Are there fire pits or something similar at 00S? Thinking about taking my wife there for some airplane camping but having a fire is part of her go/no go criteria. Thanks for the info.

Regards,
Lefty

http://www.shortfield.com/index.php?option=com_jumi&fileid=5&Itemid=125&snum=19501.7*A&initlat=44.18317777778&initlong=-122.08866666667

Fire rings should be present, and are allowed as far as I know. The bathrooms leave a lot to be desired. It's a nice place though, and the hiking along the river is unbeatable.

Video of the approach: http://vimeo.com/15100787

Thanks Zane.

The strip is in very good shape right now. I don't think that there is a fire ring or a designated campsite, but it is a great spot for fires and camping, and neither are prohibited. It is about a 1/2 mile walk to Paradise campsite, which is a very nice campground with sites on the river. It's a four mile hike upstream to the Belknap hot springs also.

Scolopax wrote:The strip is in very good shape right now. I don't think that there is a fire ring or a designated campsite, but it is a great spot for fires and camping, and neither are prohibited. It is about a 1/2 mile walk to Paradise campsite, which is a very nice campground with sites on the river. It's a four mile hike upstream to the Belknap hot springs also.

Perfect. As long as we can build a fire I think we meet my wife's minimums! We'll definitely check out the river and hot springs. If all goes as planned, this will be another fine example of why airplane ownership is not only a good idea, but really an essential part of every household.

Here is a video I shot today with some McKenzie Bridge action. Might give you a little idea of what its like there currently. No fire pits that we saw, but maybe its time to build one?

A little Santiam Junction action too. Too bad Santiam isn't as scenic a strip as McKenzie. It's got some nice hiking in the area and would, otherwise, be a good destination.

Yeah unfortunately not a lot going on there but there are a couple of cool caves/lava tubes within a mile's walk that are worth checking out, one being rather technical requiring a 300' rope to rappel in, the other is easy for everyone and usually holds ice well into the summer. If ya want some info lemme know. After driving by it a million times since I was a kid, thinking how crazy it would be to land there, to finally do it was a real treat. I was thinking it would be cool to fly in there and then hitch-hike up the hill to the PCT and walk in and climb either Three Fingered Jack or Mt. Washington... someday!

chosstronaut wrote:Yeah unfortunately not a lot going on there but there are a couple of cool caves/lava tubes within a mile's walk that are worth checking out, one being rather technical requiring a 300' rope to rappel in, the other is easy for everyone and usually holds ice well into the summer. If ya want some info lemme know. After driving by it a million times since I was a kid, thinking how crazy it would be to land there, to finally do it was a real treat. I was thinking it would be cool to fly in there and then hitch-hike up the hill to the PCT and walk in and climb either Three Fingered Jack or Mt. Washington... someday!

It's about 6 miles from the strip to the PCT. Throw in bicycle and it shouldn't take too long. It's listed as class 5.0, which I would happily do if the peak wasn't a total choss pile. Might be interesting to check out. Flying around it one year, it was amazing the fingers hadn't crumbled already from what I could see.

Washington looks a bit better. Still crappy rock from reports. Class 4 - 5.

Didn't know about the caves. That could be fun.

GroundLooper wrote:It's about 6 miles from the strip to the PCT. Throw in bicycle and it shouldn't take too long. It's listed as class 5.0, which I would happily do if the peak wasn't a total choss pile. Might be interesting to check out. Flying around it one year, it was amazing the fingers hadn't crumbled already from what I could see.

Washington looks a bit better. Still crappy rock from reports. Class 4 - 5.

Didn't know about the caves. That could be fun.

Yeah a bike would be okay but since you might have a decent size pack the way up wouldn't be much fun, but the way down would be a blast. I've climbed them both before, I actually work as a rock climbing guide at Smith Rock State Park, hence why I've driven past it so many times commuting from Corvallis. I think Three Finger Jack is the coolest, luckily the rock you actually climb on is okay, not as bad as it looks, but you'd still surely want a rope in two locations. The summit is tiny and the exposure is huge. Mt. Washington is about the same difficulty, I'd call em both like 5.2 not that that means much but I feel like 4th class and 5.0 can be taken rather lightly. Either way both surely worth checking out if your ever so inclined. I have a picture somewhere of climbing Three Fingered Jack in 2004 and coming across the wreckage from a plane wreck that winter, the picture is of me holding the wing tip with "Cessna" on it and one of the seats was still sitting there. This was long before I ever thought I'd become a pilot.

I'm sure the road to the trailhead isn't as steep as the Twin Sisters road (West of Mt. Baker. Fantastic climbing. It's all Olivine. Very grippy like climbing on sandpaper.) On that road, taking a bike is no faster than walking (about 3 hours for the approach). Coming back is about 40 minutes and that's with time to stop and let the brakes cool down, which is highly recommended.

If you've read any of the Beckey guides, it becomes apparent that class 4.0 to Beckey is class 5 climbing only it's not protectable. "Hell, it's just an exposed scramble if you can't protect it", I'm sure he'd say.