Uncategorized

Northwoods Creek – Kevin talked both Keith and I into checking this drainage out. It turned out to be a fun day out. Could have used a bit more flow, but was nice to stay in the middle of the…

Did a nice trip up to Onion Peak, in the north Oregon’s coastal range. So much to explore in this area…so many rock formations hiding in the forest. Long hike in on private but accessible land, along a maze of…

French Dip – First Descent… Noticed this drainage two weeks prior while exploring Martin Buttes Falls. It had a bit more water flow when we saw it then, but it had more snow melt above it too. We still had…

Up to Whetstone Mountain, down to Battle Ax Creek, into Jawbone Flats, and back to the trailhead… 9-hour car to car which included a nice hour soaking in the sun at the summit of Whetstone Mtn (4990’). We encountered snow…

I’ve seen this falls before from a distance, walked into the base of it years ago, then saw it with lots of spring flow from Dome Rock a week ago. This past Saturday we decided to explore the possibilities of…

Dome Rock from Hwy 22…nice Sunday hike with Deb. Consistent snow started at about 3800’ (at the springs). Very consolidated so no need for snowshoes or micro spikes. Perfect for kicking straight up to the summit. Spent almost 2-hours at…

Been looking at these small tributaries off Sevenmile Creek for a few months now. It took a couple of recon trips to figure out the road system, since the whole area is private timber land, but to my surprise there…

Whetstone Mountain via the Santiam side. Another great Winter conditioner, especially this Winter with the lack of snow. I carried snowshoes just in case there was enough snow. I really didn’t need them until I got close to the summit…

Sunday I picked a hike that would get me some elevation…fast. Tagging the summit of Sardine Mountain from Hwy 22 using the Whitman Creek trail did just that. Great day for a hike. Snowshoes went on at about 4200’. After…

Took a break from thrashing canyons to get some elevation. Saturday looked mostly dry so I did a good hike up to both Nasty Rocks. A good conditioner that passes below the Chemeketan Nasty Rock, and then on to the…

I’ve been looking at the falls on Bad Banks Creek for a few weeks. I’ve seen them on Google Earth but never up close. I knew there was at least two falls over 150’ tall. The toughest part of the…

Table Rock, always a good standby hike. Today only saw three others. One walking his dog near the trailhead and two others turning around at the boulder field. It was nice to make the only tracks in the snow past…

Smith Creek (AKA…move along, nothing to see here creek). I think Kevin and I dropped Smith Creek so nobody else had too  Drawn to Smith creek by the way it looked on Google Earth, very deep and narrow. We…

I thought I found a viable creek to drop, mentioned it to Keith…his response was “that’s Donkey Creek!” Turns out he and a few others first descended this creek back in January. He named it after the old Steam Donkey…

Sandstone Creek, middle fork. 7-raps, 6-falls… The approach was a bit thrashy, but once off the ridge it was a nice descent through the old growth with some nice Cedar stands. The rappelling started with a short “down & dirty”…

I’ve done this tour many times. Today was a perfect day for it…sunny and clear. Forgot my camera, so these are phone pics. I decided to put this Grand Tour in text, so if you want to see it all,…

Mayflower Creek, on a very rainy day… Before the snow falls and closes the upper access road, we decided to explore this drainage from the top down…as most canyoneer’s do. The top was a bit thrashy with the low flow…

Rabbit Ears…this one’s been on my list for a while. It was fun getting it done. The approach was a bit thrashy once we left the trail, loose and steep at the base of the rock. The climb itself was…

Explored the Hellroaring group of rock on Sunday. Fantastic place for scrambling rock…when it’s dry. Beautiful stand of old-growth Ponderosa near and at the top.

After a good night’s sleep in the Hotel Prairie City, we headed up the Strawberry Mountain trailhead. Our original plan was to tag the summit then go off trail and explore the ridge with Indian Spring Butte and Rabbit Ears…but…