Wow! This first part of our hike, Lookout Mountain Loop is a keeper, featuring the most dramatic views in the shortest distance for the least effort. True to form, our arrival at the High Prairie trailhead was straight up noon. On the dot. That left less than six hours to get back to the car […]
This eight mile, scenic loop trail starts at Tumalo Falls, 14 miles southwest of Bend. The parking area was small and full when we arrived, but we found a spot along the road. From the number of cars coming and going, we got the impression that most of the people were there for the viewpoint […]
We headed to central Oregon to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather, intending to hike around Smith Rock State Park and then drive south to Tumalo State Park to camp overnight. Unfortunately, Smith Rock was packed full of people (an archeology event and lots of other like-minded hikers/climbers). To avoid the crowds, we thought we’d hike […]
Since both the school year and the rainy season started three weeks ago, our weekly hikes have been on hiatus. September set records for rainfall throughout much of Oregon. When the clouds cleared over Mount Hood in early October, we were surprised to see it completely blanketed in white. Saturday dawned bright and clear so […]
We’d hiked McIntyre Ridge trail three summers ago with our sweet little whippet, Willow, and have wanted to give it another try ever since. When we tried to reach the trail head in March we were stymied by too much snow so we hiked the Clackamas River Trail instead. We’d read about trouble with people […]
The Opal Creek Wilderness is the site of a former mining operation that dates to the 1850s, an hour east of Salem, Oregon. The Opal Creek Trailhead is 100 miles from our house, and several hikes depart from this point. To celebrate David’s birthday today, we hiked both Jawbone Flats and the Cedar Flats. Opal […]
We thought we’d switch it up from our recent Mt. Hood hikes so we focused on the Columbia River Gorge, settling on the Herman Creek Trail to Indian Point. The trailhead is a few miles east of Cascade Locks and, being relatively early on a Monday, parking was readily available. The trail immediately starts climbing […]
After camping overnight at Elk Meadows, we got an early start on the day and returned to the Hood River Meadows Trailhead where we ditched our packs. We thought we’d travel light to checkout the Umbrella Falls after not quite making it that far last week when we hiked from Timberline Lodge over to Mt. Hood […]
We thought we’d try an overnight on the mountain by starting at the Hood River Meadows Trailhead. Before departing, we each weighed our packs and came out pretty even at 27 pounds. In addition to our clothes, sleeping pad and bag and three liters of water, David hauled the tent and I carried the cook […]
After a donut run to Joes Donuts in Sandy to fuel up and a pit stop at the handsome new Zigzag Ranger District Office, we arrived at the Top Spur trail head at noon Monday. On the weekends, the parking spills out along the road for a long way in both directions, but today we […]
We vowed to get an early start for Sunday morning’s hike from Timberline Lodge. Which means 10-ish. Expecting the parking lot at Timberline Lodge to be sparsely populated at that hour, we were surprised to see it nearly as full as during a prime winter skiing day. Apparently for many, July 14 is also a […]
We had made plans to climb Mount Saint Helens in Washington and reserved climbing permits months ago. With the climb less than a week away, we double-checked our equipment and did more online research in preparation. Recent reports included words such as “ice ax”, “crampons”, “snow field” which really got our attention. We read that […]
The forecast for the Memorial Day weekend was nothing but rain so we headed to central Oregon for a spur-of-the-moment excuse for a meeting with David’s client, Kara Wilson Anglin of Wilson Ranches Retreat in Fossil. The bed and breakfast was full up, so she graciously offered us the use of an unfurnished house on […]
We’ve been hearing about the Dog Mountain hike for a few years (a friend of ours said “it’s the hardest thing she’s ever done”). And now that we’ve had a solid week of 80 degree May weather (unheard of in Oregon), we figured the spring wildflowers that this trail is known for would be spectacular. […]
Trail #791 – Salmon Butte Trail. We haven’t been up to the Salmon Butte trail since the winding mountain road leading to it was converted to trails-only in late 2010. That summer, Chris and nephew Tyler got part way up the trail when he got the itch to burn a few calories with his off-road […]
Today was a beautiful Spring day so we decided to head up to the Salmon River Trail for a hike. It’s an easy 30 minute drive to the trail head just south of Welches on Salmon River Road. We’ve been on this trail a few times, but never all the way out to the Goat […]
We headed up to Mt. Hood for some Valentine’s Day snowshoeing and were the first ones to arrive at the White River Junction Sno-park even though it was late morning. Dramatic clouds formed all around us, with patches of blue sky. The snow was un-tracked with two inches of fresh powder as we followed the river […]
Somewhat on the spur of a January moment, we made on online reservation at the Pickett Butte fire lookout in Southern Oregon. We’ve stayed at a couple of other Oregon fire lookouts, but this would be our first tower. As in 52 ladder-like steps up into the frosty winter air. After driving several hours, we […]
We began our hike at the Fish Creek Trailhead to get on the Clackamas River Trail which would take us to Pup Creek Falls. The trail roughly follows the south shore of the river for miles and miles. It’s a beautiful 7 mile out-and-back hike, with many opportunities for a swim in the warmer months. […]
We tried out our new Atlas snowshoes on the trail, but pretty quickly discovered that they were unnecessary for the conditions (packed snow, not slippery). The view was limited by the tree-lined road. Mt. Hood was visible from a meadow and again at the lake, but that’s about it. Met a handful of cross-country skiers […]
We arrived at Cape Lookout just before dark and checked in with the camp host. We had reserved the “Nestucca” Deluxe Cabin online a few days before, a steal at $56 a night. The path from the parking lot to the cabin was lined with small lights mounted on wooden posts. The cabin itself was […]
Portland’s been under an inversion this week with dull gray skies, very cold freezing fog and and high of 30 degrees if we’re lucky. So David and I decided to follow the sun and head to the coast where it was bright and sunny with temperatures in the 60s. We found brand new “deluxe cabins” […]
We’ve been looking for ways to get outside during the winter months here in Oregon. We don’t get much snow at our elevation (1000 feet). Instead it’s an unrelenting cold rain which isn’t much fun for hiking or cycling. But, we do have easy access to snow with Mount Hood basically in our back yard […]
This trail is one of our favorites because it’s only a couple of miles away from our house, and we rarely see other people during our monthly hikes. The footing is soft and well-maintained. This particular post documents our Christmas Eve hike down to the river. We follow the equestrian trail, which starts out at […]