tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post3175159790681835705..comments2024-03-09T08:06:26.066-08:00Comments on Looking For Detachment: Oregon Trip Day 7: A Volcano ObservatorySilver Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-48067040565597406182010-09-30T17:25:47.886-07:002010-09-30T17:25:47.886-07:00P.S. I did know about the McKenzie River part!P.S. I did know about the McKenzie River part!Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-35290889713075296762010-09-30T17:24:59.487-07:002010-09-30T17:24:59.487-07:00Alaska Al, glad you wrote this story down!It's...Alaska Al, glad you wrote this story down!It's one I haven't heard before, and I've already had confirmation of it from the other party mentioned. :)Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-61295133855081519462010-09-30T16:37:02.737-07:002010-09-30T16:37:02.737-07:00I grew up in the McKenzie valley and the volcanic ...I grew up in the McKenzie valley and the volcanic view of the volcanoes and flows is one of reasons I chose geology. In 1942 I was one of a small group of Boy Scouts that hiked from the Scott Lake camp and climbed Belknap Crater. The falling-down run from the top down through the cinders was a hoot and a half. In the spring of 1951 your mother and I, and a couple of other graduate students, helped on a freshman geology field trip up to Collier Glacier on the North Sister. The last mile was steep and without a trail. A friend and I dragged your mother up by her armpits to a moraine ridge where we could look down on the glacier. What a view!Alaska Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435958981562857064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-77022534901335933282010-08-22T20:10:56.525-07:002010-08-22T20:10:56.525-07:00Any day now? :)Any day now? :)Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-85161581789923328582010-08-22T19:45:37.537-07:002010-08-22T19:45:37.537-07:00Whenever I have been in that area I come away thin...Whenever I have been in that area I come away thinking, When will one of these volcanoes erupt again? Thanks for posting the references and the great trip write up.Dan McShanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17044037213245602667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-30343438501730590892010-08-22T18:54:10.190-07:002010-08-22T18:54:10.190-07:00Silver Fox - Yeah, came from Bend side. And yes, ...Silver Fox - Yeah, came from Bend side. And yes, clouded view. Still awesome though!Blue Sunflowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07129157682247042945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-9905099534983375822010-08-22T18:11:56.220-07:002010-08-22T18:11:56.220-07:00Desert, and any place without vegetation (like the...Desert, and any place without vegetation (like the Big Island in the basalt flows) is something many people don't like. I have found wide views of any kind quite refreshing (mostly)for a long time. Rainforests used to give me claustrophobia! (I've gotten over that a bit.)<br /><br />One thing great about deserts and other "barren" areas: not as many people! :)<br /><br />I don't know when I first went to McKenzie Pass, but I suspect it was before I turned 10.Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-16512241024233601822010-08-22T18:05:07.017-07:002010-08-22T18:05:07.017-07:00The difference between the approach to the pass fr...The difference between the approach to the pass from either side is astonishing. From the west, you come up the cirque wall of a valley glacier, with, as you point out, narrow switchbacks and blind corners. There's some great exposures of the volcanic stratigraphy, but god help you if you actually want to stop and get out to look carefully. From the east, it's a long, almost imperceptible grade, and quite straight until you are almost to the pass. As I remember, the first major curve is there at Windy Ridge (which lives up to its name).<br /><br />Regarding "stark," it's the apparent barrenness and lack of life on the fresh lava. It's like desert: the first time I was actually out in it, I found it off-putting and threatening. It takes time to accept it on its own terms, and to recognize that there is life there... it's just not as obvious. When you learn to see the beauty there, you never get over it. Some people I've taken up to McKenzie pass have just never had the opportunity to see the beauty of that kind of volcanic landscape. It feels threatening to them.Lockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05960762797349483760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-36745010710861006252010-08-22T17:53:07.795-07:002010-08-22T17:53:07.795-07:00(Yeah, how did that "Ma" get in there?)(Yeah, how did that "Ma" get in there?)Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-23052161387883673702010-08-22T17:49:39.381-07:002010-08-22T17:49:39.381-07:00Blue Sunflower, it sounds like you missed some of ...Blue Sunflower, it sounds like you missed some of the views because of fog, but the lava flows are always there, right under foot.<br /><br />Did you come up from the McKenzie side (possibly closed?), or from the Sisters-Bend side? (Just curious - I usually come in from the east, but used to come in from the west whenever possible.)Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-67156882513997142652010-08-22T17:43:03.652-07:002010-08-22T17:43:03.652-07:00Gaelyn, next time you go to Fossil Beds or go agat...Gaelyn, next time you go to Fossil Beds or go agate hunting in Oregon, drive up the pass to see the observatory.<br /><br />And maybe when you go, the Lava Trail will be open - it's been under re-construction the last two times I went. It has signs pointing out a few volcanic features in the Yapoah lava flow.Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-25091421773367668932010-08-22T17:40:58.567-07:002010-08-22T17:40:58.567-07:00Lockwood, thanks for catching that - too much writ...Lockwood, thanks for catching that - too much writing, not enough editing.<br /><br />I've never thought of the area as stark, with so many volcanoes around - a new perspective. Another neat thing about the area, is driving up the old highway from the McKenzie River side - the narrowness and tight curves are fascinating, although I understand they may widen or straighten some.Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-6419815259699966132010-08-22T15:36:42.101-07:002010-08-22T15:36:42.101-07:00Oh, I *loved* this place. Ended up there on one o...Oh, I *loved* this place. Ended up there on one of the windiest days of the year, plus it was snowing and beyond foggy! And this IIRC was in September. Terrible drive. :D Still impressed how you can see the flow as it went around the hills.Blue Sunflowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07129157682247042945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-6780232128206353942010-08-22T14:08:15.897-07:002010-08-22T14:08:15.897-07:00Apparently, I forgot to hit "post comment,&qu...Apparently, I forgot to hit "post comment," but this may be redundant.<br /><br />Check the date on the Little Belknap flow; there isn't much in Oregon that's 2900 Ma in age.<br /><br />I've been up to this pass more times than I can count, but many people find its starkness off-putting. For a geologist, though, it's truly amazing and beautiful. For biologists, the stages of succession on display are awesome. For photographers, the landscapes, textures and tonal variations are unlimited.<br /><br />I agree: everyone should have the opportunity to experience this special place at least once.<br /><br />Another interesting thing to see here is the trace of the southern branch of the Oregon Trail excavated into the flows across the road from the observatory. Every time I'm up there, I can't help but wonder at the reactions of settlers as they confronted the last two major obstacles on their trip to the Willamette Valley: the rugged lava flows and the long steep decline into the deep valley leading to the McKenzie River. I wonder if any of them finally gave up, so close to their goal.Lockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05960762797349483760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8693614218792476252.post-85556366231679242682010-08-22T13:05:56.814-07:002010-08-22T13:05:56.814-07:00I love the roughness of the youthful North Cascade...I love the roughness of the youthful North Cascades. Nice to see geologic events so visual. I've never been to that observatory. Really like the construct, and the compass.Gaelynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05784162697113288888noreply@blogger.com