Oregon Coast and Inland: November 6th-November 24th, 2024

After discovering that the primary affliction preventing me from hiking in the fall was an undiagnosed and untreated post-viral asthma, I was able to get property medicated and was able to finish off my time in Idaho with a bang. After this I headed over to central/coastal Oregon for a bit and racked up a several hikes out there in quick succession. Following that burst, the focus began to shift toward skiing, and the frequency of hikes dropped off. It would take a bit for my athletic capacity to grow to allow me to backcountry ski, so there was still some downtime to do a few more smaller hikes.

Roman Nose Mountain, November 6th

The directions to get to Roman Nose are 126 to FR 4390 to Whittaker Creek Rd to Dunn Ridge Rd to Knowles Creek Rd, for which you can find other's gpx tracks online. Those roads are narrow and steep, but also well-paved all the way to within a mile or two of the summit spur, and the dirt section after that is doable in a sedan. The spur road was a nice little hike for me up to a beautiful vista reminiscent of the Southern Appalachian Balds that had captivated me so last spring. Anyhow, got my photos and headed down, and just narrowly didn't have enough daylight to go up Prairie, but did get to see a delightful sunset!

Prairie Peaks, November 7th

Currently West Prairie Peak is considered to be the taller of the two, but it's close enough and easy enough that anyone who does it should also hop up East Prairie as well. Anyhow, the route up was 36 to Horton Rd to Congdon Creek Rd to 15-7-17 to 15-7-23 to 15-7-7, for which you can find other's gpx tracks online. The road is narrow and windy, but paved up to 2400ft or so, after which it becomes a steeper but still well-grated road up to the col between East and West Prairie. That being said, there is a quarry and a gate at 2700ft that "may be closed at any time", so maybe be cautious about when you proceed up. Being a weekday in November and being unsure as to whether or not the road was closed in the winter, I parked and slept at the quarry and got to see both a beautiful sunrise and sunset, and biked up in the morning. The road after the cols is high-clearance but not 4wd, so I would recommend hiking/biking up the rest. ANyhow, beautiful views up both!!!

Marys Peak, November 7th

Marys is a well-documented peak with a paved road leading to the trailhead just shy of the summit, so I won't write much here but to say you can see Pah-to all the way to Wy'east and Seekseekqua and maybe on a clear day down to Shasta! Beautiful views!!!

Black Butte, November 9th

Black Butte was originally going to be a long hike we did from the lower trailhead, but Mara wanted to cut off any distance if possible, and indeed the road was fine all the way up to the upper trailhead. From there, it was a delightful trail up to the summit, with only the last portion having any snow at all. Compared with the mighty volcanos visible from the summit, you could tell Black Butte was decidedly in a rain shadow. Anyhow, this was a beautiful peak and I will be returning to hit the lower trailhead :)

Lookout Mountain, November 11th

The road leading to the trialhead, NF 42, was cleared up to the col between it and round, and it appears it's maintained in the winter? No promises though. Anyhow, we elected to walk up to Mother Load Mine Trailhead instead of walking, even though my partner's car could have totally handled it. Anyhow, the hike up reminded me why I don't like winter hiking, as there was a fair bit of snow we had to break trail through and also follow one other person's footprints. Anyhow, the view at the summit was clouded in, but the view just shy was fantastic, and the way back was delightful.

Bend Butte Bike, November 22nd

Having gotten to bend a few weeks prior, I decided to bike up all four buttes in the city in the order of Pilot, Overturf, Tumalo, and then Awbrey. The first two were uneventful as they are quite popular walks, but Tumalo you can only get to 80ft shy of the summit before "no trespassing" signs appear. Awbrey has a radio tower at the top, but you can get right up to the fence. Overall over 20 miles of biking, and I can definitely say I'm on the upswing physical fitness wise from suffering from undiagnosed asthma this whole fall, which is nice

Gray Butte, November 24th

For Gray Butte, we started from Lone Pine Rd and went up 5710 to the North side of the mountain and started from that trailhead. It was a steepening road we followed up the North Side, but the views were fantastic and even better at the summit. Gray Butte is only 80 or so feet shy of being a P2k, and it shows!