Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

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happilyretired
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Joined: March 23rd, 2023, 8:45 am

Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » March 23rd, 2023, 10:45 am

Hi all. I'm currently in the Evansville Indiana area, but it looks like we'll be moving to the Willamette Valley in about a year. I do a fair bit of hiking/backpacking here (around 20 miles a week on average) and starting to ponder what I'll need to learn & change after this move.

I've done many of the "good" hikes in this area (Adventure Hiking Trail, Mammoth Cave backcountry, River to River Trail, Deam Wilderness...) and many more of the not-so-good ones. At this point I feel like I've got my gear & technique pretty well dialed in for this area. But I know that things will need to change when I go from here to there, and not just because there will be many more good trips available.

If you're familiar with both midwest and PNW hiking (or even if you're not) I'd welcome feedback on what I should be thinking about. I've been mostly a solitary hiker the past few years, but I expect I'll want to join up with some group hikes or experienced locals for a bit as I learn new skills.

In any case, I'm looking forward to new trails and new trips!

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retired jerry
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by retired jerry » March 23rd, 2023, 12:24 pm

welcome

if you watch for trip reports here, and look at the field guide (click on "field guide" above) there is a lot of good info

I think all your equipment will work just fine. Possibly you would need a better raincoat. Some of us have a problem with buying more gear though.

Aimless
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Location: Lake Oswego

Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by Aimless » March 23rd, 2023, 3:41 pm

Yes, welcome! Hiking here, like anywhere else, is just walking. What's different here are: the weather, the seasons in general, the forests, the mountains, and when the snow melts off the trails. Plus a few other details I can't recall at the moment. :D Don't worry though. You'll learn quickly enough -- and the hiking around here is worth it.

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Charley
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by Charley » March 23rd, 2023, 9:47 pm

I grew up partly in Sioux City Iowa and did my first young adult hikes there! I enjoyed visiting some of the those trails several years ago, after moving here in 2007. . . but it's not the same. We have so much more variety, the scenery is astounding, and we have truly large, unpopulated wild areas in the region.

Portland area doesn't get nearly as cold, though the mountains will on occasion get down into the single digits.

We get rain all winter in Portland, and have rain events even in the high mountains in the middle of winter, too. Good gear goes a long way.

Our hikes will have a lot more vertical relief than the ones around Evansville. Lots of "normal" hikes have around 2,000' elevation gain, and some of the best are 3,000' to 5,000'. If you want to prepare in advance, stair steps and squats would help get your legs ready.

Snow blankets the mountains in astounding amounts and sticks around for a long time (depending on the year, some high elevation areas are covered until August). Avalanches are normal in this region, and some avalanche awareness is appropriate, if you're planning on getting out into snowy terrain.

If you like "getting out," you may find the winters hard. It's grey and rainy in the Valley much of the time. The mountains may feel "off-limits" for over half the year, due to that snow. There are a number of usually-snow-free trails and trail systems to visit during the winter. . . but nothing like the variety and beauty of trails that are open in the late summer.

I felt cooped up my first winters, until I starting going snowshoeing. Getting out into the mountains on snowshoes was amazing, because then I felt like the world opened back up for me. Also, if the grey dreariness is hard for you, getting into the mountains is great because the snow is so bright- it doesn't take much sunlight to make the day feel bright and beautiful when it's a winter wonderland of high albedo snow all around you.

Snowshoeing is slow and hard, so I started going nordic skiing (which is hard and fast), and then added alpine skiing and alpine touring to the bag of tricks. Now I look forward to the winters and the summers.
Believe it or not, I barely ever ride a mountain bike.

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happilyretired
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Joined: March 23rd, 2023, 8:45 am

Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » March 24th, 2023, 2:36 am

Thanks folks. I've spent time in the northwest (lived outside Seattle for a couple years, and in eastern Washington for a decade [which is of course a completely different world]) so I've some idea what the weather is like. Sadly I wasn't backpacking at the time.

Around here I'm a year-round hiker/backpacker/camper. I'm plenty comfy hiking in the rain and camping down into the single digits. BUT...we've had next to no snow the past few years, and far less rain than I expect to hit in the PNW.

There is some elevation gain to be had around here if you look for it. For example the Adventure Hiking Trail is around 6000 feet of elevation gain across 24 miles. That's a comfortable 1-day spring/summer loop for me. Easy 2 day backpack if I'm carrying gear to camp. I expect to have to slow down some when I hit actual mountains though :)

Hiking in actual snow (as opposed to patches or an inch or two) will be new for me. I expect to have to learn about traction & snowshoes. And to figure out what to hike in when trail runners aren't the right choice. Avalanche safety I know zero about. I guess that's a course at some point.

Bear safety is another area I need to dig into. We don't have bears in Indiana (well there was one a few years ago, but it belonged to Kentucky and was lost).

Almost all of my camping is either bivy (with a tarp if weather is bad) or hammock. That might not get me through deep winter. So maybe a double-wall tent is in my future.

In any case, I'm looking forward to having a lot more choice and a lot more wilderness than this area can provide!

leiavoia
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by leiavoia » March 24th, 2023, 5:14 am

You can full time hammock camp, even in snow and cold. The only no-hammock zone is obviously above timberline or in volcanic wastelands like mt saint helens.

Bears are not any real concern except high traffic campsites mostly frequented by the non-LNT crowd. I have encountered exactly one bear in a decade of hiking here.

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retired jerry
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by retired jerry » March 24th, 2023, 5:14 am

"It's grey and rainy in the Valley much of the time."

you may need to up your game in anti depression techniques :)

I have seen bears maybe 10 times in Oregon, Washington, and northern California. They always run away from me, I have now become quicker getting my camera out.

The most reliable place I know of to see bears is the Enchanted Valley in Olympic National Park. I would be more careful to hang my food in a bear proof manner. They have bear wires though. Or in northern California there was a sign at the trailhead warning about a nuisance bear, and I ran into someone that had their food eaten by it. I then made sure my food was 10 feet in the air, 10 feet away from the tree.

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happilyretired
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » March 25th, 2023, 11:24 am

So sounds like I need to attend to bear-safe food storage and general bear awareness, but not necessarily carry bear spray.

Might end up with the bear spray anyhow as part of the deal to keep DW happy with me venturing solo into the wilderness, same as I carry an Inreach and use it to email daily "I'm still alive" messages home.

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retired jerry
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by retired jerry » March 25th, 2023, 12:32 pm

I use the "simplest bear hang (not recommended)" https://momgoescamping.com/how-to-hang-a-bear-bag/

Throw line over branch, haul up your food bag, tie the other end to a tree or branch. Bottom of food bag 12 feet in air, 10 feet away from tree

You could do the PCT bear hang

You definitely want to do the PCT bear hang in the Sierras where the bears are well trained. North of there including here not so much of a problem. I usually don't worry about 12 feet high because mostly I'm worried about rodents. I have on occasion fed the rodents when I was careless.

I too use inreach to tell my wife where to send SAR if I go missing. And follow an itinerary.

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happilyretired
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » March 26th, 2023, 4:26 am

Non-bear critter food proofing is one area I don't expect to have to change things. Lots of raccoons, squirrels, skunks, possums around here. I do PCT bear hangs around here (though yeah, I don't worry too much about height).

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