O. C. & E Trail

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
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Dorkvania
Posts: 8
Joined: October 5th, 2017, 4:11 pm

O. C. & E Trail

Post by Dorkvania » May 19th, 2020, 3:51 pm

I'd really like to hike this trail next summer. I was looking at was involved logistics wise, and I don't see how it's possible to hike this start to finish. There is one established campsite. There is no dispersed camping along the trail. It does go through some towns, but they have no hotels or AB&Bs. The one campground is 35 miles from the trailhead.

At 109 miles and one campground it looks like it's not possible to hike one end to the other. Even doing it all in chunks would be some brutal there-and-backs, one section would be 48 miles. I am not ready to give up on the idea yet, so I thought I'd ask here to see if people had any useful info.

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teachpdx
Posts: 395
Joined: January 21st, 2014, 4:45 pm
Location: Hillsboro, OR

Re: O. C. & E Trail

Post by teachpdx » May 19th, 2020, 5:20 pm

There are significant portions of the trail that are within or directly adjacent to the Fremont National Forest, especially the portion between Sycan Siding and Sycan Marsh/Thompson Reservoir. There are only a few miles of trail within that entire stretch that are bordered by private land. All of that NF land is fair game for dispersed camping.

The longer stretches bordered by private land are more challenging. If you are really committed to doing the route, you can always get on the county assessor's website, see who owns the adjacent land in the vicinity of where you want to overnight, and reach out to them to ask permission to overnight just off the trail and on their land. It's a large task, and I'm sure you'll face some rejection along the way, but that may just be your best bet if you want to hike the trail from start to finish.
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Dorkvania
Posts: 8
Joined: October 5th, 2017, 4:11 pm

Re: O. C. & E Trail

Post by Dorkvania » May 19th, 2020, 8:52 pm

Thanks! I was hoping there were some camping options nearby. Some of the trail may be do-able. As for other parts, I could do it in sections but if I leave my car at a trailhead I need to walk back to it. I'll start planning the sections that I can and keep looking. I'll as private land owners as a last resort.

I am hoping to find a log of someone who hiked it. I found one from someone who biked it, but they didn't give details on how they stayed in various areas.

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