Calendar

Past Activity

Spencer Butte Conditioning

  • Start date: 04/18/2017

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 04/18/2017

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

Meet at the Spencer Butte Trailhead at 5:45pm.

Map (pdf) with meeting place labelled is here:
https://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3474

The plan is to climb Spencer Butte 3 times, each time going up via the West Trail (0.6 mi) and returning to the trailhead via the Main Summit Trail (1.1mi). The intended purpose of the hike is to train for Spring mountaineering and the pace will be fast, but anyone who wishes to get in some exercise is more than welcome. The group may get spread out on the way up or down, but we will regroup as needed at the top and at trail junctions. It is recommended that you hike with a pack weighing 10-25% of your body weight. The goal is to complete the hike in under 2 hours (thus finishing before sunset), but double checking your headlamp or flashlight batteries as a precaution is recommended. Spencer Butte is known to harbor poison oak, so some people opt to hike in pants to lower the risk of getting a rash.

  • Event Leader: Charles Warren

  • Event Leader Phone: 716-560-7758

  • Event Leader Email: cwarren1986@gmail.com

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type: Urban

  • Departure Location: See Trip Description

  • Rating: Difficult

  • Roundtrip total drive miles:

  • Season: 2017

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Ten essentials, clothes you can sweat in, hiking boots or trail sneakers as preferred, 2 liters of water, backpack, headlamp or flashlight

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 5.1

  • Member Fees: 1

  • Elevation Gain: 2166

  • Non-Member Fees: 2

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Time: 2.4 hours
Weather: Sunny, low 60s, slight breeze
Trial condition: Good, if slightly muddy in places
Mosquitoes: None
Remarks: There was a person on the summit who was flying a drone. He was using virtual reality goggles that allowed him to see through a camera mounted on the drone itself. With loud beeping and whirring he flew the drone erratically about the summit of the Butte. The sunset watchers who had gathered there had no choice but to avert their eyes from the west in order to keep track of the drone that sometimes passed within perhaps 15 feet of their heads while moving at a rapid pace. Evidently, the virtual reality made it difficult for him to land the drone safely and the drone ended up crashing hard into the ground perhaps 10 feet in front of where I was sitting. In doing so, the propeller blades of the drone launched what was probably a small rock in my direction. Whatever it was, it struck my right forearm, breaking the skin an leaving a small abrasion. Undeterred, the drone pilot replaced the propeller blades and resumed his menacing of the sunset watchers. He appeared to be totally unaware of the impact his hobby was having on them. Other than this strange occurrence, the hike went well and everyone appeared to have a good time and a good workout.