Trip Report

Our usual trip guide, Dave Burwell, was unavailable this year, so Jane and I took out an idea we had been holding on to for just such an occasion: a trip up the Willamette Pass, over the Century Drive to Bend, to Sisters, and back on the Clear Lake cut-off. Planning revealed that this would be a long day, 275 miles, with too many sights to see for the time available. Thursday's newspaper and comments from two that had been up the McKenzie recently encouraged a rethinking. So we went up the Willamette Pass to Westfir, saw the private covered bridge, took the Aufderheide Highway up over the ridge and down into the drainage of the McKenzie, and back to town by that highway. Had an ideal Mid-morning stop at the Kiahamie Forest Park, stopped at Box Canyon Guard Station horse camp for an early lunch. Then down the South Fork of the McKenzie, past the Cougar Dam to the highway. Went 25 miles up river to the Santiam junction to see the color on the lava fields. Not too spectacular. Back to the McKenzie Village Cafe for pie and coffee and/or ice cream, at 3 p.m. A leisurely trip brought us back to the S.E.H.S. parking lot at the scheduled 5 p.m. The original charge for the long trip was $25, so $10 in cash was passed out to riders. One highlight was seeing a young brown bear in the brush, eating berries, along the Aufderheide Highway. Participants were Glenda Bates, Rita Baxter, Carlene Beck, Ingrid Carmichael, Bernie Claypool, Alice DeLeon, Virginia DeMers, Marjorie Eaton, Ardis Ebbighausen, Jan Gund, Beatrice Hill, Jane Hilt, Lillian Johnson, Bea LeFevre, Jennelle Moorehead, Janice Pattison, Maryelton Schutz, Grace Smith and Lila Smith, Hawk and Ruth Williams, Bob Wilson and Bill Eaton (leader).