Trails Association of Oregon is a new group that PortlandHikers helped to start. We do volunteer trail work and advocate for hikers. We have a bold vision for new for new trails around the state called "20 Years / 20 Trails". But first we have motivate hikers in Oregon to give back to the existing trails they already love. Our next event will be a stewardship training event on June 7th.  Click here for details.

See some of our recent work parties:
May 10th: Salmon Creek trail clearing
April 19th: Angels Rest trail build

I started at the Elk Creek Trailhead at 6am. The campground there is closed, so getting to the trailhead from Hwy 6 added about 0.3 miles to the hike (but who's counting?). Forecast was for drippy skies in the AM, but clearing in the PM. It never really cleared-up (or warmed up) however... which was fine by me. The trail starts off with a steady uphill a few hundred feet, and some fleeting views of the surrounding forest. Eventually it heads down and levels-off as you get close to the King's Mtn. Trailhead. I think a lot more people have hiked this bit, so it'll probably be more familiar. I was hoping to see some elk in the early morning. I saw plenty of sign (prints & poop), but no elk. The moody forest was nice to look at though...
(see full trip report...)

After working my still-healing foot too hard at a Friday night dance class and facing another class Saturday night, I was looking for an interesting outdoor day without a lot of hiking. I'd been meaning to get out to the Painted Hills ever since I first heard of them here months ago. Warning this is going to be long tale! I got up early and hit the road. There was a bit of ice near Government Camp, but the roads were generally clear. I stopped for a stretch and a quick picture of Jefferson just before Warm Springs. From there, it was McDonald's in Prineville and straight to the Painted Hills. Highway 26 east of Prineville is gorgeous as it climbs to Ochoco Summit. The Painted Hills were easy to find and boy, were they worth the 4 hour drive! The lighting was difficult from the main lower approach, so I drove the half mile or so up to the Painted Hills Overlook Trail... (see full trip report)

Starting from Herman Creek workstation, Thomas and I took the PCT to Chinidere and returned on the Herman Creek trail. In deep snow, the high back country provides a challenging and remote environment. Above 3000 feet snowshoes are needed, but conditions are improving and the surface may soon be firm enough to do without. Route finding was difficult in places and will probably remain so for some time. Fresh snow caked the 4,000 foot level forest and the sun shone warm enough to sustain a continuous melt water drip mixed with intermittent falling clods of slush. I got soaked and needed to repeatedly wring my gloves out, but after a few hours got used to the misery. You could get used to hanging if it didn’t kill you... (see full trip report)

This past weekend, my wife and I took off to explore the east side of Steens Mountain and surrounding terrain. We followed several suggestions from Sullivan's "Exploring Oregon's Wild Places". We left Burns on Hwy 78. Since the sky was absolutely clear, we caught many glimpses of the mountain on the way, but the best were obtained after turning onto East Steens Road (also called Fields-Follyfarm Rd). We stopped near 15-cent lake (dry lake bed) to hike over the ridge to the east to Heath Lake. This vantage point provided great views back west to Steens Mountain. Going over the ridge provided views of the dry lakebed below (not worth a photo here) and the Sheepshead Mountains further east. After returning to our car, we drove further south, and took a dirt side road to Mickey Hot Springs. The springs were quite beautiful and active...... (see full trip report)