Mountain View Monday #9

Near the Willamette Pass and Odell Lake is a volcano known as Diamond Peak. This mountain was first climbed in July 1852 by William Macy and John Diamond. At under 9,000 feet, Diamond Peak is no where close to being one of the tallest in Oregon, but still its 3,000+ foot prominence allows it to stand out as you drive along the Willamette Highway. In the picture below, Diamond Peak is the big mountain on the left. The smaller cones on the right are Mount Yoran.

Mountain View Monday #8

Across Diamond Lake from the main campground lies a volcano with a rounded top. Due to its gentle slope, compared to other Cascade stratovolcanoes, Mount Bailey is often traveled on in winter. Those who go to snowshoe, ski, or drive a snowmobile over its slopes, usually end up camping at the Diamond Lake resort.
Mount Baily is under 9,000 feet high and was a spiritual place for Native Americans, who were first credited with ascending the mountain. Even today, people still come to hike the mountain in summer.

Weekly Dose of Oregon #1

In an effort to include other aspects of Oregon, such as lakes & beaches, I decided to create this new weekly post that provides an extra dose of Oregon. For this week's dose of Oregon, I present you with Diamond Lake. This 3,000+ acre lake has a maximum depth of just over 50 feet. While the lake is not in the shape of a diamond, (it was named after John Diamond) the lake is still a jewel of the Oregon Cascades nonetheless. Situated in a valley between Mount Thielsen and Mount Bailey, this high-mountain lake is stocked yearly with Rainbow Trout. Many campgrounds and cabins are located around the lake, along with a lodge and tackle store.

 Diamond Lake with Mount Bailey behind it. The docks are not yet put in the water.

Bald Eagles have recently came back to Diamond Lake after many decades.

Mountain View Monday #7

Finally, I have some pictures of other mountains! Today's Mountain View Monday features Mount Thielsen and it's reflection in Diamond Lake. Mount Thielsen is a short distance away from the north gate of Crater Lake National Park. Since this volcano has been deeply weathered to show it's volcanic neck, geologsts believe it to be extinct. Called the 'Lightning rod of the Cascades,' Mount Thielsen get struck by lightning many times each year. When the lightning strikes the mountain, it changes the properties of the rick into Lechatelierite, a variation of Fulgerite. For many years now, I have been wanting to climb the mountain to get a sample of one of these Fulgerite rocks. As one of my favorite mountains due to its unique shape, I never get bored of seeing it's picture.

Mountain View Monday #6

At 10,497 feet tall, this mountain was named after the US President that sponsored the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Before that, it was called Mount Vancouver by the British and Seekseekqua by the Natives in the region. As the second highest mountain in Oregon, it sits along the Cascade Range as a stratovolcano, seen from Central Oregon and the Mid-Willamette Valley. Like Mount Hood to the north, it has a national wilderness named after it.

Today's view of this mountain comes from the headwaters of the Metolius River near Camp Sherman.

As you might have guessed by now, the mountain is Mount Jefferson.

Mountain View Monday #5

Once again, we take a look at Mount Hood. This Oregon Mountain can be seen in the Willamette Valley as far south as Salem; and can be seen from Pilot Butte in central Oregon. Some say that you can see it from the top of Mary's Peak, just west of Corvallis, on a clear day. From whatever angle you see it from, it is immediately recognizable for having a rounded summit . For those that love snow sports, this mountain is one of the best in the Oregon Cascades. This week, the mountain can be seen from a viewpoint in the Hood River Valley.

Mountain View Monday # 4

Most of the volcanoes in Oregon's High Cascades are dormant, but a few of them are extinct. The extinct ones are not hard to spot at they weather down to their more resistant volcanic necks-the part of a volcano where the basaltic lava oozes out, and the rhyolitic or andesitic rock blasts out. One of these extinct volcanoes is Mount Washington, between the North Sister and 3-Finger Jack. South of Mt. Washington, along Hwy 242, is the Dee Wright Observatory and trails for those who want to hike through the lava fields. Nearby is a trail head for the Pacific Crest Trail, which takes hikers and backpackers around the southwest side of Mt. Washington.

From Pilot Butte in Bend, you can see Mt. Bachelor (the pointed peak with snow on it)

Mountain View Monday #3

With much more snow on the slopes this time of year than when the picture below was taken, Mount Bachelor is one of the best mountains in the cascades to snowboard and ski downhill. For those that wish to enjoy the scenery more than the rush of adrenaline, there is a snowshoe trail to the top.

Mount Bachelor from Pilot Butte in Bend, Oregon

Mountain View Monday #2

At roughly 11,250 feet tall, Mount hood is Oregon's highest mountain. This height allows Mount Hood to stand above the clouds when tops of other mountains in the Oregon Cascades will be hidden in the clouds.

Known as Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, this stratovolcano made such an impression on the local tribes, that they created legends about it. One such legend was created by the Wasco Tribe and is written in the book Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest. It called the Chief's Face on Mount Hood and goes like this:

Years and years ago, the mountain peak south of Big River was so high that when the sun shone on its south side a shadow stretched north for a day's journey. Inside the mountain, evil spirits had their lodges. Sometimes the evil spirits became so angry that they threw out fire and smoke and streams of hot rocks. Rivers of liquid rock ran towards the sea,killing all growing things and forcing the Indians to move far away. In those days the Indians also were taller than they are now. They were as tall as the pine and fir trees that covered the hills, and their chief was such a giant that his warriors could walk under his outstretched arms. He was the bravest and the strongest of his tribe.

One night a voice spoke to the chief in a dream. "If you do not conquer the evil spirits that live in the mountain, they will someday throw out a river of fire. The river will flood the land, all the people will be drowned, and your country will be ruined." The chief knew that he must protect his people. He would fight the demons alone. So he took the long journey to the top of the mountain. There he found a crater, a big hole, which was the home of the evil spirits. Scattered around it were some large stones. The chief picked them up and threw them into the crater.

Muttering with anger, the mountain spirits heated the rocks red hot and hurled them back again. The rocks rose towards the sky and fell a long distance away. The chief hurled more stones into the crater. The demons spewed up hot rocks and smoke and fire. For many days the battle continued. Then the chief, resting for a moment, looked down upon the land he had left--the land that had once been green and beautiful. The rivers were choked, the forest and the grass had disappeared, the animals and the people had fled. The heart of the chief broke with sorrow. He had failed to protect his people, and his land was a blackened ruin. He sank upon the ground and was soon buried by the streams of hot rocks.

But some of his people fled to the tops of near-by mountains and so were not covered by the rocks. When the earth cooled and the grass grew again, they returned to their country. In time there was plenty of food once more. But the children, starved and weak for so long, never became as tall and strong as their parents and grandparents had been. The people will remain stunted and weak until a great chief comes who conquer the demons of fire in the mountain. When he comes, the people will be restored to their former size and all the earth will be happy. Sometimes the old chief's face can be seen on the north side of Mount Hood, about  halfway down the mountain. It is a huge shadow, the profile of an Indian head with its scalp lock.

Mountain View Monday #1

One idea I have to post more is to set aside a topic for each day of the week. My ideas are the following:
 
Earth Speak Sundays featuring inspiring words about the Earth

Mountain View Mondays featuring pictures of mountains

Native Talk Tuesdays featuring information of plants and animals

Waterfall Wednesdays featuring pictures and info on waterfalls

Trail Talk Thursdays featuring info on trails

Festival Fridays featuring info on a particular fair, festival, etc for the next week

State Park Saturdays featuring info and  pictures on different Oregon state parks

So without further wait, is the first Mountain View Monday with Black Butte in the center, Mount Jefferson on the right, and what I believe to be is Three-Finger Jack on the left. The picture was taken from Pilot Butte in Bend

Some Pictures of Oregon

As I don't like to travel much when the sky is one monotone shade of grey, and I have no clue as to when the next time I will be traveling is, I decided to post some pictures of the places that I have traveled in the last few years. And so, we start with pictures from the Columbia River Gorge...

 

 These last two are of the building at Multnomah Falls

 Next up are some pictures from Silver Falls State Park...

Here are some pictures of Mount Jefferson from the headwaters of the Metolius River

 These two pictures came from a perfect day on the Silverton Reservoir

Finally, a few pictures from different places along mid-northern Oregon Coast

If you feel inspired to check some these places out but, don't know where they are, send me a message. Until the next post, get outside and have some happy travels.

Welcome

Welcome readers who would like to find a new thing in Oregon to do or visit. This is the second blog I have started. My first one is here: Beaver Country Ramblings, feel free to check it out. I created this blog only for my travels, which will be more in depth than those on my other blog.

To you, my readers, I would like to pose a question. Have you ever noticed how Wizard Island (the volcanic cinder cone in the picture above) is the shape of a beaver lodge? For those that don't know what a beaver lodge looks like, look at the picture below. Funny how the Oregon State Animal is a beaver and how there is a landmark that has a similar shape to a beaver lodge within the beaver state.

I hope all you readers have some happy travels this year in whatever state or country you are in.