Oregon: Best place to learn about it's wilderness?

peripatew

peripatew

Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
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I'm soon moving to Eugene, Oregon. I've been poking around trying to find some good website with information of the outdoor-ness of the area, but most I can seem to find is national park information, and high tourist stuff. I'm really interested in learning about the water (rivers and lakes) of the area, as well as neat secluded, low traffic areas to camp and hike.

Does anyone know of a good book, website, of forum? I've tried to find some caving, backpack, canoeing, hiking clubs with sites, but nothing to helpful.

L!

And because all threads need a picture of some knives! Here are some WIP Tom Krein Bulldog's that I've been drooling over lately:
BulldogPupsProgress-21.jpg
 
For books go to REI.com They carry a lot of locale specific books. Or I will be happy to answer what I can. I love Oregon. From where I am near Portland I am about 2 hours max from almost any terrain :) Desert? 2 hours East. Mountains? 1 hour East or West. Coast? 2 hour West. Great territory with LOTS to do. If it's outside you can do it here. Sound like a travel brochure don't I? :) Oh and if you enjoy shooting sports Oregon is class III friendly :D
 
Go to www.oregonconcealedcarry.com - yea it is primarly a defensive firearm related forum but there are some knife discussions and a whole section on wilderness survival and related discussions. Great group of folks mostly from the Pac Northwet but others from around the country as well. Join the forum, intro yourself, and you'll find many folks from the Eugene/Springfield area who will go out of their way to welcome and assist you.

Oregon is mega blade and firearms country & lots of outdoorsy activities. Eugene is home of a major blade show in April.
 
Sisters, Mt. Hood, Bachelor, the high desert, the Deschutes river,the Columbia gorge, on and on.......soooo many good places.
 
Spencer Butte, is a popular hike, as is Alton Baker Park which is a good place to go for a walk in the evening. Eugene is a very hiking friendly town.

Those places are higher traffic but are a lot closer. Just drive west of town and you can go to many places as you go over the Cascade mountain range.
 
I am still looking at Oregon very seriously..in fact, more than ever..I have a great paying job waiting in the North West corner, in Seaside. I just talked to the missus tonight about it, and she says she want s to move!! So it looks like I might be moving, as she is the boss...lol. So, who lives up that way that I can hang out with and hike, camp? Gene
 
I'm just north of Portland in Vancouver Washington. I get out to the coast a couple of times a year and I am going to both the Oregon Knife Show in Eugene April 12 and am planing on attending Blade West in Sept. There are quite a few of us scattered around the area. There is a get together that River-8 puts on usually in late summer know as Rat Mischief. I can not remember what weekend it is this year but it has been mentioned recently so it is in an older thread. I'll see if I can find it and post a link.
 
gunknifenut said:
I am still looking at Oregon very seriously..in fact, more than ever..I have a great paying job waiting in the North West corner, in Seaside. I just talked to the missus tonight about it, and she says she want s to move!! So it looks like I might be moving, as she is the boss...lol. So, who lives up that way that I can hang out with and hike, camp? Gene
Click to expand...

Gene you were suppose to move out here last year! the red carpet is getting faded!! ;)
 
I live on the Oregon Coast and there are incredible hiking trails out here.
120 hikes on the oregon coast by bonnie henderson
or
hiking the oregon coast lizann dunegan a falcon guide, falcon is the publisher
Both have decent info on hikes.
 
By the way, those two books are at any book store in western Oregon. If you go west to Florence and then head north 20 miles or so you will find Cape Perpetua. The hiking trails there are really cool. Ocean on the west mountains on the east. My last hike there I was in the woods looking at the whales headed south. Best of both worlds. You can also get those books and others of course at the ranger station.
 
From Eugene, head west, south, and especially east. (North just gets you into the Willamette Valley, which has it's attractions, but not wilderness.)

Summers can be pretty dry, but the rest of the time, it will be wet, damp, and sunless. Get good rain gear, and learn to go out anyway. Learn to be in the wild when it's wet. It's really very do-able!

There will be lots of people there, along with bookstores and gear stores, that will have all the info and gear and experience you need to enjoy the wild well and safely.

Enjoy it! :thumbup:
 
Oregon is a great place to live. Everything is close. Everytime i have thought about moving to Montana or Idaho or somewhere else I come back and see green everywhere. I know I couldn't leave this much green. Tons of places to hike, fish, camp and enjoy the outdoors. LOTS of rivers very close. I second Oregonconcealedcarry.com and there is a firearms school close that is VERY good. I have been to lots of classes there including the survial series. Oregonfirearmsacademy.com
 
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