Beachbum- you will be shocked when you see the Canyon Creek Meadow Trail -
once you are up in the meadows its fine- but quite a bit of the lower trail is just charred black trees- and the grass and shrubs were burned to a crisp -

Ever done the Iron Mountain hike?
there are over 3 varieties of wild flowers -

Kal-Scarlettnicebum is what I hear all the time anyway LOL

Faina, very funny, but sadly true.

And sunbum, all that bike riding, definitely scarlett bum

I'd forgotten that the fires had burned so much around there, sunburn. Everything around Jack Lake get burned too? Where is Iron Mountain? I might be looking for a new favorite trail! Any suggestions (mms) in the 5-8 mile range? I could probably sell a 1,000 ft. elevation gain.

Beachbum--I am assuming you have alrady done Black Butte? I like that one since the views of the other peaks at the top are so great. Plus you can really see the fire damage from there. Anyway that one is just under 4 miles total, but with 1600 ft gain. Maybe since it is shorter you can sell them on it. It also works to not tell others what the gain or mileage is. Another one that is interesting is Paulina Peak. It is about 6 miles total and 1600 gain. The very first part is ugly, but once you start heading up it is nice. Good views of the lake too. You could also take the south sister trail but obviously not go all the way. you could go to moraine lake, or up onto the plains. Up on the plains are somegreat views. There is one spot that we usually stop for lunch at that is like a postcard picture of Bachelor and Broken Top. Getting up to Moraine Lake is only about 2.5 miles, but getting up that first 2 miles seems steep. If anyone complains just tell them that after you reach the clearing it is flat for a while out on the plains. Our kids moaned about it the first time, but they really enjoyed it once they got acclimated. The first time we took them up they were about 7 and 9.

Two other hikes that we have not done yet, but are on our agenda for this summer are Tumalo Falls (just under 7 miles total and 1100 gain) and Little Belknap Crater (7 miles and 1000 gain). We picked those thinking we could get some of our nonhiking family to join us.

Beachbum- Jack Lake area is not burned
but several areas between it and the meadow are - large areas. It was pretty amazing to see actually- but definately not as pretty as it used to be.

Iron Mountain trail head is off of Hwy 20 on the way to Sweet Home- so not too far from Black Butte- The flowers are amazing! If you have William Sullivans hiking the Cascades book - its in there with a couple of options.
Let me know if you want more info on it

Thanks for all the suggestions, mms and sunburn. Now I need to find my central Oregon hikes book to figure out where these trails are!

We have done Black Butte, mms. As I remember, it was late in the summer, and my kids complained about the dusty trail most of the way up. If you like the view from the top there, you'll really like the view from the ridge above Canyon Creek Meadows. You feel like you can reach out and touch the face of Three Fingered Jack, and with all the other peaks on the horizon, it really is spectacular.

beachbum- if your kids didnt like Black
Butte they might whine at Iron Mountain-
if you do the whole hike its pretty steep - but there is a lookout station at the top so great views- you can also drive 1/2 the way up on a winding road -
- or you can do Cone Peak which is not as steep - as I said - there are several options - enjoy!

Beachbum--I figured you had done it before. I guess we lucked out since we were there in I think early July, so it wasn't dusty yet. The south sister might be nice for your kids. The trail up to the plains is in the forest, so it is cool and damp and not dusty at all. Of course once you get to the plains its a whole 'nother story. But through those first few miles it is really pretty, and there are some huge slabs of obsidian that are amazing. Yes, its definitely time to pull out the books for the summer.

Hi all.
I've enjoyed ready down through this thread and have taken many notes!
We are heading to Bend for a week long family reunion, driving from Portland. The one question I have is in regards to white water rafting. Class 3, is it? My daughter is almost 13. Are children allowed at this level? Any other comments are welcome! The only info I have found on Bend, etc. at this time is through this forum and it has been wonderful.
thanks!
SusanVT

I am just back from a SunRiver weekend- we did a short river rafting trip with a 6yr and an 8 yr old - its a 3 hr trip from SunRiver - they did fine - we booked through SunCountry Tours- have offices in Bend and SunRiver- went through a couple of pretty good holes.

Another thing you might look into is .

Wow, we are headed out the door in a few minutes to SunRiver for the week! We have our reservations for rafting all made, using SunCountry Tours once again.

Wondering if we will run into Beachbum on a trail somewhere, lol!

Susan--Just like Sunbum said, your kids are fine to go rafting. Ours were 7 and 9 the first time they went. We will be there for a large family reunion as well. Hope you have a wonderful time.

As soon as dh gets back with the fishing license, we are outta here