Whychus Creek trail loop 11-6-21

[ChrisA]

On Saturday 11/6. we hiked along Whychus Creek south of Sisters. We had taken a few days vacation and stayed in very rainy McKenzie Bridge, and crossed the snowy Santiam Pass to get into the sun. Saw some beautiful larch trees near Suttle Lake. While searching for a hiking spot, we saw this website with georeferenced maps www.sisterstrails.org.
They have trails for mountain biking, hiking, and horseback riding. We chose the Whychus Creek trail.

We started at the end of 1514-880, which had some areas where high clearance is recommended. We hiked along Whychus Creek trail, then across Three Creeks Road and back to the Whychus overlook. From there it was back to the Whychus Creek trail by way of the Whychus Draw Trail. We had sun and snow, and at times could see Black Butte and up to the Smith Rock area. Most of the view was obscured by clouds. Saw about 10 other people. The length was about 6.7 miles. It was a good choice considering the weather.

[Charley]

Nice! I wish we had such easy access to all-year hiking trails like this near Portland. Then again, I obviously cannot begrudge the Confederated Tribes of Warms Springs their reservation.

[bobcat]

Thanks. When I was in the area a couple of weeks ago, I chose the loop in the Whychus Creek Preserve east of Sisters (because it was a loop). I didn't know you could do a loop with this one.

[ChrisA]

Here's our route overlaid on Google Earth. We started from the southerly end.

[Jesse]

Nice! I wish we had such easy access to all-year hiking trails like this near Portland. Then again, I obviously cannot begrudge the Confederated Tribes of Warms Springs their reservation.

We have the entire central and eastern Gorge which is on the dry side of the Cascades and even lower elevation (more accessible year round) than Central Oregon trails.

[Charley]

Nice! I wish we had such easy access to all-year hiking trails like this near Portland. Then again, I obviously cannot begrudge the Confederated Tribes of Warms Springs their reservation.

We have the entire central and eastern Gorge which is on the dry side of the Cascades and even lower elevation (more accessible year round) than Central Oregon trails.

Yes, we do. It now occurs to me that "like this" was pretty vague.

[Charley]

Nice! I wish we had such easy access to all-year hiking trails like this near Portland. Then again, I obviously cannot begrudge the Confederated Tribes of Warms Springs their reservation.

We have the entire central and eastern Gorge which is on the dry side of the Cascades and even lower elevation (more accessible year round) than Central Oregon trails.

Yes, we do. It now occurs to me that "like this" was pretty vague.

- I've hiked hundreds of miles in the eastern Gorge, but I'd love an option that didn't have as much highway and railroad sounds.
- I also really enjoy ponderosa forests, and, though we have access to some ponderosa forest trails on the east side of Mt Hood NF, many are not accessible year-round.
- I enjoy mountain biking, but local legal trails are relatively few, and the only "dry side" trail network comparable (Coyote Wall) is quite steep. The many trails around Sisters, Bend, and Redmond are excellent and quite fun: ups and downs, rather than one long butt-kicking climb followed by a brief and difficult descent.