Whittaker Creek Recreation Area

Today KP and I tried to get to Kentucky Falls through the Whitaker Creek recreation area. Tons of people were lined up at the boat ramps to access the Siuslaw. The water was running lower today and it looked like a good area to wade fish as well. On the way up the ridge we ran into rockslides that left beach ball sized boulders in the road. We ran into ice covering the roads about halfway up and had a pretty hairy few minutes trying to turn back around.

From MattStansberry

Instead, we drove back to the Whitaker Creek campground and to hike the Old Growth Ridge Trail. The campground is closed this time of year, and so is the river, but that didn't stop a bunch of bubbas from fishing it. It's posted and clearly stated in the regulations, but maybe they couldn't read.

From MattStansberry

We hiked the Old Growth Ridge Trail which is located inside the campground. You get to see some giant trees on this hike, but the payoff at the top of the ridge isn't much.

Sweet Creek: Coastal rivers and waterfalls in Oregon

Yesterday Bill Laroux from the Eugene Chapter Trout Unlimited and I went on a steelhead scouting trip to Sweet Creek, a coastal river near Mapleton, OR. This small Siuslaw tributary didn't seem to be holding any fish at the time, maybe next month. The falls were really big and some signage along the trail said that spawning steelhead jump the falls to get upriver. Hard to imagine. Here are some photos.

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

Fly fishing film tour comes to Eugene

Tuesday night about 65 fly fishing enthusiasts braved the weather to check out the Fly Fishing Film Tour at the University of Oregon. The Caddis Fly sponsored the event and the guys from the Angling Exploration Group hosted. The AEG are the young ballsy fishing filmmakers that brought us the Trout Bum Diaries, 150 minutes of fish porn set to schizophrenic music.

I'm a big fan of the AEG and the Trout Bum movies, but the highlight of the presentation came from the team at Felt Soul Media. The opening film was a short film about fly fishing for rooster-fish from shore and I can say it was one of the most entertaining fishing videos I've ever seen. The second film from Felt Soul was "The Hatch", about the salmonfly hatch on the Gunnison River. The film definitely had a really good conservation message.

And that's what the Trout Bum movies are missing. They're not big on message -- and that's their gig. But the Felt Soul guys have something to say and it definitely adds to the film. I will say that I bought the DVD of "The Hatch" and it was about 17 minutes long. So if you saw it on the film tour you probably don't need the DVD unless you want to support the guys on their quest to make a movie about Mongolian Taimen.

The Fly Fishing Film Tour was definitely worth the $12 ticket price.

Gearing up for lightweight backpacking

I've been researching backpacking, specifically lightweight backpacking, because I want to try to make it a better couples activity. Also, after almost dropping dead chasing the Trout Unlimited guys (15 years older than me) last summer with my giant boots and cargo pack, I need a better option.

I've been reading up on it in a new book, Lightweight Backpacking and Camping from Beartooth Mountain Press. What have I learned so far?

Taking a pound off of your boots is equivalent to taking five off your pack.

Specialized hiking insoles make a difference.

Wet feet aren't necessarily unhappy feet (as long as it's not winter).

Trail shoes beat high-top, heavy leather stompers.

I've got more to learn -- I'm only halfway through the book -- but so far the pearls of wisdom are worth the $25 cover price.

At the end of the day today I headed out to Spencer's Butte. The park was actually locked down. There were cars lined up all down the road. If I had to guess, they closed the park because it was so icy. It wasn't immediately apparent, but once you got past the point of no return, the trail was so slick, you had to drag yourself up the rest of the way.

From MattStansberry

Once you got to the top though, the view was awesome. The Cascades were lit up bright white in the setting sun. The valleys to the West were covered in fog and shadows. It was amazing. Don't take my word for it. Check the pics.

From MattStansberry

One nasty byproduct of the ice was that people were taking off-trail paths to avoid super slick, packed trail snow and ice. And that resulted in torn up off-trail areas.

Here is a list of the layers I was wearing (since I'm getting more technical about gear):
Fleece lined cap
Lightweight fleece LL Bean vest
Ultra lightweight fleece top White Sierra
Mountain hardware poly T-shirt
Exofficio Nylon shorts
Patagonia Expedition weight Capilene
Wigwam merino wool, lite hiker (seconds $6.50)
Sock liners
Merrell Mesa Ventilator II

Yurts extend season for fair weather campers

As promised, here is the first of three articles I wrote for the Springfield News this fall. This one is about camping in yurts and the photos are from our trip to the Rogue River yurt site. Check out the wild Rogue River steelhead photo.

As the rain starts to fall across Oregon many campers are packing up their tents for the year. But that doesn't mean that the camping season is over. Instead of spending a wet night on the ground in a nylon tent, campers should consider staying in one of the Oregon State Parks' yurts.

From MattStansberry

What's a yurt? Think of it as a luxury tent. These wooden framed structures are dome shaped, measuring 16 feet in diameter. They feature sparkling clean wood floors, a locking door and a skylight. The standard versions sleep five people with a bunk bed and pullout futon. The mattresses are the real deal, at least by comparison to the alternative.

In addition to comfy sleep quarters, the yurts offer coffee tables and work desks, lighting, heat and some sites even have wireless internet.

From MattStansberry

Deluxe yurts sleep seven and come with a showers, TV, VCR, fridge and microwave.

All yurts feature a sheltered porch and fire pit.

It's not exactly roughing it. But after spending a recent weekend in an empty campsite in the Umatilla Forest, shivering in my bag and listening to the coyotes getting closer, the yurt was an easy sell.

From MattStansberry

My first yurt experience took place at Valley of the Rogue state park last weekend, a busy campground just south of Grants Pass on I-5, about 2 1/2 hours from Springfield.

The campground included showers, vending machines and a fleet of giant RVs. But wilderness was just across the manicured yard from the sites. Rowdy Chinook salmon were tearing up the river bottom in their yearly spawning ritual. And just below them, feeding on the stirred up nymphs and eggs were hungry steelhead.

The campground made a great jumping off point for exploring the Applegate Trail, a winery-studded drive through southern Oregon's rolling farmland. It’s also a good base camp for the Rogue River scenic byway to Crater Lake.

The majority of Oregon State Parks' yurts are located on the coast. There are 190 in all across the state. That may sound like a lot of yurts, but it's really not enough to keep up with the demand. These weird little huts book up faster than you could imagine.

Part of the draw for these facilities is the cost. During the off season (October 1 through April 30), the standard yurt books for around $27 per night and the deluxe yurts book for $45 ($65 for regular season). Compare that to the $100 you'll spend at nearly any motel.

Also, there is an indirect savings on gear. If you want to spend a winter evening on the Oregon coast, but don't own a small fortune in high tech, magazine-endorsed equipment, the yurt is a great option.

In addition to yurts, the state parks offer rustic cabins. Eastern Oregon parks feature teepees and covered wagons.

To reserve a yurt, call Reservations Northwest at 1-800-452-5687 or visit www.oregonstateparks.org.

Carter Dunes January hike

KP and I took a hike on the coast, trying to avoid icy roads up in the mountains. Brice Creek/Bohemia Mountain was too slippery to get even close yesterday. The Carter Dunes hike was pretty , coming out of the Taylor Lake trailhead to catch the Carter Lake trail. Too much water on the trail to actually get to the beach from the dunes. I was checking out the steelhead creeks above Florence and it looks like the best spot to park to access China Creek and Big Creek would be Muriel O. Ponsler Wayside and walk upstream.

PICS:

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

Spencer's Butte Winter Hike

Hiked up to the top of Spencer's Butte yesterday. Winter is blanketing the Willamette Valley. Tying some flies, trying to get out and fish. We'll see. Looking into seeing the guys from the McKenzie Fly Fishers next week. I'd like to check them out, maybe sucker some of them into coming to TU's banquet.

Spencer's Butte photos:

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

Springfield News closes; Hiking in the path of Bill Sullivan

Ok, that's kind of old news, but it really put me off writing in the blog for a while. I was doing some weekly columns for the Springfield News over the fall, then one day they just shut their doors. Kind of sad. And they didn't pay me. Thanks Lee Publishing! No big deal -- I wasn't doing it for the cash -- but it still sucks. I'll post the stories that ran over the next week on this blog.

From MattStansberry

What's happening now? Yesterday we hiked Mt. Pisgah, today we did Shotgun Creek. We're trying to do the 100 hikes in Bill Sullivan's book on the Central Cascades. I've been looking for fishable water the last few days -- checked out the North Fork and Middle Fork of the Willamette near Oakridge, fought my way to the coast through a monsoon to find Big Creek, Tenmile and Cape Creek blown out -- not even accessible. The whole coast was white with spray yesterday and out in the ocean you could see black mountains rolling in like tsunamis.

Big Trout Unlimited Eugene meeting Wed. night to meet with the US Forest Service rep that's been working on restoring Swift Creek for Bull Trout.

I spent the last month in Ohio. Check out this Lake Erie trib steelhead.

From MattStansberry

Hunting Eugene, Oregon; Register Guard Outsider blogs on TU

Hunting season isn't shaping up quite the way I'd hoped. So far all I've killed are some doves, a goose I couldn't find and that's about it. But I've landed a gig writing about it at the Springfield News [Now closed!!!]. I wrote my first column on not shooting any pheasants.

So far no deer, but I'm getting closer to bagging one. I've found a place with good sign over by the Smith river drainage with Al Avey. I'm headed out there tonight to try to take care of the ton of grouse I was seeing last time I was out there.

Here are some pics:

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

Also, Raz wrote about me and the TU 678 Crew for his Register-Guard Outsider Blog last week. He could have buried me for being an out of shape turd, but instead I come off pretty cool. That is, if you think catching fish is really cool.

Bill and I are tying flies, pretty much just winging it and hoping they work. We're planning to take a class on how to tie salmon flies next Friday.

Bugs are all over the river right now, but that hasn't seemed to matter to the fish for whatever reason. Golden stones and gigantic October caddis are coming off, big as golf balls, but it's not translating into topwater action.

I'm headed to the Rogue River tomorrow, down by Grants Pass. Should have some good stuff from that. We're staying in a YURT!

Steelhead fishing in Eugene, Oregon

I mostly started this as a way to keep track of what's working in hunting/fishing in the area, so I'm going to lay it out right here. The last week or so, steelhead fishing in town has turned on. I'm catching them on a green wooly bugger, double lead-wrapped with a bead, plus cuckaburra legs. I've been rubbing it in my brother's face that I'm catching fish on a ridiculous, atomic green fly with rubber legs. Trout are really good in town too, but I think I'm going to have to start moving to other parts of the Willamette.

From MattStansberry

Also worth noting, I'm not going to be buying any Fern Ridge fee pheasant hunt tags next year unless I have a dog. I mean, I totally agree that the hunt should be a challenge, but I'm getting my ass kicked. I've spent HOURS AND HOURS walking around and haven't seen a bird on the Fern Ridge property since they stocked for the youth hunt. I've seen them in hunters pockets (walking out with their dogs) and I've seen them off the refuge. But I haven't killed one yet -- and I could be wasting time hunting grouse and scouting deer instead.

Speaking of deer, the opening day came and went. Deer actually came up to us in the middle of the night before the season opened and taunted us while we stood around our illegal campfire up on the Taylor Burn. (we found out it was illegal the next morning upon further inspection of the signage).

The next morning we also hiked back to Moolack Lake where I caught the biggest Oregon cutthroat trout of my life, and then watched Bill Laroux hook one just like it. They were sweet. I have some pics, depsite the fact that I dunked my camera while trying to take a picture of Bill's fish.

From MattStansberry

The fish in these high lakes are feeding on a flying ant or termite looking thing, cinammon colored and fat. Clear wings. Keep that in mind when I'm tying for these lakes for next year. Maybe we'll do one more trip this year.