Alder Springs & Black Butte wildfire... 7/6/09 - Pics added.

[jimsiff]

My wife and kids and I had a nice day playing in Central Oregon yesterday. We hiked to Alder Springs on Squaw Creek near Sisters, Oregon, and saw the day old Black Butte II Fire grow with the help of westerly winds.

The hike was in beautiful, arid canyons in the Deschutes River drainage NE of Sisters. The wildflowers were out in spots, but probably past their peak overall. The creek crossing was a fun adventure for the kids... water up to the knees and beyond. We got a late start (3 pm), so we didn't make it all the way to the Deschutes rapids at the end of the trail. Nonetheless, it was a nice diversion from the more popular trails in the nearby Three Sisters Wilderness, and snow free to boot!

Here's a few pictures of the Black Butte fire from the ENE... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 1627731230

Hike pictures are available here ... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 1627731230

[pablo]

Howdy,

I get a facebook login prompt when I click on either link - do the photos need some sort of permissions set? Or is it just me...

Thx,

--Paul

[jimsiff]

Thanks for the heads up. It appears that I can't share Facebook photos with the outside world without putting in specifc email addresses. Here are the pictures... first the hike, then the fire.

Heading down into Squaw Creek Canyon

Bugs on a flower...

Me carrying Monica and Ryan. It won't be much longer before she will have to walk all the time... ;)

My older boys crossing Squaw Creek near Alder Springs. Somebody was nice enough to put in a hand line, although it really wasn't necessary.

Looking downstream...

What trouble can I get myself into now that I'm out of the backpack???

Butterfly on a pine...

Ryan thinks he's #1, or maybe he's affirming that he's one. Only he knows for sure...

Meadow near Alder Springs

Evening shot of the canyon on our way out...

South Sister from the road on the way back to Sunriver...

Black Butte II Fire from FS Road 6360.

the fire from the beginning of the hike...

The fire at sunset...

[Eric Peterson]

Man, I am going to Bend for the coming week and Black Butte was on my shgort list of hikes to do.

Do you know if it's accessible as of yesterday? Looks like you were further south, not sure where
Squaw creek etc is.

Thanks

[fettster]

Nice shots. How's that road for driving? That's definitely one cool kid.

[jimsiff]

Zerek: The Alder Springs part of Squaw Creek is about 10 miles East and slightly North of Black Butte. My guess is they will have the fire lookout and trail closed for some time. Currently the Black Butte and northern portion of Metolius-Windigo Trail are closed, as well as the Indian Ford Campground. You might consider Black Crater and a trip to Dee Wright Observatory on McKenzie Pass for a more up-close view of the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, and the rest of the Cascade crest. Tumalo Mountain across from Mt. Bachelor is close to Bend and is similar mileage and elevation gain to Black Butte and has great views of Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, and South and Middle Sister. Another highly recommended trip from the Sisters area is Tam McArthur Rim. There is still some snow at the upper elevation of the rim, but the road should be clear to Three Creek Lake and the trailhead.

FYI, here are the most current fire conditions from the Forest Service and Inciniweb:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/f ... ndex.shtml
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1720/

Fettster: the roads are fine to Alder Springs trailhead. I was comfortable at 20 mph much of the time in my Honda Odyssey. There were a few dips, ruts, and rocks to watch out for, but the road was generally good. Thanks... Ryan is a little firecracker and loves to be outside.

[Eric Peterson]

Cool info and suggestions, thanks!

Lost my Bend hike book the last time I was down there.

[sparklehorse]

Great report Jim, thanks! Looks like the whole family enjoyed the outing, especially #1 .

G

[adamschneider]

I did that hike last May; the roads are fine, even for a tiny car. It's a fun hike -- very different scenery for someone accustomed to the Gorge and the Cascades. I went all the way down to the confluence of Whychus Creek and the Deschutes River.

[markesc]

Anyone know when McKenzie Pass is open??