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I had plans this summer to tackle some trails and things in Oregon before I get to old and it's just unpossible. This summer is not happening, so I need to go hard next summer. I need to make sure I really hone in on the things I really want to do. So, here is my list:
* Hike the Oregon Coast Trail, in sections. I don't plan to do it all at once. I live here, I can take it in sections. It's 362 miles. I'd been thinking of tackling it a week at a time. I'd originally planned to do a section or two this summer, but that likely off the table for this year. This tops my list because it's the biggest challenge.
Hiking this will mean hitting a lot of state parks, wilderness areas, scenic corridors, a national recreation site and probably about a dozen other types of public land. Through hikers have camping rights that day hikers don't. There are lots of places to grab food and water so I don't need to carry a large supply of goods. I can also cheat and overnight at a cheap AB&B here and there. All the benefits of serious through-hiking but also lots of ways to make it kinda cushy. I have no pride, I will veer from the trail for a real bed and shower and not feel bad about it.
The more I think about this, the better of an idea it sounds. I am not great with the sleeping outdoors thing, but I'll deal.
* Go To Oregon's 'Secret Waterfall' - Abiqua Falls. Every time someone talks about a secret waterfall here it's always Abiqua. Over the years I've seen people ask 'hey, my buddy showed me a picture of some secret waterfall and I don't know anything about it or have the picture but ... any ideas?' The answer is always Abiqua. I've directed a lot of people to Abiqua but not been there myself. The reason it's 'secret' is that it's on private land. The owners allow people in, but there have been some serious falls there in the past few years. Someday soon letting hikers in may become more than their insurance can bear. I have a list of places in Oregon that I am worried are going to be gone or inaccessible within the nest few years and Abiqua tops that list, which is why it's #2 on this list.
Most of the ways you search for waterfalls in Oregon don't index Abiqua because they only show public land, which is why it's 'secret'.
* O. C. & E. Woods Trail Line - A lot of people take pictures of abandoned rail lines by breaking into the closed Salmonberry area. There are plans to open Salmonberry, but there are serious biohazards right now from old spills. I think I know the access points for sneaking into Salmonberry, but why bother when we have an abandoned rail line already turned into a public trail? I could hike that and not expose myself to lead!
* Terwilliger Hot Springs, and also some other hot springs - Terwilliger is fairly well known so going can be a bit dicey, especially for a solo traveler. But they look amazing. Oregon has a lot of amazing hot springs, and finding the locations can be hard. Even the locations on public lands can be obscured. A lot of springs have multiple names to confuse things. For some springs, if you post the location in the Oregon subreddit the post is nuked immediately. I joined a Hot Springs FB group but as soon as quarantine hit the group got flooded with people looking to find relatively unknown locations. Basically hundreds of people thought they'd be the only ones headed out to the springs and thought this was a chance to enjoy them solo. The group just shut down because the mods couldn't handle it all.
Timing it going to be key for this one. Timing and also accepting that no matter how much I stack the deck in my favor, I might go and find it filled with frat boys smoking.
* Something Something Cascade Range - This is a bit of a placeholder. I know there is amazing stuff in that range, but I am not familiar enough with it to know what I want to do. I just want to do some high altitude hiking up to a lake or something. I really feel like something on the south end of the range would be really my speed, I just need to figure out what.
* The Wallowas. I was supposed to go and hike there a few years ago, but my trip had to be cancelled last minute. This is down on the list because a lot of hikes there I'd like to do are outside my ability level right now. Even on my previous trip I was mostly planning on starting a few hikes and only doing about half the trail. Once I've walked the whole Oregon Coast, some of the hikes might be more possible.
And that is how the list currently stands. I may edit this in the future. I'd like to get back out to the John Day Fossil Beds and Malheur, but at least I've been and I don't feel as much of a time pressure with those. Though, of course anything could happen, Malheur being Malheur and all.
I also want to do the Banks-Vernonia Trail, but don't feel as much time pressure there.
* Hike the Oregon Coast Trail, in sections. I don't plan to do it all at once. I live here, I can take it in sections. It's 362 miles. I'd been thinking of tackling it a week at a time. I'd originally planned to do a section or two this summer, but that likely off the table for this year. This tops my list because it's the biggest challenge.
Hiking this will mean hitting a lot of state parks, wilderness areas, scenic corridors, a national recreation site and probably about a dozen other types of public land. Through hikers have camping rights that day hikers don't. There are lots of places to grab food and water so I don't need to carry a large supply of goods. I can also cheat and overnight at a cheap AB&B here and there. All the benefits of serious through-hiking but also lots of ways to make it kinda cushy. I have no pride, I will veer from the trail for a real bed and shower and not feel bad about it.
The more I think about this, the better of an idea it sounds. I am not great with the sleeping outdoors thing, but I'll deal.
* Go To Oregon's 'Secret Waterfall' - Abiqua Falls. Every time someone talks about a secret waterfall here it's always Abiqua. Over the years I've seen people ask 'hey, my buddy showed me a picture of some secret waterfall and I don't know anything about it or have the picture but ... any ideas?' The answer is always Abiqua. I've directed a lot of people to Abiqua but not been there myself. The reason it's 'secret' is that it's on private land. The owners allow people in, but there have been some serious falls there in the past few years. Someday soon letting hikers in may become more than their insurance can bear. I have a list of places in Oregon that I am worried are going to be gone or inaccessible within the nest few years and Abiqua tops that list, which is why it's #2 on this list.
Most of the ways you search for waterfalls in Oregon don't index Abiqua because they only show public land, which is why it's 'secret'.
* O. C. & E. Woods Trail Line - A lot of people take pictures of abandoned rail lines by breaking into the closed Salmonberry area. There are plans to open Salmonberry, but there are serious biohazards right now from old spills. I think I know the access points for sneaking into Salmonberry, but why bother when we have an abandoned rail line already turned into a public trail? I could hike that and not expose myself to lead!
* Terwilliger Hot Springs, and also some other hot springs - Terwilliger is fairly well known so going can be a bit dicey, especially for a solo traveler. But they look amazing. Oregon has a lot of amazing hot springs, and finding the locations can be hard. Even the locations on public lands can be obscured. A lot of springs have multiple names to confuse things. For some springs, if you post the location in the Oregon subreddit the post is nuked immediately. I joined a Hot Springs FB group but as soon as quarantine hit the group got flooded with people looking to find relatively unknown locations. Basically hundreds of people thought they'd be the only ones headed out to the springs and thought this was a chance to enjoy them solo. The group just shut down because the mods couldn't handle it all.
Timing it going to be key for this one. Timing and also accepting that no matter how much I stack the deck in my favor, I might go and find it filled with frat boys smoking.
* Something Something Cascade Range - This is a bit of a placeholder. I know there is amazing stuff in that range, but I am not familiar enough with it to know what I want to do. I just want to do some high altitude hiking up to a lake or something. I really feel like something on the south end of the range would be really my speed, I just need to figure out what.
* The Wallowas. I was supposed to go and hike there a few years ago, but my trip had to be cancelled last minute. This is down on the list because a lot of hikes there I'd like to do are outside my ability level right now. Even on my previous trip I was mostly planning on starting a few hikes and only doing about half the trail. Once I've walked the whole Oregon Coast, some of the hikes might be more possible.
And that is how the list currently stands. I may edit this in the future. I'd like to get back out to the John Day Fossil Beds and Malheur, but at least I've been and I don't feel as much of a time pressure with those. Though, of course anything could happen, Malheur being Malheur and all.
I also want to do the Banks-Vernonia Trail, but don't feel as much time pressure there.
