Archer Falls - January 22, 2011

[Easyrider]

Talk about the trail less traveled! After several failed attempts I finally found Archer Falls! And what an amazing view!

[mattisnotfrench]

Good for you! That's a tough one. Makes my trip to Abiqua today seem tame in comparison.

[Crusak]

Very nice! and nice report, the pictures definitely tell the story.

[chameleon]

Cool that you got to see Archer. The reason those other folks probably didn't want to cop to details though, is that your whole route is technically off-limits starting at the place you began bushwhacking. It is often hiked, but could get you a fine and should not be advertised or encouraged. It's currently designated a closed area to prevent habitat destruction for Larch Mtn salamanders. They are a relict species where entire populations (such as those in that area) could be extirpated easily by human attention.

Very neat area though! Recently I also learned that a gorge endemic is found here as well - Howell's Daisy. It's found on many gorge walls though - including along the trail to upper McCord.

[romann]

The best pictures of that area I've ever seen! I think it's sun-lit south facing slope that makes those falls so different from other Gorge falls.

[justpeachy]

On your website it looks like you have your picture width set to 100% so that the pictures fill the screen no matter what size the monitor, instead of having the pictures set to a fixed width. For viewers like me with large monitors, the pictures get all pixelated stretching across the screen. You might think about assigning a fixed width for the photos so they look the same for everybody and so that somone's monitor size won't adversely affect how they look.

[Easyrider]

I'm surprised to hear this complaint. These pages were designed specifically for big monitors and they look great on any computer I've brought them up on. These are very high resolution jpgs (file size is a concern so I can't go overboard here). I have a high res 32" monitor on a PC with a very expensive Geoforce display card that I do my testing on. It's set to display 1280 x 600. This is probably the minimum configuration someone would want to have in order to really get the benefit of these pictures. On my cheapo 20-something inch CRT, using the D-15 VGA/RGB connection, the pictures don't look so hot but that's 20 year old video technology.

Wondering if you have a large but low res monitor or something. This stuff might not look so hot on a 50" HD TV either but I don't know that many people can afford those in this economy. As an aside, (I'm not a graphics guy...) if I don't format the picture size, they will be too big for the screen and you have to scroll left to right to see the whole frame. I found this to be annoying. And it would most likely make the problem you are describing worse. If you have a specific img src= suggestion I'll be happy to try it out on future reports.

[cfm]

Easyrider, Great trip report and wonderful photos. It is also good to hear how you are working diligently to improve your health through exercise-really the best way to repair tissue damage from smoking, diabetes and hypertension-the silent killer. Keep it up sir and you will extend your life dramatically.

Archer mountain is truly a trip of a lifetime, but I am concerned about you saying definitively that a trail is open because you haven't seen a sign. The signs may just be missing. I am no expert on the area, but I have visited several times in the last five years, and seen access progressively limited down to all but the High Valley area. I know there are maps from the DNR, let me see if I can find the link, but I am pretty sure you went into the area that is off limits for environmental conservation, which is mostly all of that basin below Archer Falls. And yes, an un-sanctioned trail up the West Ridge that was built sometime in 2008 or 2009 has been posted as closed since June 09. I get this feeling that there is a bit of a local battle between the DNR ranger and trail users about access to Archer Mtn, and perhaps that is why you got evasive answers from "the experts" you questioned.

[Guy]

Easyrider, it looks like your html code does set the pics to 100% of monitor width:
From your page code: <img src="./2011/falls_012211a.jpg" width="100%"><br><br>

My monitor is set to 1600 X 900.So the images are 1600 pixels wide, on my monitor this means that even the landscape oriented photos are more than 900 pixels tall & so I can't view the whole photo without using the scroll bar.

Again this is just my personal taste but I would prefer to see smaller photos in the report set to a width of 800 or 1000, you could then make them clickable to higher resolution versions that would open in another window. Not criticism, just some unsolicited feedback ..

[Easyrider]

@Guy: Appreciate the feedback. Since these pictures are intended to provide enjoyment, I obviously want the experience to be enjoyable. At one time I did used a fixed pixel width but it was generating a LOT of complaints because everyone has different monitors and graphic settings on their PCs. Setting them to 100% seemed to "solve" the issue, at least for most people. If you have a specific suggestion for an img src string that will improve things without causing new problems/complaints, I would be very grateful to give it a whirl. I know that it's possible to click an image to enlarge it but I don't know the command to program that feature.

@CFM: My health and life longevity picture did not look good a year or two ago. At 300# I was out of breath tying my shoes. With the help of the wonderful people at the Veterans Administration, they got me into a "MOVE" program that in all probability saved my life. I'm guessing that diabetes and/or a stoke/heart attack was in my very immediate future. I did have the good sense to quit smoking 25 years ago but I still ate poorly and rarely exercised. I feel great now and have tons of energy... due, in great measure, to the great information I've gleaned from this web site and it's members. Five years ago if someone had told me that I'd really enjoy hiking I would have told them they were nuts.

As for the rest of it... I am an expert at almost nothing. I am not qualified to state with authority that a trail is definitively open and did not mean to imply as much. IMHO, a trail that is not marked as closed means that it's open but that could very well be a myopic view. I've talked to quite a few locals who I've met on these trails and there is clearly a lot of hostility coming from some local land owners towards those like me who are viewed as "outsiders". A very similar situation exists with property owners along the Crown-Zellerbach trail. These progressive limitations of trail access could be due to agency lobbying more than for any specific ecological protection reasons. I did go to the State web site last Summer and there was zip posted about Archer Mountain or about trail closings generally. In any case, mea culpa.... I am not a scofflaw and I generally respect and appreciate planet protection efforts. I was just out to have a nice adventure, see some great scenery and to generally celebrate still being above ground.