Didn’t want to spend $60 on an MSR “general sized” footprint. I saw a YouTuber say he throws down tyvek. I am a bit more of a perfectionist, so I grabbed the exact footprint dims from the interwebs for my tent. Cut the Tyvek 1” smaller all the way around. Put in some tent grommets, and repurposed some guy line from an older tent in the garage.
Overall I spent $6.00 and 45 minutes of my time. It’s 9 ounces lighter too 😀
I am a high school teacher just south of Portland. I have around 75 days off this summer and am planning on doing 20 hikes. I have set the following requirements for each hike: (1) at least 5 miles in length, (2) at least 1,000 ft of elevation gain and (3) no more than 2.5 hours from my house.
I am an experienced hiker and backpacker, the latter being my go-to. I used oregonhikers.org to locate around 100 hikes that fit the above parameters. I then narrowed the list down to the 20 that sounded the most enjoyable to me. My number one priority when hiking and backpacking is solitude. I’m not opposed to seeing people on the trail, but I’d rather not. This preference took a lot of coastal hikes off the table. Plus, my preference is mountains over ocean most days. Some of the hikes on my final cut can be crowded at times, so I hope to do these on a weekday.
Many hikes on the list of 100 I had already done, so most of those were the first off the list (I kept Broken Top even though I had done the loop from Three Creeks Lake back in 2015, it is just too beautiful to not do again). Many of the ones that made the cut are in areas that I have always wanted to explore and have just not taken the time (examples: Boulder Lake Loop and Devil’s Half Acre - Palmateer Point). Many of these hikes I have completed portions of or have been very close to as well (examples: Elk Cove via Vista Ridge and all three of the hikes in the Indian Heaven Wilderness).
I am considering my backpacking trip to Washington’s Lila Lake in July as one of the 20 as well as a day hike up Broken Top when I’m vacationing in Sunriver, but the other 18 hikes are all within 2.5 hours of my house.
Below is the spreadsheet of the hikes I’ve compiled along with the CalTopo routes.
Oh, one more detail: I plan to draw a hike out of a jar the night before I plan to complete a hike, hopefully this will make it a bit more spur of the moment and interesting.
Tell me what you think!
I am planning on flying in to oregon mid to late november. Me and my friends were planning on doing a couple of hikes, mainly to see waterfalls and the scenery. However looks like november is typically foggy from what ive seen. Is that true? We are good with the gloomyness but if we aren’t able to see the scenery due to the fog, that would suck. Would love to see if anyone had any pics or could explain how the weather is like during that time. Some places I have in mind is Silver Falls, drift creeks falls, cannon beach( PLEASE GIVE ME MORE RECS)Also how would the blue pool look like during this time?
📍Sweet Home, OR - Horse Ridge Rock
‼️closed May-Aug 2026 ‼️ due to logging
can someone id this waterfall please. I saw this on an insta post and really want to visit it this summer with some friends!
This is the slightly shorter version of my Upper Table Rock hike video with no voice over, no music, just footsteps and birds.
Hii everyone! Im looking for a Columbia Employee Store Pass for this month June 2026. Im from South Texas and we have our dream trip to Oregon planned since last year to visit with my family. My employer usually has passes all year long to go but unfortunately they havent had one in a while.
I dont have AAA and I work in the construction industry, so not in healthcare/military.
If anyone has a spare pass they can share with me that would be the best part of our family trip. 🙏🏻
Side note: Our family loves camping and outdoor activities. Usually takes place in very hot areas, where it never snows. Were looking for new gear for hiking and camping.
Last fall I asked the folks here if the high elevation Wallowas got much fall color (like the wild blueberries and other undergrowth that blanket the subalpine in the Cascades). This is the best fall color I found in the lakes basin area (glacier lake). So not much. But the scenery is good enough without it of course. The lower river valleys did have some nice aspen though
Has anyone hiked Fuji or the twins at Waldo lake recently? Trying to get an idea of snow levels before I make a trip.
Thanks fellow hikers!
With wildfire season upon us, I thought it might be worth mentioning this page on my own web site. It's an attempt to pull together information and resources that can be helpful in planning hikes while we get through what might be a rough summer. I try to update it weekly during wildfire season.
Has anyone done the three sisters loop recently and have insight into snow conditions/whether it is a feasible option right now?
About me: thru hiked the pct & experienced backpacker, but not looking to do anything sketchy or requiring axe/crampons
Other suggestions welcomed too. Thanks so much!