Pacific Northwest & Alaska

Iditarod National Historic Trail

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Even a tiny dog walking by barked to tell his parents to take a photo of him with the sled dogs above at the start of the Iditarod Trail in Seward Alaska. The trail celebrates the broader history of travel in Alaska by dogsled, but today the Iditarod is famous for just one race. The Iditarod race starts north of Anchorage on the first weekend in March, and the dogs are the real star athletes of the race, of course, running in teams of a dozen or more over 1000 miles for a week or two to the Burled Arch on Front Street in Nome, near the Bering Strait.

During the various Alaskan gold rushes at the turn of the previous century, the winter dogsled trails connected ports like Seward with mining towns like Iditarod, now a remote ghost town (on the southern race route in odd years). Seward is an ice free deep water port, and in winter months mail, supplies and trade goods moved inland and back by dog sled. In 1925 a dog sled relay team delivered life-saving diphtheria serum from near Fairbanks to Nome running along the Yukon River in the middle and making the finishing lead dog Balto famous. The longest dogsled run was from Seward to Nome, which laid the historic path for mining communities, railroads, roadhouses and highways. Some of these remote communities are still roadless, going straight from dog sleds to bush planes after the gold rushes slowed in the 1920s.

The trail is the only winter trail in the national historic trail system, and it’s managed by the Bureau of Land Management. My great, great uncle Norman Vaughan started competing in the Iditarod at age 70 and ran it 13 times. He also organized a commemorative event for the 1925 serum run, ran dog sleds in the 1932 Olympics, and helped Admiral Byrd on his first Antarctica expedition, later returning to climb Mount Vaughan at 89. The Iditarod has a special place in the hearts of explorers.

Kenai Fjords National Park

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This month I will be covering my trip to Alaska earlier this year. The Harding Icefield dominates the highlands of the Kenai Peninsula feeding dozens of glaciers that still carve the fjords. Due to regular heavy snowfall in the mountains—30’ is not unusual—, a number of large glaciers still reach the sea, although the Exit Glacier near the park entrance requires a longer hike to see than in the recent past. I drove to the visitor center in Seward, but I didn’t come here to hike.

I recommend a boat tour out of Seward to explore places like Porcupine Cove above. Not only are the fjords best viewed by boat, but there’s a lot of wildlife to see. A humpback whale proudly swam by the boat showing off her newborn calf. Two otters were making out in the waves. Steller sea lions—a first for me—lounged to port and starboard. Common murres did their best penguin impressions, and ancient murrelets flew by in tight formation. Coastal mountain goats sauntered across waterfalls mid cliff. A black bear cub followed mom across the highland, not far from Bear Glacier, the largest in the park. This is a magical place to explore.

Hanford Reach National Monument

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Fish & Wildlife manages this stretch of the Columbia River, various highlands and a lake here. Supposedly the area is good for wildlife, including elk and various birds. I thought the area looked desolate and didn’t see any wildlife. There are a couple dams upstream, and the river takes a long curve around to the right above. There used to be a paddling rental & shuttle business here, but they closed during Covid and haven’t reopened. I considered bringing my folding kayak for this relatively easy part of the Columbia to paddle, but I decided against it and didn’t see any other boats. It would have been very windy and difficult to get back.

In 1943 the US military took over this area, evacuating everyone. In the background above right there’s a building with a smokestack. That is Reactor B, which processed weapons grade plutonium for the Manhattan Project, and much of the land around here is still restricted. There used to be a small city of workers on the secret project, but only a few buildings remain and none were open for tours when I visited. The river was critical for keeping the reactor cool. Tours of the reactor are scheduled to resume in late 2027.

Behind the reactor are White Bluffs, which were formed by deposits in the Ice Age floods, along with patterns of river sediments called rhythmites. I did a bit of hiking around here, but there are still many restrictions on where you can go. In theory, the decades of isolation benefited wildlife, but USFWS allows hunting, fishing and motorized vehicles in much of the monument. Looking for wildlife is much more challenging near hunting zones, so I was disappointed but not surprised that I didn’t see any.

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

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The dunes are in the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon, so the US Forest Service runs this recreation area. The dunes loop walk is almost five miles down to the Pacific, past the nesting plovers (I didn’t see any), along the beach below the high tide line and back over the very tall dunes. Even thought I’ve driven through here several times on different trips over the years, I underestimated how large this area is. They span some 40 miles along the coast and some are 500 feet high. Even when catching my breath at a seafood restaurant over the water in Florence along the Siuslaw River, technically I was still in the recreation area. There are also lakes, several with boats, and 101 runs right through the dunes past twisted shore pines.

You may have heard of the Dune movies, which are based on the books by Frank Herbert, who was a local journalist assigned to write an article about the Oregon Dunes. He visited in 1957, chartered a small plane to view them from above, and learned about both the fragile ecosystem and government efforts to control dunes by planting grass. But instead of just writing an article, he got carried away and researched for years, writing 6 epic novels over 20 years. Unfortunately he died before completing the 7th and final Dune novel, but his son kept writing the popular series. Anywho, if you want to be inspired by walking in the sand for hours and hours, this is the place for you!

Newberry National Volcanic Monument

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This US Forest Service site near Bend Oregon has a long lava tube cave, obsidian, lakes, a view of the volcanic Cascades above and more. 7,000 years ago a lava flow redirected the Deschutes River which now runs along the north part of the monument, and there’s an easy hike to Benham Falls on the river trail. The open season is quite short in summer, with restrictions on visitors to different sections. With the heat these days, the monument should open by May 1st, but whatever. I arrived early before other sections opened in June, and went to see the lava cast forest. I’ve never seen so many clear impressions of tree trunks left behind after being surrounded by lava. See one example below.

Deschutes

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These are Steelhead Falls on the Deschutes Wild & Scenic River near Bend Oregon. The trail is uneven and a bit slippery near the edge in spots, but it’s only about 1/2 a mile from the parking lot to the falls. Tempting to jump off the rock into the water below. There are dramatic bluffs on both sides here, and the river flows 50 miles or so north to the Columbia, where the Lewis & Clark and Oregon trails meet. The upper segment is in the Deschutes National Forest, so it’s managed by the US Forest Service. The Bureau of Land Management runs much of the middle and lower segments, which includes more popular rafting. Steelhead Falls is jointly managed by USFS & BLM, and there are many interesting spots along the whole route. The gorges are gorgeous!

Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

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The Pacific Crest Trail strolls by Hyatt Lake above, not far from Ashland Oregon, where Northern Californians come up to watch Shakespeare. Honestly the drive up overlooking a deep beautiful valley was far more striking than the pretty lake, but I couldn’t get a decent photograph. The Cascade, Klamath & Siskiyou mountain ranges meet here, and the meadow in the valley is known as Hyatt Prairie. Besides larger animals, the area is well known for bird and butterfly watching, with hundreds of species.

I finally understand the naming conventions of the mountains up here. The Pacific Coast Mountain System includes all the coastal mountains from California up into Alaska. Within that, the Cascades are the young volcanic mountains that run through northern California up to Canada, including Mt Lassen, Mt Shasta, Crater Lake, Mt Rainier, and other stratovolcanoes up to the North Cascades. Within that, the Klamath Mountains are an older range formed by tectonic uplift in northern California and southern Oregon that includes the important Rogue, Smith, Klamath, and Trinity River watersheds, plus the headwaters of the Sacramento River around Shasta Lake. Within that, the Siskiyou Mountains are the stretch that connects the coastal mountains of northern California and Oregon between the Klamath and Rogue Rivers.

This mountainous Bureau of Land Management national monument has fascinating geology, great rivers, and diverse wildlife. The weird mix of soils from ancient seabeds to volcanic debris presents challenges to the plants that have adapted here. Two examples are the cobra lily, a cowled pitcher plant, and the serpentine jewelflower which takes on a purplish tinge here. I recommend reading some of the free Cascade-Siskiyou guides on animals, butterflies, geology and plants before going hiking.

There’s something magical about the smell of the forests up here in Oregon, with the occasional colorful butterfly scooting past, and folks taking their kids fishing while camping by the lake. In town, I tried morel mushrooms and a chocolate porter at the Caldera Brewery, and it was the best meal I’ve had since leaving San Francisco. Folks up here seem to understand the good life.

Rogue

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This month I’m continuing to post about my trip up to British Columbia.

The Rogue River in Oregon is iconically wild & scenic, one of the original ones named in the 1968 Wild & Scenic River Act. And folks have found various ways of enjoying it. I dreamt of paddling trips ever since watching the River Wild, but I’m always either too early or too late. With the warmer climate, I think they should start paddling tours by May 1st, if not earlier. The alternative was to take a jet boat, either from near Hellgate Canyon above or from Gold Beach. But I just couldn’t stand the idea of burning all that carbon, so I decided to drive along the edge stopping at overlooks, like the one below.

The Rogue and its tributaries define the popular southeast corner of Oregon. From its headwaters around Crater Lake creeks from Ashland and the Cascade-Siskiyou Mountains add to it before the river runs through the historic city of Grants Pass, where there’s a mini powerboat fest on the river on Memorial Day weekend. (Again, I think the river should be enjoyed without the noise of machines.) Then the Applegate River with its wine trail and the Illinois River from Oregon Caves join the Rogue before it emerges at Gold Beach on the Pacific.

The middle section of the Rogue has no road access for ~35 miles, and unfortunately some of the trails were closed due to serious forest fire damage in this protected area. I would like to return for a long paddling trip someday, but meanwhile I enjoyed meandering back roads and exploring the rest of the scenic canyons and river valleys.

The Umpqua River also begins near Crater Lake, so I also drove the Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway, which goes past the Upper Rogue’s Gorge & Natural Bridge and the North Umpqua’s Watson Falls, two of many spectacular sights. The North Umpqua River is also designated as wild & scenic, while the lower Umpqua is less wild with calmer water but still a very beautiful part of the scenic byway.

Here are my visits to all NPS park units in Oregon.

Klamath

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Until about a year ago, the valley above used to be called Iron Gate Lake. But the dam (far right) was removed to restore salmon to this stretch of the Klamath River in northern California. Four dams have been removed recently, and in May the local tribes began their traditional calls for the salmon to return. I believe the valley will now revert to its traditional name K’účasčas (or Fall Creek).

The Klamath is an important waterway, and there’s long been battles over its use. Above and below Klamath Falls in Oregon there are wildlife refuges for birds, but maybe 75% of the wetlands were lost when the water was diverted for agriculture. When traveling around Lava Beds and Tule Lake my car choked on clouds of locusts, and I saw few birds as the lower refuge was virtually dry.

Dams don’t increase the amount of water at all, but they do control when it is released and how it’s used. Besides the diversion of water into farms and factories, dams obviously block salmon, and the lowest remaining dam (near the CA-OR border) has a fish ladder that the salmon are unable to climb. Another problem the dams cause is warming the water in artificial lakes, which increases algae and disrupts the salmon’s cool water lifecycle.

Removing the dams is a step in the right direction, but the huge Klamath watershed still has a significant number of dams. The Klamath tributaries include the Salmon, Shasta and Trinity rivers and many creeks, with various artificial lakes. Logging and mining have also diminished the salmon, but I was able to find a delicious local steelhead fillet in Trinidad Head about an hour south of the mouth of the Klamath.

The even more serious and growing problem is wildfires. This year I drove along the Klamath through the forests to the sea. Much of the trip traveled through badly burned forests. The forests were noticeably healthier in tribal lands, where there is greater diversity of tree species due to less logging. In the middle of the trip, I saw the sign below in Happy Camp California on the banks of the Klamath, but surveying the damage, I was not a happy camper. The climate crisis is already devastating our public lands, despite all our efforts to protect them. We must stop burning so much carbon.

All Pacific Northwest Sites

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Alaska awaits, but in the meantime, I have visited all 4 National Parks and 16 park units in the Pacific Northwest region, plus 2 heritage areas, 1 affiliate, trails and biospheres. Part of the Manhattan Project NHP is in Washington too.

The four national parks all contain snow capped volcanoes. There are fossil, cave and geologic sites, 3 lake recreation areas, and many fascinating historic sites to enjoy. The region is beautiful, with rugged coastline, forests, mountains and wildlife.

Idaho

Oregon

Washington

Read my posts, and get out there and enjoy!