Every year, Kirby chooses the best photos from that year and publishes as a set. Some get printed, some just stay digital. Most were published in blog posts as they occurred, and some get retouched before publishing here. For reference, the 2024 library contains 5,700+photos, so these 16 photos are special – at least to…
For the last day of 2024, a good cold, foggy Ridgeline Hike – without rain! The morning started quite cold with ice on the road overpasses, and thick fog on the east side of Ridgeline trail. But once above the fog, the sites were amazing. The route Started around 7:00 at Spring Blvd TH with…
Oregon weather can drain one through the winter, especially through long stretches of cold rain day after ever shorter day … so escaping to Arizona for some clear warm sunny skies and relaxation was a perfect idea. A few days in Sedona and more in Paradise Valley hit the mark! We had great weather, some…
The Willamette Valley was socked in with cold fog but just outside in Westfir there was no fog, sun and a wonderful frost. Hiking with another human this time, we chose North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River (say that 3 times fast!) over another more ‘valley’ oriented hikes that remained in…
Maybe an ‘out of bounds’ post about animals and not hiking, but this article and the animals highlighted made an impact. These animals are, after all, my forest friends with whom I share the woods every time I go. Who was wolf 57? is an article worth the read! This article also has special meaning…
Weather looked like it was going to break … sort of. Not as cold in the southern valley but further north could be freezing. I looked to maximize time outdoors with greatest probability of sun breaks but really wanted hills. Marys Peak might have freezing fog; Hardesty had snow before summit; Goodman Creek has a…
I so wanted to hike Mary’s Peak, or even North Fork Middle Fork Willamette, but once again the weather wouldn’t cooperate – freezing fog, 30 degrees and no sun … My backup hike was ice too (if starting early). Second backup was to just walk out the front door and hike as much as possible…
Original plan was North Fork Middle Fork Willamette out of Westfir. Weather was sketchy and degrading … checked early in the morning and temperatures <40, rain until noon. A solo hike (with serious mud) with 2 hours car time in cold rain? No. Pulled the contingency plan. Ridgeline Trail from early am with 20 miles…
After yesterday’s atmospheric river and cyclone bomb in PNW, today’s weather only had micro-climate type rain showers and possible sun. Time to hike …. The upper foothills (Marys Peak and Hardesty) had more snow. Hardesty has less snow than before Mary’s Peak remains snowed After a quick weather re-check – confirming little, no rain for…
I really intended to hike either Marys Peak or Hardesty Mountain, but I looked at the NOAA snow depth the night before. Here is the snow on Hardesty – blue=snow Here is the snow on Marys Peak I was not prepared either mentally or gear-wise for a snow hike; they take extra effort on several…
