July 2012 Archive

22
Jul
2012
jloomis

Climbing Mt Rainier via Emmons-Winthrop Glacier Route

Climbing Mt Rainier via Emmons-Winthrop Glacier Route

Mt Rainier is the 5th tallest mountain in the Continental United States and highest in the Cascade range, standing at 14,410 feet tall. It is about 54 miles Southeast of Seattle, Washington. Mt Rainier is the most topographically prominent peak in the lower 48 with 13,211 feet of prominence, even more than that of K2! It is also the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 and considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.

19
Jul
2012
kloomis

Camping at LaPine State Park, Oregon

Camping at LaPine State Park

With Jason's school and work schedule this summer, we knew we would be unable to join our family on their week-long trip to Yellowstone. Thus, we reserved a space for six days in the LaPine State Park campground. The State Park's proximity to SunRiver and the Cascade Lakes Sceneic Byway make it an ideal location to serve as a base camp for outdoor adventures.

18
Jul
2012
kloomis

Hiking the Peter Skene Ogden Trail and Fishing Paulina Creek

Waterfalls on Paulina Creek

On Wednesday Jason and I planned another longer hike from our base camp at LaPine State Park, this time to Paulina Lake via the Peter Skene Ogden Tail #3956 in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The trail starts at Ogden Group Camp off Paulina Lake Road/Road 21, just North of the city of LaPine, Oregon. Having hiked this trail from Ogden Group Camp to McKay Crossing campground many times, we decided to start Wednesday’s journey at our usual end point.

17
Jul
2012
jloomis

Fishing Fall River in Central Oregon

Jason Fly Fishing Fall River

While camping at LaPine State Park I was able to fly fish nearby Fall River a few times. It is a small cold spring fed river that flows into the Deschutes River. It is home to rainbow, brown, and brook trout. Fishing at Fall River is restricted to artificial barbless flies.

16
Jul
2012
kloomis

Hiking Soda Creek and Green Lakes Trails - Central Oregon

South Sister Towering Above Frozen Green Lakes

While camping at LaPine State Park in Central Oregon, Jason and I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful sceneary and planned a couple hikes. For our first hike, we planned to make a 12 to 13-mile loop, beginning on the Soda Creek Trail #11, continuing to the Todd Lake Trail #34 and then on to the Broken Top trail #10, finishing the loop on the Green Lakes Trail #17 back to our starting point.

12
Jul
2012
jloomis

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir All Season Mattress Review

Product Rating: 
5
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir All Season Mattress

Features:

Therm-a-Rest is on the forefront of inflatable mattress technology with the new for 2011 NeoAir™ All Season mattress. This lightweight, durable, and warm inflatable mattress is designed for comfortable four-season use in the backcountry. The NeoAir™ All Season features patent-pending Triangular Core Matrix™ technology which creates over 100 internal cells and reflective barriers that trap warm air. The result is a lightweight and compact air mattress with an incredibly high R-value. Includes pump sack and repair kit.

08
Jul
2012
jloomis

Backpacking to Martin Lake - Mt Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon

Martin Lake - Mt Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon

Martin Lake, located in the Southern end of the Mt Jefferson Wilderness at the base of Three Fingered Jack, was our planned backpacking destination over Memorial Day weekend this year. Unfortunately due to lots of snow and poor weather, we never made it. Now that the weather has warmed up and the snow melted, Katie and I decided to backpack to Martin Lake this weekend.

05
Jul
2012
jloomis

Hillsound Trail Crampon PRO Review

Product Rating: 
5
Hillsound Trail Crampon PRO

Features:

From Hillsound, "Hilsound's Trail CramponPRO is a proven winter traction device for snow and ice traveling over diverse terrain and in severe weather conditions. The integral design of the Pro version has taken the known benefits of traditional ice crampons and combined those elements with an ease of use and flexible mobility to surpass the comfort of traditional crampons. Although it resembles the shape of ice climbing crampons, this Pro version is designed for walking and hiking under extreme winter conditions, not for technical ice climbing."

04
Jul
2012
jloomis

Jefferson Park and Park Butte - Mt Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon

Mt Jefferson and Jefferson Park from Summit of Park Butte

With the 4th of July off from work, I headed to the Mt Jefferson Wilderness for a solo hike to Jefferson Park and a quick climb of Park Butte. It's about a 5 mile hike one-way to Jefferson Park along the Whitewater trail #3429 and Pacific Crest Trail #2000. The Whitewater trailhead is at the end of Whitewater Rd (NF 2243) about 60 miles East of Salem on Hwy 22. It is a popular area later in the season, after the winter snows have had a chance to melt. As such, there are wilderness restrictions on camping locations and campfires in the Jefferson Park area.