Category: Backpacking

  • 20240810-12 PCT – Hwy 410 at Morse Creek to Arch Rock Spring

    20240810-12 PCT – Hwy 410 at Morse Creek to Arch Rock Spring

    Finally, time for a big hike! Driving thru Skate Creek to reach Hwy 123, I continued over Chinook Pass to Morse Creek, parking a very short distance up the USFS 1700-462 Rd, parking in a dispersed camping area. (It was quite a nice campsite, I would totally go back!). I always get on the road…

  • 20240609 Encounters with Iris tenax, & a Hike to Packwood Lake, GPNF

    20240609 Encounters with Iris tenax, & a Hike to Packwood Lake, GPNF

    Being eager for a backpacking trip, but not so eager to deal with the snow in the high country, I opted for a trip in to Packwood Lake, the long way. On my way in to the valley, I wanted to scope out a section of the “Packwood Trail” that connects Johnson Creek Rd (USFS…

  • 20231021 Klickitat Trail #7, GPNF

    20231021 Klickitat Trail #7, GPNF

    A last minute decision to spend the weekend hiking finds me heading for Packwood late Saturday morning. Turning off on USFS 20 Rd, I park at the Jackpot Lake trail head, enjoying the autumn colors on the way up the canyon. The road is in good shape, the potholes not so deep and numerous, large…

  • 20231003 Cispus to Panther Creek, GPNF

    20231003 Cispus to Panther Creek, GPNF

    Time for another Big Ass Hike, version 2023. This adventure takes me from the the Cispus River to Panther Creek, all in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, climbing into the Mt. Adams Wilderness, then following the Pacific Crest Trail southbound thru the Indian Heaven Wilderness, exiting above the Wind River Road at Panther Creek Campground,…

  • 20230916 Lost Hat Lake, GPNF

    20230916 Lost Hat Lake, GPNF

    I’ve long wanted to get up into this high country above Packwood, along the very top of the Coal Creek Mountain. I tried once before, but got turned back by snow. And the entire area has been closed d/t the wildfire last summer, until just this past week. So, up I go! I start out…

  • 20230703 Tongue Mountain Hike GPNF

    20230703 Tongue Mountain Hike GPNF

    I wanted to hike the long ridge, but the bugs drove me back down the mountain after I’d made only so far as Tongue Mountain. Bugs, and the realization I didn’t have enough water for the dozen or more miles to the next water. So I exited via the logging road and set up camp…

  • 20230617 Green Mountain Loop Hike GPNF

    20230617 Green Mountain Loop Hike GPNF

    After spending the weekend with Barry and Liam up at Orr Creek, I was reminded of a loop I’d been wanting to do for some time, having been turned back by snow on my last attempt a few years ago. So, I parked at the Green Mountain TH along the 5601 Rd, and set out…

  • 20220919-26 Big Ass Hike 2022

    20220919-26 Big Ass Hike 2022

    Vacation! I celebrated by taking a weekend to rest and prep, then I took a Big Ass Hike, then back home for another week to do some projects I had been wanted to finish. For my hike, I had Mike drop me off at outside of Packwood at Johnson Creek Road, around 5 PM Sunday…

  • 20220724-26 Potato Hill to Muddy Fork Cispus River MAW

    20220724-26 Potato Hill to Muddy Fork Cispus River MAW

    Heat wave!! Nothing to do but head for the mountains. Besides escaping the heat, I’ve new boots to field test, and flowers should be putting on a good show at elevation. My new Salewa ‘Crow’ hiking boots are a dream. Truly. Thank you Barry for helping me get those. I’m in love. I arrived at…

  • 20220504-6 Oregon Canyon WSA, ODT,

    20220504-6 Oregon Canyon WSA, ODT,

    My Oregon Desert Trail adventure continues, this time outside of McDermitt, NV, exploring the Oregon Canyon Wilderness Study Area. I parked along the Oregon Canyon Rd off Hwy 95, just north of McDermitt, hiked across the open desert to the edge of the Oregon Canyon Mountains, then climbed up and over a saddle into Oregon…