The Obsidians

Ray Benson Snowpark.
2024-01-15, 2024-01-19
Finally a chance to go snowshoeing! We’ll park at the Ray Benson Snow Park and trek to the North Blowout shelter. Our total distance depends on our route but shouldn’t exceed 7 miles. Due to all the recent snowfall we could encounter deep challenging conditions. If the conditions are too windy or cold at Ray Benson we may try the Maxwell Snow Park instead. Also note that this trip could be cancelled due to harsh conditions. A stop at Takoda’s restaurant after the trip is a possibility.

Blanton Ridge to Spencer Butte
2024-01-16, 2024-01-23, 2024-01-30
We will start on time at 7:00 am. This hike to the top of Spencer Butte takes the less traveled route from Blanton Road. We’ll cross Blanton Ridge before continuing on from the 52nd and Willamette trailhead. This option provides a good in town workout.. If the weather doesn’t co-operate we can forgo the exposed rocky steps near the top.
There are 2 ways to get to the trailhead:
1. To get to the trailhead from 29th & Willamette continue south on Willamette. At Willamette/Donald St Intersection bear right on Willamette. Immediately bear right again on to Crest Drive. Follow signs staying on Crest for approximately 1.2 miles to the Junction with Blanton Road. Turn left on Blanton. The trail head is on your left in about ½ mile. Do not turn left on Southpointe Dr.
2. Another way to get to the Blanton trailhead is to go south on Chambers until it ends at Crest Drive. Turn left on to Crest. In about ½ mile turn right on Blanton Road.

Amazon Hdwtrs/Spencer Butte
2024-01-17
THE RIDGELINE TRAILS ARE CLOSED–WE DO NOT HIKE ON IN CLOSED AREAS.
The priorities for the City are streets, the neighborhood parks, the open spaces like the Ridgeline.
NOTE: Flexible departure time from 8:15 to 8:30
Every Wednesday since 2013 we do this hike from the Martin Street Trailhead to the summit of Spencer Butte. Compared to starting at the paved Spencer Butte parking lot, this hike has double the climbing and three times the distance. It is a conditioning hike where everyone is challenging themselves to go at a moderate or fast pace—not like the other hikes on our schedule. If this is your first time on this Obsidian conditioning hike, or hiking to Spencer Butte, you may want to call the leader to discuss the pace. If you should fall too far behind, the leaders reserve the right to have you not summit but wait and return with the group. The regulars on this hike have attained their fitness by showing up consistently and slowly improving. If you have questions, email summertrips@obsidians.org. Come a few minutes early because we leave promptly at the listed time. To get to the trailhead: Take West Amazon to Martin Street. Turn left. Drive past Kinney Park and park Martin Street near the Kiosk sign board across from Canyon Drive Street sign with hiker symbol. Please contact the leader if you have any questions.

Mt. Pisgah 6 Miler
2024-01-19, 2024-01-22
Meeting place; Mt Pisgah, west (main) trailhead by the restrooms. If you don’t have a Lane County pass, be sure to allow time to purchase one with debit/credit card (no cash) at the fee box near the main (trail #1) trailhead.
On this out and back trip we will hike north and clockwise around swing hill following trails 17, 7, and 3. We will continue north-east through the forest on trail 4 crossing to trail 1 via the 14 connector to the summit spending time to enjoy the view, snacks and hydrate. The route is roughly 6.3 miles out and back and should take 2-2.5 hours. Elevation gain is about 1500 feet.

Bohemia Pk to StandByMeBridge
2024-01-20
Brisk hike from Bohemia Park in Cottage Grove to historic Stand By Me Bridge at Mosby Creek, and back.
Softer shoe sole recomanded for this 8 ft wide asphalt path.
After hike optional stop for refreshment in fun Cottage Grove pub.
>>>>!! >> Obsidians friend scouted trail and found that is littered with hundreds of trees. It is way to much to climb over. Trip is cancelled.

Blue Horizon @ Cape Mtn.
2024-01-21
Blue Horizon, the name on the map. The trail head is at Horse Creek campground just north of Florence. I hiked the first half of this trail while camping at the campground this last fall. The part I did not hike is exploratory. This trail wanders through a Sitka forest where you catch glimpses of the ocean and can hear the waves crash. The bit of trail I did not do leads around a butte and comes back to original trail. The group will have options, on the way back we can stop at Dry Lake trailhead and make the climb to the top of Cape Mt, about 700 ft elevation gain or go back into Florence and get a late lunch or early dinner. The road just past the horse corrals is where we turn off from 101 and about 7 miles on gravel road to campground. The worst of this road is some potholes that can be avoided.

Amazon Hdwtrs/Spencer Butte
2024-01-24
NOTE: Flexible departure time from 8:15 to 8:30..
Every Wednesday since 2013 we do this hike from the Martin Street Trailhead to the summit of Spencer Butte. Compared to starting at the paved Spencer Butte parking lot, this hike has double the climbing and three times the distance. It is a conditioning hike where everyone is challenging themselves to go at a moderate or fast pace—not like the other hikes on our schedule. If this is your first time on this Obsidian conditioning hike, or hiking to Spencer Butte, you may want to call the leader to discuss the pace. If you should fall too far behind, the leaders reserve the right to have you not summit but wait and return with the group. The regulars on this hike have attained their fitness by showing up consistently and slowly improving. If you have questions, email summertrips@obsidians.org. Come a few minutes early because we leave promptly at the listed time. To get to the trailhead: Take West Amazon to Martin Street. Turn left. Drive past Kinney Park and park Martin Street near the Kiosk sign board across from Canyon Drive Street sign with hiker symbol. Please contact the leader if you have any questions.

Salt Creek Falls
2024-01-24
Drivers need chains, bring lunch, water sitting pad…B in shape!!!!…..In recent times I never knew when the state would plow down to the falls or not…So if it’s plowed the hike will B about 3.5 mi, 5 mi if we need to park by “kiddie park”….Bergs is the best plc to rent sshoes….Happy trails

Mt Pisgah Sunset/Moonrise
2024-01-25
Update: If Mt. Pisgah is still closed, this trip will be canceled.
Moonrise is 5:09pm and sunset is 5:12pm Look for us by my car a row or two down from the fee box. The current plan is to take 17, 7, 4 and 1 with an optional shorter route of #7 and #3 to the main trail.
Email me at jbjacobsen@comcast.net if you have questions, have never hiked Mt. Pisgah or need to start earlier. If you don’t have a Lane County pass allow time to purchase one with Debit/Credit card (no cash) at the pay station by trailhead.

Film Screening: Land Trust
2024-01-25
Join us to watch the movie “Land Trust.” We will meet at 1:30 at the entrance of the Museum, the film and discussion are from 2-3:30. From the description at the website: “LAND/TRUST (2022) documents the effort to restore the coastal prairie in the Quiroste Valley Cultural Preserve at Año Nuevo State Park, which encompasses the former site of Mitenne, a village of the Awaswas-speaking Quiroste people.”
Additional details are available at this link: https://calendar.uoregon.edu/event/film_screening_landtrust Meetup/Departure Location: University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History

Campfire Tales - Bill Sullivan
2024-01-26
Longtime Obsidian, William L. Sullivan, takes a short break from hiking to entertain us with campfire tales – legends and folk heroes of the Northwest from Bigfoot to Sacajawea, D.B. Cooper, and the Exploding Whale. Although Sullivan is best known for his popular hiking guidebooks, he has also written several books about Oregon history and half a dozen novels.

Pisgah East Side Loop
2024-01-26
WTo get to the east trailhead head drive toward Pleasant Hill on hwy 58. Turn left at the 76 station on to Ridgeway Rd. The parking area is 1.7 miles down this road. We will hike to the summit on trail #2 and then return using trail #6. The parking lot is small but vehicles sometimes park on the road if there isn’t room. You need a Lane County pass to park but not if you park on the road. Remove any valuables from your vehicle. There is a porta potty at the trailhead.
Brunch afterwards for those who wish-likely at Sunrise Cafe.

Ridgeline Scouting & Brushing
2024-01-27
With the ice storm wreaking havoc on the City last week there has also been damage in the Ridgeline Park system. We will work to clear the trail tread and corridor of small brush in advance of crews coming in to use chainsaws. We will also scout the trail documenting the number and placement of the trees that need to be chainsawed to better enable the sawyers to allocate themselves in the trail system.
Meet at the Willamette Street & 52nd Trailhead parking lot, the gravel lot on Willamette.

Gold Lake
2024-01-28
Depending on conditions we may add a mile by going past Marilyn Lakes. Most people have done this trip before but for first timers the is a good trip. We park at Gold Lake sno park. We cross Hyw 58 and head toward Gold Lake shelter on a road. If we decide to take in Marilyn Lakes we include about a mile on trail through the trees.

Bridge and Bald Hill
2024-01-28
We will park on the west edge of the OSU campus and meander along Arnold Way, through a covered bridge making our way to Bald Hill Park. At the park we will do a loop to the top and return to campus.

Amazon Headwaters Brushing & Scouting
2024-01-30
Bring a rake and meet us at Fox Hollow Trailhead to head downhill to rake storm debris from the Amazon Headwaters Trail. If we have enough volunteers, we can also send a group up the trail to the Tie Trail that will have more challenging work: raking, some cutting, scouting, and gathering information about the logs that need to cleared. We will give safety instructions before we start working. We have a few extra rakes if you don’t have one. Plan for 2 1/2 – 3 hours.

Amazon Hdwtrs/Spencer Butte
2024-01-31
NOTE: Flexible departure time from 8:15 to 8:30.
Every Wednesday since 2013 we do this hike from the Martin Street Trailhead to the summit of Spencer Butte. Compared to starting at the paved Spencer Butte parking lot, this hike has double the climbing and three times the distance. It is a conditioning hike where everyone is challenging themselves to go at a moderate or fast pace—not like the other hikes on our schedule. If this is your first time on this Obsidian conditioning hike, or hiking to Spencer Butte, you may want to call the leader to discuss the pace. If you should fall too far behind, the leaders reserve the right to have you not summit but wait and return with the group. The regulars on this hike have attained their fitness by showing up consistently and slowly improving. If you have questions, email summertrips@obsidians.org. Come a few minutes early because we leave promptly at the listed time. To get to the trailhead: Take West Amazon to Martin Street. Turn left. Drive past Kinney Park and park Martin Street near the Kiosk sign board across from Canyon Drive Street sign with hiker symbol. Please contact the leader if you have any questions.

Ridgeline Brushing & Scouting
2024-01-31
Bring a rake and meet us at Fox Hollow Trailhead to rake storm debris from the Ridgeline Trail. We will throw branches off the trail and probably light cutting. We will work on the upper trail from Fox Hollow to Dillard and/or from Fox Hollow up to the Tie Trail. We will also scout, gathering information about the logs that need to cleared at a later date. We will give safety instructions before we start working. We have a few extra rakes if you don’t have one. Plan for 2 1/2 – 3 hours.

Ground Hog Day
2024-02-02
Hendricks is Park is open so we will be on the Ribbon Trail. Meet at the Masonic Cemetery at 25th and University near the interpretive signs and gate—not at the Abbey. From there we will walk through the cemetery to see the snowdrop flowers and Phyllis, the only groundhog living on the grounds. Then we will be on city streets by the golf course, Obsidian Lodge, Ribbon Trail, Hendricks park and back to our cars. Be prepared for a steady uphill push for the first 30-40 minutes. Bathrooms at Hendricks Park. Depending on time, optional lunch or snack at a place to be decided by the group.

Harlow-Coburg-Harlow
2024-02-03
GPS meeting: 44.0715, -123.0543
First ride of the year is easy, 10MPH ride from Eugene’s Harlow neighborhood via Armitage Road and Coburg Road to Coburg, OR. We will ride-through-explore Coburg’s old town and then stop at Coburg Pizza for a slice. Return will be: Coburg Road to Country Club Road, Crescent Ave, and Chad Drive, back to Harlow neighborhood.
Meetup/Departure Location: Holt Elementary School, Calvin St., Eugene

Tie Trail Brushing & Raking
2024-02-03
Join us as we continue to remove storm debris from the Ridgeline Trail System. For this outing we will be focusing on the Tie Trail, one of the heaviest hit areas of the system.
We will work from 9 to noon.
Meet at the Fox Hollow Trailhead parking lot, the gravel lot across Fox Hollow from the Cascade Raptor Center.

Siltcoos Lake Loop
2024-02-04
This is a 4 mile loop trail into the lake. We will arrive at some campsites on the lake edge which appear to be accessible by this trail or boat. This is an exploratory trip. I check the trail head parking but did not hike the trail. If there is time we will include a hike out to the beach after completing this loop. I have hiked the trails in this area. This the only time I have seen Snowy Plovers on their eggs. It is too early to enjoy at this time of the year. When we had done all we can we will stop in Old Town Florence for drinks or ice cream before heading home.

Blanton Ridge alternative
2024-02-06
THIS IS AN ALTERNATE ROUTE TO THE WEEKLY BLANTON HIKE – WE WILL NOT SUMMIT SPENCER BUTTE
The trail to the Butte is still undergoing clearing and repairs from the recent storms. We will hike an out-and-back on the Ridgeline Trail from Martin Street to the 52nd Street Trailhead. It is the same distance (6.2 miles), with similar overall elevation, but without the Butte stairs and views.
Thanks to Scorpion and Obsidian crews for getting these trails cleared.

Amazon Hdwtrs/
2024-02-07
NOTES:
Flexible departure time from 8:15 to 8:30
THIS IS AN ALTERNATE ROUTE TO THE WEEKLY AMAZON HEADWATERS HIKE – WE WILL NOT SUMMIT SPENCER BUTTE
The trail to the Butte is still undergoing clearing and repairs from the recent storms. We will hike an out-and-back on the Ridgeline Trail from Martin Street to the 52nd Street Trailhead. It is the same distance (6.2 miles), with similar overall elevation, but without the Butte stairs and views. This will still be a conditioning hike where everyone is challenging themselves to go at a moderate or fast pace—not like the other hikes on our schedule. If this is your first time on this Obsidian conditioning hike, you may want to call the leader to discuss the pace. The regulars on this hike have attained their fitness by showing up consistently and slowly improving. If you have questions, email summertrips@obsidians.org. Come a few minutes early because we leave promptly at the listed time. To get to the trailhead: Take West Amazon to Martin Street. Turn left. Drive past Kinney Park and park Martin Street near the Kiosk sign board across from Canyon Drive Street sign with hiker symbol. Please contact the leader if you have any questions.

Ridgeline Raking & Brushing
2024-02-08
Meet at the Fox Hollow Trailhead Parking lot across from the Raptor Center. Obsidians trail maintenance work party work from Fox Hollow to Dillard trail. Bring a rake to do the final clearing and brushing on the lower and upper trail to Dillard. Our volunteers worked on the trail last Wednesday and then on Saturday, the Scorpions sawyers did their work to remove the logs. We will give safety instructions before we start working. Plan for 3 hours. Also we will let you know about registering with City of Eugene for liability.
We have a few extra rakes if you don’t have one. Email Janet at jbjacobsen@comcast.net if you have questions. Guests are welcome.

GameNight!
2024-02-08 16:30 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Come join us for an evening of games at the Lodge from 4:30 – 7:30 pm. By signing up, you’ll help us have an idea of about how many to expect, but you’re very welcome to show up any time throughout the evening, even if you don’t sign up. (No trip credit earned for this event) On some evenings, Obsidians Concessions will set out items for sale, so bring some cash or a check if you want to make a purchase some great Obsidians gear.
