|
TREKKING
OREGON'S OUTBACK
By: Jack
W. Peters Photos by Shari Peters & Jack W. Peters
No question
about it, Central Oregon has to be one of the coolest places on the planet.
Mountain peaks top off towering trees as far as the eye can see in every
direction. Twisting rivers and rugged lava beds flow across the scenic
landscape. Its beauty is breathtaking as forests, deserts and mountains
blend together for one post card view after another. This is a great
area for about any kind of outdoor activity you can think of with way
more stuff to do than can be packed in a glossy tourism brochure.
When our
friends Jason and Amy from Bend, Oregon, asked us to come over for the
weekend, it was a no-brainer. We agreed we were going to do some serious
desert exploring, but in this area there is so much to see and do, the
tricky part is to figure out where to start. Our friends, Shari and I
loaded up the Explorer to see how much ground we could cover in a day.
| Paulina Falls |
0955 hrs |
Latitude: 43º 42.988
|
| |
|
Longitude: 121º 16.464 |
Paulina Lake,
peak, and falls are make up the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
Paulina Peaks 8,000 foot elevation is surrounded lava fields, and offers
panoramic views of central Oregons range of snow capped mountains. The
falls are just west of the lake and offer a spectacular backdrop to hiking
and mountain biking.
| Fort Rock |
1125 hrs |
Latitude: 43º 22.381
|
| |
|
Longitude: 121º 03.965 |
Fort Rock
is a spectacular horseshoe shaped volcanic mountain ring. Reaching the
top takes your breath away from the view and the hike. Groups of Red-tailed
hawks swirl overhead from their nests in the cliff walls. Our ancestors
enjoyed the place too. Ancient sandals were found that are carbon-dated
back to 9,000 years old.
| Fort Rock |
1350 hrs |
Latitude:
43º 30.563
|
| |
|
Longitude: 121º 02.021 |
Neat old
shack pump house that looks like it has been out of service of 50 years.
It is equipped with and old inline six probably fired up when the wind
wasnt blowing.
| Juniper Tree |
1422 hrs |
Latitude:
43º 32.975
|
| |
|
Longitude: 120º 53.786 |
The worlds
biggest Juniper tree
wooohooo! OK, so we didnt get that excited either,
buy thats what the sign said.
| Derrick Cave |
1488 hrs |
Latitude:
Classified
|
| |
|
Longitude: |
лечение алкоголизма . регистрация спд This place
was a real experience. The photo shows the last view of sunlight as we
descended into the lava tube cave. Being the first time in, we did not
know how long the cave would be or what to expect. As soon as we got
into the darkness, the tempature dropped by what seemed like at least
15º, which felt great to get out of the heat. No sign of bats, so we
ventured forward with our two small flashlights. We made it to the end
to find icicles dripping from the ceiling. We found out later that the
trek is over 1,000 feet.
| Smith Rock |
1730 hrs |
Latitude:
44º 22.214
|
| |
|
Longitude: 121º 08.108 |
Smith Rock
attracts mountain climbers from around the world. If offers a variety
of hikes and climbs to challenge the best. The center boulder is the
famous Monkey Face. The facial features are easy to recognize, he is
looking to the right.
By now the
sun is starting to dip behind the mountains, running out of daylight to
do too much more exploring. We have to get back to this place, there
is just too much to see and do to cram it all into one day. How do you
top off a day this good? Trade in the granola bars for some real food.
Deluxe burgers washed down by some Monkey Faced porter at a favorite
brewpub in Redmond. Why cant every day be this good
Cheers.
Getting there:
Bend is about a 2-1/2 hour drive southeast of Portland, Oregon. From
I-5, the Bend/Redmond area on Hwy 97, can be reached by Hwy 22, 126, and
58. For more information call the Bend area Chamber of Commerce, phone
541 382-3221.
|
