A blanket of fog still lingers low in the sky as the cars slowly descend on Camp 18, turning south off Highway 26 and into the crowded parking lot.

Inside the restaurant, an immense log cabin at the center of the property, dozens of Timbers Army members are already feasting on large plates of pancakes, waffles and the restaurant's famous cinnamon rolls. One fan has draped a green and gold scarf over a stuffed cougar that stands on a log overlooking the large dining hall.

It's 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, just six days before the Portland Timbers are scheduled to play their home opener against Real Salt Lake. Part of the group woke up before dawn to carry on a tradition of visiting the nearby Jewell Meadows Elk Refuge, tranquilly watching the elk wind their way down the hill to feed just after sunrise. The rest of the group made the hour and a half drive from Portland to come directly to Camp 18 for the annual ceremony. They will continue to trickle in over the next half hour until almost 100 fans fill the restaurant.

The event started as a work trip, with Jim Serrill, the Timbers first mascot known fondly as Timber Jim, and Webber bringing a small group of people down to Timber Junction to get the first log of the season and cut wood for a man that had lost his legs to diabetes. In that first year, the group of 20 or so people stopped by Camp 18 for breakfast by happenstance.

But over the years, the tradition has morphed and grown. The group now arrives at Camp 18 before the start of every Timbers season to reconnect over breakfast, pay respect to the locale's rich history with a guided tour of the property's logging museum and loggers memorial and assemble the children together to plant trees in a large field on the edge of the property.

In the late morning, the group then finally reconvenes to place their hands on the ceremonial log and recite the Timbers Toast.

"It's just a chance for us to gather together as a Timbers community," Serrill says. "We've been apart all winter long and this is one of the first outings that we have. We thought it was only fair that we bless the log for more goals."

The tradition began soon after Webber replaced Serrill as the Timbers mascot midway through the 2008 season. As mascot, Webber, who has always looked up to Serrill as a mentor, wanted to carry on Serrill's traditions and create new rituals along the way.

Over the last seven years, it hasn't surprised Webber to see the log blessing ceremony evolve and grow into the benediction it has now become.

"There's so much power in the Timbers Army, with the magic that Jim's created," Webber says. "I'm never surprised with anything the Timbers Army does."

Keith Palau drove up to Camp 18 for the log blessing for the first time this year, elated to have the opportunity to continue to bond with his fellow fans. Amanda and Branden Marsh made the drive out to Camp 18 for the fourth year in a row, their two young boys in tow. And Gabby Rosas arrived at Camp 18 this year for just her second time.

"I feel more and more involved with the Timbers Army each year," Rosas says. "Coming to this was like a rite of passage."

After finishing their hardy lumberjack meals, the large group congregates outside the restaurant. Serrill addresses the crowd. "Sorry, if some of you had to wait to get your food," Serrill says. "But I'm sure we're used to line culture here."

Soon after, the group begins to walk the property, an oversized family reminiscing about past seasons and soaking up the lore of the grounds.

The tour comes to a halt near the loggers memorial. Parents walk their children down a hill to a grassy field to survey the cluster of saplings that the kids planted in the meadow one year ago.

Serrill follows the group with a white bag full of new saplings ready to be planted. He carefully takes a shovel and demonstrates how to properly plant a tree. Then, one by one, the children each take a new sapling and, with the help of their parents, bury the roots into the fertile dirt.

After they finish planting the new trees, Serrill brings the entire group together in a circle to honor the memory of the loved ones that members of the Timbers Army have lost in the last year. Serrill, who lost his 17-year-old daughter Hannah to a car crash in 2004, knows first hand how the Timbers Army can bond together to offer solace and help its members overcome tragedy.

They put their arms over each other's shoulders in a group huddle and pause for a moment of silence.

Then, slowly, the group makes their way back up the hill where a 10 foot long Douglas Fir is secured inside a cart, hitched to the back of a dark blue truck.

They gather around the log, all 100 of them, squeezing together as one living entity and reaching their hands out to touch the wood. The children climb inside the cart, standing right up next to the log.

Serrill stands at one end of the cart, with his hand on the shoulder of Timbers Army devotee and capo Patch Perryman. Serrill usually gives the toast, but this year he's made the decision to pass the honor on to Perryman.

The toast is an old Irish wedding wish. Serrill doesn't know who wrote the original verses, but he and his wife, Diane, recited the toast at their own wedding, handing each guest a small white scroll with the words engraved on the paper. He passed the toast on to the Timbers Army. He felt it was only appropriate.

When the group is all in place, Perryman, too, places his hands on the log and begins to recite the words:

May your home be strong of beam, Firm of wall and rafter, Built with Timbers from a dream, Girded well with laughter. May your home have a winding stair With a lovers landing, Windows to let in fresh air With the light of understanding. May your home have a roof of faith For every change of weather And love upon your hearth To warm your years forever. Go Timbers.

The baptism lasts just a few minutes. As Perryman finishes the last verse, the group slowly steps back from the log, taking in the moment.

"Blessing the log is whatever anybody wants it to be," Webber says. "I like that everybody gets to put their hand on the log and everybody gets to be a part of it."

In less than a week, the group will descend on Providence Park, joining thousands of fellow fans for the first match of the season. They will stand and chant feverishly the entire game, singing songs that were long ago engraved to memory.

For now, though, they saunter back to their cars in small clusters. Above their heads, the fog has lifted, and the sun is shining through.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg