Oregon Hikers

Hi powers-that-be,

The field guide lists the RT distance from Wyeth TH to North lake as 11.0 miles. This is what all of the maps and guidebooks also say, but the trail is longer. In this short thread Don Nelson gives a reliable GPS distance of 12.8 miles RT from TH to lake outlet.

Can we update the field guide? I'm tired of my meetup groups posting hikes to North Lake based on the FG description and then people complaining it's too hard and why is it taking so long to get there

Many thanks,
payslee

I will go by the DN-blessed stats and update accordingly, maybe even in a few seconds - although (admittedly GPS-deprived myself) I'm not sure why other luminaries seem to think it's shorter and, on my part, I haven't noticed that it's especially arduous - just a lot of switchbacks, maybe several too many.

Thanks bobcat!

My theory is that the trail was originally a Defiance-style straight-up-the-side route. Shorter and steeper. At some point all those EXTREMELY long and gentle switchbacks got added, so now it is longer and gentler, but the maps never caught on.

Probably why I like Wyeth so much - super steep is hard for me, but on a moderate grade I can go forever...

Hiker GPS mileage exceeds mileage measured with wheels, because of their means of computing distance walked. The slower the walking, the greater the likely difference from a wheel measurement. The accuracy can be improved with different electronics and programming, but that is costly in battery life and in other ways, so is not likely to be done for consumer units soon. You might check with the Forest Service for mileage since the trail may have been surveyed with each rerouting and changes in distance annotated on a master record.