Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
neilsonw
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by neilsonw » August 17th, 2017, 2:26 pm

Yeah, I've come to understand there are kind of three levels of eclipse "experience".

0-50% and you wouldn't even know anything happened, especially if you work inside

50-99.999...% and you will probably notice sky darkening

100% is an entirely different, unique experience

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retired jerry
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by retired jerry » August 17th, 2017, 2:40 pm

you can see the corona at 100%

you can take off those obnoxious glasses

pdxgene
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by pdxgene » August 17th, 2017, 2:45 pm

retired jerry wrote: you can take off those obnoxious glasses
It really cuts down on distractions if you wear them while driving.... :P

syncro
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by syncro » August 18th, 2017, 1:03 am

Hi all, here from Vancouver BC and thinking about driving down late Sat night and doing an early am hike up to blakc butte to catch the sunrise and then hangout for the Bonnie Tyler. Weather is looking not bad but somewhat concerned about forest fire smoke. Thoughts on whether this will be a total gong show? Is the road up to the trail head gated and closed overnight at all? Will the 20 be reasonable for traffic all things considered afterwards? Does anybody have the winning lottery numbers for this weekend?

Cheers!

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adamschneider
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by adamschneider » August 18th, 2017, 7:04 am

syncro wrote:Will the 20 be reasonable for traffic all things considered afterwards?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :lol:

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jessbee
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by jessbee » August 18th, 2017, 9:39 am

syncro wrote:Hi all, here from Vancouver BC and thinking about driving down late Sat night and doing an early am hike up to blakc butte to catch the sunrise and then hangout for the Bonnie Tyler. Weather is looking not bad but somewhat concerned about forest fire smoke. Thoughts on whether this will be a total gong show? Is the road up to the trail head gated and closed overnight at all? Will the 20 be reasonable for traffic all things considered afterwards? Does anybody have the winning lottery numbers for this weekend?

Cheers!
This is a pretty bad idea.

Road to Black Butte gated, no easy access. Forest fire is pretty close to that area so you could be smoked out, it all depends on the wind and how the fire progresses. (Milli fire: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5517/) I'd call the Sisters Ranger District before heading that way: 541-549-7700

Traffic updates here: https://tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp

Have a backup plan. If this works out well, then my guess is that *you* have the winning lottery numbers for this weekend ;)
Will break trail for beer.

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bushwhacker
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by bushwhacker » August 18th, 2017, 4:02 pm

I was at Harbor Freight yesterday and during checkout a cashier behind me answered a phone call and it went something like this:

caller: can I watch the eclipse wearing your welding goggles?
hf: no you will burn your eyeballs.
caller: can I wear sunglasses under the welding goggles and watch the eclipse?
hf: no you will burn your eyeballs. (cashier sounds pretty frustrated about now).

Apparently they have gotten a number of calls just like this.
Save your eyes folks. Don't stare at the sun!

syncro
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by syncro » August 19th, 2017, 7:45 am

jessbee wrote:This is a pretty bad idea.

Road to Black Butte gated, no easy access. Forest fire is pretty close to that area so you could be smoked out, it all depends on the wind and how the fire progresses. (Milli fire: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5517/) I'd call the Sisters Ranger District before heading that way: 541-549-7700

Traffic updates here: https://tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp

Have a backup plan. If this works out well, then my guess is that *you* have the winning lottery numbers for this weekend ;)
Thanks for the info! I checked on the NFS site but didn't see anything about a gate. Where is the gate located, at the turnoff from Allingham onto Black Butte road or further up Black Butte road? I see that the parking lot is small but am guessing that it may be full at this point. I'm tossing around the idea of bringing the mtb and riding up Black Butte road to the trail head so there are no worries about parking. Any chance you know if parking is restricted along Allingham or Black Butte roads at all?

I've got another plan for a spot north of Dayville. Not as good as BB but it's on a plateau with views west and east so it should be ok and away from any fires too

Right now winds seem to be E/SE for the Milli fire so views from BB might actually be ok. It's probably a game day call though.

ElphabaNorthWest
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by ElphabaNorthWest » August 19th, 2017, 9:14 am

bushwhacker wrote:I was at Harbor Freight yesterday and during checkout a cashier behind me answered a phone call and it went something like this:

caller: can I watch the eclipse wearing your welding goggles?
hf: no you will burn your eyeballs.
caller: can I wear sunglasses under the welding goggles and watch the eclipse?
hf: no you will burn your eyeballs. (cashier sounds pretty frustrated about now).

Apparently they have gotten a number of calls just like this.
Save your eyes folks. Don't stare at the sun!
Actually that may not be correct. From the NASA website:
"The Sun can be viewed directly only when using filters specifically designed for this purpose. Such filters usually have a thin layer of aluminum, chromium or silver deposited on their surfaces that attenuates ultraviolet, visible, and infrared energy. One of the most widely available filters for safe solar viewing is a number 14 welder's glass, available through welding supply outlets. "

So depending on the welding goggles, they may be safe for viewing the eclipse.

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jessbee
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Re: Total Solar Eclipse, 21-Aug-2017

Post by jessbee » August 19th, 2017, 12:41 pm

syncro wrote:
Thanks for the info! I checked on the NFS site but didn't see anything about a gate. Where is the gate located, at the turnoff from Allingham onto Black Butte road or further up Black Butte road? I see that the parking lot is small but am guessing that it may be full at this point. I'm tossing around the idea of bringing the mtb and riding up Black Butte road to the trail head so there are no worries about parking. Any chance you know if parking is restricted along Allingham or Black Butte roads at all?

I've got another plan for a spot north of Dayville. Not as good as BB but it's on a plateau with views west and east so it should be ok and away from any fires too

Right now winds seem to be E/SE for the Milli fire so views from BB might actually be ok. It's probably a game day call though.
From Deschutes NF: "Forest Road 1110 accessing Black Butte will be closed to motorized use starting at the junction with Forest Road 11. Forest Road 1110 and the non-motorized Black Butte Trail will be open to hiking, biking, or other forms of non-motorized travel for the 10 mile round trip. As a reminder, Black Butte fire lookout at the summit is active and staffed. Overnight camping is not allowed to minimize impacts to the lookout operations."

So you can't get even close to the parking lot, would have to park at the base somewhere. I know they're using that area to stage emergency vehicles for ApocEclipse, and I don't know if there's any more closures related to fires or anything. So you're best calling as to not interfere with whatever emergency stuff is happening. Good idea to bike the road though, since it would be a long hike up.

Here in Bend, winds are shifting frequently. Sometimes it's clear, sometimes it feels like you're in the middle of a campfire. But looking east it's been mostly clear, I'd imagine a similar situation on BB.
Will break trail for beer.

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