SMITH ROCK STATE PARK
WHERE: From Portland take highway 26 to Madras (a little more than a two hour drive in good conditions). Highways 26 and 97 become one for a while but stay on highway 97 for another 19 miles after they split continuing to Terrebonne. Follow the signs for Smith Rock State Park. There is a road, coincidentally I think it is called Smith Rock Road, which you take east a few miles where you will find another road to the left which enters the park.
THE PARK: The park consists of vertical rocks which are a playbed for northwest rock climbers. Some like "Monkey's Face" actually appeared to have an angle greater than ninety degrees. There is a hiking trail that goes up Misery Ridge to the summit of the rocks. You can take a couple of trails back deeper into the mountains, however, the views are disrupted by periodic barb wire and old dirt roads. There are also a lot of trails so it is hard to know which goes where. I continued my hike around the perimeter of the area which was about 15 miles. This hike carries you through fairly bare mountains with scattered Western Juniper covering the whole area. If you go that far keep a compass and a decent map handy because you cannot rely on the trails. I ended up loosing interest in trying to remain on a trail, since they scatter everywhere, and made my own path. My intuition for a path must have been good as I eventually noticed it was covered with deer tracks and scat as well as cougar tracks and prints: I was obviously on a wildlife trail. After looping back I did end up on the north side of the park instead of the south like I had thought. The river that flows through the park is aptly named Crooked River and is very disorienting to follow. As I was approaching the park I walked past a cave which was full of exiting bats near riparian tall grass that teemed with sounds of small mammals and geese. When I turned my head I noticed Monkey's Face and realized my mistake: That is I was not where I thought I was. Perhaps the greatest moment on the hike was near the beginning of the day on top of Misery Ridge where you can see 8 mountains over 9,000 feet in height: North Sister, South Sister, Middle Sister, Bachelor, Broken Top, Jefferson, Hood and Adams as well as other high cascade peaks.
NEARBY: Bend is twenty minutes away and close to great white water rafting, beds of volcanic ash, many trails in the Three Sisters area, and even the High Desert Museum which has a lot of really interesting exhibits. Of course in the winter you have to ride the slopes on Mt. Bachelor (in my opinion possibly the best ski/ride resort in the country if you are looking for cruiser runs): You can get lots of vertical on one run without having to wait in a lift line more than ten seconds: Staying on the Northwest Express Lift gives you 2,365 feet of vertical without ever having to wait for anything. The runs off this lift are made for speed but the terrain is not terribly difficult. Once you get bored here (if that can happen) head toward the Summit lift which takes you up to a 360 degree panorama of the Central Cascades letting you see as far north as Mt. Hood and at least as far south as Mt. Thielson . Actually you have to hike up about a hundred feet for an unadultered view without moving but it is worth it. From here you can ride down the back side of the mountain in free-riding country if your skills are adequate (Of course the warning signs tell you not to do this alone). Just don't get lost going around the mountain. If you don't ride the slopes you can do some snow shoeing at Swampy Lake or Dutchman's flat sno-park on Century Drive between Bend and Mt. Bachelor. There are many other snow shooing areas in Central Oregon to choose from if you are so inclined.
