For anyone looking for a great place to explore in Portland give Hoyt Arboretum a try. I took a hike in October to see the fall colors and it was spectacular. I took advantage of the public transportation system to get me to the park.

 

From the Max Station I walked up past the Vietnam Memorial and on up the Wildwood Trail. Since I was interested in the fall colors I decided to head over Larch Collection to see if they were in color. To get there I took the Holly Trail past the Visitors Center then down the Fir Trail. Along the way I saw many maples and other trees that were in their fall spectacular. Unfortunately the Larch weren’t, but it didn’t matter.

 

I headed down the Creek Trail. It was very pleasant and quickly I began to sink into the surroundings. It was hard to believe that I was actually in a large city. I returned via the Redwood Trail.

 

When I got back to the Visitors Center I decided that I had not been out long enough so I headed over to the Oak Collection, then over to see the Magnolias.

 

The trails are a bit confusing and some of the signs have been vandalized, so it is worth getting a map at the Visitors Center.   

A group of dedicated hikers, bicyclists and equestrians have been working for many years to make a trail that would start in Corvallis and end at the sea a reality. So far the group has put in over 10,000 working on this project.

Efforts like this involved a wide range of work, from scouting a reasonable trail location, negotiating with landowners to get permission to cross their land, work with Federal, State and Local governments to use their lands and eventually construct the trail.

 All of this can be painfully slow, although the end appears to be in sight.

 If you want more information on this trail the web link is: http://c2ctrail.googlepages.com/.

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Entry #18

This is my last post regarding my thoughts on Toby’s PCT adventure. As you will see he did achieve this incredible accomplishment.

I thought that the name Rainbow Falls was appropriate at this point. The weather had definitely changed, Toby and Dena were starting to get snow and the temperatures were falling. At the same time they were within a few days of the end of this adventure.

 

 

 

Toby and Dena had decided when they started the hike that they would do it with a strictly vegan diet and that they would avoid riding in any vehicles. This is the first time that they had been in a vehicle since they started the trip in May. It must have seemed strange to fly across the ground.

 

 

 

 

The colors were a sure indication of what lay ahead.

 

 

 

 

For me this is a haunting shot. I had to wonder what was going through Toby’s mind; this was to be the last day on the trail. As a parent I was excited that he had fulfilled this dream. After all if you don’t have dreams what do you have?

 

 

 

 

 

   

What a difference 2400 miles can make.

 

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I am not going to claim any real expertise in Forest Fires; rather I am going to provide my personal observations based on hiking through the B&B Fire in Oregon. I will also provide some insights I have gained from my hiking partner who does have academic experience with forests. 

I did a four day hike in 2008 through a portion of the B&B Fire that occurred in 2003. I was interested in seeing first hand what has happened in the 5 years. The B&B Fire in the area that we hiked had been a catastrophic crown fire. These sorts of fire are a natural occurrence in forests and dictate the basic cycle of the forest. Fortunately in our area the cycle is a couple hundred years long. 

When crown fires occur the fire spreads up into the crown or tops of the trees. I actually observed a crown fire years ago when I volunteered to be a fire fighter. Once the fire crowns and if there is a wind behind it, or a steep hill to burn up the fire rips along at very high speeds, raining down a shower of sparks and fire on the ground below.

  

 

 

In the area that we hiked it appeared that the level of intensity varied, and the amount of regrowth was directly impacted.

 

 

There were areas that for various reasons were spared from the fire. In the area that we hiked a mountain provide a screen so the area directly west of the fire was untouched even as the fire ran around both north and south flanks. We also found wet spots that provided enough protection to avoid complete devastation.

 

 

 

Many plants need the heat of the fire to kick off their cycle, so there is a consistent order to the regrowth.

 

 

 I was encouraged to see how much is beginning to grow back. There were areas where little trees were already a foot or more high. We hiked through a section of willows that were above head height.

  

So while forest fires are devastating, the renewal that occurs is amazing.

 

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Entry #17

 

 

 

At this point the race to the finish was on, Canada was within weeks and with each passing day so was winter.

 

 

Thinking back, as a parent of a hiker my thoughts had shifted to what an accomplishment, away from the concerns in the early days. In some ways this is a bit ironic as this section of the trail goes through some of the most rugged and remote sections. On top of this the weather was definitely beginning to change. It had been over a week since we had last heard from Toby.

 

 

 

 

 You might think that this is a snow covered tree, but it is actually a mushroom. Having studied mycology in school they were able to supplement their diet. This is an area that you don’t want to take a risk, being sick far away from civilization can be life threatening.

 

 

 

 

Aside from my typo, this is Needle Gap, the name is rather obvious. It is hard to believe that all of the PCTers pass through this narrow gap. This for me was a reminder that the Pacific Crest Trail is about this wide from Mexico to Canada and the hikers cover the 2400 miles one step at a time.

 

 

 Fall is in the air, the leaves are beginning to turn red. 

 

 These are spectacular mountains, and for the hikers they could no doubt see Canada and the finish for the trail.

 

 

 

What a neat spot for lunch. Even in late September shorts and T-shirts were in order. Those that think of the Pacific Northwest as the rain belt should come in the summer and fall.

  

Heavy rains and high water did major damage in the Glacier Peak area. Many of the bridges had been destroyed. This meant that the hikers had to improvise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is hard to fathom how many steps it has taken to get this far. The mountains in the ahead mark the final conclusion.

 

 

 

Even on the trail, Birthdays are a time for celebration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 4:

 

  

 Very appropriately, for our last morning on the trail we were treated to a real show as the sun began to light up Three Finger Jack.

 

 

  

The flowers were also in there glory.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

We hiked past Jack Lake, a popular trailhead. The camping spots were pretty bleak, the fire had taken a big toll on this area.

 

  

We hit Booth Lake mid-day and made this our lunch spot. With the warm weather and four days on the trail this became our hygiene stop as well. A quick swim really refreshed and invigorated us.

 

 

I found this tree to be a remarkable statement about forest fires. With all of the devastation, how could this one tree have survived?

 

 

 

The color of this Mountain Laurel was too spectacular to pass up.

 

 

Square Lake is a short distance from the Trail head and as a result there were several groups camped on the lake.

 

 

 

  I have included these last two photos as encouragement. Fires are a natural part of the circle of life of a forest. The next forest is already beginning to sprout.

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Day 3:

 

  

 

The weather was back to spectacular, the fog on the lake provided a nice morning.

 

  

 

Any guess on what the common name for this wildflower is? Take a look at the flowers, what do they look like?

 

 

 

 

When we went to bed the night before we had no idea that we had a view of Mt Jefferson.

 

 

 

It is sad to see the dead soldiers, if you look close though underbrush and new trees are already growing. We hiked through a section of willows that were over our heads.

 

  

 

I put this picture in to show the impact that people have. These meadows are very fragile so trails become permanent.

 

 

 

Nice shot of Three Finger Jack with Wasco Lake in the foreground.

We had thought that we might camp at Wasco Lake, but there was already a camp set there. Much of the area around the lake was burned and there was significant wind downs that eliminated many potential spots. We decided to check out the Canyon Creek Meadow area. Hiking into the area we were surprised by large numbers of day hikers, it is only a couple of easy miles from the Jack Lake Trailhead.

Our camp was on the edge of the meadow in another horse camp. The meadow in front of camp was really something. While pumping water at the creek I was mezmorized by the smell of the flowers and the colage of colors.

  

 

 

The wildflowers were really something. The white flower is called Cat’s ear.

  

 

We actually didn’t see a lot of mosquitoes, but with the moisture around our camp I decided to use my new bug shelter. It worked great, almost too spacious. I have a more detailed blog on this shelter if you want more information.

 

 

 

 

 

 We hiked up to the base of the east side of Three Finger Jack. The striations in the rocks were really pretty.

  

I had to add this shot of a patch of heather, the smell was heavenly.

 

  

 

 

While sitting by the campfire at night in came a group of deer, they were a bit surprised to see us there.

 

 

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Day 2:

 

  

On day 2 we got a big surprise, we awoke to drizzle. For those of you not from the Pacific Northwest what means is that the air is basically dripping water. The clouds were sitting on the tops of the trees.

 

  

The first task for the day was packing up, fortunately for some unknown reason we had made a last minute decision to put up the rain flys so most of the gear was dry. It still meant adding wet tents and tarps to our load.

 

Even with the dreary weather the country side was beautiful.

   

 

We even hit a few small patches of snow.

 As the day went on the weather began to clear. We began to run into more and more people, many had come up from Duffy Lake, only a few mile hike in from there.

 We decided to stop at the Eight Lake basin rather then cross Minto Pass in the bad weather. We lucked out and ran into a group of hikers that had spent the night in the area and they made a suggestion for a camp.

 

Jorn Lake, the largest lake in the area had several horse camps and a lot of action. We ended up camping on the Southwest edge of Bowerman Lake. Our afternoon was spent with a fire going getting our gear dried out, especially our shoes and socks.

 

By late in the afternoon the weather was clearing and we began to explore the area.

  

The fire had been especially intense in the area and so far not much had grown back.

 

 

 

 This photo is a grim reminder of how much damage the fire did.

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Forest Fires are a devastating event in forests, as you drive across the Santiam Pass you get up front and personal with the B&B Fire that burned in 2003. I had an interest in hiking in this area to see the status of the area five years after the fire so we selected a route that loops around Three Finger Jack.

•  Distance: 24 Miles
• Elevation: 4600 ft – 6400 ft

 Day 1:

 Prior to arriving at the Trail head you need to purchase a Forest Service Parking permit, there are none available at the trail head. You can get one by stopping by any Forest Service office, we happened to stop at the Sweet Home office which was right on the way. The permit costs $5.00 per day or $30.00 for an annual pass.

 

Our starting point was the Pacific Crest Trailhead on Highway 20 at the Santiam Pass. After getting a wilderness permit at the trail head we were off.

  

The first part of the trail followed the PCT before branching off onto Trail 3491. For a couple of miles we hiked through a section that was very devastated by the fire. One outcome of this is that the views, which would otherwise be hidden by the dense forest were now visible. These are views of Mt Washington and the Hoodoo Ski Area.

  

I was also interested to see how quickly the vegetation is growing back.

 

  

 We took a dog along on this trip, and quickly found that whenever there was water; Molly would stop to cool off. This did require that the only thing she could carry in her pack was things that could get wet.

 

 

We passed through many meadows, many of which had been snow patches and then marshes just weeks before. In this picture the transition from fire area to unburned area is beginning to show. 

 

 My hiking partner was my constant teacher, providing the names of wildflowers along the way. Of course I failed the course miserably, but I do enjoy the flowers. Each is unique and has its own special beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

Three Finger Jack was our constant companion. This shot is from the Southwest side of the mountain.

 

 

 The view from our first night’s camp at Lower Berley Lake. The Berley Lake basin is off of the trail and the access trails are not marked. We used the GSP to locate the lakes. There were trails off of the main trail that were marked with piles of rocks that provided the route into the basin. We spent an hour exploring the two main lakes before deciding to camp on the west end of Lower Berley Lake. The camp site had been used by horse campers so were rather well outfitted, although this one didn’t have the characteristic nails in the trees that we have found is typical of horse camps.

 

For an afternoon adventure we scambled up a near by craig hoping to find Craig Lake. As it turns out that lake was some distance away, but the view from the top was worth the climb.

This is a view to the south, with Mt Washington and the North Sister. 

Looking down at our campsite, it is in the trees at the edge of the lake.

 In the evening I decided to give fishing a try. As with many of the mountain lakes the fish are very willing. This lake was reasonable deep and water temperature was cold so the fish were in great shape. I quick caught and released six nice cutthroat trout.

 

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I added a new recipe to my camping food list. This is new in two respects, one is the Jambalaya and the other is using quinoa.

 Quinoa is a grain that is high in protein, has a nutty flavor and hydrates very easily. My son used this on the PCT, starting from dry grain and adding water.

 Jambalaya recipe (makes 3 or 4 servings):

•  1 ½ cups quinoa (rinsed and drained)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion (minced)
• 1 bell pepper (minced)
• 10 fresh mushrooms (minced)
• 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
• 15 ounces canned white beans (drained)
• 8 ounces fish – more on this later
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

 Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 ¾ cups water, bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender and translucent. Set this aside.

 Heat a fry pan over medium-low heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot add the onions, bell peppers and mushrooms and stir for 10 minutes.

 Stir in the tomatoes, beans, fish and herbs and bring to a boil, let in simmer for 5 minutes.

 At this point your kitchen should be filled with a heavenly smell.

 Add the quinoa to the mixture and blend.

 For my first attempt I used tuna for the fish. This didn’t work very well as the tuna didn’t seem to rehydrate well and although the taste was very nice it was extremely chewy. The original recipe called for deveined shrimp.

 Spread this mixture out onto dehydrator trays and dehydrate. I did it overnight on the plastic trays that hold moisture, and I had to flip the food over in the morning to fully dry it all.

This then goes into ziplock bags. On the trail I simply put the Jambalaya into my cook pot, added water to cover the food and brought it to a boil and simmered a couple of minutes, and then let it sit a few minutes to fully hydrate. The amount of water you add is something you need to experiment with, if you add too much you just end up with a bit of soup to finish off your meal with. I do stir the mix while heating to be sure that it doesn’t burn on the bottom.

Some recipes suggest adding boiling water to the ziplock bag. I don’t favor this approach as there is a significant amount of research out there about the potential for unwanted chemicals to leach out of the plastic into your food. For me clean up is a breeze, just a little water in the pot, a quick scrub with my no-see-um net scrubber and the pot is clean.