Blow Lake - Oregon Cascades - with Shane and Nico

It's magic when, out of the blue, your teenage son says "hey, let's go backpacking". You drop what you're doing and go gather gear to head out. Shane had the brilliant idea to just get out and so we did. It was 45 minutes of driving from Bend, Oregon up to the Six Lakes Trailhead, just south of Elk Lake. An easy 1 mile hike in and we were searching for a camp site at Blow Lake.

Here's the other thing that's amazing about this simple trip. Shane torn his ACL a few weeks back. He'll have surgery soon. As part of the prep, he needs to build his strength. He can't do much. A little too much movement side to side could be really bad. A short flat one mile hike with a 100 foot gain would work.

We had a very mellow, fabulous time.

Six Lakes Trail - Headwaters of the McKenzie River

Odell Lake to Elk Lake - PCT

48 miles on the PCT from Odell Lake to Elk Lake. For this journey, I was helping the PCTA (Pacific Crest Trails Association) with some survey work. The challenge that faces the Pacific Crest Trail is the proliferation of hiking phone apps. The apps use GPS to tell hikers the distance to the next water source and camp site. Trouble is, fragile areas, often too close to water sources are being promoted on these apps. It's like putting up a billboard in a fragile area inviting people to camp there.

The app makers and the PCTA worked together to have volunteers like me go out and survey the camp sites listed on the apps. We were to target sites that were too close to the trail or water, take pictures and recommend the most troublesome ones for closure.

It was a nice trip getting out there in October to survey a section of the trail and hopefully help it heal a bit. I was out for three days and did not see or talk to another person. In fact, I very quickly started to develop a flee instinct when I heard human created noise. A couple of ATVs came to within about a mile from me and I found myself thinking about hiding. It was a weird feeling. Was I afraid? I just very quickly developed the sense that I didn't want to be around people.

The video shows the quiet and zen vibe of the hike:

Goat Rocks Wilderness - Washington

Walking from California to Bend - Expedition Film 2015

Walking from California to Bend-Day 9-PCT mile 1884-1913

It's before 5am. This is when I like to get up. It's all about beating the heat. If I can be up before 5am, I'm on the trail by 6am and can get 10 miles behind me by 10am. Once you've cruised in the cool air of the morning and put away some mileage, you can slow it down, take a siesta, a swim, and relax a bit more in the afternoon.

Today's goal is Odell Lake. There is a resort there with lovely prizes like potato chips and beer. The alternate trail for this reach, The Oregon Skyline Trail has NO ONE on it. I camped at Oldenberg Lake last night, about 15 miles shy of Odell. 

Oldenberg is nothing super special, though it was very calm and it had another element that made me very happy. The mountain in the left middle of the photo is Walker Mountain. For those that drive Highway 97 between Washington and California, this is very noticeable mountain south of Gilchrist. The mountain is prominent for the area and has a fire lookout. Waking up and seeing this scene, knowing the mountain's proximity to my house (about an hour drive) was really inspirational. I hiked fast! I'll end up with under 20 miles today, light day.

Oldenberg Lake @ 5am

Creek flowing into Odell Lake

Diamond View Lake, with yes, a view of Diamond Peak

Crescent Lake

Tumalo Mountain area-unnamed caldera butte

Sledding on Butte with South Sister & Broken Top in back

We needed an overnight and the mild winter weather provided. Lows were set this weekend for about 30 overnight. We figured that might be about 20 where we planned to be camping just shy of 6,800 feet. No snow remaining in town so in order to get some decent sledding it's up to the Cascades.

full of stoke at the TH at Dutchman Flat

Broken Top on the left, Ball Butte on the right-hiking along Dutchman Flat

The hike is along a snowmobile trail. We anticipated that there wouldn't be much traffic due to the thin snow pack and there were only a few machines. Once we broke away from the trail and started gaining elevation we followed a creek bed.

Sunrise over Tumalo Mountain

 We set up camp a few hundred feet below the unnamed butte (we are calling it caldera butte) and hiked up. Check out the map above and you can see the depth of the butte bowl. We hiked up the steep side to do some sled runs, but the other prize was the view!

Sunset over Mt. Bachelor from Butte

The crew en route back to the TH

The short film:

Hike Length: 4 miles Hike Duration: 2 days

Hike Configuration: out and back Blaze: mostly on Flagline Trail, some x-country

Start Elevation: 6,348 feet Highest Point: 7,145 feet Elevation Gain: 797 feet

Hike Rating: easy to moderate, some postholing in the snow, slick areas.

Trail Condition: On the trail, packed down by snowmobiles

Starting Point: Dutchman Flat 

Trail Traffic: a few snowmobiles around Dutchman Flat, no one else on Butte.

Access:  Oregon Snow Park pass required for TH parking. 

How to Get There:

From Bend, County Road 46 (Cascade Lakes Highway) about 20 miles to Dutchman Flat TH. 

Oregon PCT - Fall Hike

Red Wolf Pass to Wapinitia Pass

8 November 2013

Sparks Lake Canoe Camping-October 2013

Chilly fall days are a GREAT time to get out and camp. We headed to Sparks Lake in Central Oregon with the canoe to enjoy a weekend of solitude. 

To get there: From Bend, drive about 20 minutes on Cascade Lakes Highway, go past Mt. Bachelor and in a few miles you turn to Sparks Lake. Go to the boat launch. You'll need a NW Forest pass or pay for day use. Launch and paddle south. 

The east side of the lake seems less trampled. It is more rocky, but way more interesting with deep lava canyons, slot canyons to climb around, lava bridges, and more-a playground for anyone! 

 After setting camp we headed to Mt. Bachelor. An easy rolling trail to the base of the NW Chair. It was fun to see the ski area stripped of its winter blanket. We hiked up to some early season snow and then headed back to camp. With an easy pace we did the whole jaunt in about 4 hours. 

 Paddling the next day around the lake through freshly minted ice that crackled thru' our oars. The lake also has a drain in the middle of an inlet. You can paddle right up to the swirling water. 

See the film here: 

Snow Shelter

Building a snow shelter 
This is a short film showing the construction of a snow shelter. The trip was in the Oregon Cascade Mountains north of Santiam Pass just before Christmas. We hiked in for a few hours in deep snow and arrived at a small lake where we camped and built the quinzhee shown in the film below.

South Sister with Shane, Drake, & Nico

Climbing South Sister is a popular activity in Central Oregon...in the summer. Attempting a summit bid of the 10,358 foot peak in fall is less popular with weather that is less predictable.

Shane & Drake really wanted to give it a shot. We disembarked from Devil's Lake Trailhead and began the 4,900 foot, 5.5 mile climb to the summit.

Trailhead optimism

Our first goal was to get to Moraine Lake. With kids under 12 it's crucial to have the short term goals on a hike. We worked toward reaching each plateau, the next cliff, the knoll. They stay interested and excited.

The boys above Moraine Lake with Broken Top in the background

Comfy in the shelter @ Moraine Lake

The next morning with were greeted with a fall dusting of snow atop South Sister.

The frosty cupcake

We headed up for a day hike summit

The weather, particularly the wind was crazy. While we couldn't summit due to zero visibility and high winds, we did get to a 9,000 foot unnamed peak above Lewis Glacier. I am so proud of the boys for the great hike and adventure we shared.

See the short film of the trip:

Siouxon Creek Watershed (Washington)

A jaunt into the Siouxon Creek Watershed in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The first few days were with several humans and dogs. Bill and sweet folks from Portland made for an awesome time. Nico and I then went deeper into the wilderness and up Siouxon Peak for an overnight and outstanding vistas.

Trask Mountain-Yamhill County

Oregon 36 Project

Hiking the highest peaks in all of Oregon's 36 counties

#32-Yamhill County-NW Oregon-Trask Mountain-3,424 feet

Nico and I headed west of Portland...

John Muir Trail-Mammoth to Tuolumne Meadows (California) - Mountain Rescue

John Muir Trail - Mammoth to Tuolumne Meadows

This journey was a trip down to California to bag a reach of the John Muir Trail. Instead of hiking the trail in as little as 6 days as I've heard some people do, I have been climbing over the JMT passes for 6 years. Each year I have completed a reach of several dozen miles finding solitude at a slow moving clip.

Above Duck Lake

This year was originally a hike from Mammoth to the trail end at Yosemite National Park. However, as it always is in the backcountry, you need to stay flexible with your plans. Paul and I met Kastle (rhymes with Nestle) and John in Mammoth to begin the trek. 

John and Kastle mock the flow out of the Thousand Lakes basin.

JMT just north of Duck Pass.

Donahue Pass on the north side.

Chuck and Paul ham it up on the trail.

Chuck after a swim at Duck Lake.

Basin just north of Mt. Lyell.

Banner Peak at sunset

Snow north of Donahue Pass on August 7th!

Our pretty little hike took a scary turn. We were about 10 miles in from the nearest trailhead and we came across a young woman who was in a panic. She spoke a moderate amount of English and explained to us that her father was laying in a meadow and could not move. He was complaining of internal problems possibly related to surgery he'd recently had.

The woman had tried to get other hikers to stop and help, but no one would. She explained that even a pair of nurses had past by and she that he should just hike out. This guy was clearly NOT going anywhere when we found him. John, an experienced backcountry trip leader didn't hesitate. He took the role of first responder and for the next few hours we all jumped in. A CHP helicopter was called in to lift the man out of the backcountry and to the hospital.

The video below shows a short summary of the experience. We never learned what happened to the victim...

Warm Springs Reservation: Bears, Wild Horses, & more...

Wandering around the Warm Springs Reservation with the boys

Wild horses framed by 10,400+ Mt. Jefferson

Our journey began on the right of the map coming from Hwy 26. The original goal was to get the kids up to the highest point in Wasco County. 

Worth noting here is what comprises the Federated Tribes of Warm Springs. The tribe was formed in 1937 by the joining of three bands. The Wasco band lived along the Columbia River and were fishermen. Their location offered them the opportunity for great trade. The Paiutes were a high plains band existed more in southeast Oregon hunting big game. The Warm Springs band lived along the tributaries of the Columbia River building clever structures to catch salmon as they migrated over waterfalls. The bands all spoke different languages and had different ways of living.You could only imagine how difficult that must have been for them when the U.S. Government effectively forces them to all occupy the same space.

Back to the trip...

Skipping stones in Mill Creek at camp.

We drove in a long way from Hwy 26 with some cool vistas along the way. The road had some abandoned vehicles. 

We spun out of control and landed in a trench (ok not really)

Moments before the wild horses dashed in front of us.

After effectively being forced out of their way of living, the young tribe began getting into industry to make their lives more sustainable. Sometime after WWII and into the mid-60's a boom of timber occurred for the tribe. What is now called Old Mill Camp is littered with stories of that era. Everywhere you look in the ghost town, scattered over many acres, you'll find trucks, cables, structures, and various equipment representing the tribes' significant investment in the industry. This is where we camped.

Remnants of Old Mill Camp

Tree gutted for industrialized use.

Boys relaxing at camp

Floating Mill Creek.

Sunset over Mill Creek.

Day two found us improvising. A ton of bugs at Blue Lake meant that we were not going to try the scale Olallie Butte to the Wasco County High Point. We instead went to Lookout Butte where the views were great and the elevation gain was very manageable for young kids.

Chucky with Mt. Hood in background from Lookout Butte.

Mt. Hood from Lookout Butte.

Mt. Jefferson left & Olallie Butte right.

Olallie Butte from Lookout Butte.

Inside the shell of a once great fir tree.

Hike Configuration: Various jaunts from car, climb up Lookout Butte Blaze: all x-country

Start Elevation: 5,114 feet Elevation Gain: 207 feet

Hike Rating: Moderate, bushwhacking

Trail Condition: No trail

Starting Point: North side of Lookout Butte

Trail Traffic: Saw NO one else

Access: I did not check with tribe like I should have. I educated myself later for an expedition in 2013 of Olallie Butte . Passing through the reservation is okay, but camping is only allowed (with a fishing permit available from the tribe) at Trout Lake which is located on the southeast side of Olallie Butte. DO NOT camp anywhere else, it is a disrespectful gesture and I should have known better.

How to Get There:

Take Highway 26 from Warm Springs. Drive up out of the canyon and along the long, flat, and straight stretch. turn left at the sign for "Old Mill" "Blue Lake", County Line or Blue Lake Road. Follow that road as it heads west, then north. You can use the map above after that to investigate.