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:

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...

Gearhart Mountain Wilderness

The Gearhart Wilderness is in South central Oregon about 60 miles east of Klamath Falls and about 30 miles north of the California border.

At 8,370 feet, it is low on the list of Oregon's highest peaks at #65, but one of the beautiful assets of this wilderness is its remoteness. While it's not far from the small Oregon city of Klamath Falls, the closest larger city is Reno, Nevada about 275 miles to the south. It's this isolation of this 35 square mile wilderness that makes Gearhart special.

Nico and I ventured from Central Oregon on a beautiful late fall weekend to spend three days in the wilderness. Coming south from Bend, we were able to catch a glimpse of the Oregon Outback, a section of the Great Sandy Desert of Southern Oregon.

Short film:

Broken Top

 

Summit of Broken Top

23 August 2008

 

Tumalo Creek

An attempt to approach Broken Top from Tumalo Falls in Central Oregon in late May. No success on that goal given 11 miles of snow packed trails, but a nice journey nonetheless.