Sampling the hazards of driving mountain roads near Badger Creek Wilderness



Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams standing over the fog of the valley from Divide Trail

 

 It was fall and the Divide Trail in the Badger Creek Wilderness was my destination. As I drove to the trailhead, the sun appeared and began its daily climb in the sky. Cruising along road 4410, two does popped their heads out of a cluster of trees hugging the road. A mile further, two more does bounced out of a thicket and bounded directly toward the front of my pickup. While tapping my breaks, they quickly detoured and bounding parallel with the road as if they wanted to race me. It was another reminder of the need to remain vigilant while traveling the network of roads in these mountains.

 

Black Crater and spectacular views from a former lookout sight

North Sister (right) and Broken Top (left) from summit of Black Crater

Lookout sites that once and continue to sit atop mountains and buttes in Oregon needed some way for folks staffing them to get there. As a result, many of Oregon's trails that lead to high points deliver hikers to either existing or former lookout sites. Even where none are intact, the remnants of those lookouts often remain in the form of wooden floors, cement foundations and stairs, cables and wiring.

Three treks into Green Lakes - all with their own personality

The largest of the Green Lakes with Broken Top

One of the great hikes in Oregon delivers the scenery seeker to an area between Broken Top and South Sister. Here, water melt from snows and glaciers on the surrounding mountains gathers to create what are aptly named Green Lakes.

Easily accessible and loaded with outdoor discoveries - and some good fishing

Three Creeks Lake from top of  Tam MacArthur Rim

One of the most picturesque and easily accessible high lakes in Oregon lies in Central Oregon some 16 miles from the town of Sisters. It's name is Three Creeks Lake. What often differentiates lakes of any kind is not the lake itself but its surroundings. In this case, a 500 foot high cliff rises high above the lake's southern shore, providing a classic backdrop to the scene.

Is there any such thing as "the perfect vacation?" (Part 1)

Oregon's Waldo Lake from the South shoreline


I should have known before I left the house at the end of June my vacation was probably doomed. Making my final preparations to head out into the wilds of the Oregon Cascades, I locked my office door (a studio office located in my backyard) from the inside without knowing where the key was hiding. I searched high and low for that key inside my house, but it was nowhere to be found. Figuring it was locked in my desk drawer inside the office, I loaded my backpack and suit and a few other items and headed down the road. I knew a locksmith would have to visit my office before I would get in again.