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Straight Creek… Kevin has had his eye on this short section of Straight Creek for a while now. Deb and I joined him on this fun explore. The forecast had a slight chance of drizzle in the morning, turning to…

Bear Butte… Since the first time seeing this formation in 2011, I’ve wanted to go and explore. After one failed attempt, I thought I’d give it another try. In 2018 I attempted to reach Bear Butte from the east, via…

Point 6762…Mount Washington Wilderness I’ve been eyeing this peak for a few years now, and finally found an opportunity to go and explore. I was hoping that there’d be a scramble route to the top, but no, looks like we’ll…

Pueblo Mountain… Pueblo Mountain has always seemed like a big undertaking since I noticed it on my first trip to the Alvord Desert. Since then, we notice it every time we tag Alvord Peak. From there the view of Pueblo…

West Fork North Fork Salmonberry Creek Canyoneer… Definitely a pay to play creek, but totally worth it. Starts with a ford across the North Fork Salmonberry River, then a quick 800’ climb to an abandoned road bed, a thrashy whack…

Skookum Canyon Canyoneer… Fun rappels in a beautiful area. It was nice to get back to the east side. Sunny, dry, Pines and Oaks… Nice wide-open approach led us to a short descent down to the first rap. At first,…

1969 Mustang Mach I…Before and after restoration. My in-laws (Deb’s mom and dad) own this really cool car, a ’69 Mustang Mach I. The car sat idle, covered up in a barn, for about 40-years. In July of 2017, they…

Grassy Lake Island Rock… Another awesome exploration day in this pretty cool area, if you like big rocks. Today my plan was to hike into the area from a new approach, to Grassy Lake, then on my way back explore…

Clatsop Towers… It’s what I’ve named these towering rocks that I’ve found well inside the gates of Weyerhaeuser. Sunday, I made my second trip into the Clatsop Towers. Exploring only one small area, I counted numerous tall rocks/pinnacles…a few of…

Black Butte – Clatsop… A very cool area. I’ve been wanting to come here for a while now. Ever since spotting it from the summit of Onion Peak. This area doesn’t see much recreation as it’s owned by the timer…

Jackass Creek… First cousin to Donkey Creek (few small drainages NE of Jackass). Was surprised at the amount of water this drainage had considering its small watershed. Just like most in this area, Jackass was a thrashy drop. We probably…

Badlands south… We looked for a dry area within striking distance from our cabin in Detroit and came up with The Badlands, SE of Bend. Several weekends ago we explored the North side of The Badlands…this time we explored the…

Mojave Desert Road trip… Our escape from the Christmas holiday was a road trip to the Mojave National Preserve by way of Death Valley. Day one and two…drive from Portland to Lone Pine. On our drive we stopped in at…

Rainbow Canyon… 12/25/20 Approach…Parked off Hwy 190 then went cross-country to the head of the canyon (Santa Rosa Wash). At the head of the canyon there’s a 20’ drop that is easily down-climbed (DCL). Rap 1…90’ We anchored off big…

Old Dad Mountain… Old Dad Mountain is inside the Mojave National Preserve on the west side or the Preserve. After checking out other summits we settled on Old Dad Mtn because the wind wasn’t as bad as other areas of…

Kings Elk Loop… First time clockwise. Coming down off Elk wasn’t as bad as we thought. Wet and cold start soon transitioned into icy and cold, then a winter wonderland up top. Saw lots of people, including the Viking on…

Angora Grand Tour… I haven’t been up to Angora for a while so it was good to get back. Not much has changed other than all the logging on the surrounding hills. We tagged Angora Pinnacle, circumnavigated Little Angora, tagged…

Badlands (north)… First time in the Badlands. Fun place to wander and explore nooks and crannies. We started at the Tumulus trailhead and headed out on the Tumulus Trail for a few miles. We then went off-trail to explore the…

Dome Rock… Another trip into the fire ravaged forest. Snow, blue sky, and blackened trees…quite the contrast. We hit snow at about 2000’, and put our snowshoes on at about 3200’, near the springs. Once we got to the base…

Onion Peak… Always a good Fall / Winter hike in the Oregon coast range. With 13-miles of timber company road and a mile of thrashy, rarely use route to the summit of Onion peak, this is definitely a pay-to-play day…