Travel Oregon

Cathy Rice lets her fingers “do the finding” of her family’s next outdoor adventure! Cathy Rice and her family live in Wilsonville, but have explored much of Oregon as a part of a growing group of savvy internet users who’ve discovered that the great outdoors is but a finger tap and electronic link away through a new sport – (or is it recreation?) - called “geocaching.”

“It’s fun for people of all ages,” noted Rice. She and her family have been avid geocachers the past eight years. “For the kids it’s like a treasure hunt because they get to discover new places to see – it’s just a great activity to do while you’re enjoying the Oregon outdoors.”

Geocaching is a rewarding blend of high technology that uses computers and hand held GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers and take you on an old fashioned treasure hunt. Cathy says “fun” is the theme at Geocaching.com At home, she simply enters her zip code and then the distance she would like to travel from her home, and soon a lengthy list of adventures appears on her screen.

She also notes many details about the cache on the website like available parking, whether it’s pet friendly plus the latitude and longitude coordinates that she will plug into her GPS so to guide her family to the cache. Cathy told me that when she began in 2001 there were hundreds of caches in the Portland area – today, there are tens of thousands in the city and surrounding metro region – plus, hundreds of thousands of the hidden treasures across the state.

In fact, “Rice’s Raiders,” as the family nickname implies, are real pros at finding caches. These days, they even create their own caches to hide for others to find. A watertight container like an ammo box or plastic container is preferred for caches because they need to be watertight. Because Cathy’s favorite rock group is “Styx,” she included a variety of related items inside her latest cache: “We’ve added chap sticks…glue sticks, something to sharpen your writing sticks,” she noted with a laugh.

She added: “Now, not everyone will trade within the theme and that’s ok too – but if you can it’s kind of fun.”

So far, the Rice family has hidden over a dozen caches across Oregon and she said that they’ve discovered a lot of locations they’d never have known about were it not for geocaching.

In fact, more and more people are have discovered that Oregon State Parks are popular geocaching sites because they’re convenient, safe and allow for a longer camping stay. But at Stub Stewart State Park, park ranger Heather Currey said that if folks choose to hide caches in a state park, be sure to get permission from the park managers.

“We think it’s fantastic that people want to recreate on state park lands and Geocaching is a wonderful way to explore the parklands, but many of our parks have sensitive plants, habitats, cultural resources that we’re protecting for the future. So, it’s nice for us to know where these caches are intended so we can identify those areas and maybe find an area on the other side of the trail that would be a little better.”

On a recent adventure, the Rice family followed directions to a starting point in a nearby public area and then hunted the brush for more clues. In this case, latitude and longitude coordinates were the clues. They plugged the numbers into their GPS and then the unit guided them to the site of the hidden cache.

The caches vary - and usually consist of small souvenirs that you can choose from - perhaps even a camera and a log book to capture and relate your moment of discovery. But Cathy insists, (and etiquette demands,) that if you take something from the cache, you should leave something in exchange.

Aside from the fun of just looking for something that’s been secreted away in the woods, Ken and Cathy Rice agree that one of the bonuses of Geocaching has been the way the entire event brings the family together.

Editor’s Note: Grant’s Getaways is a production of Travel Oregon brought to you in association with Oregon State Parks, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and Oregon State Marine Board. Episodes air Fridays on KGW Newschannel 8 and Saturdays on Northwest Cable News Network.

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Oregon’s “blue hole” days when the sun plays a peak-a-boo game with visitors, provides an excellent backdrop for the task of hauling crab pots full of fresh Dungeness crab from the Oregon Coast.

Recently, I joined my good friend Steve Fick to learn the tactics and techniques for catching this Oregon seafood delicacy. Steve first explored the Columbia River estuary as a kid and knows his way around the vast waterway where the river meets the sea.

For Fick, the first lesson is simple enough: always wear a PFD (Personal Flotation Device.) He insisted it’s a personal lesson in life and safety: “You always wear it Grant, because if you fall overboard, particularly with heavy rain gear on, it’s very difficult to survive. The water is always cold and can sap your strength in a matter of minutes.”

We left the snug harbor at Hammond, Oregon and slowly motored the short distance downriver to an area just off Clatsop Beach. Fick had prepared five large crab traps with varied baits – a strategy he often used so to “see what the crabs prefer.” Sometimes he’ll use turkey legs, chicken wings, shad or salmon carcasses – even a can of tuna for crab bait.

“Oh yes, a can of tuna fish is perfect bait, exclaimed Fick. “All you do is perforate the can so that the scent comes out – you can also buy canned sardines or mackerel too – both work well. As long as they have a high oil content, it seems to fish well – the scent is what draws the crab into the pot.”

Each Oregon crabber must carry an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Shellfish License. Each crabber is allowed to use up to three crab traps.

We timed our trip to fish our traps the last hour of the incoming tide and through the high slack period, (that’s often the best crabbing time.)

Steve said it’s the safest time to crab in the estuary: “There is no reason to be out here on the ebb tide – that’s the out-going tide. It can be the most dangerous part of the tide cycle and this river can change so fast. You just don’t take chances out here.” Fick said that each trap should “soak” for 15-20 minutes – that allows enough time for the crabs to locate the bait and enter the trap.

Each crabber is allowed a dozen male crabs apiece, and in Oregon they must be five and three-quarters (5¾) inches across the back.

Females are protected to preserve the breeding population of crabs. A crab gauge or other measuring device is essential gear since some crabs miss the mark by only a hair’s length.

Within a half hour, we had landed and checked each of our traps and we were fortunate to retain 18 legal Dungeness crabs; plenty to go around our small but hearty crew.

As much fun as it was to catch these crabs, the best part was yet to come when Steve motored back to the dock in Astoria and we carried our crustaceans up to his shop to learn the proper way to cook our crabs.

Fick dropped a pound of salt into ten gallons of boiling water and then placed each crab into the pot. The crabs must cook approximately twenty minutes.

While we waited, I chatted with Oregon Fish and Wildlife Shellfish Manager, Matt Hunter.

He explained that the crabbing in the Columbia River estuary had been exceptional this year. “We’re seeing darn near a limit per person and when we don’t see a limit it’s because of weather or that people just don’t want their dozen crabs.”

The reason for this year’s remarkable catch rate? “Well, the crabs molted in early summer so they’re coming off the molt and they’re hungry and looking for food. At this time of year there’s plenty of food: baitfish die offs, natural salmon spawning events so there is plenty of available to them.”

As we chilled our catch on ice, I asked Fick what he enjoyed most about the adventure that’s just off his front door step:

“Oh, it’s simple and everyone can be involved in it. It’s easy to catch a dozen crabs per person with lots of action for kids. And – you never really know until you pull the pot up what you got…you know and that is fun!”

Editor’s Note: Grant’s Getaways is a production of Travel Oregon brought to you in association with Oregon State Parks, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and Oregon State Marine Board. Episodes air Fridays on KGW Newschannel 8 and Saturdays on Northwest Cable News Network. Before you embark on your own crabbing adventure, be sure to check check shellfish license/regulations and rental facilities.

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There’s a new way to explore Oregon and this one is really for the birds! But it’s designed for people – especially folks who like to explore new destinations where half the fun is in the getting there.

The first “Willamette Valley Birding Trail” is a new partnership between varied birding groups and Travel Oregon. It offers people a chance to explore 130 legitimate birding sites in a region that is home to 70 percent of the state’s population.

Joel Geier and I recently met at William Finley National Wildlife Refuge where he told me that variety is the spice of his birding life along the new Willamette Valley Birding Trail. Geier knows his birding game well! After all, he’s a longtime member of the Oregon Field Ornithologists. His organization along with several others including Travel Oregon joined to identify 130 birding trails in the Willamette Valley.

It’s easy to locate a trail online. A click of your mouse takes you inside one of the dozen different loops where you’ll find directions to the sites plus photos of the species that you’ll see along the way.

Sallie Gentry and Molly Monroe agree that the new Homer Campbell Memorial Boardwalk at William Finley Wildlife Refuge near Corvallis is one of those special places where you can go birding. It’s an astonishing trail that is wheelchair accessible along 1700 feet of elevated boardwalk that leads to an observation blind that overlooks a small pond that attracts many different birds.

“It is a magnet for wildlife,” noted Monroe. “We’ll have thousands upon thousands of ducks and geese and swans here within the next few months.”

Gentry added, “We’re kind of a little known secret right now, but I think we’re going to become more well known because there are such excellent wildlife viewing opportunities here and you can get relatively close without disturbing the wildlife.”

Not only wintering waterfowl, but also raptor species like bald eagles make the Finley Refuge their winter homes.

“It’s one of the easiest birds for most people to identify so it’s fun for them. Often, you just look out on a tree line of snags and say, ‘Oh, there’s an eagle perched right there.’ Eagles are good because they’re well known by most people and they’re recovery from near extinction is such a success story.”

If you’re eager to learn more about birding, but you’re not sure how to get started, Gentry said that there is good news for the casual first time visitor this Fall season.

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Despite the wild and wet weather of the past few weeks October is prime time for “King Fishing.” King Chinook Salmon, that is! There is a simple reason that they are called “Kings.” – after all, the big fish can tip the scales at fifty pounds or more.

Despite downpours and sea squalls, I recently joined a fishing party on Tillamook Bay where we tried our luck for the king of the salmon. If you’re eager to catch a “King,” you arrive at the Garibaldi docks an hour before sunrise.

A longtime Oregon fishing guide, John Krauthoefer, told our huddled group of anglers: “It’s the early bird who gets the worm, men! This has become such a popular fishery that if you wait and go late, you might miss the bite.”

Krauthoefer added that it had been a long salmon fishing season. I knew exactly what he meant because we had joined John on two earlier salmon fishing trips. Our first adventure was in July – on the ocean – where the summer Coho salmon bite was awesome. We joined John again in September when the Coho and Chinook season slipped into high gear at “Buoy 10” on the Columbia River.

Now, in mid-October thousands of salmon are migrating through dozens of estuaries like Tillamook Bay and swimming into their home rivers.

As we motored out of the marina, Krauthoefer noted that it had been a wet and wild weather week and that several big storms had pumped up a huge ocean. As we approached the ocean, we watched huge swells rise and fall – sometimes fishing boats would briefly vanish as the swells passed by. The bar was closed – no one would be heading out onto the ocean today.

Birt Hansen, a longtime fishing partner, had joined John and me on Tillamook Bay where scores of other anglers had also gathered – we were excited, anxious and ready for action. After all, low tide was about to turn to flood and it might serve up the biggest of all the salmon species called “King.”

John’s a big believer that a plug-cut herring makes the best bait when fishing for Chinook. He makes a bevel cut with his razor sharp knife just behind the herring’s head to make the bait spin when it’s trolled in the water.

We dropped our lines over the side and John began a slow troll with the tide. As the tide turned to flood, signs of salmon life began to appear as nearby anglers hooked up. It happened to us too! Suddenly, I had my hands full with a hard charging king that had decided to head back to sea.

Krauthoefer put his motor in gear and followed the salmon. After a twenty-minute tug of war, the gleaming 20-pound salmon came to the net and it was scooped aboard.

It can be a he challenge to fish along the jetty – where the swells and the waves and the tide can combine to change conditions in a heartbeat. We wore our inflatable PFD’s (Personal Flotation Devices) at all times.

Sport-anglers catch more than 12,000 King salmon on the bar, the bay and the five rivers that flow into the bay on their way to the sea. So, special rules are in place to protect the Kings from over harvest. An angler can keep one King per day and five per season from Tillamook Bay or its rivers. In addition, anglers can also keep a hatchery Coho salmon.

Information on purchasing an Oregon Angling License

Sport Fishing Regulations (pdf)

Locate a fishing guide here

Information on Safe Boating Practices

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This week’s Grant’s Getaway offers a unique adventure for folks searching for a place to enjoy the beauty and wonder of the fall season.

You’ll enjoy hiking trails, crimson-colored fall leaves and spawning salmon in an educational backdrop at an overlooked recreation area not far from Portland. You’ll want to bring your camera to capture the steady stream of color along the Salmon River that flows through the Wildwood Recreation Area near Welches, Oregon. Many parts of the Cascade Mountains demand a slower pace. You simply see more when you leave busy campgrounds behind and let quieter, wilder moments surround you.

Those moments are easy to come by down the many trails inside the Wildwood Recreation Site near Welches, Oregon. A site that may have you wondering, “How is it I’ve never heard of this place or visited it before?” After all, the Salmon River is born from glaciers atop Mt Hood and it is Oregon’s last undimmed river that flows unhindered from the mountains to the sea.

It cuts a beeline through more than five hundred acres of designated public recreation land at Wildwood. The trails that wind through Wildwood are marvelous opportunities to explore the parkland.

The Wildwood Wetlands Trail is a one-mile loop of gravel and paved foot- paths plus more than a thousand feet of elevated boardwalk that gives you access to the heart of a vast wetland area where many different wildlife species live.

Observation decks extend into the wetland at a number of locations and allow closer inspection. Don’t be surprised while hiking the boardwalk to see blue herons, mallards, teals, turtles, or any number of small songbirds.

Pay special attention to the many interpretive signs that describe the wetland habitat and the critters that live there.

There are more than 1,000 feet to the boardwalk on the Wildwood Wetlands Trail that was built four feet off the ground to keep hiker’s feet dry and limit access onto the sensitive wetlands. Beginning in mid-October, the boardwalk area explodes to life with a colorful show of brilliant reds, oranges and yellows from vine maple, big leaf maple trees and alder trees.

The Cascade Streamwatch Trail is a barrier-free and paved, three-quarter-mile trail adjacent to the Wild and Scenic Salmon River. Interpretive displays describe points of interest. The most remarkable highlight of this trail is a stream-profile viewing chamber where you gain an underwater “fish-eye” view of a small stream and salmon habitat.

The chamber–ten years in the making–drops twelve feet below the water surface and allows you to see through two large windows more than twelve feet across and seven feet high where ‘baby’ salmon live. I enjoy just watching the behavior of the three- to four-inch salmon fry and how they use logs, branches, and even rocks to hide. As a bug floats on the current, a fish jets out and picks it off, then retreats back to its shelter.

The park is open from 8:00 A.M. to sunset from mid-May to early November. However, during the off-season, you may park at the gate and access Wildwood and Cascade Streamwatch by foot, walking the entrance road to the trailhead or other facilities.

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Fall has arrived and for many people that signals the start of Oregon’s fall hunting seasons.

This week, I discovered that women who have always wanted to try their hands at hunting have a new way to learn about one of Oregon’s premier recreational pursuits.

When you go hunting for pheasant, be ready to put in your time and lots of energy – often you are pushing through thick, waist high grass. On the EE Wilson Wildlife Area near Corvallis, newcomer Kelly Ruboin is on her toes because the pheasant can launch themselves skyward in a heartbeat.

Kelly joined accomplished hunter Mark Steele, and his hunting dog, “Neela,” for an afternoon in the field. Mark is a volunteer guide who gave his hunting services over for a special day designed for women only. In fact, two-dozen women gathered on the wildlife area to learn what upland bird hunting’s all about.

Ruboin, like many of the other women, has never done anything like this before. But that’s okay because she’s taking a class to learn how it’s done. The EE Wilson Wildlife Area Pheasant Hunt is part of a unique Outdoor Skills program sponsored by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and it is called “Becoming An Outdoors Woman.”

The class was too good a deal for Kelly to pass up. For twenty-five dollars each woman learned hands on gun safety, hunting techniques, proper clothing, plus how to shoot and hit what they aim at.

Experienced instructors from ODFW offered lectures on firearms and led the students through a number of exercises in proper gun handling and safety. They helped to build confidence in the newcomers with an atmosphere of trust that paid off with relaxation and fun.

Tthe agency sells approximately 300,000 hunting licenses and tags each year and women make up just 16 percent of the total.

Rick Hargrave, ODFW spokesperson, said they hope to change that percentage with specific classes that encourage women to participate, “What our outdoor skills program does is plant that seed of interest – if it leads to hunting or fishing, that’s great – but if it leads to getting their families outdoors more often that’s even better too.”

EE Wilson offers nearly 1800 acres for hunters, fishers, hikers and cyclists to explore throughout the year. The area offers wetlands for wildlife, a stocked fishing pond to cast lures and a wildlife exhibit area where you can see many of Oregon’s upland birds on display.

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This week, I traveled to Polk County to discover a little piece of cycling heaven for mountain bike riders called Black Rock Mountain. Located across 500 acres of Oregon State Forest at Black Rock Mountain in Polk County, this little piece of cycling heaven that offers “free rider” a true test of the stamina, not to mention a complete adrenalin rush!

Some of the runs at Black Rock are so steep that riders can reach speeds of 40 mile per hour, so each rider covers up from head to toe with plastic and neoprene rubber protection that they call “armor.” The bikes that they ride are specially designed to take punishing workouts across the forest – aluminum framed bikes with heavy-duty front and rear air shocks and disc brakes are common and the bikes can reach $5,000 or more.

What’s unique about Black Rock Mountain is that the trail system was created by a unique partnership between local government and riders and is the first “mountain bike only” area approved by the Oregon Department of Forestry. In addition, the entire trail system is maintained and operated by a volunteer organization, the Black Rock Mountain Bike Association (BRMBA). The seven year old organization has 1500 members and started Black Rock with the dream of “…getting people off the couch and out in the forest.”

From trail design to maintenance, BRMBA members are involved in the entire process of the project. It all begins with designing the features that riders seek at Black Rock; features that include ramps, jumps and berms – that are approved by the Oregon Department of Forestry and then built by the club members. The trail designers can also name the varied projects and include such imaginative names like “Sunday Stroll,” “Grannie’s Kitchen” and “Bonzai Downhill.”

The runs and the stunts have been designed and built with the approval of Oregon Department of Forestry under the “Adopt A Trail” program and volunteers make sure that the impact on the forest is minimal.

Whether catching big air or enjoying the freedom that comes from speeding down a forest trail on two wheels, the riders agree that there’s something for every level of experience at Black Rock Mountain.

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Is it time for you to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday city life? Perhaps to unwind on a backcountry byway that will take you into a chapter of Oregon history?

I am a big fan of Oregon’s little roads; you know, the ones without numbers. Linn County has a few and sometimes these roadways let you set your clock back too – on a journey into unexpected bliss!

It feels like a Huck Finn sort-of -world at Shimanek Covered Bridge – a gorgeous beauty decked out in “Navajo Red” colored paint and it spans Thomas Creek.

Safety is important these days because traffic roars past at a shattering pace – a far cry from slower days of the past century. Still, there are other covered bridges that are off the beaten path and hint of bygone times. For example, Hannah Covered Bridge is picture-postcard perfect!

This stunning whitewashed covered bridge was built in 1936 and offers a bit of a Norman Rockwell kind of American moment. As you will see, there is plenty of water running under the Covered Bridges of Linn County, so don’t be surprised if you end up at Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Roaring River Hatchery. This is a place that raises really whoppers – the kind with fins. Seventy percent of Oregon’s catchable hatchery trout are raised at Roaring River Hatchery.

Last winter, we showed viewers how that energy is put into action when we visited a classroom full of enthusiastic students at Banks Elementary School You see, Roaring River Hatchery donates 100,000 trout eggs to hundreds of Oregon classrooms where the youngsters raise the eggs into baby fish. It’s a successful and unique environmental education program called “Eggs to Fry.”

Not far from the Roaring River Hatchery, you’ll enjoy a chance to relax at Larwood Wayside – only site in the state where a river flows into a creek. It’s called Crabtree Creek and it is where you will find Larwood Covered Bridge and it was built seventy years ago.

Oregon has more (49 authentic) Covered Bridges than anywhere else in the country, so it is something all Oregonians should be proud of so folks should get out to see and enjoy them.

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High above the Willamette Valley in the Willamette National Forest, follow the roadway that traces a trail along Fall River, near Lowell, Oregon and you could discover adventure that’s guaranteed to take you to new heights.

I met a group of climbers along this roadway near Fall Creek Reservoir. As I discovered, they were a small corp of climbers that was a breed apart from typical rock or mountain climbers. Just like rock climbers, these folks used gear that included harnesses, ropes, mechanical ascenders and even helmets. A hearty collection of people had gathered to meet guides with the Eugene-based Pacific Tree Climbing Institute who don’t climb tall mountains; rather they ascend Oregon’s tallest trees.

Jason Seppa, co-owner of PTCI and a lead guide in my adventure, coolly showed each of us the correct way to wear the harness and how to handle the ascenders; the main mode of movement up the giant trees.

The team had gathered to climb three of the tallest giants in the forest. Trees that had been nicknamed “The Three Musketeers” because the trio of 600 year-old Doug fir had grown so closely together.

Robb Miron, Seppa’s partner in PTCI, explained the advantages of climbing these big old trees: “They are really climber-friendly with a lot of limbs and a lot of architecture. When you’re up in them, it’s the kind of a feeling that you get being inside a grove of trees.”

PTCI operates under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service and their climbing techniques and equipment do not damage the trees. Seppa and Miron called it “eco-friendly” climbing as they teach both newcomers and experienced how to reach for the tallest heights of the trees without hurting the trees they climb.

They employ the same equipment and skills that each had learned on their jobs as full time arborists in Eugene, Oregon. The trained arborists turned their attention to recreation climbing six years ago and agreed that the forest has much to offer people.

There was a genuine rush of energy and excitement at the doing of the thing and the unmatched view of the surrounding forest.

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Oregon offers a treasure trove of interesting places and fun activities that can reveal much about our region’s past.

In fact, one Eastern Oregon town offers fascinating lessons in “pre-history,” that – with a bit of imagination and some handiwork – can transport you to a quite different Oregon. In Fossil, Oregon all you need are some simple tools, keen eyes and curiosity to learn more about the state – as you dig into Oregon’s past.

Eastern Oregon’s gigantic landscape holds on to memories – old homestead sites – where families once worked the land and carved out their livelihoods across the high desert. Time has passed most of them by and what often remains today are small reminders in a big country that are worth a pause to consider.

Fossil, Oregon is worth more than a pause! Especially if you enjoy history, like to get your hands dirty and really dig buried treasures!

It’s a much different slice of outdoor life for the visitors who stroll through the back gates at Fossil’s Wheeler High School – pass under the goal posts of the school’s football field and then take a step back in Oregon history. It’s the only public fossil dig area in Oregon that offers surprises with each handful of dirt and rock that you turn over.

Today, the fossils that you dig reveal a much different scene in this part of Eastern Oregon. In fact, 30 million years ago the region was more akin to today’s Oregon Coast Range Forest – a temperate rain forest with ancient firs and cedars and ferns and even prehistoric insects. All were covered and trapped by ancient mudflows born of volcanic eruptions that were a common geologic feature in this part of Oregon.

All of it adds up to a stark contrast to the high desert sage and juniper country that surrounds Fossil in the 21st century. Just down the street, the new Paleo Lands Institute will teach you much about the fossils that you collect.

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