Archive for October, 2009

Hike 36 – Lava River Cave

Oct 27

Posted by Kolby in hikes | View Comments

This hike was spelunk-tastic!

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This photo is a 10-second exposure. There is no natural or artificial light in this cave that isnt brought in by a visitor. The trail of light below my feet is from someone scooting by while holding a lantern all-the-while I am doing my best impression of a statue.

Getting tired of hiking through vegetation? Or hiking in places where you can see the sky? Or hiking where you can see anything at all? Then visit the Lava River Caves State Park! Located within (literally) the Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a lava tube, or a cave created by lava that once flowed through here eons ago. My last hike (hike #35) ended at a nice café in Bend, where I read the local newspaper and watched people go about their day. The paper had a full-page article on the caves of the area, suggesting to readers to take the journey below ground where sunlight never shines and stalagmites spend eternity trying to touch stalactites. You had me at “below,” Bend Bulletin. You had me at “below.”

My parents and I arrived at the Lava River Cave entrance early in the afternoon. It was a scorcher of a day, with temperatures reaching into the 90s. But the cave is always a cool 30-40 degrees, no matter if it’s a broiling summer day or there’s 4 feet of winter snow on the ground. If you’ve ever gone into a walk-in freezer on a summer day, you know how we felt entering the cave. In less than 100 yards of hiking, the temperature dropped 50 degrees.

Mom and Dad rented a gas lantern to light our way, making our expedition more like those in the 19th century. Some of the lanterns looked like they were first used in those days, having probably been bumped and dropped countless times. I came prepared with my headlamp. It would malfunction from time to time on this hike, showing me exactly how dark it can get in this cave.

We didn’t have the cave to ourselves. There were many families throughout the cave, sometimes causing a backup – especially at the cave entrance where there are many narrow steps to navigate. Once inside a bit, the cave opens up to a large winding tube, very much shaped like a subway tunnel or the innards of a space slug like in Empire Strike’s Back. The ground is dirt and stone, smoothed from over 60 years of visitors. My parents told me that I had been here as a kid in the winter, but I have no recollection of it.

After a half mile or so, the cave ceiling seems to become closer and closer. Actually, the cave is the same size, but the fine volcanic sand on the floor is getting deeper, bringing us closer to the ceiling. By 3/4ths of a mile, I have to hunch over in order to continue. My parents decide to call it a day when the tunnel is no longer big enough for a compact car to drive through. But I have become obsessed on seeing the end of the tunnel and continue on alone.

I am now the biggest person in this section of the cave, for all of their adult-sized parents have left their height-restricted children to continue on. From time to time I’d pass a parent covered in sand with look in their eyes like they’ve just spent the last half hour exploring the inside of a coffin. I continued on.

Soon I was the only one in the cave, the muffled echoes of children on my tail. Although the cave is still about 6-7 feet wide, it’s only 3 feet tall. My knees and hands are freezing from crawling through the damp sand. From time to time, I’d enter a small room, where the ceiling was just high enough for me to walk awkwardly for 15-20 feet before having to crawl again. Each time, the rooms would become smaller and I’d think the next section would be the end. But it kept going and going until the next access point was quite possibly no bigger than my girth. It looked similar to a hole dug by a dog under a fence. I couldn’t see beyond, but I knew the next room was a short crawl away. I studied the hole leading into the next room for just long enough to picture myself getting stuck and having some kids to try in vain to pull me out before they turned around and left. I could hear the conversations when they rejoined their parents:

“How was the rest of the journey, Billy?”
“It was totally cool until some fat man got stuck in the cave and we had to turn around.”

I turned around, content at leaving the rest of the tunnel for those with smaller frames.

Thoughts about the hike:

They only have a certain number of oil lanterns for rent (until 4pm daily), so if they’re all checked out, you need to wait in line for the next one to be returned. I suggest bringing your own flashlight or headlamp to save some time.
With such low clearance along the trail, a baseball hat might be good for protecting the noggin’, but wear it backwards so you can see the low-hanging rocks before bumping into them.
On my way out, I followed a family. I laughed when I heard the young boy of the clan explain to his parents how small the last section was: “Only a breakfast sausage could fit in there!”
From the opening of the cave to the furthest excavated part of the tunnel is 5,200 feet, or just short of a mile. I included the walk from the parking lot to the cave in order to make this a 2-mile RT hike.
This cave is closed every year from October 15th to May 1st to protect the western big-eared bats who hibernate in the cave through the winter. Any disturbances during this time might awaken them, causing them to use the limited supply of stored fat, resulting in a decline of the species.

Resources:

Hike #36 Trip GPS Stats:

Date of hike: July 22nd, 2009
Location: Newberry National Volcanic Monument, outside of Sunriver, Oregon
Length: 2 miles
Duration: 2 hours, 4 minutes
Average speed: n/a
Altitude at start: 4,500 feet
Altitude min.max: 4,350/4,500 feet

Video:

Since it is impossible to capture GPS data while in a cave, I’ve drawn out a rough trail route for this hike using walkjogrun.net.

Rough sketch of the cave location

Photos:

Mom & Dad sitting on a natural bench within the cave. This is a 10-second exposure.

Another long exposure shot. What looks like a glowing snake with thousands of legs is just two spelunkers holding a lantern.

A wider area of the tunnel. Two lanterns were used by visitors to unknowingly light this long-exposure photo.

Tags: Deschutes National Forest, Lava River Caves State Park, Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Oregon

Progress Report (October 26th)

Oct 27

Posted by Kolby in Uncategorized | View Comments

This is a progress report for October 26th, 2009:

It’s been 171 days since I began this project on May 5th. Since then, I have hiked every weekend, in three states, and just shy of 300 miles of trails. They hardest part of this project is finding the determination to get to the trailhead. Since my last report (35 days ago), I have hiked 13 times. I would have hoped to hike more than that but a few incidents kept me from the trail. First of all, the closure of the Angeles National Forest – my back yard – due to the Station Fire had me traveling out of my area to get onto a trail. (They reopened the foothill trails at the beginning of October.) Secondly, I strained my ankle on hike #62, which lead to a 7-day rest without any hiking. I’m about 90% recovered as of today, but still 2-3 hikes behind schedule.

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I’ve got 65 days to hike 30 more times to reach my goal. In mid November, I’ll be leaving on a 22-day backpacking trip to South America where I hope to do a lot of hiking. However, I don’t think I’ll be adding any more hikes under my belt than if I stayed at home. Confused? Let me explain: The last time I was in South America, I hiked over 80 miles in three weeks. But those 80 miles were accomplished on just three hikes. I’ve already started to plan some of my hikes for this trip, and they’ll most likely be multi-day backpacking journeys as before. Despite the distance of the hikes and the strong desire to change the game to my advantage, I am resolute in keeping to my rules. One hike, no matter how long, equals one hike. It wouldn’t be right to accomplish this goal and say that my “100 hikes” were actually less than 100.

Although an “official” 100hikes.com hike needs to be at least two miles in length, my average is more than twice that number. I’ve hiked 298.5 miles in 70 hikes, averaging 4.3 miles a hike. Here’s a breakdown of my mileage. (Click on a bar to find out more info):

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Here’s some numbers to ponder:

Number of hikes completed: 70
Number of days into project: 171
Number of miles hiked: 298.5 miles
Longest hike: 15.9 miles (Hike #48 – San Gorgonio Mountain)
Hardest hike: Hike #21 (Telescope Peak, Death Valley)
Furthest hike from home: Hike #38 (Terrebonne, Oregon – 851 miles from Arcadia, CA)

If you hike with me, you become a prestigious respected member of the “100 Hikes Club.” Although this past month had a lot of solo hikes, I did have a few new members join the club as well as a few old ones up their hiking numbers.

Number of members: 48 (and three dogs)
Top 5 ranking members:
- Dad (9 hikes: #30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 & 38)
- Mom (7 hikes: #30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37 & 38)
- Chris (5 hikes: #6, 21, 42, 44 & 63)
- Melanie (5 hikes: #5, 13, 26, 29 & 40)
- Samantha (4 hikes: #18, 21, 39 & 42)

Tags: progress report

The Mail Bag: Photography

Oct 21

Posted by Kolby in much ado about nothing | View Comments

Welcome to The Mail Bag! This new ongoing series is dedicated to answering your questions about 100hikes.com, my hiking, or hiking/backpacking in general. The question was submitted by Ann, who asked:

I love the pictures you take on the hike. Would you mind sharing what type of camera you use? Do you do a lot of editing later?

Thanks for the question, Ann! Here’s my video answer, recorded while hiking #66 in the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness in central California last weekend:

Here is more information on the things I discussed in the video:

You might recall that I once used another camera for this site. For all videos and most photos taken on hikes #1-44, I used a Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS. But I replaced it with the 990 when it died.

Canon PowerShot 1100 IS

Tags: Canon EOS 40D, Canon PowerShot SD990 IS, Canon Powershot SD990IS, Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, Mail Bag, photography

100Hikes On A Map

Oct 21

Posted by Kolby in much ado about nothing | View Comments

I’m a big fan of maps. I’d be aiming for a specialized degree in cartography right now if given the patience and the scholarship (neither of which I have). When I was a teen, along with collecting stamps, baseball cards, and comic books, I had a proud collection of National Geographic Magazines and their maps. With a magnifying glass and a heap of imagination, I would explore every detail of a map. When Google Maps launched their “terrain” overlay in November 2007, I found myself scrolling around the maps, looking for cool places to explore just as I once did years ago. Recently, I’ve been tinkering around with the technical side of Google Maps and have created a few maps I can call my own. I’ve mapped out all of the hikes I’ve done so far for 100hikes.com and placed them on the Google Maps interface. The functionality still needs some work, but I hope you find the map useful in planning your own adventure. More information below the screen capture.

I have created the following maps:

At this point, the interactivity of the map is minimal. Hover over the small icons to see the hike number and location. Until I make it more interactive, refer to the Hike List for links to the individual hikes.

Tags: API 3.0, cartography, Google Maps, National Geographic Magazine

Hike 35 – Deschutes River Trail

Oct 14

Posted by Kolby in hikes | View Comments

A nice stroll down the Deschutes in downtown Bend, Oregon.

Dad and I on #35 in Bend, Oregon

One of my favorite hikes to do while in Bend, Oregon is on the trail along the Deschutes River. I have fond memories of walking this trail as a child. It was here that my grandmother pointed out birds, flowers, and chipmunks. I believe that some of the earliest hiking in my life was done on this trail.

For this hike today, my Dad would be joining me. This trek would start at the front door of my parent’s house and end downtown at a coffee shop just about two miles to the south. I used walkjogrun.net to map this route out to make certain that the hike would equal at least two miles, my minimum hiking distance in order to make it official. Despite the distance, I’m not entirely comfortable calling this a “hike” since the trail is more of a park path with short detours into the neighborhoods. But it’s nice to be outdoors and hiking with my Dad.

The Deschutes River, a major tributary of the Columbia River, twists and turns its way through central Oregon. It has been called a “peculiar river” because it flows north whereas most US rivers flow south. The river trail follows the shoreline a relatively short distance at 9.1 miles, winding through the heart of Bend. While outside of town, the trail is actually three parallel trails – for hikers, bikers, and equestrians – in town, there is just one wide gravel trail shared by all. We saw mainly runners on the trail on our trek this warm Tuesday morning, but on a weekend, families and outdoor enthusiasts would share the trail.

Thoughts about the hike:

I like how everyone greets each other as they pass, even if they’re out of breath and in the “zone” with their workout. It seems that people go out of their way to say hello.

Hike #35 Trip GPS Stats:

Date of hike: July 21st, 2009
Location: Deschutes River, Bend, Oregon
Length: 2.3 miles
Duration: 1 hour, 8 minutes
Average speed: ±2.0 mph
Altitude at start: 3,567 feet
Altitude min.max: 3,567/3,651 feet

This map was made with the data my GPS captured on the hike.
For a more detailed trip report map, check this out.

Photos:

The trail was well marked and well groomed.

A runner along the trail, the Deschutes on the left.

A very lush area with much to see. Two beautiful geese floated by on the river soon after this shot was taken.

Dad along the mighty Deschutes. He was raised in Bend before going off to college. After a dozen or so moves and two states later, Mom and Dad recently moved back to Bend just a few miles from where he grew up.

A gosling and its parents in Bend.

A fisherman along the wider section of the Deschutes, the Cascade Mountains in the distance.

One of the many beautiful little homes that can be found in downtown Bend just off of the river trail.

Tags: Bend, Deschutes River Trail, Oregon

Hike 34 – Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail

Oct 14

Posted by Kolby in hikes | View Comments

A hike that rediscovers my father’s childhood water hole.

My Dad and I on the trail. At one point on the trail, you can see all three surrounding giants: Mount Bachelor, Broken Top, and the South Sister. In this photo, Mt. Bachelor was being camera shy and refused to join in on the group shot.

Before hike #34, my parents and I stopped by Elk Lake. We met up with my aunt and uncle, who have lived outside of Newport, Oregon for most of my life but recently bought a house near Bend. They joined us for lunch on the patio of the restaurant that sits on the eastern end of the lake. To replenish the liquids lost on the morning hike (hike #33), I had a few locally brewed beers. Life doesn’t get any better after an icy Deschutes Brewery beer in a frozen mug. So after three of them, I realized that I wasn’t going to be the day I would complete three hikes.

Our second hike of the day was at Sparks Lake, a shallow lake with ten miles of shoreline. The Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail, named after a local photographer, explores the eastern side of the lake. The lima-bean shaped loop provides impressive views of the surrounding mountains – Bachelor, Tumalo, Broken Top, and South Sister – as well as the placid lake with its unique rocky shoreline. Mom begun the hike to get a sense of the trail, but turned around to spend time reading along the water’s edge.

I liked this hike for the diversity of the terrain. Hiking the trail clockwise, the first mile is through a pine forest with patches of lava rock outcroppings and fissures, looking somewhat like slot canyons. We stood looking down into one crack that was at least 40 feet deep. After hiking a mile, we found a small knoll with a great view of the surrounding mountains: Mount Bachelor, Broken Top, and the South Sister. From the knoll, the trail travels south, then west towards the shoreline, which hasn’t been visible since the trailhead. Before views of Sparks Lake came into view, we walked along a ridge looking into a natural (?) pit in lava rock. Chipmunks hid among the volcanic rocks, taking curious peaks at us before bouncing away.

Once we did reach the rocky edge of Sparks Lake, Dad realized where he was: his childhood swimming hole. Like an unexpected gift, he remembered coming here with his friend during the lazy-day summers of his youth in the 1950′s.

We continued walking the shoreline until we returned to the trailhead.

Thoughts about the hike:

This hike has it all. Mountains, a lake, rocks. It would make a great introduction to hiking in Central Oregon.

Hike #34 Trip GPS Stats:

Date of hike: July 20th, 2009
Location: Sparks Lake, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon
Length: 2.8 miles
Duration: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Average speed: ±1.3 mph
Altitude at start: 5,447 feet
Altitude min.max: 5,431/5,518 feet

This map was made with the data my GPS captured on the hike.
For a more detailed trip report map, check this out.

Photos:

My aunt and uncle on their bike, departing after a nice lunch at Elk Lake

Oregon does not have a shortage of lava rocks and beautiful wild flowers.

Mount Bachelor through the trees.

Green lichen growing on volcanic rock.

Dad became a fan of trekking poles during my visit. In this photo, he's using one of mine.

The short cut reduces the 2.8 mile loop to just 1.2 miles.

Dad remembers coming to this swimming hole as a kid.

South Sister over Sparks Lake.

Notice the natural stain on the rocks, representing the water level in the past.

A beautiful yellow velvet long-horned beetle (Cosmosalia chrysocoma).

Tags: Broken Top Mountain, Cascade Mountains, Davis Canyon Loop, Deschutes National Forest, Elk Lake, Elk Lake Resort, Mount Bachelor, Oregon, Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail, South Sister, Sparks Lake

The 100Hikes Mail Bag

Oct 13

Posted by Kolby in motivation | View Comments

At this point of my project, I’ve hiked 65 times. And for all 65 times, I’ve recorded videos. I don’t post them all for two reasons. First, they take a while to edit and put together. Secondly, and more importantly, they are BORING. If they’re boring for me, then they’re more than likely boring for you. For those of you who have watched my posted videos, you might recognize this:

It’s [enter date here] and I’m on [enter hike number]. I’m here at [enter location] on [enter trail] and hope to hike [enter number of miles]. It’s really beautiful here. I’ll check in on the way!

Over and over. Just about every one of the sixty five videos have something to that effect. The same thing, just a different place. Boring, boring, boring.

So I want to spice up the videos a bit. I’m asking for just a few minutes of your time to help me. They way I figure it, you owe me for all of the hours of your life watching YouTube or Vimeo videos that I saved you from loosing.

To make the videos a little more lively, I’d like to answer your questions while I’m on the trail and post my video answers here on the site. Is there something about my hiking that you’re just dying to know? Or maybe just slightly curious about? Maybe you have a general backpacking/hiking question that I can answer while actually doing the backpacking and hiking. Submit a question here by posting a comment and I’ll do my best to answer all of them and save the best for answering while on the trail.

I hope to hear from you! E-mail me at kahunna at gmail dot com or leave a comment below.

Type me up a note below!

Hike 33 – Todd Lake Trail to Soda Creek Trail

Oct 12

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Dad and I Mt Bachelor on #33 - 1/3 the way to 100!

I wish I knew my grandfather better. When I was born, he was in the final chapter of a long life. He had been a logger and worked on the green chain, hard and dangerous work. I have memories of visiting my grandfather and grandmother during the holidays in Bend, Oregon. He had a quiet way about him and most of my memories of him have him siting quietly in the living room of their small house in Bend, studying the world with smiling eyes. He seemed like a man with deep thoughts that he kept to himself. He passed in 1983 when I was just 8-years old.

When I visited my grandmother on this trip and discussed hiking options in the area, she told me something I had never heard before: My grandfather’s cremated ashes were scattered in the Cascade Mountains, just above Todd Lake. I decided immediately to go on this hike. I felt like it was important for me to see the spot where my grandfather rests.

My parents and I got an early start, hoping to get in three hikes today. The Todd Lake Trailhead is located less than an hour from Bend, Oregon – in the shadow of Mount Bachelor. I learned how to ski in the Cascades and our family has taken many Holiday season ski trips to Bachelor. The drive towards the mountain along the Cascades Lakes Scenic Byway was a familiar one, but it was strange to be here in the summer and see so little snow on the sleeping volcano. When we arrived at the trailhead parking, we were surprised to see the lot packed with vehicles. We hoped to have the trail to our selves, considering it was Monday, but we would learn that the senior hiking clubs in the surrounding area would organize weekday excursions to this trail. It’s nice to see older people on the trails rather than withering away in a retirement home, but I wish they decided to do it another day.

The Todd Lake Trail is a gateway to other, longer routes in the area, including Broken Top Mountain, South Sister, and Green Lakes. The trail runs 11.8 miles, but we would only go in about 2.5 miles, at the Soda Creek trail junction, before turning around. The first half mile of this trek is a gradual incline. I’m still getting used to the altitude, which starts at 6,100 feet.

It wasn’t far along the trail that we found where my grandfather’s ashes were scattered. A powerful outcrop of rock stood out from the forest above the trail, just as my grandmother recalled. I stood for a moment paying my respects to my grandfather the best way I knew, trying to capture the scene on film. Although my grandfather wasn’t a big fan of hiking – my grandmother began the activity after he passed – I felt like he was with us for the remainder of the trek, enjoying the forest through our eyes. I definitely consider him an honorary member of the 100 hikes club, even if just in spirit.

The amount of flora in the Cascades is startling. Dabs of purple, strokes of yellow, and spots of red paint the trail. My week of hiking in the Cascades inadvertently coincided around the peak of the wildflower season. I picked up a copy of Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, or what I call, “the flower bible,” while in the bookstore in Bend. The 512-pages describe in detail 1,200-species of flowers. The 1,247 gorgeous photos helped provide the names of these beautiful stems of color and shape. After the hike, I enjoy flipping through the book and trying to identify the flowers I photographed on the trail.

The butterflies here are equally as colorful. It slowed down my hiking progress considerably, but I was able to get close enough to photograph a few skiddish winged insects such as tiny Northern blue and the visiting California tortoiseshell. I’ve posted a gallery of the Oregon Butterflies I photographed on my other blog, bugshutterbug.com. Most of the photos were taken along this trail.

Thoughts about the hike:

A new term I would like to coin: mosquito motivated – to hike without pause in order to keep the mosquitoes from biting you.
Todd Lake was formerly called Lost Lake due to the difficulty in finding it. It was renamed by request of the people of Bend, who believed the name caused confusion with the other nineteen lakes in Oregon named Lost Lake.

Resources:

Hike #22 Trip GPS Stats: