August 1, 2010.
I awoke several times during the night for some strange reason. It was fitting that I got up and at ‘em earlier than usual on this, the last day of my week-long adventure. There was one short hiking loop 2 miles up the road from where I was camped; this was [...]
July 31, 2010.
I awoke eager to begin another day of coastal exploration. My outdoor breakfast experience took me to the parking area at Cape Blanco, where I enjoyed another simple cup of granola and milk. The Cape was totally enshrouded in fog and the air was very cool. When I arrived there [...]
July 30, 2010.
I had pretty low expectations for this leg of the trip. Miles upon miles of dealing with miserable tourons, stopping at a billion little waysides, and choking on sopping wet air did not seem very appealing to me. I could not have been more wrong.
I drove straight from camp to Brookings, [...]
July 29, 2010.
After a quick foot soak in the very cold river, I packed up and made the non-interesting drive into Northern California. I stopped at the Madrona Day Use Area on Rt. 199 where I accessed yet another river, this one lined with blackberry bushes. About a handful were ripe enough to [...]
July 28, 2010.
I woke up this morning with an enormous blister on my knee from hiking with the crutch yesterday. Bummer. I couldn’t avoid using it today, since I’d need to transport my camp up the hill to the car. So in the process of packing up I popped it. I [...]
July 27, 2010.
This morning, I decided to make up for my lack of calories last night with a greasy small town breakfast. I stopped in the soon-to-be ghost town of Chiloquin and located the only place serving hot food. There were four middle-to old- aged, burly working men seated at the counter when [...]
July 26, 2010.
I got out of the tent at a lazy 8am. The mosquitoes had arranged themselves in a tactical formation around my tent so as to help me welcome in the new day. I hurried to break camp, stopping only to douse my bare skin with some insect repellent, which the bugs [...]
July 25, 2010.
Freedom.
I got in my car on a hot, beautiful Sunday afternoon and drove down I-5, music blaring, headed for the woods of Central Oregon. This part of the state is one of my favorite places; it is sculpted so clearly by volcanic activity, presents a constant stream of showstopping views and has [...]
February 13-14, 2010
Gumjuwac Saddle Tr to Gumjuwac Saddle, Lookout Mountain summit and back | ~10 miles
On a damp, winter morning, two intrepid hikers and I left my car at a chain-up area along rt. 25 and started up the endless switchbacks heading for Gumjuwac Saddle. I thought back to the last time I was up [...]
January 3, 2010.
The last time I came through the John Day National Monument I had just undergone knee surgery and could barely walk a quarter of a mile, so I didn’t get to do much sightseeing beyond what was outside the car window. I was really excited to get out onto all the scenic trails [...]