Not a good summer for hiking in Oregon This summer has been really bad for any hiking and backpacking trips here in Southern Oregon. It has been pretty bad in most of the Pacific North West actually. The wild fires around here have gotten really out of hand. As you can see in picture below the air quality in Oregon is horrible right now. Its been one the worst fires seasons I can remember. The smoke stretches from northern California to Northern Oregon all along interstate 5. I cant imagine what its like being a fire fighter this year. That has got to be a crazy hard job! I know I’d last about two minutes out there before having to be hauled out on a stretcher. Link to current fires https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Fire/pages/FireStats.aspx Hopefully we will get some rain soon and get some relive from this craziness! THANKS TO ALL THE FIRE FIGHTERS!!! Firefighting Resources
Stetson Mesh Covered Safari Hat Got this hat in May 2017 from Zappos and love it. Its a great sun hat with a quality build. Being an old dude with thinning hair I just can’t take direct sunlight on my melon any more. I’ve worn this hat on every hike, walk and backpacking trip scene I got it. It does a great job of keeping my head nice and cool. Pros: Great for keeping head cool and protected from sun Quality build Fits large head well Cons: Would be nice if chin strap was removable Not sold in any local stores in my area
Leki Micro Vario Ti COR-TEC Trekking Poles I bought a pair of these poles from REI in April of 2018. I use them pretty much every time I go hiking. Before I bought them I had never used trekking poles and honestly thought they were only for cross country skiers or people with bad knees. I would see perfectly healthy looking people using them on short easy trails and kinda laugh to myself. Then when I started hiking with an old friend of mine and he said I should get some I decided to give them a try and I’ll never go without them again. Trekking poles are a must have in my opinion. If your joints are getting old and hurt you even on short hikes they will help for sure. They are also great for helping you delay joint issues if your lucky enough to not already suffer from them. Pros: Super light..
Cold Springs Trail Fremont-Winema National Forest Oregon Took a short day hike through part of the Sky Lakes Wilderness in southern Oregon this morning. This is one of the better hiking/backpacking areas available in southern Oregon. It has several small medium and large lakes throughout. The lakes are said to have the purest water in the world. This was only my second trip into the area. I took an overnight trip into the are via Cherry Creek Trail a few weeks ago with a friend. We camped at Margurette Lake. I plan on hiking all of the Sky Lakes Wilderness are over the next few years. I didn’t have a lot of time today so all I could do was a short early morning hike. This was a very good choice for that. At approximately 8 miles depending on what route you take, this loop is great for a quick and easy hike. You could easily make ..
Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack Review I’ve been using the Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack for about 6 months now. I primarily got it to carry water and a second layer of clothing. I bought it from my local REI store. I’ve taken it on several day hikes around southern Oregon. It has lots of great features and I’m really happy with it. I got the black one but it does come in a few different colors. I also ended up buying a 2.5 liter Osprey water bladder for it. This pack works very well for day hiking in both cold and hot weather. Plenty of room for extra clothing, a rain jacket, first aid kit, lunch and other items. Pros: Great fit with good venting on back to keep you from getting super sweaty Lots of storage room with several pockets Durable quality build from Osprey Many color options Cons: Not easy to get..
Oldie but a goodie Reading ” The Complete Walker IV” by Colin Fletcher and Chip Rawlins. All kinds of great information in this baby!
Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit Just finished listening to Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit. This book isn’t bad but its more about social activism, feminism and European history in my opinion. The author doesn’t spend nearly enough time on actual walking history. Maybe I was hoping for stories about epic long distance treks and was just disappointed that there isn’t any in this book. If you’re looking for stories about long distance travel on foot then this isn’t for you. Wanderlust: A History of Walking
Cherry Creek Hike Hiked this trail summer of 2018 and camped at Margurette Lake in the Sky Lakes Wilderness . Trail had a lot of fallen trees and overgrowth but was still very enjoyable. alltrails-cherry-creek-oregon