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Super highly recommend. Full disclosure though, I haven't specifically checked out his NW OR book - because of where I live I own the central OR cascades book and the coast book. Both are excellent and I'm sure the rest of the series are too.
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Apr 4, 2023 20:24
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Beezus posted:I'm on the hunt for a trail to backpack within one hour of Portland (either in Oregon or Washington). Trying to plan my first summer overnight since having a baby last May. If you're willing to stretch the drive closer to 2 hours you also open up a lot more (eg Indian Heaven Wilderness and Roaring River Wilderness, or stuff near Helens like Toutle Trail past Blue Lake). Although those in particular may still have snow in June. Indian Heaven and Roaring River in particular will be busy during nice weekends (everything is now, really). If you can swing starting pre-weekend you'll probably make your odds of getting a good site better. Edit: You're now legally obligated to post a trip report for us to live vicariously through. I am especially interested as a fellow recently-new-parent who is also itching to get back to backpacking. incogneato fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Apr 4, 2023 |
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Apr 4, 2023 22:18
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You can totally backpack with young kids / babies. Just do some car camping and some hiking, separately, before you combine the two, and you will figure out what works and what you need. I just snagged a permit this morning for Green Lake in the Three Sisters wilderness in September - this will be our first backpacking trip with TWO kids, a 4yo and a 9mo (when we do the trip)
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Apr 4, 2023 22:31
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alnilam posted:You can totally backpack with young kids / babies. Just do some car camping and some hiking, separately, before you combine the two, and you will figure out what works and what you need. Oh yeah, we've already done lots of hiking (and snowshoeing) and some car camping since the kid arrived a little over a year ago. It's more a matter of finding time and just doing it. We weren't particularly good at getting out for overnights pre kids either, to be honest.
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Apr 4, 2023 23:48
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incogneato posted:If you're willing to stretch the drive closer to 2 hours you also open up a lot more (eg Indian Heaven Wilderness and Roaring River Wilderness, or stuff near Helens like Toutle Trail past Blue Lake). Although those in particular may still have snow in June. I've heard there are some amazing trails to backpack in the Indian Heaven Wilderness but I haven't made it out there yet. I'd do two hours but the friends I'm hiking with would just prefer to go somewhere a little closer in this time. We all drove like 3 hours two years ago to backpack in the Three Sisters Wilderness which convinced me I need to drive further for my favorite types of trips. We're planning on taking time off work to do this mid-week so that will hopefully help with crowds. If we can pull this together, I promise to post a trip report here. alnilam posted:You can totally backpack with young kids / babies. Just do some car camping and some hiking, separately, before you combine the two, and you will figure out what works and what you need. Husband and I are preparing to give car camping with the kiddo a go early summer as a separate trip. I really want to try this but am a little nervous that it'll just be a complete disaster. Won't know until we try though.
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Apr 5, 2023 17:17
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This summer we're gonna take our two year old on their first camping trip to the mountains ~45 minutes away. Looking forward to the fun and horrors that await.
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Apr 5, 2023 17:30
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Good luck! We started camping with our first kid at 6 months old so I don't have advice for first ever camping trip with a toddler. But if you already spend decent amounts of time outdoors with the kid, most likely the only real difficulty (if any) will be sleeping, as it will be the only entirely new thing. And possibly bathroom. Also recommend getting the kid their own lil headlamp or lantern to make it fun 
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Apr 5, 2023 18:06
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My parents always made sure to bring a pail full of toys like trucks and dolls along with a hand shovel. We'd make little towns and if there was a creek a dam would always come into play at some point. Worked a treat on my sisters and I.
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Apr 5, 2023 18:40
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For anything related to hiking in Washington: Washington Trails Association
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Apr 6, 2023 02:53
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Today on a hike I came across a spooky1800s graveyard where most of the headstones were just rocks stuck into the ground.
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Apr 7, 2023 02:57
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What spooks me is when bushwacking in a national forest and coming across a shelter.. usually deadfall stacked in a tipi shape around a tree trunk. But I've seen some lean-tos too. Almost certainly a result of some kids running off and messing around but it's still weird to encounter when I'm feeling like I'm covering terrain that no one has ever visited.
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Apr 7, 2023 03:10
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xzzy posted:What spooks me is when bushwacking in a national forest and coming across a shelter.. usually deadfall stacked in a tipi shape around a tree trunk. But I've seen some lean-tos too. There's weird stuff in the national forests https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/snoqualmie-national-forest-tree-house-contained-child-porn/
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Apr 7, 2023 03:34
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gohuskies posted:There's weird stuff in the national forests https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/snoqualmie-national-forest-tree-house-contained-child-porn/ Well that's lovely, I booked a site at the campground at the end of that road earlier today. (gonna visit a waterfall that's back in there that has a shot up vintage car along the trail, I think most call it al capone's car)
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Apr 7, 2023 03:39
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gohuskies posted:There's weird stuff in the national forests https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/snoqualmie-national-forest-tree-house-contained-child-porn/ Funny how I read the first three words of your post and knew exactly what you're referring to.
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Apr 7, 2023 03:40
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xzzy posted:Well that's lovely, I booked a site at the campground at the end of that road earlier today. The Middle Fork Snoqualmie is 10000000 times more normal since they paved the road. There used to be way more meth labs, illegal gun ranges, etc, up there. I think it's quite safe now - that's just one crazy story,
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Apr 7, 2023 06:22
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Coming across old early 1900s gold mining shacks and equipment was one of my favorite parts of living and hiking in Alaska. The weirdest was a shack that appeared to be completely abandoned in the 70s (based on the appearance of the pantry) but had local newspapers going back the last most recent year.
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Apr 7, 2023 14:40
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Borscht posted:Today on a hike I came across a spooky1800s graveyard where most of the headstones were just rocks stuck into the ground. I found a graveyard in Mammoth Cave NP from the late 1800s. There was one family that was incredibly cursed (as in six dead kids in the same year).
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Apr 10, 2023 03:44
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I went with three other friends and backpacked down at Red River Gorge (Kentucky) this past weekend and it was glorious. The second or third trip I have done where the weather was perfect and no rain (Dolly Sods, please hear me out and stop raining so much). I really don't want to be back at work this week.
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Apr 12, 2023 16:49
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I get four days of camping in Carmanah Provincial Park next month and I am way too hyped for it. Obsessively scouring google maps and hiking resources deciding where to explore. Definitely ready for summer adventures and this should be a great kickoff.
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Apr 12, 2023 16:54
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mAlfunkti0n posted:I went with three other friends and backpacked down at Red River Gorge (Kentucky) this past weekend and it was glorious. The second or third trip I have done where the weather was perfect and no rain (Dolly Sods, please hear me out and stop raining so much). RRG is one of the most interesting places I've been in the eastern US. It really deserves national park status.
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Apr 12, 2023 17:10
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Fitzy Fitz posted:RRG is one of the most interesting places I've been in the eastern US. It really deserves national park status. It is amazing. I live about 2 hours from it and really do not spend enough time there. We spent one of the nights in the Clift Wilderness and the next night near Indian Staircase close to the Sheltowee Trace trail. The Indian Staircase scramble is one of my favorites, it looks terrifying the first time you do it and the views are stunning. We are now planning a trip to the Grayson Highlands for fall, but I will be heading back to RRG before then to at least hike for the day. I might take my bike down and spend a day on the roads.
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Apr 12, 2023 17:14
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mAlfunkti0n posted:It is amazing. I live about 2 hours from it and really do not spend enough time there. We spent one of the nights in the Clift Wilderness and the next night near Indian Staircase close to the Sheltowee Trace trail. The Indian Staircase scramble is one of my favorites, it looks terrifying the first time you do it and the views are stunning. I have to go back, because we didn't even make it to any of these spots. We did run into a guy who partied there in the '80s, I think, whose friend fell off an arch. The views were stunning in the fall though -- great leaves. Grayson Highlands is another spot that doesn't feel like its designation is worthy of the site.
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Apr 12, 2023 17:23
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I have to go back, because we didn't even make it to any of these spots. We did run into a guy who partied there in the '80s, I think, whose friend fell off an arch. The views were stunning in the fall though -- great leaves. Man I cannot imagine falling off something like that, my butt clinches so tight even getting near the edge. Yet ... I want to repel with some buddies down there.
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Apr 12, 2023 17:43
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He was drunk and sleeping in a hammock, and they think he got up to pee in the night and stumbled off.
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Apr 12, 2023 17:56
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Even just driving through that part of the country is a good time. I had to do Chicago to Raleigh once upon a time and took the straightest route possible through Kentucky, which took me along the road that goes past that gorge. One of the prettiest drives I've ever done, especially once sunset hit.
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Apr 12, 2023 21:50
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xzzy posted:I get four days of camping in Carmanah Provincial Park next month and I am way too hyped for it. Obsessively scouring google maps and hiking resources deciding where to explore. I assume this is the one on Vancouver Island, if so top location, easy hiking unbelievable scenery. It is kind of a depressing place though, you spend hour driving through clear cuts then you see impossibly large trees that you can't really compute then realize those trees should have been everywhere. Make sure you are prepared for the road, I have not been out there for a few years but it can be a rough time depending on if there is active logging, I would suggest having at least 1 full size spare tire! I have been out there a few times if you have any specific questions. 
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Apr 14, 2023 08:39
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Yeah, on Vancouver island. I'll have a local with me so hopefully that keeps me out of trouble. And the logging is why I want to see it now. While this particular section might survive because it's already been set as a preserve there's lots of other old growth in the region that is unprotected and BC doesn't really seem to give a poo poo about it (because logging jobs are more important). And even without logging it feels to me that climate change is going to start killing these trees so I'm trying to prioritize visiting old growth stands along the pacific coast before they're gone. But even if I'm completely wrong and they live for another thousand years it's still a worthy trip. If you got GPS of photogenic trees that aren't on the popular list already that would be nice. Like, say, the mossome grove. 
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Apr 14, 2023 16:32
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xzzy posted:Yeah, on Vancouver island. I'll have a local with me so hopefully that keeps me out of trouble. I have some GPS tracks but I think they are all just the common stuff. If you are going to the main trailhead not too far before you get to the park you cross over what looks to be a very small bridge (and it is) but it is over a crazy deep canyon. I think it is looper canyon which is worth a stop to look at.
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Apr 14, 2023 17:09
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Man is it ever heartbreaking how BC is intent on destroying the last few places untouched by humans. I'm not even against harvesting trees in general but there is so little old growth left we should really be preserving it imo.
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Apr 14, 2023 20:32
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100% agree. A couple years ago I hiked the porcupine mountains in the UP of Michigan, one of the only large old growth forest left in the state. It was crazy how much different and bigger the trees there are compared to the rest of the UP. WoodrowSkillson fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Apr 14, 2023 |
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Apr 14, 2023 20:47
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Old growth forests are something special, yeah The forestry industry has gotten pretty good at continually harvesting and replanting secondary/tertiary growth forests and making it pretty sustainable (in the classical sense of the word), and it's fine, on those lands the damage has been done so go for it, just leave what little old growth we still have alone!!
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Apr 14, 2023 20:51
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yeah, forests being a renewable resource is key to actual sustainability, but leave the old growth alone. we don't need ship masts anymore dammit
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Apr 14, 2023 21:03
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WoodrowSkillson posted:100% agree. A couple years ago I hiked the porcupine mountains in the UP of Michigan, one of the only large old growth forest left in the state. It was crazy how much different and bigger the trees there are compared to the rest of the UP. If you're ever around Ashland over in Wisconsin, check out the Sugarbush SNA. It's not particularly pristine because it's sharing land with a cross country skiing / bike park but there is a pretty good stand of ancient oaks back in there, near the "cabin". There's free access from a road on the west side, the Wisconsin state website for it tells you how to get there. By far the biggest trees I'd come across in Wisconsin with a really dense canopy. Was amazingly dark and spooky in there. I really enjoyed the Sylvania wilderness too, the trees aren't notably large but they have a massive section of hemlocks that have never been harvested. Super chill place to explore off trail because there isn't much understory.
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Apr 14, 2023 21:10
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speaking of old growth, are there any great spots in the greater western washington to see gigantic trees? my favorite spot in the past, grove of the patriarchs, has been closed for 2+ years now because the bridge got washed out back in 2021. I've got family visiting in a couple of weeks and I want to blow their minds
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Apr 15, 2023 01:00
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Bloody posted:speaking of old growth, are there any great spots in the greater western washington to see gigantic trees? my favorite spot in the past, grove of the patriarchs, has been closed for 2+ years now because the bridge got washed out back in 2021. I've got family visiting in a couple of weeks and I want to blow their minds is that the same place as the grove of the ancients/ancient grove in the sol duc valley?
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Apr 15, 2023 01:00
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nope, it's at mount rainier, looks like that's out in the olympics?
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Apr 15, 2023 01:26
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I don't know of any huge trees but I was browsing this guy's page the other day and he lists a fair number of old growth options around the cascades there's definitely some large ones: https://www.lucascometto.com/cascadia-washington I certainly added a bunch of them to my "someday" list.
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Apr 15, 2023 03:47
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There are huge trees along the hoh river trail. There are also a lot near neah bay. I always love seeing random old growths along trails, sucks when they're the only one left in the area, to think areas used to be packed with them.
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Apr 15, 2023 03:56
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Nice little 10 mile hike in a state forest yesterday. Nothing spectacular but still a solid jaunt in the woods, and perfect weather….for humans. I overestimated the amount of cloud cover there would be given that the trees haven’t leafed yet. The last three miles took a long time since Pongo got overheated and we took lots of breaks in what shade I could find, thankfully I took enough water. I’ll need to be more careful about that in the future. Found a decent size grey rat snake enjoying the sunshine, and a hunting arrow from someone who missed during fall/winter deer season. 
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Apr 15, 2023 13:27
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devmd01 posted:and a hunting arrow from someone who missed during fall/winter deer season. They might not have missed, although if it's an arrow and not a crossbow bolt they probably did. There are some hunting crossbows that will put a bolt clean through a deer.
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Apr 15, 2023 14:00
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