By John Sparks, Board Member, Trailkeepers of Oregon

In Japan, an entire tourist industry is based on kōyōgari, or momijigari, “fall leaves sightseeing” (the two words are different pronunciations of the same characters). People flock to the countryside and temple complexes to appreciate the turning of the colors. Likewise, the northeastern states of the US experience a significant influx of visitors from late September into October for the same purpose. 

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By Cheryl Hill, Board Member, Trailkeepers of Oregon

If you find yourself visiting the Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and you want a longer hike than those short trails provide, Sutton Mountain may be for you. This seven and one-half mile out-and-back hike gains sixteen hundred feet in elevation and includes wildflowers, views, and solitude.

Hedgehog cactus blooming on the summit of Sutton Mountain. (Photo by Cheryl Hill)

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By John Sparks

Old-growth forest on the lower section of the Red Lake Trail.

There’s a back way into the Olallie Lake Scenic Area, and it requires the relief of driving decent gravel for less than a mile as compared to the dusty, sometimes spine-shattering washboard experience of getting in to the often crowded shores of Olallie Lake itself. The semi-secret is the Red Lake Trail #719. The hike does require a little elevation gain up the escarpment above the Clackamas River, but it delivers you to a series of backcountry lakes with camp spots—Red, Averill, Wall, Sheep, and Fork lakes—which are some of the less-visited in the area. In fact, the trail still exhibits some of the old varnished trail signs of a past age and even one marker referencing the Skyline Trail, precursor to the Pacific Crest Trail! (more…)

Looking across McCully Basin to Mount Melissa.

In summer Oregon hikers dust off their backpacks and stray far from their urban bases in search of an immersive experience in the outdoors. The Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains is a favorite choice with its fault-block peaks and open ridges and lake basins. If you’ve already spent a summer backpack or two in some of the popular Wallowa destinations, you’ll appreciate the solitude of this summer’s hike of the season—the somewhat un-Wallowa-like hike in the McCully Basin. (more…)