One Night Wilderness: Portland. Douglas Lorain

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СКАЧАТЬ a few comforts of home. Packing along that favorite blankie, stuffed animal, or bedtime storybook may be essential to everyone getting a good night’s sleep.

       Remember that young bodies are less tolerant of weather extremes than older ones. Precautions such as protection from the sun, drinking plenty of water, and bundling up for the cold, for example, are all much more important for children than adults.

       Recognize that your kids, especially preteens, will get dirty—probably downright filthy, in fact. Live with it. Don’t bother to scrub them clean every time you see them. A dirty kid usually means they are having fun.

       If your kids are too young to recognize natural dangers (poison oak, steep drop-offs, anthills, or the like) then you will need to physically block these off or post a watch among the adults.

       A little entertainment makes a big difference. In the evening, kids love the idea of having a headlamp (for some reason it’s really cool), so bring along one for every member of the party. Bring simple games to keep everyone entertained in the evening. Playing cards, “pick-up sticks,” and small board games all work well. Finally, don’t forget to brush up on your storytelling. It is still the best way to spend an evening with kids in the outdoors.

       Don’t forget to bring snacks. Lots of ’em.

       Be thoroughly familiar with child first aid, and recheck your first aid kit to ensure that it contains children’s aspirin, lots of bandages (often great for psychological comfort even when the child isn’t really hurt), and tweezers for removing splinters.

       Consider bringing along the child’s best young human friend, or even their whole family. It may not fit with your idea of solitude in the wilderness, but kids usually love having a playmate while exploring the outdoors.

       How much leeway and independence you give your child depends on their age and responsibility level. You have to be able to trust that the youngster will follow instructions and not stray too far from camp when searching for huckleberries, chasing a squirrel, or some other equally distracting activity. To help combat this problem, all younger children should carry a whistle, preferably on a necklace, which they have been instructed to blow if (and only if) they become lost and need to be found.

      Your choice of backpacking location is especially crucial when traveling with young hikers. Unlike adults, children are rarely impressed by great views and invariably complain about steep climbs. (To be fair, we adults often complain about steep climbs as well.) This book includes dozens of backpacking trips that are especially well suited to children. Identified both in the summary chart on pp. xii–xiii and by icons on the first page of the individual hike, these trips are relatively short, involve less elevation gain, and include plenty of the things that youngsters love—splashing creeks, wildlife, berries, lakes to explore, and the like.

      An excellent time to schedule a backpacking trip with kids, especially into the Cascade Mountains, is late August. This is huckleberry season, when children (and adults) can stuff themselves with handfuls of the delicious berries. In fact, one measure of the success of a hike at this time of year is how purple one’s fingers and tongue are by day’s end. In addition, the mosquitoes are usually gone by this time, and the mountain lakes remain warm enough for a reasonably comfortable swim. Finally, your trip will take place just before kids go back to school, so they will have impressive stories to tell when their teacher asks the inevitable, “So, Suzy, what did you do this summer?”

      For further information on backpacking with children, see the recommended reading in Appendix B.

How to Use This Guide

      The trips in this book are broken down by geographic region, starting from the southeastern Olympic Mountains in the north and working down to the Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Washington area in the south.

      Each individual trip begins with a quick overview of the hike’s vital statistics, including scenery, solitude, and difficulty ratings, as well as distance, elevation gain, managing agency, best time to visit, and more. This allows you to rapidly narrow your options based on your preferences, your abilities, and the time of year.

      Just below the trip title are numerical RATINGS (1 to 10) of the three qualities that traditionally attract or deter hikers the most: the hike’s scenery, its difficulty, and the degree of solitude you can expect.

      Mount Saint Helens and Saint Helens Lake (Trip 12)

      The SCENERY rating is my subjective opinion of the trip’s overall scenic quality on a 1 (an eyesore) to 10 (absolutely gorgeous) scale. This rating reflects my personal biases in favor of photogenic views, clear streams, and wildflowers. If you prefer other qualities, then your own rating may be quite different. Also keep in mind that the rating is a relative one. All the trips in this book have beautiful scenery. Some are just better than others.

      The DIFFICULTY rating is also subjective, and runs from 1 (barely leave the La-Z-Boy) to 10 (the Ironman Triathlon). Since most out-of-shape Americans would find even the easiest backpacking trip to be very strenuous, this rating is relative only to other trips.

      Since SOLITUDE is one of the things backpackers are seeking, it helps to know roughly how much company you can expect. This rating is also on a 1 (bring stilts to see over the crowds) to 10 (just you and the marmots) scale. Of course, even on a “10” hike, it is possible that you could unexpectedly run into a pack of unruly Cub Scouts, but generally this rating is pretty accurate.

      The next two lines list total ROUND-TRIP DISTANCE and ELEVATION GAIN for that trip. For many hikers, the difficulty of a trip is determined more by how far up they go than the mileage they cover, so pay especially close attention to the second number, which includes the total of all ups and down, not merely the net change in elevation.

      OPTIONAL MAP: Every trip includes a map that is as up-to-date and as accurate as possible. Many hikers, however, will also want to carry a topographic map. This entry identifies the best available map(s) for the described trip.

      Next you will find two seasonal entries. The USUALLY OPEN line tells you when a trip is typically snow-free enough for hiking (which can vary considerably from year to year). The second entry lists the particular BEST TIME(S) of year when the trip is at its very best (when the flowers peak, or the huckleberries are ripe, or the mosquitoes have died down, etc.).

      AGENCY: This is the local land agency responsible for the area described in the hike. (See Appendix D, for contact information.)

      PERMIT: This section tells you if a permit is currently required to enter or camp in the area and how to obtain one. It notes the few instances when the permits are not free or where advanced reservations are required, and provides the necessary details. When a Northwest Forest Pass is required to park at the trailhead, this is also indicated.

      ICONS AND TRAIL USES: If they’re appropriate for children or dogs, the trips in this book will be labeled with an icon.

       This hike is good for children.

       Pets are allowed and the trail is both safe and suitable for dogs.

      HIGHLIGHTS: This section summarizes the most interesting features of a particular trip, letting СКАЧАТЬ