Name: Exploring Central Oregon
Start: 2018-07-12T00:00:00-07:00
End: 2018-07-15T23:59:59-07:00

Past Activity

Canceled: Exploring Central Oregon

Start date: 07/12/2018
Start time: 12:00 AM
End date: 07/15/2018
End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

### UPDATE July 11: ###
Plan B is in Effect. The interpretive tour at Fort Rock has been cancelled by the ranger due to extreme fire danger. More info about Plan B is below. Trip members have been contacted.

### UPDATE July 9: ###
It ‘s looking more and more like our trip to central Oregon will be timed to a heat wave. The temperatures will be hovering around 100 and there will be scorching sunshine. Heat exhaustion is a concern. Things might cool down to the lower 90’s on Saturday. This is a tough group, but a constant barrage of heat can affect even the best of us.

I’m amending the current trip schedule so we have more shade time.

Day 1: Bring your swim trunks! We’ll spend a couple of additional hours in the Paulina Lakes area as there’s drinking water, opportunities for swimming, a visitor center (possibly with AC), and shade trees. In the late afternoon, after the hottest part of the day, we’ll drive to Hole in the Ground, make camp and explore when its cooler.

On day 2, we’ll visit the Fort Rock Cave as planned. Then make our way to Derrick Cave and spend the hottest part of the day in the general vicinity where we have access to a cool cave. In the late afternoon, we’ll drive to the Green Mountain camping area.

Day 3, as planned.

Day 4, as planned.

--- PLAN B ------ PLAN B ------ PLAN B ------ PLAN B ------ PLAN B ------ PLAN B ---

In the event of extreme fire danger the tour at the Fort Rock cave might be cancelled. The interpretive ranger at Fort Rock will make a decision a day or two before. If this happened, here’s plan B:

Day 1: as planned.

Day 2: Make our way to Derrick Cave on the early side, and then drive to Crack in the Ground to hike in the cooler sub-terrain. That night camp at the Horserock RV campground (near Fort Rock) where’ there’s water, a small store and showers. Cost per person will be approx. $22.

Day 3: Drive north on 97 towards Bend and visit: High Desert Museum, Lava Lands Visitor Center, Lava Tube. That evening, go the Pine Mountain Observatory as planned.

Day 4: Sleep in a little and hit the road before the heat, return to Eugene in the early afternoon.

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ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:
This is 4-day exploration of central Oregon's rich cultural heritage, dynamic geology, and majestic night sky. The trip is timed with a rare visit to the Fort Rock Cave with a state park interpreter and dark nighttime skies when the UO's astronomical observatory is open to the public. This trip is ONLY for Obsidian members. Flexibility is a requirement, it is the first visit by the leader to many of these areas, this trip is exploratory.

DAY 1:
We start the trip driving to the picturesque 80-foot side-by-side Paulina Creek Falls in the in Newberry National Volcanic Monument. At Newberry we’ll hike for several hours then drive to the Hole-in-the-Ground, a mile wide and 500-feet deep maar (a volcanic explosion crater) to hike into the crater and walk the circumference if possible. We will overnight along the rim and enjoy stargazing. The elevation is 4,650 feet so plan on cool temperatures at night. Driving time will be about 3.75 hours. Plan on hiking up to 5 miles.

DAY 2:
The next morning we'll rise early and drive a short distance to the Fort Rock State Park for a visit to its famous cave. Public visits to the cave are rarely offered and only with a park interpreter. This National Heritage cave is the site of an archaeological discovery of several sagebrush bark sandals dated to be 9,000 to 11,000-years old. About lunchtime we'll stop by the Fort Rock Homestead Museum, a collection of original homestead era (the early 1900s) buildings. Then we drive along the lava fields to Derrick Cave, a 30 feet high, 50 feet wide, and 1/4 mile long lava tube with several illuminating skylights. In the afternoon we drive to the BLM Green Mountain Campground set up camp, and if the nearby fire tower is open, enjoy a birds-eye view of the high desert. The elevation is 5,190 feet. That evening enjoy stargazing under a new moon. Driving time will be 2 hours. Expect to hike up to 4 miles.

DAY 3:
On Day 3 we drive twenty minutes to Crack-in-the-Ground and hike this volcanic fissure which is about 2 miles long and up to 30-feet deep. Around noon, our small caravan will stop in Christmas Valley for groceries and to fill up at a gas station. That afternoon we drive about two hours through Oregon's Outback on hard-pack and paved roads. Emerging onto Hwy 20 we pass through the town of Brothers and Millican then to the University of Oregon's Pine Mountain Observatory (PMO) for an evening of star watching. We'll camp in a Forest Service site at the base of the observatory. We'll have several hours to explore. The evening star show starts at 9 pm; schedule allowing, visitors are provided with a tour of the large telescopes, which includes a refurbished 15-inch scope! Plan on staying up late. PMO's elevation is 6,500 feet. Driving time is 2.5 hours, could be more based on road conditions. Expect to hike up to 5 miles today.

DAY 4:
The final morning we'll sleep in, and plan on heading back to Eugene at 10 am. Those who wish to head directly back are welcome to, the rest are welcome to visit several sites that are just off the highway: the High Desert Museum, Lava Lands Visitor Center & Lava Butte, and Lava River Cave. Coming over Willamette Pass we'll stop for a stretch break at Salt Creek Falls. The goal is to return to Eugene by 6 pm. Driving time today is 3.25 hours. Plan on walking up to 4 miles.

PRE-TRIP MEETING: There will be a short pre-trip meeting for participants on Monday, July 2nd at 5:30pm, held upstairs at the Martet of Choice grocery store at Willamette and 29th street.

CAMPING, WEATHER & ELEVATION:
# Campsites are first-come-first-served; if something is full it means we might have to bush camp.
# Campsites are primitive; meaning many offer tables, fire pits, and pit toilets, but there's NO water or trash service.
# Weather could include hot and cold extremes, bring rain gear, sun hat, sun glasses, warm hat for the night, etc.
# We will be hiking and camping between 5,000 and 6,500 feet, plan for cold nights.

DRIVING
# The trip needs at least 2 drivers (trip leader is driving one car) with 3 or 4 people per car. A third driver is welcome.
# All wheel drive cars are required.

MONEY & FEES:
# Additional Trips Fees: Fort Rock tickets are $10 and payable to the trip leader, the PMO donation is $5, the High Desert Museum ranges from $15/adult or $12/senior.
# Cars should bring a public lands pass for forest service, blm, etc.
# Bring extra cash for munchies and any supplies for when we're in town.

MISC:
# The trip is fixed at 7 participants (this is the number of tickets for the cave).
# Pine Mountain has some rules about red lights and camping; read about them here: https://pmo.uoregon.edu/visiting/
# We will depart from a location in southeast Eugene, you are welcome to use street parking for your vehicle if you are leaving it.
# The departure address, Google route map and location info links will be sent to confirmed participants.

Event Leader: Mark Hougardy
Event Leader Phone: 541-206-9532
Event Leader Email: hougardy@gmail.com
Assistant Leader:
Event category: Trips
Area Type:
Departure Location: See Trip Description
Rating: Moderate
Roundtrip total drive miles: 531
Season: 2018
Permits Required:
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required: # Due to limited space in vehicles, participants should pack like they are going backpacking (pack light but go prepare with what you need). # Bring a flashlight, water bottles, daypack, and other ten essentials. # Meals are the reasonability of each participant; consider bringing backpacking or dehydrated meals. # Trip leader will have a small camp stove anyone can use for heating water. # Each person needs to bring with them at least 3 or 4 gallons of water, this will need to be re-stocked during town visits.
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance: 18
Member Fees: 2
Elevation Gain: 500
Non-Member Fees: 10
Committee: Trips
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Our 4-day trip to learn more about central Oregon’s historic past started with a call from the interpretive ranger at Fort Rock. The 100-degree heat wave hitting the region was cause for canceling our visit to the Fort Rock Cave for safety concerns and the threat of extreme fire danger. The cave is a significant archaeological site where shoes dating back 10,000 years were discovered and public entry is limited to just a handful of people each year. Sadly, but understandably, we were not able to visit the cave and the trip's schedule had to be amended at the last minute. On our first day, we arrived at the massive caldera located in the heart of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. We visited the double 80-foot Paulina Falls and ate lunch overlooking the stream. We located two adjoining campsites on the picturesque East Lake, and just in time as the park was busy. In the afternoon we hiked the impressive Obsidian Flow trail, a massive flow of volcanic glass and pumice 17 stories tall. Returning to camp we enjoyed a swim in the cool and clear waters of East Lake. Afterward, we hiked on the beach to the local resort and were reminded of the subtle, yet abrasive qualities of volcanic glass on the feet (even with shoes). At the lodge, we enjoyed a delicious meal and had some good laughs with the staff. The radio in the background was playing a tribute to Tom Petty. We walked about a mile back to camp. That night we listened to acapella hymnals from a Mennonite group camping nearby. On day two we drove to the top of Paulina Peak. The peak is 7,984 feet and sits in the middle of Oregon. The views are impressive; to the north, we could see the massive stratovolcano, Mount Hood, then down the spine of the Cascades to the steep-sided Mount McLoughlin close to the California border – a distance of about 300 miles! To our south was our next stop, the iconic shaped Fort Rock, a volcanic landmark named for the tall fort-like walls. We left Paulina Peak and drove about an hour. Out first stop was the Fort Rock Homestead Museum, an open-air collection of historic structures. This is where I learned about a shortcut of a backroad to Derrick Cave, a remote lava tube that we had hoped to visit. Apparently, the private landowner had closed the shortcut because visitors were not closing a gate and his cows were escaping. The alternate route would have involved about a 50-mile detour on forest and back roads. This was tabled until another visit. Our next stop was the massive Fort Rock a horseshoe-shaped tuff ring that rises 300-feet over the surrounding flat landscape. We hiked for about an hour in the heat then drove to the town of Christmas Valley for ice. We continue on a short distance to Crack in the Ground, a 2-mile long tension fracture where we could hike and scramble over boulders about 30 feet underground. The temperature at the surface was 95 degrees, in the fissure it was a comfortable 70 degrees with some pockets of air in the lowest sections that we were chilling. Late that afternoon we stayed at the Rockhorse Ranch where we pitched our tents and gleefully enjoyed their shower! A celebrity at the ranch’s store was a black cat named, “Scratchy.” On day three we drove a short distance to Hole in the Ground, a crater that is a mile wide and 500-feet deep. Once thought to be a meteor impact the formation was actually caused by magma contacting groundwater. The resulting flash (there were many over the millennia) formed the massive hole we see today. The steep hike down the side was dusty and the walk up the forest service road was blazing hot. Near the end of our hike, three cars zipped up the road in a cloud of thick dust. The vehicles looked as though they were from the set of a Mad Max movie. The last car to pass was missing the driver-side door; the driver was wearing thick goggles. The rag-tag group waved as the passed. These were participants in the Gambler 500, a navigational adventure for cars whose value is no more than $500. Later that day we visited the High Desert Museum for a closer look at the cultural and natural history of the region, and we explored by flashlight the 1-mile long Lava River Cave, the longest continuous lava tube in Oregon. The cave was a welcome 42 degrees! As the sun lowered in the sky we made our way about 30 miles east of Bend to the Pine Mountain Observatory, an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Oregon. The center sits near the top of Pine Mountain at an elevation of 6,509 feet. We made camp, ate dinner, watched the sunset, and enjoyed the various telescopes of the facility. There were close-up views of Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars, nebulae, globular clusters, and various astronomy talks from UO instructors. Most impressive was a view of Jupiter and several moons through the 24-inch scope. The final morning we woke up hearing a chorus of cows in the distance. We made our way off the mountain appreciating the drastic change in terrain from pines to the open high desert. We took a shortcut around Bend and stopped at the Lava Lands Visitor Center where we explored the 500-foot tall Lava Butte that has commanding views of central Oregon’s volcanic story before returning home.