Beautiful Benson Plateau and Beyond
Beautiful Benson Plateau and Beyond A fantastic loop exploration from the river to the top...
Criterion Tract Above the Deschutes
Early Spring on the Criterion Tract above the Deschutes The Criterion Tract, managed by the...
Mapping the Timberline Trail
Mapping the Timberline Trail James Wilson An exploration of my personal journey leading to mapping...
Changing Seasons on Mount Hood
Changing Seasons on Mount Hood Hiking from spring back to winter Leaving the Tilly Jane...
Utilizing Lidar in Mapping Trails
Using Lidar Data for Mapping Trails Lidar (light detecting and ranging) is a technology that...
Chehalem Ridge Nature Park
Chehalem Ridge Nature Park It's not that often that an entirely new park is added...
A Lookout Mountain Night
A Lookout Mountain Night With the potential for Aurora sightings south into Oregon due to...
Coe Glacier as Winter Draws Near
Coe Glacier as Winter Draws Near With significant rain forecast for the northwest, I wanted...
Stadter Buried Forest
Stadter Buried Forest and the Lost Creek Headwaters I learned a good lesson on this...
To White River Glacier
To White River Glacier Wandering White River Pt II. After exploring the lower sections of...
Wandering White River
Wandering White River on Mt Hood Part I. The White River begins on the south...
Ho Rock and Snow
Ho Rock and Snow With the first measurable rainfall in months coming to northwest Oregon...
Seeking Water on the Dry Side of Mt Hood
Seeking Water on the Dry Side of Mount Hood For mapping the Timberline Trail route...
Sunrise and Moonset from Eliot East Moraine
Sunrise and Moonset from Eliot East Moraine Leaving town around 3AM, I headed up to...
Wizard Way, New Meadows Trails
Wizard Way Mapping New Trails at Mount Hood Meadows Mount Hood rising above Mt. Hood...
Seeking Glacier Terminuses
Seeking Glacier Terminuses and exploring Moraines There are few places as dynamic to witness the...
A Cool Vista Ridge Morning
A Cool Vista Ridge Morning The Pinnacle, 5226 ft Just a few days ago I...
Late July on the Timberline Trail
Late July on the Timberline Trail Overlooking the Sandy River and Paradise Branch It's been...
Paradise Park Mt Hood Flowers
Paradise Park, Mt Hood Wildflower extravaganza Mount Hood Pussypaws Bear Grass Subalpine Cat's Ears Late...
Badger Creek and the Divide Trail
Badger Creek and the Divide Trail Starting in the afternoon at High Prairie on the...
Timberline Trail Loop
Timberline Trail Loop 2021 Note: If you haven't yet heard about the alterations to the...
Badger Creek Wilderness, Jordan Creek and Points Between
Badger Creek Wilderness, Jordan Creek, and Points Between Continuing to explore the eastern side of...
The Eastern Reaches of Mt Hood National Forest
The Eastern Reaches of Mt Hood National Forest On the tail end of a period...
Deschutes River Explorations
Deschutes River Explorations I spent some time exploring the Deschutes River on two days this...
Lyle Cherry Orchard
Lyle Cherry Orchard More Adventures Lyle Cherry Orchard By Jim Wilson | May 20, 2021...
Wygant Natural Area and Beyond
Wygant Natural Area and Beyond Wygant Natural Area seems to be one of the less...
Hood River’s Bald Mountain
Hood River's Bald Butte This time I headed north, climbing up and under the powerlines...
Bald Mountain and Ramona Falls
Bald Mountain and Ramona Falls I headed out to the Mt Hood National Forest, parking...
Hood River Mountain
Hood River Mountain Hood River Mountain and the area around it is covered in old...
Dalles Mountain Ranch Balsamroot Extravaganza
Dalles Mountain Ranch Balsamroot Extravaganza There's a reason why Columbia Hills State Park and the...
Swale Canyon
Swale Canyon Having recently explored around the Ice House on the Klickitat River and Trail,...
Deschutes River Trail 50 miler
Deschutes River Trail 50 miler The Deschutes River Trail follows the river south from where...
Klickitat River History Exploring- Dry Ice and Redwoods
Klickitat River History Exploring Dry Ice and Redwoods The Klickitat River flows south into the...
BLM Criterion Tract
BLM Criterion Tract The Criterion tract has been managed by the Bureau of Land Management...
Gorge Falls- Elowah, Wahclella and more
Gorge Falls- Elowah, Wahclella and more I've never been to some of these more popular...
Coyote Wall Spring
Coyote Wall Spring Anytime of year is really a good time to visit Coyote Wall,...
Table Mountain, Topped in Snow
Table Mountain, Topped in Snow I think a short section of Heartbreak Ridge ascending Table...
Hummocks Trail to Johnston Ridge Observatory
Hummocks Trail to Johnston Ridge Observatory In the winter when snow arrives, the State closes...
Memaloose Hills in the Gorge
Memaloose Hills in the Gorge A morning visit to the foggy Memaloose hills State park...
Columbia Hills up to Stacker Butte
Columbia Hills up to Stacker Butte Seeking some sunbeams, I headed east to Washington's Columbia...
Cottonwood Canyon Gooseneck Loop
Cottonwood Canyon Gooseneck Loop The Gooseneck Loop in Cottonwoods Canyon State Park (Oregon's youngest) is...
Windy Sunrise on Wind Mountain
Windy Sunrise on Wind Mountain Wind Mountain was windy, imagine that! A prominent and unique...
Mitchell Point in the Clouds
Mitchell Point in the Clouds For a quick and accessible climb, Mitchell Point, right off...
Horseshoe Ridge Snowshoe
Horseshoe Ridge Snowshoe Beautiful clear skies and no wind, a layer of fresh snow high...
Two Seasons at White River
With fresh snow really starting to accumulate in the Cascades, I headed up to Mount...
Sunset near Lookout Mountain.
With rain and then snow forecast for the mountains this week, I took the opportunity...
Old Vista Ridge Trail
Old Vista Ridge Trail Some sunshine between the layers of fall snow led me to...
Timberline Trail Devastation above Muddy Fork
Timberline Trail Devastation above Muddy Fork Note: I've created an updated page for summer 2021...
Crater Rim in the Clouds
Crater Rim in the Clouds After abandoning an August summit opportunity due to the weather...
Exploring Mt Hoods Eastside
Exploring Mt Hoods Eastside The open rocky expanses of Mt Hoods east side some of...
Encircling the Roaring River Wilderness
Encircling the Roaring River Wilderness After spending time exploring the lakes in the Roaring River...
Newton Clark Glacier
Newton Clark Glacier The Newton Clark Glacier is Mt. Hoods third largest, glacier, located on...
Mississippi Head and Beyond
Mississippi Head and Beyond This route was a repeat of one of my favorite Mt...
Timberline Trail X3
Timberline Trail X3 This summer I ran the 42 miles of the Timberline Trail encircling...
Black Wolf Meadows
Black Wolf Meadows Midway between Timothy Lake and the Roaring River Wilderness lies Black Wolf...
Badger Creek Wilderness
Badger Creek Wilderness The Badger Creek Wilderness on the far east edges of Mt Hood...
Surveyors Ridge North to South
Surveyors Ridge North to South Probably more popular with mountain bikers than hikers, the Surveyors...
Around Bonney Meadows
Around Bonney Meadows For a loop hike further off the beaten path this exploration around...
Neowise Comet from Indian Mountain
Neowise Comet from Indian Mountain Having spent a couple days this week around Indian Mountain,...
Indian Mountain and Wahtum Lake Explorations
Indian Mountain and Wahtum Lake Explorations During my trip along the PCT to Indian Mountain...
Pacific Crest Trail Marathon, north from Lolo Pass
Pacific Crest Trail Marathon, north from Lolo Pass With some clouds rolling in and weather...
Exploring Lakes in Roaring River Wilderness
Exploring Lakes in Roaring River Wilderness I had never been to the Roaring River Wilderness,...
A Salmon River Exploration Loop
A Salmon RIver Explotation Loop I had been eyeing this route through the Salmon Huckleberry...
McNeil Point Shelter via the Mazama Trail
McNeil Point via the Mazama Trail McNeil Point is undoubtedly one of the most popular...
Summiting Mt Adams
Summiting Mt Adams With a great window for weather in the mountains, I headed out...
Chinidere Loop on the PCT and Herman Creek
Chinidere Loop with PCT and Herman Creek One of the great loops (around 22 miles)...
Horsethief Meadows
Horsethief Meadows The wide, flatter area sandwiched between Bluegrass Ridge and the East Fork Hood...
PCT south from Cascade Locks
PCT South from Cascade Locks Right off Interstate 84 in Cascade Locks where the Pacific...
Fall Hiking to Clear Lake
When I emerged out of the forest onto the shores of Clear Lake, a dense...
Loowit, Mt. St. Helens
Just as Mt. Hood has the Timberline Trail and Mt. Rainier the Wonderland, Mt. St....
Mt. St. Helens Crater Rim
The Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is one of my favorite areas to explore....
Horseshoe Ridge in the Clouds
Horseshoe Ridge rises up from the flats around the Sandy River, climbing up to meet...
Barlow Butte and the Barlow Road
On the list of forgotten trails of Mt. Hood National Forest, the length of the...
Beyond Lamberson Spur
Hiking from Highway 35 to the Timberline Trail This is an epic loop around the...
The Timberline Trail
In about 42 miles the Timberline Trail encircles Mt Hood, following the contours of each...
Mooney Tarn via Elk Cove.
This route was not the most direct way to this stellar curiosity on the northeast...
Along the Eliot West Moraine
To get a really good sense of the power and movement of the glaciers that...
Sunset over Little Zigzag
Little Zig Zag Loop. Looking to take advantage of a sunny afternoon after work, we...
Mississippi Head
Mississippi Head is a prominent feature on Mt Hoods southwest face. It is the large,...
Exploring Mountain Lakes among the Zigzag Mountains
If you’re looking to explore some of the highlights of the Zigzag Mountain Range just...
Yocum Ridge: Many Miles, Many Views
The hike up Yocum Ridge on Mt Hood’s western flank is a long one but...
Polallie Ridge to Cooper Spur returning via Tilly Jane Trail
I love loop like hikes. I’ll often add extra distance, or hike along roads to...
Bluegrass Ridge – A trail being lost to time
Bluegrass Ridge is the first large prominent ridge running north to south on Mt. Hoods...
Little Belknap Crater via the PCT
The landscape around McKenzie Pass is surreal. Not only is it an other-worldly expanse of...
Coffin Mountain Beargrass Extravaganza
This year, the summer of 2019, a magnificent spectacle occurred on the slopes of Coffin...
Exploring Southeast Mt. Hood – Elk Meadows – Newton Creek Loop
If you’re looking for a hike with a grand diversity of scenery that really highlights...
Mirror Lake – Tom Dick Harry Loop
Overview 7.2 miles1540 feet elevation gainincorporates the popular Mirror Lake Trail into a loop hike...
Lookout Mountain via Fret Creek Loop
Overview 9.4 mile loop hike combining Forest Service Trails and 4x4 roads. 1912 feet of...
Springs Grand show of Balsamroot on Dog Mountain
Dog Mountain rises 2800 feet up from the shores of the Columbia River on the...
Hunchback Trail to Rockpile
For some quick accessible exercise with rewarding views, the Hunchback Trail to the Rockpile viewpoint...
Stacker Butte – Columbia Hills State Park
Overview 4.9 mile out and back with 1050 feet of elevation gain casual hike up...
Exploring the final miles of the Deschutes River
Deschutes River State Recreation Area Beginning at Little Lava Lake northwest of La Pine, the...
A treatise on the construction of shake trail in the Wilderness
Note: I wrote this piece in 2012 as part of an effort at chronicling and...