time to get out of the mountains before sunrise, we found ourselves barreling up the 395 North headed to Klamath Falls and our first park of the tour.