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An Excellent "Lost Trails" Resource from Don & Roberta Lowe

Posted by Splintercat (2007-05-02)

This won't be news to some of the "lost trails" enthusiasts who already collect old maps and guides to figure out what used to be... but I wanted to point out a particularly nice "intro" to Lost Trails in the form of a book that is now out of print: it's Don and Roberta Lowe's "50 Hiking Trails: Portland & Northwest Oregon" (The Touchstone Press, 1986).

In this book, the Lowe's took great pains to include some unusual hikes on "lost trails" and even cross country routes as a departure from their many other guidebooks. It's an essential addition to your "lost trails" catalog, and you can find it fairly regularlyl at used book sellers.

Here's are the "lost trails" that are included in this excellent book:

Elevator Shaft
Nesmith Ridge Loop
Moffett Creek Loop
Rudolph Spur Loop
Gorge Powerline Access Trail
Hicks Lake Cross-Country Loop
Red Hill (my personal favorite!)
Hiyu Mountain
Green Canyon
Eliot Glacier View (below the Snow Dome)
Lamberson Spur Loop
Salmon Mountain Trail
Memaloose Lake/South Fork Mountain
Shining Lake
Kuckup Park

In each case, the Lowes give a good description of the route, and their always excellent topo maps are provided. While 20 years have passed since the book was written, it's still an essential resource if you're interested in any of these routes.

On a personal note, I met the Lowes in the early 1980s, and corresponded with Roberta for about a year, while working on a project related to the (then undesignated) Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. They were an amazing inspiration, and extremely generous and welcoming to a perfect stranger, inviting me to their home and taking the time to answer my many questions about their books. I haven't seen them since, but do hope to bump into them again on the trail sometime. They've done a tremendous service in helping Oregonians discover the outdoors -- even with their books mostly out of print, their legacy is still having an impact.

Tom

Re: An Excellent "Lost Trails" Resource from Don & Roberta Lowe

Posted by mattisnotfrench (2007-05-02)

I've been meaning to make a post about this for quite some time after finding this book at Powell's for $7 a couple months ago. That book is fantastic...every time I look through it I have so many questions and nobody to ask (except y'all, that is) for answers. While I doubt I'll manage to hit most of those trails this year before moving to France in September, Kuckup Park and Red Hill are on my must-do list for this year for their respective "photogenic" views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson.

Highly recommended reading.

Re: An Excellent "Lost Trails" Resource from Don & Roberta Lowe

Posted by pablo (2007-05-03)

Thank you for posting this reference. Helped out big time on a Rudolph Spur hike I'm wanting to do this Sunday. I had no clue as to the route and that you mentioned 'Rudolph Spur' and the 'always excellent topo maps are provided' sent me off to Powell's on Hawthorne to get a copy. Perfect...

Re: An Excellent "Lost Trails" Resource from Don & Roberta Lowe

Posted by funhog (2007-05-08)

Thanks for the heads up! I just ordered three of their vintage books on half.com and spent a whopping ten bucks...

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