Oregon and California Road Trip

- Pacific Northwest - Summer 2000 -
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What a trip ! I had planned this trip since returning from the UK at the beginning of 2000. The key to any trip of this scale and cost is good planning. Do your research well and hopefully if you're a first time browser to my site you will find this informative.

We flew into Portland, Oregon and out of San Francisco, California two weeks later. We used American Airlines as our carrier and rented a car to do the driving. I found that National was the best rental company. They didn't charge a premium for dropping the car off at a different location. Their interactive site can be found at www.nationalcar.com and as a last point, their service was excellent.

Where did we go ?? Lots of places. Here is a breakdown of the highlights:

The Columbia River Gorge
Three Sisters Wilderness
John Day Fossil Beds
Crater Lake National Park
Redwood National Forest
Mount Lassen National Volcanic Monument

The Three Sisters Wilderness Possibly the main reason why I chose Oregon for our destination was the potential climb on South Sister. August 8th, 2000 is the day we made an attempt on the 10,357ft summit. I am not going to go into much depth about the climb... others have done that job for me. The best book I bought for the Central Oregon region is 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades by William L. Sullivan (ISBN: 0-9618152-1-3 for the exceptional price of $12.95). A map of the Three Sisters Wilderness is useful too - GeoGraphics produces these. When in Bend, go to the Alpenglow Cafe for breakfast.
Some important points are: 1. Get your trail pass before you head out along the Cascade Highway. We did this at the ranger station in Bend. You can't get them at the trailhead. 2. Give yourself plenty of time to climb the mountain. Don't forget that it is a mountain, it can and will kill you if you disrespect it. It took me eight and a half hours to bag the summit and return safely to the car. It was a five hour climb to reach the top. 3. The GPS measurements for the summit are N44⁰06.13 W121⁰46.08 4. The hardest part of the climb is the last 1800ft above and to the left of the Lewis Glacier... it is steep and extremely tiring. However, the views awarded at the top are rewarding and worth the effort. I left Ellie at the base of the Lewis Glacier which was an accomplishment for her. 5. The weather on our day was excellent. In fact, on the summit I could see all the way to Washington state !! 6. To ice axe or not to ice axe ??? The ridge running along the left hand side of the Lewis Glacier was clear of snow making it an easy slog. However, you take the precautions you feel fit your ability... I was willing to abandon the climb if there had been snow on the ridge. 7. Don't take the Lewis Glacier for granted... there are visible crevasses and it is larger than what it seems. Look at the "on the plateau" picture, the crescent shape near the summit is the Lewis Glacier. Doesn't look big does it !! Don't be bluffed... from the top looking down it is impressive. 8. WATER... make sure you have plenty of it !! We used two liters each and filtered more at Moraine Lake on the way down.	On the plateau above the initial slog On the Summit of South Sister Above the imposing Lewis Glacier Moraine Lake
	The Obsidian Tail is a must for the connoisseur of hiking trails. Limited to twenty permits per day, you would be wise to book in advance. We managed to book our permit several weeks ahead of our trip and it proved to be worthwhile. In the middle of the week seemed to be the best time to go with traffic on the trails less than the limited twenty. The first four and a half miles suck !! You begin to get a little disillusioned with the endless Ponderosa Pines... but, hang in there.
When you eventually reach the Jerry Lava Flow things pick up... the loop around Obsidian Falls is heavenly. Even in mid August the trails are filled with Lupine flowers and the streams run constantly with melt water leaving the glaciers high on North Sister's flanks. No picture can do this area justice.. it is a visual and smellarama. Sit down at every opportunity and take in your surroundings. Listen to the sounds of distant waterfalls and streams going about their seemingly endless task. Take your time on this one.... it is a uniquely fragile place. By the time you arrive back at the trailhead you will have hiked 12 miles of magnificent Oregon scenery. In adition, you will have achieved 1800ft of elevation gain. You may even look on life a little differently.

Crater Lake National Park Deepest lake in the United States at over 1900ft deep. Created from an active volcano thousands of years ago. It is the bluest water I have ever seen.... yes, even the Solway Firth !! There really isn't a great deal to see here accept the Rim Drive... too many tourists if you ask me.

	Redwood National Forest To get here take I-199... make sure you have no fruit and go easy on the gas... it is windy and (h)airy at times. We only spent a day in this area, we could have spent much longer. There are many hiking trails in the area. Use them !! Also take some time to walk along the coast, we didn't do this, but this is something I wish we had done.

Mount Lassen National Volcanic Monument Last erupting in the early 1900s, Mount Lassen is an easy climb from the car park at 8500ft. But, it can get extremely hot on the trail in the summer sun. Take water and stick to the path. The summit tops out at 10,457ft (N40⁰29.18 W121⁰30.18) and the best views are from the northern part of the crater. It took Ellie and me an hour to reach the summit. Avoid the crowds by departing for the top early in the morning.