William Sullivan slideshow

Jefferson Park, September 2009

Today I saw a captivating slideshow by William Sullivan, based on his book “Oregon Favorites”.  (Sullivan is best known for his “100 Hikes” series of trail guides, which are really excellent.)  Sullivan has a busy year-round lecture schedule.  Today’s slideshow featured one favorite place in Oregon for each month of the year, with an emphasis on places that are rarely visited.  Here is the list. . .

March – The Mulino Flour Mill is not a wilderness hike, but the water-powered flour mill still functions and is interesting the visit.

April – The Badlands loop, in the Oregon Badlands Wilderness near Bend, OR

May –  Cape Horn in the Columbia River Gorge

June – The Scout Camp Trail, near Crooked River Ranch, OR

July – Visit the Wallowa Mountains, near Joseph, OR.  Avoid the crowded trails, and visit McCully Basin.

August – Pinnacle Ridge on the NE side of Mount Hood.

September – Jefferson Park

October – Sisters Rocks, on the Oregon coast between Port Orford and Gold Beach

November – Eight Dollar Mountain along the Illinois River.

December – rent a fire lookout tower.  Sullivan recommends Warner Mountain.

January – visit Fort Hoskins Historic Park

February – ski around Broken Top, using the pass/notch near Iceberg Lake

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Volcanos, glaciers, and beaches

Yesterday we enjoyed a long tour around Oregon and Washington; we hiked to Spirit Lake beneath Mount Saint Helens, and then drove to Cannon Beach to watch sunset.

You can check-out my Flickr set here.

notes on Henline Falls

This weekend, I took a short trip to Henline Falls (hike #5 in William Sullivan’s “100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades”). The hike itself is super short (less than a mile); the real attractions are Henline Falls (over 100 feet tall) and the abandoned Henline mine. The mine is safe for exploration; we ventured inside about a 1/4 mile before turning around. You can view my Flickr media here.

Here are obscure notes for the future:

• The driving directions in Sullivan’s book are slightly confusing.  After driving 15 miles on Little North Fork Road, you’ll see a spur road on the left (tip: it forms a T-intersection with Little North Fork Road).  DON’T TAKE THIS SPUR ROAD.  Instead, keep driving forward.  The junction for road 2209 is further ahead; it’s a well-marked Y-intersection.
• Sullivan is correct when he says the entrance to the mine is “just to the right of the waterfall’s misty base.”  In fact, you can’t see the mine entrance until you’re practically next to the waterfall.
• The mine seems to be safe for exploring, albeit a little spooky.  Headlamps are a necessity!

pyramids and temples

During my recent visit to the Teotihucan archaeological site, I overhead an English-speaking girl say to her boyfriend, “It’s awesome that Mexico has so many pyramids and temples. . . The U.S. doesn’t have anything like this at all.”

In a literal sense, the girl was correct: the indigenous peoples of the continental United States aren’t known for building massively tall temples.  On the other hand, the U.S. is ripe with natural temples.  In no particular order, here are three of my favorite:

1. Mount San Jacinto in southern California. Mount S.J. looms over the dessicated San Gorgonio Desert, and is one of the few places to simultaneously view the Pacific Ocean and the state of Nevada.

2. Spencer’s Butte in Eugene, Oregon. 

3. Sourdough Mountain in the North Cascades National Park.